From knife-over-roll to slot die and from the coating of hot melts and pressure sensitive adhesive labels to the prototyping or trialling of eco-acceptable materials, narrow web width production and pilot printing and coating machines offer a wealth of possibilities.
One of the challenges faced by brand owners and global retail groups is the need to differentiate their products from their competitors. Customers in diverse sectors want to see how their products look when dressed in new materials or when sporting new shapes. This generally involves the outputting of multiple designs for marketing/internal reviews and for consumer focus group appraisal. It often shows what may or may not work. Time consuming the exercise may be, but it is looked upon as being a vital procedure prior to making that commercial commitment.
Converters, manufacturers and suppliers across many product sectors must be prepared to explore and look beyond the familiar. Narrow web width, multi-process machines are in many respects very capable. Coating can be accomplished in-line in some cases, but there is a risk that if the press is forced for any reason to make an unscheduled stop that a processed roll might slip through with areas devoid of coating.
An off-line pilot printing/coating system provides many benefits beyond producing samples that look aesthetically pleasing. They enable adhesives, inks, coatings and other materials or combination to be trialled to determine their effectiveness. Masters of the quick changeover, a suitably configured pilot coater provides the flexibility that a typical production machine lacks.
In many instances narrow web coaters are used in laboratories and research departments for R & D and for prototyping and for quality control purposes and if, the chosen machine allows: as is the case with RK Print Coat Instruments VCML, small-scale production can be undertaken.
Economical and processing practicalities must be taken into account. Financial resources for bringing a product to market are not unlimited and processing practicalities must be addressed such as what will be the most suitable method for coating and once decided upon consideration must be given to other areas associated with production: drying, UV curing or IR.
Given that sustainability is so high on the agenda and that brand owners and their customers place so much importance on using, where possible, materials and consumables that have minimal environmental impact, the need to trial different materials is increasingly important. Parameters such as dimensional stability, surface characteristics, thickness and uniformity are critical. Changing from existing inks and other consumables to water based inks and coatings may not be as straightforward as one would like. Drying and/or curing systems often require some adjustment or modification.
Touch screen controlled and with a web width of 300 mm the VCML can be custom configured to incorporate corona treater, edge guide, heated laminator, hot air, IR and UV curing. Selectable coating technologies include slot die, knife-over-roll and direct/reversible and offset gravure.
While packaging may be the mainstay for many – customers in sectors away from mainstream packaging have purchased specially configured VCML printing and coating systems for flexible printable electronics; for batteries; the coating of adhesives and antennas; OLED, Photovoltaic and printed circuits.
