Inspection Rewinds Yield Press Productivity

By performing off line inspection and various finishing functions, inspection rewinders allow presses to focus on printing.

INSPECTION REWINDS HAVE one primary purpose—increase press productivity. Although inspection rewind is an off-line operation, it all goes back to printing press uptime and productivity.

"Off-line rewinding equipment should increase productivity in a label shop by taking work off of printing presses," says Nick Knezic, applications engineering, KOR Engineering Inc. "A good quality-finishing machine should perform all inspection, editing, and slitting operations, allowing press operators to focus on the task of printing. By increasing press time, rewinders increase productivity in a shop, which translates into a healthier bottom line."

Jaime A. Dagnino, international sales manager for Arpeco, a Division of Precision Automation, Co. Inc., separates the productivity benefits obtained from inspection rewind into the different process enhancements it provides.

"In the printing process, it allows for improvements in web optimization, increases in printing speeds, reduction in roll change frequency, and decreases in operating costs. In the finishing process, it allows for the removal of defects, while performing finishing functions of count, slitting, and rewinding at speeds over 930 fpm (approximately two to three times faster than press speeds). In the inspection process, it allows for dedicated focus on quality control prior to product shipment to customer."

Rewind selections

There are numerous options available in inspection rewind systems for both the inspection functions and the conventional finishing functions they perform. Inspection options offered by Arpeco include stroboscope visual inspection, automatic missing label/matrix detection, automatic flag and millsplice detection, and integration of the latest vision inspection systems.

For improved finishing productivity, Dagnino points out features such as hydraulic roll lifts for ease of roll loading, removable cartridge shear slitting for fast job setup, web advance unit for fast roll cycle change, easy access nip rollers and sophisticated tension control systems.