Lake Image calls on flexo industry to focus on waste prevention

Lake Image Systems, a supplier of verification and inspection systems, claims that correct inspection strategies can help the flexographic industry reclaim the 12-15 percent wastage it currently experiences. 

‘Inspection systems have long proved valuable in checking the quality of print as well as data integrity but if placed early on a press can also virtually eliminate wastage by identifying errors and stopping the presses instantly,’ said the company in a statement.
 
The company argues that given labelstock’s unrecyclability, any label with print errors is destined for landfill sites or incineration.

Martin Keats, UK managing director of Lake Image Systems, said: ‘The good news is that the benefits of installing an inspection system are not only instantaneous, but also extremely affordable. The cost of an inspection system that was over 100,000 a decade ago can now be as little as 20,000.’
 
Reducing wastage can have environmental benefits for label converters who are keen to improve environmental accounting and evaluation to meet pressure from customers and EU legislation, such as the EU’s Integrated Product Policy (IPP) which seeks to minimize negative environmental impacts by looking at all phases of a products' life-cycle and taking action where it is most effective.
 
Keats continued: ‘We’ve seen more and more customers placing camera inspection systems on their presses and reaping huge benefits in terms of reduced costs and improved efficiencies.’
 
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