Packaging

First VISTAFLEX CL 10 in Europe

Thursday 24. May 2012 - The ten-colour VISTAFLEX CL 10 flexographic printing press marks the flagship of this highly successful Windmöller & Hölscher product line. Featuring a printing width of 1,650 mm and a maximum repeat length of 1,250 mm, the first machine of this type in Europe has been recently successfully commissioned at German based NEEMANN company in Leer/Ostfriesland (East Frisia).

With the installation of the VISTAFLEX CL 10, the German manufacturer of flexible packaging, founded in 1889 and boasting a long-standing tradition, has not only extended its printing capacity but is also looking forward to new opportunities in the promising, though keenly contested flexible packaging market, as board member Cord Neemann explains.
NEEMANN, a prospering medium-sized family run enterprise, has been lately making substantial investments. Around 4,500 square metres of floor space have been added to its facilities and this is also where the new VISTAFLEX CL 10 from Windmöller & Hölscher is installed. Today, the company, which is jointly run by the third and fourth generation owner families, has a staff of about 140 and produces flexible packaging material for the consumer goods sector, especially for baby diapers and hygiene and sanitary articles, but also for the food sector.
The investment decision was preceded by months of selecting and configuring the machine’s specification to the detail, the main focus being on superb print quality, the shortest possible make-ready times and maximum economic efficiency. “Following extensive comparison tests we decided to prefer the VISTAFLEX CL 10 to a side loaded sleeve machine”, says press room manager Manfred Hüttemeyer. Eventually, the decisive point was that side loading is bound to reach its limits because of the higher weights of sleeves and adapters to be handled when printing large printing widths and repeat lengths.
“It is primarily with these applications that the VISTAFLEX is changed over between production runs notably faster and with greater ease – especially thanks to VISTA-PORT”, says Manfred Hüttemeyer. “Also, the printing quality is unprecedented, which is attributable to the sturdy cylinder bases with directly fitted sleeves that are mounted without adapters”, adds Wilfried Hoppen, technology manager at NEEMANN.
VISTA-PORT is the innovative handling robot for the VISTAFLEX C. Plate cylinder bases and sleeves as well as anilox rollers are fully automatically changed during makeready. This is done quickly, while at the same time ensuring job safety at any time. The press operator selects the sequence of orders, and VISTA-PORT automatically organises the change-over actions and completes them in the most time efficient manner.
“Thanks to VISTA-PORT in conjunction with EASY-SET, EASY-REG and EASY-VIEW, an unprecedented automation level and speed during changeovers is reached, which allows even short run lengths to be produced with optimum productivity”, says NEEMANN technology manager Wilfried Hoppen with pride. “The printer controls the most important print settings on the numerous screens provided on the press and can concentrate on fine tuning to guarantee the precision that is vital to perfect print results.”
Maximum energy efficiency, which has been the underlying principle of the entire project, also applies to the printing machine, and it is also to this end that the VISTAFLEX CL 10 is equipped with the automatic ink supply and wash-up system TURBOCLEAN, which features viscosity and colour temperature control to guarantee consistent print quality, while reducing energy usage by more than 40 percent, as compared to previous systems.