FTS puts Martin MBSC/STR combo to the test

Flexographic Trade Services has reported high productivity and ease of use with its recently installed MBSC butt splicer and STR turret rewinder combination from Martin Automatic.

Art Fields, president of FTS, commented: ‘We tested the MBSC/STR automated splicer and rewind system on jobs that we’ve been running for up to ten years, so we had solid production numbers to compare to. When we ran jobs on a Mark Andy XP-5000 with Martin roll automation on the ends, we were able to increase throughput performance by 60 percent. Now understand, that was with Flexographic Trade School students running the press, so part of that gain came from the fact that automation covered up for a lack of operator experience. However, with an experienced pressman you can easily increase throughput performance by 40 percent with the Martins. Basically, jobs that normally took us two days to produce we were finishing in under a day with roll-change automation.’

Fields also reported that with automated roll change, waste ‘almost disappeared’. Jobs that produced 8 percent waste using manual roll change produced only 3 percent waste using Martin roll-change automation. Print quality also improved throughout the run due to non-stop production, he said.

Fields continued: ‘If I was to open a new print shop and wanted to compete in today’s market, I would absolutely have Martin automated roll-change equipment on my press. It doesn’t matter if you are a short-, medium- or long-run printer – automated roll-change makes you more competitive and profitable.’

For printers interested in running their own performance comparisons, the Flexographic Trade School and Martin Automatic are offering to run test jobs on their automated equipment. Contact Flexographic Trade Services at (001) 803 802 5211 for details.

Martin Automatic is currently developing a white paper based upon the FTS comparison tests and other field studies. This paper will explore the impact of automated roll-change on operations and go beyond the obvious production increase and waste reduction benefits. For a copy of ‘Beyond the Obvious’ visit www.martinautomatic.com or call (001) 815 654 4800.

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