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Tailor made Multiple Print Processing from Pago

Eight years ago Pago Etikettiersysteme GmbH in Aichtal-Aich, part of the international Pago group, began constructing its own labelling machines. Each one is tailor made to meet the specific needs and combination of print processes required. The success of this custom-build approach is clear from the performance figures of the machines, which show excellent production performance and reliability, even in continual use. All machines are fitted with UV curing and Pago works exclusively with IST METZ GmbH in this field. The main areas of Pago’s production are self-adhesive labels for product decoration, functional and information labels. As the product cycle for decorative labels has become extremely short due to the competitive forces in the marketplace, the label manufacturer faces the continual task of developing innovative new products. According to Adam Schweitzer, member of the Pago management board this can only be done currently by using custom made production systems. Multiple processing technology has now become essential and there is currently no alternative. Tailor made machine assembly based on specific system requirements In order to find the right technology for each application, Pago has relied on the same process for eight years. Before any investment decision is made a detailed system specification is drawn up which is then used to identify the most suitable machine and the aditional items required for production.

This can lead to considerable modifications to the machines concerned. For example, Pago may decide to replace the control unit or the drive technology in order to fulfil its requirements. This approach of installing custome designed machines does, however, require a lot of expert knowledge and the company has successfully used this method numerous times. Most of the multiple process printing presses installed at Pago have almost zero breakdowns, operating round the clock. This very high reliability is proven by the calculated performance figures, according to Label Production Manager, Karl-Friedrich Michel. Seeing the potential of UV technology All of the machines installed in the last eight years can carry out several processes in line. Each printing process incorporates UV curing. In retrospect Karl-Friedrich Michel claims, that a lot of the technical knowledge acquired in the general printing sector with regard to UV curing was not applied for a long time in the label printing sector.

In other market segments such as sheet fed and web fed printing UV equipment sometimes showed far higher performance characteristics than the equipment for narrow web machines. The main selection criteria for Pago in its choice of UV technology are reliability, ease of use, performance, durability, easy maintenance, etc. Based on these requirements IST METZ GmbH in Nürtingen was chosen as the UV equipment supplier. The first order was a refit of a Gallus R200. Following the success of this refit, Pago requested factory fitted IST equipment when investing in a new Gallus press in 1994. The search for suitable technology with each new press as well as the decision to have close partnership links with its suppliers has led to continual new developments. For example, in the area of UV technology the company was the catalyst for IST’s development of slide in cassettes for the IST Minicure System as Pago required a modular, interchangeable UV unit in its system specification for the press it was buying at that time. “In addition“, remembers Joachim Hildebrand, who has worldwide responsibility for label applications at IST METZ, “Pago was the first user in the label sector to appreciate and use the advantages of cooling cylinder technology. Many other label printers followed this example to avoid problems such as warping. UV has since become a must In Pago’s print room in Germany there are over 30 production lines printing self-adhesive labels. All units are equipped with UV technology, which Karl-Friedrich Michel believes is now essential in this industrial segment. How else would it be possible for a web press to print up to ten or more colours in an inline process from web to web without any problems? Furthermore foils represent between 75% and 80% of Pago’s production. In addition to this, the use of UV technology has further benefits, which no one at Pago will forego. Handling of solvents has, for example, been considerably reduced. In addition, depending on the order, the maximum production speed of each printing press can now be achieved because curing speed is no longer a factor limiting production speed. Reliable link in the production chain Although UV curing is only one of many component parts in the whole printing process it is, however, one of the fundamental elements and one area where the user would not like to have any problems. Pago has worked hard in this area.

The Pago management would trust many of the suppliers of UV systems and UV lamps to provide basic UV curing. However, a major requirement of the group was for constant reliability and production performance of the system over many years and this reduced the number of potential suppliers considerably. The strict selection process, resulting in the final choice of IST METZ as UV supplier, proved to be worthwhile. The UV systems, some of which have now been in continual use for eight years, have been operating almost without fault, as already mentioned in the calculated performance figures. “Since we have installed IST UV units, our machine costs for unscheduled downtime have been reduced considerably“, says Karl-Friedrich Michel. The UV lamps used, also supplied by IST, play an important part in achieving these good performance figures. Test trials with spectral analyses are carried out annually with all the products found in the marketplace. Parameters such as durability, which has a decisive influence on the curing quality in production printing are studied in particular. In this area Karl-Friedrich Michel’s experience has shown time and again that the longer the lamp is used, the easier it is to separate the wheat from the chaff. The UV lamps produced by IST METZ have won these trials every year so far and they are therefore the only lamps used at Pago because of guaranteed quality. All UV lamps are replaced after 2500 to 3000 hours of use, in compliance with the guidelines in Pago’s ISO 9001 quality management system,. This is done as a precautionary measure as part of Pago’s cleaning and maintenance scheduled, although Karl-Friedrich Michel is convinced that it would be possible to use the lamps for considerably longer without any loss in production performance. Synergy within the group The considerable knowledge gained in the area of UV technology is regularly distributed throughout the group. In this way each site of the international group can stand in for another one as required. The production areas at each site are similarly equipped and this is one of the strengths of the group, which has its headquarters are in Grabs, Switzerland. Both Pago and IST METZ benefit from their work together over the past years. The requirements of the Pago group are taken into special consideration when IST works on new technical developments. IST METZ benefits from being able to test new developments in real production conditions at Pago. The Pago development team in Germany has most recently been able to test the quick release system for the UV lamps and the new electronic power supply. A further innovation, which Karl-Friedrich Michel believes has great potential for the future is IST’s BLK-U system, which Pago has already installed on two presses. A full range of labels Pago Etikettiersysteme GmbH has become one of the largest manufacturers of self-adhesive labels, label machines and complete system solutions, since it was founded in Aichtal-Aich, Germany, in 1978. The group currently employees more than 400 employees and produces around 20 million self-adhesive labels every day. The range includes sticky labels for the challenging product decoration sector and functional labels for closing, securing and transportation.

It also produces labels for multiple packaging, multi-layer information labels for product information and promotion as well as self adhesive labels for product identification and coding. The company is part of the international Pago Group and has its head quarters in Grabs, Switzerland. The group also has subsidiaries in Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Rumania and the US. In total Pago has around 1370 employees and a group turnover of around 235 million Euros. In the area of label production all production techniques from book printing, screen-printing, flexo, offset and gravure are used. It is becoming increasingly common to combine several production processes.