MRE invests in Mark Andy P5 LED-UV press

‘We needed to establish a long-term strategy to take the company forward, and having previous experience only of older equipment, we were very open-minded regarding what the latest presses could offer.  We saw the value of LED curing for UV work, and began to investigate the market,’ said Klaus-Dieter Rust, founder of MRE.

The new P5 is a 13in (330mm) model with eight Pro-LED UV print stations, a Gizmo, three die stations and a sheeting unit.

‘From the time we ran print trials at the Mark Andy demonstration facility in Warsaw, we were convinced that LED was the way ahead, and having had the press in use at our own plant I can state that it was clearly the right move for us – in fact, it’s capability has already attracted new work from customers who were experiencing curing issues with varnish,’ said Rust.

The P5 has replaced three older presses and added capacity, at the same time as reducing energy costs by 50 percent. The company has also had to rethink its pre-press and plate technology as well as sourcing new substrate suppliers to cope with the P5’s performance.

‘It has great ergonomics, which makes it a real operator’s press, and it’s very functional and logical, which means that we have been able to slash delivery times,” added Rust. ‘We’re also getting requests from ink, varnish, and substrate suppliers to run tests on the P5, and we’re achieving great results with metallics.’

The majority of MRE’s work is currently for the food, chemical, automotive and transport industries of German, Czech, and Benelux markets, with typical run lengths on the P5 about 1000 – 3000 linear meters. 

‘As run lengths decline and substrate prices continue to rise, the P5s ability to reduce waste with its short web path and get jobs on and off quickly is critical.  Water-wash plates make it an eco-friendly press with a low carbon footprint, which is something our customers love to trade on,’ concluded Rust.