Esko & Wink Stanzwerkzeuge Partner on Label Solution
- Published: October 07, 2013
GHENT, BELGIUM | Esko announces a partnership with Wink Stanzwerkzeuge, Neuenhaus, Germany, a supplier of die-cutting tools. The staggered label solution is said to enable label converters to optimize label production, increase production speeds, enjoy material savings, and produce accurate print and die-cutting results.
The partnership combines Wink's die-cutting technology with Esko’s “staggered cut” software and Esko Kongsberg cutting tables, resulting in the ProShift technology. ProShift is said to enable impressions to be arranged more flexibly and make full use of the entire printing area using Wink's laser technology to arrange the upper and lower edge of the flexible dies in steps. Esko’s sheet layout software Plato creates the staggered label layout at the touch of a button. Perfect alignment between the printing and cutting plate is guaranteed, as the data is exported simultaneously to create the staggered flexo plate and to order the shifted die at Wink.
“This type of shifted printing and die-cutting has many advantages,” says Fransz Verbeek, product manager at Wink. “In most cases, labels are arranged symmetrically to save space and keep the consumption of materials to a minimum. However, this configuration is less beneficial for the rotary die-cutting process because vertical lines tend to cut more forcefully than horizontal lines and high contact pressure causes the vertical lines to cut even deeper. This can also damage the liner material and result in wear and lasting damage to all components in the cutting unit.”
ProShift reportedly counteracts these negative effects by vertically shifting the impressions in the machine’s running direction, which significantly reduces the number of horizontal lines and evenly distributes cutting pressure.
When coupled with the tools in Esko’s Digital Flexo Suite, efficiency in producing printing plates and control processes is increased at the prepress stage. The software uses intelligent algorithms and is connected to Kongsberg systems, so plate cutting becomes fully automated. It also sets parameters for use when mounting plates to the printing cylinder.
“With the staggered labels solution, conventional rectangular print shapes can be created on the cutting table as well as individually shaped and staggered images with accurate contours and consistent repeat accuracy," says Pascal Thomas, business development manager–Flexo at Esko. "This means prepress companies can supply their customers with pre-cut flexographic printing plates ready for installation, saving time and costs. Automatic plate cutting also means print companies can benefit from higher quality and more accurate cuts.”
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