FDBusiness.com

Gravure printing cylinder manufacturer Apex Cylinders has said that it is the first UK firm to invest in a new Ohio Technologies Gravostar Spectrum engraving machine

The new piece of kit has the latest Hybrid Engraving system, which is more productive than the established technology, saving time and money, according to Apex.

Apex Cylinders specialises in engraving gravure cylinders mainly for the tobacco, security, flexible packaging and decorative markets and already has four Ohio Technologies engraving machines.

The new Hybrid system engraves the complete tone scale, using a conventional diamond-engraved cell shape for the most efficient ink transfer, according to Apex.

‘Great productivity’

In a statement, Apex said: “The Hybrid process employs variable cell placement around the perimeter of an image to accurately reproduce the original artwork. Hybrid engraving provides great productivity with only a single pass needed to engrave a cylinder that has both continuous tone and fine detail.”

The existing machines utilise Ohio’s established AccuEdge technology, which is renowned for producing top level quality, allowing fine detail to be very precisely engraved.

“Gravure printing cylinder manufacturing is highly competitive and it is vital for us to have the best possible technology so that we are ahead of the game in terms of quality, turnaround time and cost,” said Apex Cylinders technical director Allan Bendall.

He added:  “In particular the AccuEdge and Hybrid technologies provide a real alternative to the established laser techniques. We have undertaken exhaustive comparative testing and proved that their innate sharpness and cleaner print is demonstrably superior. In addition they typically reduce lead times by around 40% and save approximately another 40% on costs.

“We have established very close ties with Ohio Technologies and are convinced that their machines are the best on the market.

“It can be taken as a statement of intent that we are making this significant investment at a time when the economy is still in a state of turmoil.

“We are committed to providing the very best quality and the most competitive prices on the market and will invest in capital equipment whenever it is necessary to ensure that we maintain our position at the forefront of our industry.”