Kolding, Denmark - At Labelexpo Americas, TRESU Group (Booth 1308) will emphasize how its flexo ancillary solutions, including supply systems, chamber doctor blades and chilling units, automatically regulate ink and coating circulation, thereby boosting quality and machine uptime in label and packaging printing.

TRESU’s chamber doctor blades, especially when combined with the company’s F10 iCon ink supply system, provide an enclosed, automatic means of controlling flow rate, pressure, viscosity, from bucket to anilox roll. Resulting benefits include reduced ink and substrate waste, uniform print quality, increased press speeds, shorter cleaning times and reduced emissions.

Chamber doctor blade program for enclosed, sustainable, efficient ink supply

The TRESU chamber doctor blade program includes lightweight, corrosion-resistant carbon fiber and ceramic variants for all converting and coating applications. They range from closed-cassette chambers for label presses, to chambers in excess of 6000mm wide (236in) for corrugated board printing.

The chambers feature the company’s patented seal system. This prevents leakage and air contamination, thereby ensuring clean, blister-free print result with fast drying characteristics, better reflection and higher gloss values. When doctor blades need replacing, TRESU’s patented clamping systems enable changeovers in less than two minutes.

Exhibited chambered doctor blade systems include the FlexiPrint IMW E-Line, for widths of up to 1800mm (70.8in) and speeds up to 500m/min (1640ft/min); and the closed-cassette FlexiPrint Reservoir, which needs no pump and operates at press speeds of up to 300m/min (984ft/min).

For widths beyond 1600mm (63in), TRESU’s lightweight carbon fiber chamber doctor blades include a top-coated ink-repellent surface, protecting against detergents and adhesives with pH values of 9.0 and above, and offering easy cleaning. Curved inner surfaces maximize volume and facilitate controlled discharge.   

F10 iCon ink supply system automates flow and ink change cycles

TRESU’s F10 iCon intelligent ink flow system provides pressure-controlled ink to the press at a consistent flow rate, according to predetermined parameters, with minimal supervision needed. This energy-efficient system also returns approximately 90 per cent of ink remaining in the press to the bucket after the production run. It also provides fast, thorough automatic cleaning of the chamber and hoses, completing a complete ink change cycle on all printing stations simultaneously within minutes.  This results in significant consumption and changeover savings

Chilling and Temperature Control

TRESU’s new intelligent iSeries chillers offer an efficient control platform for cooling analog and digital presses as well as ink supply systems. SCi Single Zone Chiller is a compact single zone chiller for sheetfed or web offset press; the CCi Combi chiller provides continuous circulation process water to ink rollers. Both use a remote condenser to absorb heat from the press and reject it externally. The UCi UV chiller provides temperature-controlled process water to UV-curing systems; the MCi multi-zone controller is suited for waterless printing. Multi-zone controllers are used where there is a requirement for independent temperature control for each printing unit. 

TRESU chillers interface directly with TRESU’s Internal Diagnostic Monitoring System (IDMS) that instantly alerts TRESU’s service department of any warnings or control setting disturbances. Each chiller features a unique, passcode-protected IP address to allow online remote diagnostics by TRESU’s technical support team.

Modular Flexo Innovator printing line for seamless, multi-process package converting 

Also available at the TRESU booth will be information on the Flexo Innovator hybrid printing line for paper and carton board applications. 

This modular printing and converting line for corrugated and folding carton manufacturing offers short setup times, reduced handling, speeds exceeding 600m/min (approx. 2000fpm) and high output.  Customised to end-user performance requirements and built with TRESU’s 30 years of press building and engineering expertise, the Flexo Innovator offers a flexo platform in 670mm, 900mm, 1100mm, 1400mm and 1700mm widths. 

Productivity-enhancing features include inline inspection and color management systems that maintain quality consistency on-the-fly throughout the printing run; a hot air drying system that reduces emissions by using re-circulated air; and high-efficiency unwind / rewind stands limit butt-splicing waste to one diameter of paper stock on the core.  Customers may choose to include a host of complementary processes inline including reverse-printing, cold foil, laminating, die-cutting, embossing and sheeting.

The Flexo Innovator’s inline configuration can print and finish paper, carton board, laminates and metallic substrates.