Tomatec open house showcases Mark Andy P5 presses

Welcoming more than 30 label converters to the event, which was co-sponsored by Mark Andy and its Korean distributor Phil-Tech, Jeon Seak-Yong, who founded Tomatec in 2001, explained that the two P5 flexo presses were chosen for their ability to handle short run work with quick and easy changeovers.

 Mark Andy and Tomatec operators ran three different jobs to show the speed with which the press can be made ready, and then invited the visitors to try for themselves. The second print demonstration saw the Mark Andy P5 run a sophisticated prime label with cast and cure and multi-layer techniques.

According to Jeon, there were three features of the P5 demonstrations that really caught the eye of visiting converters: the production speed of 180m/min, even when running the cold foil unit; the low level of waste – just 13 meters on a six-color job change (carried out in three minutes); and the tight register maintained during press slow down and ramp up to full speed.

The two new Mark Andy presses are differently specified. The seven-color P5 is fitted with a Meech web cleaner, Vetaphone corona unit, turn bars, cold foil, delam/relam, constant tension laminator, web translator, GEW UV, and BST inspection, and will be used to target high-end added-value markets. The five-color P5 will be used to produce pressure-sensitive labels for the general and industrial sectors.

Both P5s, which have a 10-inch web width, replace three older European manufactured flexo lines, and initially the intention was to replace like with like. But, Tomatec was persuaded to switch suppliers after seeing Performance Series technology in action at Labelexpo in Brussels.

The ability to handle a variety of substrates, including PS-paper, PP and PET will allow Tomatec to extend its business into the prime label and in-mold markets, which yield higher margins. Currently maintaining a steady growth of 20 percent per year, the company now employs 35 staff across two sites totaling 800sq/m.