Mark Andy previews new Comco press

Mark Andy has previewed its new Comco press line to a selected group of editors at its Milford production plant.

The C2 builds on experience gained with the long established ProGlide MSP machine and incorporates extensive feedback from label converters in the field. Unlike the MSP it is a fully servo driven machine, with servos driving the plate, anilox and impression cylinders and a fully electronic line shaft.

Converters used to the starkly functional Mark Andy press design will be surprised at the ‘European’ look of the C2 machine, which has been conceived from the ground up with aesthetics and easy operator access in mind.

The C2 is designed with many market segments in mind, from film label to folding carton. The inaugural press is aimed squarely at the film market, both in terms of flexible packaging and shrink/stretch sleeve labels, where it will compete head to head with CI machines. Like the ProGlide, however, it will also be targeted at high end label converters looking to break into the short run film market, and to this end, different modules will be developed in a rolling schedule according to market demand. On the drawing board are hot/cold foil units, screen and gravure stations.

The press can handle materials down to 0.0005” (12 microns), which allows it to handle overlaminating films, and like the MSP its is also designed to handle folding board substrates up to 0.024” (610 microns). It improves on the MSP’s registration control with a closed loop system which takes readings at each print station for rapid re-adjustment of registration, greatly reducing waste.

Also of great interest is a closed-loop densitometer feeding back to adjust print pressure in real-time.

Despite this extensive automation, key press parameters such as impression and lateral registration can still be fine tuned by hand – a result of feedback from press operators – and these settings will be remembered when press settings are stored for recall on repeat jobs.

The C2 has a maximum rated running speed of 1200 feet/minute, and retains the ProGlide concept of drying the web above the print unit. This allows great flexibility in delivering differential drying power – for example extended drying for coatings – and the press is available with both UV and hot air/IR drying systems. It utilizes sleeves on both anilox and plate cylinders, and at Labelexpo Americas Mark Andy will show an engraved sleeve workflow in conjunction with Stork.

The C2 which makes it debut at Labelexpo Americas is an 8-print station, 22” press.