Trioplast Nyborg upgrades flexo press with Tresu tools

Trioplast carried out the refurbishment on the 1,650mm-wide press, which mainly handles shrink-wrap and stretch-hood film for logistics end uses to meet the increasing demand for shorter, more frequent orders – a consequence of customers cutting stockholding levels to one month’s supply.

The Tresu installation provides an automated, controlled, enclosed flow of ink and coating from the bucket to the anilox roll cells, without leakage, escape of fumes or contamination with air. This is the third such retrofit installation of Tresu equipment By Trioplast Nyborg.

The F10 iCon circulates the ink at stable, easily adjustable viscosity, pressure and temperature levels, and completes an ink change within 10 minutes. It also stores flow settings of every color on each job, which can be automatically recalled without the need for manual data entry. Tresu said this brings significant set-up efficiencies to Trioplast, which has a database of several hundred Pantone spot colors that are used for reproducing many customers’ liveries. 

The FlexiPrint doctor blade system ensures uniform ink transfer directly to the anilox cells, without air being trapped at fast speeds. Pressure is adjusted to exact levels required to form a wall of ink at the point where rotating cells meet the blade, preventing air contamination and foaming. And because the sealed environment prevents air contamination, long-term storage of leftover ink is possible, for example over a shutdown period. Doctor blades are positioned at an angle with the anilox to minimize wear, prolonging operational life, and, with the E Line clamping system, are replaceable within one minute.

Trioplast Nyborg operations manager Frank Jørgensen said: ‘We recognized that the key to maintaining productivity was to ensure the presses ran with minimal manual intervention, material waste and changeover time.

‘The ink supply offered obvious potential for improvement because the existing open trays allowed excessive evaporation and required constant replenishment with solvent.

‘We had already experienced significant performance and safety improvements as a result of installing the Tresu systems on two six colour CI presses last year. It was a natural step for us to repeat this investment, and it is meeting expectations: we have eliminated the escape of vapours, cut cleaning to half an hour per printing station, and achieved uniform, clean ink transfer at speeds of up to 110m/min.’