ALFT Masters ECG Process on MIRAFLEX II for Improved Efficiency
ALFT is one of the most innovative packaging companies with over 25 years in the industry. Their focus is to serve their clients with almost all the jobs' sizes which is why they have equipped themselves with MIRAFLEX ll, the most advanced CI Flexo press by W&H.
ALFT is a high-tech, internationally standardized, high-quality, next-generation packaging enterprise and now BRC AA certified. Being a 100 percent locally owned company, ALFT is confident in its ability to grow further, help more local companies, and eventually break into worldwide markets. Their focus is to serve their clients with almost all the jobs' sizes which is why they have equipped themselves with MIRAFLEX ll, the most advanced CI Flexo press by W&H, along with the best-in-class in-house plate making system from Kodak. Their passion for technology has helped them to choose the best.
During the Covid period in 2021, ALFT packing installed the CI Flexo press MIRAFLEX ll. The local staff from the W&H Indian office completed the installation, commissioning, and startup. Within a short period, the press was operating at 500 m/min, its maximum speed. The press has a ton of specific features that cut down on startup and changeover waste and changeover time. It is the most sophisticated and feature-rich printing press delivered to the nation.
The Easy Set HD and Reg D enable them to complete impression setting and registration of the most challenging and time-consuming jobs in 2 minutes 15 seconds without relying on the operator's expertise. The print results obtained with integrated line scan cameras that optimize the print results in a closed loop are often the results that hardly need any additional manual optimization.
The space frame technology, satellite color deck arrangement, and powerful drying mechanism provide high-speed printing on all their assignments. With the least amount of solvent, the innovative turbo clean system (inking and washup system) produces the greatest cleaning results. The doctor blade chambers' large opening and revolutionary pressure-free chamber design provide the best inking outcomes needed for high-speed printing.
Fully integrated 100% defect detection technology improves dependability even further and aids in online printing problem identification. Finding the source of the print defects is made easier with the help of the online root cause detection capability. This makes it easier for the operators to diagnose problems and operate the printing press confidently. All the fault detection data can be kept for a longer period for study in the future. It is possible to study the printed job data and identify the causes of errors to implement corrective measures in subsequent production. As the icing on the cake, Ruby Check incorporates "AI" and assists in determining the reason of printing issues in addition to providing the fundamental capabilities of data recording, alarm creation, and remote access available in Ruby Go.
Rubycheck@slitter helps in filtering out and removing the print defects online in the slitting/inspection machine. The slitter stops automatically once it reads the defect which was detected during printing and confirmed by the quality department as a defect. The operator can cut out print defect regions. It helps in making sure that printed rolls with defects are not dispatched to the end customer or brand owners. Which is in line with their goal of “ZERO Defects”.
“MIRAFLEX ll installed at our plant is a very good machine. It performs up to the mark and to our expectations. We have been quite successful in converting many of the conventional rotogravure designs to Flexo with the help of our good team and the technology offered by MIRAFLEX ll W&H. We are the first company in the whole Sri Lanka to implement ECG for printing the short jobs. Another highlight of the project is that we have an in-house plate making system from Kodak. Which helps us to be faster in the market from processing design to the final print.’’ says Mr. Lakshman De Fonseka, Chairman of ALFT Packaging Company
“The conventional four-color process (CMYK) can only produce a limited range of colors. Spot colors have traditionally been used to achieve colors outside the CMYK gamut. However, printing with spot colors is not cost-effective. With ECG we can add extra colors to CMYK, expanding the gamut and reducing the need for custom spot colors. This results in higher cost effectiveness with reduced downtime and wastage.
ALFT has been able to effectively utilize and master the strengths of the MIRAFLEX ll and the ECG process to cater to the short run and high-quality job demand. It gives us immense pleasure in being part of ALFT’s journey and future endeavors.” Says Mr. Sunil Kumar, Technical sales Manager Printing.