Soma outlines narrow web opportunities

The Optima was featured as part of the company’s second Flexo Challenges Conference, which took place in May at the Soma Globe Training and Demonstration facility in Lanskroun, Czech Republic. This event drew 160 attendees, including senior management personnel from printing and converting companies from around the world, as well as industry co-suppliers and two delegations from China.

As a result of the success of this year’s event, and the 2013 program, the Flexo Challenges Conference is set to become a regular annual fixture in the Soma calendar.

Soma Engineering designs and manufactures high-quality printing and converting machines for a wide variety of industries. Its portfolio covers CI flexographic presses, slitter rewinders, laminators, mounter-proofers, sheeters, die-cutting units and special purpose machines.

It launched Optima late last year as a flexo press designed to target short-run print work. For more on the Optima flexo press, see sister magazine Packprint World’s coverage of its launch.

Constructed from one solid single block frame, Optima offers rigidity at high speeds up to 300m/min and ergonomically divided work stations for print and unwind/rewind operations.

The Optima uses components as found on Soma's wide web presses including Bosh Rexroth servo drives to reduce energy costs, JDF intuitive menus and job reporting, Falcon impression system with no marks, InkFix color matching and Fast blade doctor blade technology. Additional cost savings are achieved through the use of one-litre volume ink cartridges where reduced coverage is required for colors such as expensive metallics.

Soma Engineering marketing manager Petr Blasko said: ‘Our research has shown that the flexo printing market wants consistent quality of 70 lines per cm (177lpi) with as short a set-up time as possible. It is difficult for printers to produce short runs on wide web presses and remain competitive. We believe the Optima, with its new design concept offers a more competitive solution, particularly as a supplement to an existing wide web printing operation.

‘The Optima offers reduced running costs compared with running a like-for-like job on a 1,300mm press. In addition, the new design concept reflects the new trend in value added packaging offering press customization according to specific customer needs.

‘We are not over-looking the possibility of aiming the Optima, not only as a solution for wide web flexible packaging, but also for the narrow web label printing industry. We can foresee the possibility of high-speed printing of label and packaging substrates on a 820mm wide model by splitting into two 400mm wide webs and adding various off-line finishing options such as embossing, foiling, and other decorative and converting applications.’

The 2014 Flexo Challenges Conference also featured a demonstration of Soma Engineering’s Premia flexo press, as well as presentations from the perspective of a flexo printer and brand owner Budvar. Further, PPP, Apex, Reproflex and Chespa outlined developments in other areas of the flexo printing process.