Further Nilpeter capacity for Macfarlane in Scotland

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Macfarlane Labels recently commissioned a Nilpeter FA-4 UV flexo combination press with 10 color units to meet a growing sales demand. It increases the capacity of the company’s principal plant in Kilmarnock, Scotland, where production is centered on about a dozen narrow web combination presses. These include two Nilpeter MO-3300 offset presses printing up to 8 colors and several Nilpeter UV-flexo presses. The latest press has a web width of 420mm (16.5 inches), direct servo drives, and incorporates Nilpeter’s recently introduced sleeve/plate technology.


The company is part of the Macfarlane Group, one of the UK’s largest suppliers of PSA labels and packaging for consumer products. Its labeling division also includes a production plant in Dublin and a Re-seal It office in Helsingborg, Sweden. The main output is PSA paper and filmic labels for the food, health care, toiletries, pharmaceutical, household products, beverages and industrial sectors. Kilmarnock also has a dedicated unit producing pharmaceutical labels. They are served by in-house studio, origination and digital plate making facilities.


Macfarlane Labels also manufactures Re-seal It, a branded and patented selection of resealable multiply labels. They are said to offer easy opening and repeatable resealability, to maintain optimum shelf life of the product. They are sold in many parts of the world, with the USA as a target market.


The 420mm wide FA-4 forms part of Nilpeter’s third-generation FA-Line of UV flexo presses. Macfarlane’s version runs with lightweight polymer sleeve/plate constructions, as an alternative to conventional flexo plates. The easy-load plate and anilox sleeve technology reduces job change-over times. The FA-4 is designed for multiple-substrate printing of all PSA labelstocks, unsupported films, foils and lightweight carton board. This is facilitated by a servo-driven infeed, servo drives on all print units, as well as the mid-feed pacer and die-cutting units. Chill drums positioned at every print station allow a constant surface temperature for thin, heat-sensitive films.


An absence of gear wheels on the printing cylinders not only avoids the risk of gear marking, but also gives greater flexibility with repeat lengths. Productivity is enhanced by a top speed of 175 m/minute (575 feet/ minute). Options include rotary screen based on freely interchangeable Drop-In cassettes. A hot or cold foil option allows metallic printed effects while the delaminator/relaminator module is used in reverse-side printing of primary labels.