PPSI to Showcase Three Inkjet Solutions at Labelexpo

Prototype & Productions Systems, Inc. (PPSI) will be showing live printing with three distinct examples of its DICE inkjet technology at Labelexpo Americas 2016 in Rosemont, Ill., September 13 to 15, 2016.

• The DICEweb system adds high-resolution UV color inkjet printing to existing roll-to-roll equipment. It converts almost any existing flexo press to a hybrid printer that combines the best of flexo printing — for special colors, whites, pre-coats and varnishes — with up to six colors of digital print. Best of all, it allows printers to use their existing investments in finishing equipment, registering the digital print to inline diecutting or sheeting equipment, without the need to move rolls.
• A custom DICEpress printer will be shown as an example of PPSI’s ability to design inkjet print systems that are tailored to a customer’s unique requirements. The DICEpress printer on display features 12.5˝ (317mm) wide CMYK printing, expandable to 15˝ (381mm), on an 18˝ web, with servo-driven unwind and rewind modules. The printer includes an accumulator that allows the web to back up to avoid wasting material, and a lamination station. The modular design of the DICEpress allows the easy addition of coating or flexo print stations, and semi-rotary or rotary diecutting systems.
• Electron Beam (EB) drying technology from ebeam Technologies (formerly PCT Systems) will be featured in a proof-of-concept demonstration of food-safe digital printing of labels and packaging. A DICElab printer that uses EB-curable inkjet inks to print onto a multi-layer flexible packaging film will be shown together with an ebeam inkjet dryer unit. By avoiding the potentially harmful photo initiators used in UV-curable inks, EB printing has the potential to allow short-run, variable-data printing of food packaging materials.

The wide range of applications of its core DICE inkjet technology highlights PPSI’s skills as the custom automation company for industrial-strength digital printing solutions.

"Many of our projects are for large consumer goods companies who prefer to remain anonymous, so it’s always a pleasure to be able to show our inkjet integration capabilities at Labelexpo," said Chuck Raymond, company president.

Source: Prototype & Production Systems.