Hammer Packaging installs Mark Andy, Rotoflex

Hammer Packaging, a producer of labels and package decoration products, has installed a Mark Andy Performance Series P7 press along with a Rotoflex VLI 440 finishing system.

The new 17-inch, 10-color P7 press includes combination hot air drying/UV curing, a Mark Andy QCDC (Quick Change Die Cut) unit, web turnbar, cold foil and lamination capabilities

The new 17-inch, 10-color P7 press includes combination hot air drying/UV curing, a Mark Andy QCDC (Quick Change Die Cut) unit, web turnbar, cold foil and lamination capabilities.

Rochester, N.Y. based Hammer Packaging chose a Mark Andy Performance Series press based on its fast changeover, reduced waste and increased productivity.

‘In selecting this new press we were focused on lead time efficiency, specifically in terms of changeovers, speed of the press, and overall quality of the completed work,’ said Jim Hammer, president and CEO of Hammer Packaging. ‘The changeover process is what drew us to the P7; how quick it was to change from one job to the next was exactly what we were looking for in a press. The production speeds, quality of the print, and the width of the machine were also an excellent fit for our mix of work.’

Hammer Packaging supplies a wide array of products for many national brands. These products include cut and stack, shrink sleeve, pressure sensitive, foam and in-mold labels. In addition, it is the largest supplier of premium seed packets for the horticultural market. To support this range of products, Hammer Packaging is adding its first Mark Andy press to an arsenal of eight web presses. Existing printing capabilities include sheet-fed offset, variable sleeve offset printing, narrow-web flexo and digital.

The early results from the Mark Andy P7 press show that Hammer Packaging's productivity is up close to 60 percent over its current flexo machines and speeds have increased due to better registration and new blade holder technology, Hammer said.

The Rotoflex VLI 440 inspection rewind system is designed for high-speed production of film, film packaging, and other tension-sensitive substrates. The system acquired by Hammer Packaging includes a roll mapping option that coordinates with press-side inspection systems to provide a defect map for individual rolls.

‘We selected the VLI because of the available equipment options and lead time, and to more efficiently remove print defects from print master rolls,’ Hammer said. ‘We were drawn to this option because we expect to see improved press and slitter throughput with this capability.’