Featured Products For The Packaging Industry

Coating and laminating can provide both an aesthetic element and a protective layer to your print jobs. But like inks and substrates, there are certain coatings and laminates that work best with specific applications.

Companies from around the industry sent packagePRINTING a description of their products for this sector of the industry, including coatings, laminations, lamination inks, and coaters to apply the product. One company even sent an example of a custom-built oven used to cure coatings.

Though the coating and laminating options may seem endless, these are a few highlights that could help you better protect your next job and ensure its visual properties.

Coating Supply Unit from Heidelberg

The CoatingStar from Heidelberg is a universal coating supply unit based on low-maintenance annular-pump piston technology, providing easier processing of high-viscosity coatings. When combined with automatic rinsing programs, it reduces makeready time by facilitating coating changes and system cleaning. With the ability to pump forward and backward, coating residue can be pumped back into the container.

www.heidelberg.com/global/en.

Retroflex head

Retroflex offers offset, direct gravure, flexo, and kiss coaters in widths over 120˝ and at speeds up to 4,000 fpm. Single and two-sided coaters are available, and can be implemented in adhesive, waxing, lotion, and anti-bacterial applications. Coaters can be overall or pattern coat, with or without heating capabilities. www.retroflex.com.

Hard Coatings From Dymax

The O&C UV-curable hard coatings from Dymax are optically clear and provide strong scratch, abrasion and chemical resistance, resulting in increased protection and extended film life. The low haze characteristics provide excellent transparency, which lasts over time, providing better performance and aesthetics. These coatings can be used in applications requiring two to 12 microns in thickness on film substrates including TAC, PET, PC, and PMMA. www.dymax.com.

Coatings You can Feel

ACTEGA’s coating technologies for the narrow web label industry focus on tactile effects. ACTEGA’s extensive coating portfolio includes dual-core soft touch, grit texture, raised, braille, glitter, pearlescent and Touch-N-Scent. www.actega.com.

Inkjet Media from Ritrama

Ritrama’s range of inkjet media for Memjet and other standard printing techniques including UV letterpress, UV flexo, UV offset, gravure, laser and thermal transfer for selected ribbons. The range spans a large selection of materials, including polypropylenes and vinyls. www.ritrama-us.com.

Dow Corning Expands its Syl-Off Offerings

Dow Corning’s Syl-Off SL 585 flat release coating is its latest compliment to the company’s Syl-Off Advantage Series. This set of solutions is solventless, fast-curing, and provides flexibility. It can also reduce expensive catalyst usage. Syl-Off SL585 can accommodate high-speed processing for bulk roll labels and other difficult substrates that require anchorage. www.dowcorning.com.

Versatile Coating from Sun Chemical

SunBar Oxygen Barrier Coatings from Sun Chemical allow for lightweighting of packaging through the removal of EVOH polymer layers from the packaging. The coatings also provide increased laminate flexibility. By creating a smooth, homogenous layer without pinholes, the SunBar oxygen barrier lends itself to overprinting with inks, lamination and secondary films. These coatings are recyclable and biodegradable, and can be applied with minimal equipment changes. www.sunchemical.com.

Lamination Ink from Toyo

AquaLiona, a lamination ink from Toyo Ink Group, now has a specially engineered ink resin, improving its physical properties and compatibility with a variety of substrates. AquaLiona enhances print resolubility and on-press stability allowing inks to better transfer from plates to films. It has low solvent retention, making AquaLiona an ideal fit for packaging applications where product purity is important, including food applications. www.toyoink.com.

High Speeds and Many Applications

The Mistral Laminator from Uteco provides flexibility and allows converters to consolidate their equipment. In addition to its high speeds, the Mistral Laminator enables multiple processes including solvent base, water base, solventless coating, dry or wet lamination coating of a primer-lacquer, in-register cold seal, hot melt, or heat seal coating. www.utecona.com.

Ideal for Variable Applications

acpo ltd.’s polyester and polypropylene thermal transfer printable overlaminates provide strong printability, durability, and improved label appearance. The overlaminates are available in clear and matte finishes and are well-suited for use in barcode applications and other applications with variable information. www.acpo.com.

Five Hundred Degrees of Curing Power

The Grieve Corporation manufactures custom ovens, including belt-conveyor ovens for curing coatings. An example includes the No. 853, a 500 degree electrically heated belt conveyor oven that the customer uses to cure coating and heat shrinking plastics. The oven measures 30˝ wide, 96˝ deep, and 24˝ high. It includes 48KW Nichrome wire heating elements and a 4200 CFM, 3-HP recirculating blower, allowing for vertical downward airflow to the load. www.grievecorp.com.

New MacDermid Coating Plate Broadens Flexographic Options

MacDermid Printing Solutions has just introduced a new digital flexo plate designed specifically for coating and varnishing applications. Digital MAX C, a product line extension of MacDermid’s successful Digital MAX, is designed for in-line finishing on offset coating presses with flexo coating units and for offline finishing in coating presses.

The 78 durometer Digital MAX C plate features a thicker PET backing, to improve registration. It is suited for water-based and UV coating applications and optimized for enhanced transfer capability with specialty inks, varnishes, and spot and full coatings. The new plate is compatible with MacDermid’s LUX Platemaking Process and can be processed, either in conventional solvents or in MacDermid’s LAVA Thermal System.

It is available in a thickness of 0.045 in. and in sizes up to 50 x 80 in. www.printing.macdermid.com. pP

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