Pulse presents Monolox at workshop hosted by Mark Andy Poland

Narrow web ink specialist Pulse Roll Label Products has partnered with Mark Andy to demonstrate the benefits of its Monolox fixed anilox printing technology a workshop in Warsaw, Poland.

In collaboration with Mark Andy Poland, Pulse and its local subsidiary, Pulse Polska, hosted an audience of distributors, customers and prospects from across Europe to present the capability of the technology and benefits it can bring to flexo printers.

By combining software and data, specialized chemistry – specifically, Pulse’s PureTone high strength single-pigment inks – and a set of aniloxes of one uniform volume, Monolox helps standardize and simplify press set-up in the flexo process. Using fixed anilox printing can increase utilization of equipment and reduce the anilox and ink inventories.

The Monolox fixed anilox printing was demonstrated on a Mark Andy Evolution Series E5 press. This included a demonstration of the anilox being fingerprinted and job being calibrated, live ink mixing using a data-driven mixing database powered by the X-Rite InkFormulation Software (IFS), color approval with a Delta E below accepted industry standards and four-color UV LED printing at 100m/min.

The company also simulated a job changeover using a label previously printed on a Mark Andy toner-based digital print engine. It was color-matched using calibration tools and mixing database, exampling how Monolox can serve to help printers to standardize their output across different production processes. A high-lustre metallic silver PureTone ink was also run in the first print station, further highlighting the capabilities of Monolox.

Ben Howell, technical sales manager for export at Pulse Roll Label, said: ‘It was fantastic to have the opportunity to show the potential of this technology to printers, live and directly on-press. It is actually a really simple system, but the potential benefits are remarkable. When printers get to see this first-hand, they fully comprehend just what it could mean for their business.’

Jim Whitehead, export sales director at Pulse Roll Label, added: ‘We know that in the label industry, printers are actively looking at how they can make the most out of equipment and capacity. There are many ways this can be delivered but by increasing utilization, you immediately unlock hidden potential and latent capacity that lies within existing operations. Using baseline figures to calculate machine uptime and estimate production volumes, you quickly realize there is the potential to add hundreds of hours of printing time back into a print business. That equates to huge revenue potential, whether you’re the largest international printing group or the smallest printer serving a local customer base.’

‘There are many printers who have already switched onto “the Monolox way”, but there are many more who stand to benefit by introducing fixed anilox printing,’ commented Pulse Polska sales manager, Artur Mansfeld. ‘As well as the associated business benefits and costs savings, the entire flexo production process stands to benefit from greater control of the process and consistently high quality, job to job and across the full run length.’

Sales manager at Mark Andy, Łukasz Chruśliński, said: ‘Having pioneered the printing industry for more than 75 years, we have built a legacy based on excellence and collaboration that helps our customers be at their very best. With printers today walking a fine line between rising costs and the opportunities offered by innovations that increase efficiency and support sustainability, having the opportunity to demonstrate a technology like Monolox on our equipment has real-world implications for our customers, Pulse’s customers and our shared interests.

‘Having printers join us and see such a groundbreaking technology live and in action is the best way to understand the benefits their businesses can unlock. We are delighted have partnered with Pulse for this hugely successful event.’

‘It was fantastic to see printers engaging with Monolox and to see them immediately realize the benefits to their businesses. This would not have been possible without the support and assistance of Mark Andy, who opened the doors to their Technology Center in Warsaw and allowed us to make the Monolox way a reality and tangible. It is this sort of collaboration and shared interest that will see the narrow web flexo industry continue to evolve and move forward in the pursuit of process improvement, greater ROI, and maintain its place as the pre-eminent label printing technology for years to come,’ concluded Gary Seward, managing director at Pulse Roll Label.