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BST Demonstrates Complete 100% Inspection And Workflow Solution at Label Expo Americas 2010
Thursday 16. September 2010 - At Label Expo Americas, BST International will showcase its Shark LEX 100% inspection systems and the companies Lector WorkFlow Module. Together, they provide a comprehensive solution for inspecting print quality and managing throughput from press to customer.
Shark LEX 100% Inspection Systems
BSTs solution begins with its Shark LEX 100% inspection systems. Two models are available (1000 and 4000), suitable for use on re-winders or narrow web presses to 22″ (560mm). Both can be used on a wide range of substrates, including reflective materials.
Shark LEX systems will identify both random and repeating defects as small as 0.05mm2 , which includes missing print, fill-in, splash, spots, mis-register, hickeys, dirty print, web crease, haze, smudges, streaks, hairs, die-cut variations and incorrect matrix removal. They are suitable for use to speeds of 1200 feet per minute (400 m/m), making them an extremely effective tool for managing print quality on press.
A Great Product Made Ever Greater
Shark LEX has been enhanced with many new features and time saving functions, which will be demonstrated at Label Expo:
HD touch screen – the product now has an 19″ HD touch screen with 1280 X 1024 resolution. Images are bigger, details in the print and small defects are easier to see, and operators never need to use a mouse or keyboard.
Improved GUI – the user interface has been streamlined and simplified to make use easier than ever.
LED lighting – Shark LEX systems now use a proprietary LED lighting system with bright light and dark light controls. The sophisticated package guarantees consistent illumination that is essential for precise and reliable results, and is a major competitive advantage.
PDF inspection – this function compares the actual on press print against the customer approved PDF and identifies any variations. Great for proofing foreign languages, checking plate content integrity, and insuring use of correct plates.
New camera housing – allows switching from normal to reflective substrates in seconds.
Read bar codes – Shark systems now read bar codes and provide the human readable numeric code.
Virtual Label – a virtual marker can now be put into a job at any spot. This function works with Lector to simplify web synchronization among machines.
Teach In (Remastering) Function – provides a fast “one touch” means to accept a process variation or other print anomaly into the golden master.
Pharma Mode – simplifies replacement of defective labels with good labels while guaranteeing the integrity of the finished rolls.
A Product That Outperforms Expectations
Today there are hundreds of Shark systems installed all over the world. Real users of the product will be featured in a video at the BST Pro Mark booth (# 837), to be shown on a 65″ HD display. Customers say the product excels in the following areas:
Sharks biggest advantage is that it is easier to use. Shark features a graphic interface with so many time saving functions, users say ease of use is it single greatest advantage.
Sharks Wizard style job set up is super easy and fast
Navigating around the repeat is done simply by touching the desired area on the repeat to be inspected or viewed.
A Defect Review icon allows a review of the most recent defects identified, with a simple touch of the screen.
A Teach In icon greatly simplifies changes or adjustment to the golden master
Easier Defect Management – the defect management software package in Shark was painstakingly designed to make it easier to review and evaluate defects the system has identified, and to more quickly take appropriate action.
The defect management screen has a simultaneous display of the full repeat, a close-up of the defect identified and a close-up of the golden master. One touch toggles between the defect and the golden master.
The digital zoom function allows more precise examination of detail with one touch.
Years of research have allowed Shark to intentionally limit the system sensitivity settings at four. Some competitive systems have as many as ten, which users say is a nightmare to manage.
There are other aspects of Shark that make it such a winner:
Shark LEX systems are offered with a variety of grayscale or color cameras at various image speeds (KHz). This allows BST to match the application with the camera that will best suit the customers needs.
Shark LEX acquires golden master images 50% faster than other systems, resulting in huge time savings for every job. Inspection can be started quicker, rolls get processed faster and users benefit from higher throughput.
An output to a web flagger or marking device is standard, as is remote service support.
Lector Work Flow Management Completes The Circle
Lector Work Flow is a high performance software tool for managing print quality and throughput from printing to shipping, across multiple machines. It is used in conjunction with the companies Shark LEX 100% Inspection systems installed on presses or re-winders. Lector is installed and operated on a personal computer, which is linked to the inspection / quality assurance systems in the process, and accesses the data via a network.
Lector Work Flow is used to display and evaluate process job data and to help manage throughput from one machine to the next – for example, press to re-winder – and to generate reports for jobs that have been produced on machines with Shark LEX as the inspection / print quality assurance system.
Detailed Job and Roll Quality and Defect Information
Lector Work Flow Management provides access to all events and information collected by the inspection / quality assurance system, from basic job information (name, customer, operator, machine, start and stop times and number of rolls) to detailed defect information. This includes all defects identified (color coded by type of defect) and the “master” image, as well as exactly in the roll each occurred and precisely where on the web each is located. An image of each defect is also kept in the database and displayed. “Events” are also tracked and shown, such as roll changes.
Job data can be sorted by customer name, machine or job name, and can be viewed from the beginning of the job or from the end of the roll. The user can review detailed information on a specific defect, or for a particular job, roll or press.
The user can view the data on a selected job in either table view or graphical web view and can easily navigate through the jobs and data. In graphic mode, a scale provides location in web running direction.
Process Management Across Multiple Machines
Lector Work Flow simplifies the process of reviewing a job and its quality issues, typically done by the Quality Manager – and facilitates subsequent removal of bad material from the web prior to shipment.
Check boxes allow simple management of the data. The user can mark defects for downstream removal, deactivate defects or events determined to be irrelevant, and can mark those that need to be subsequently reviewed in a downstream process. Defects or events marked can later be cancelled.
Easy to Generate Quality Reports for Internal and External Customers
Lector Work Flow also has a powerful filter function which allows the user to produce reports with only selected information shown. This is useful when sharing data across multiple machines and processes and for preparing reports for internal or external customers.
Reports are saved in XML or PDF format and can be exported to other programs or networks, with or without defect images.
Synchronize Processes with Multiple Machines
When using Lector Work Flow Management with a re-winder, a unique “Sync” function allows synchronization of the graphic report view with the winding progression of the web. The Sync function facilitates synchronization of processes and machines such as a press to a re-winder. It is commonly used to help facilitate removal of faulty material in downstream processes, without having to print on the web.