McLoone installs SPGPrints DSI

SPGPrints – formerly known as Stork Prints until November 1, 2013 – custom-built a 13in (330mm) version of the DSI for McLoone as a stand-alone printer with CMYK plus opaque white. With speeds of up to 114ft/min (35m/min), the DSI will be responsible for 25 percent of McLoone’s production, approximately half of the company’s flexible material output.

McLoone also carries out numerous finishing operations, such as lamination, embossing, doming and die-cutting, offline. However, thanks to the DSI’s modular design, the company’s stand-alone version can be retrofitted with any AB Graphic International semi-rotary converting equipment, including laser die-cutting and up to six additional colors, at a later date.

At present, McLoone’s DSI system prints on exclusively plastic substrates, including  polycarbonates, vinyl, polypropylene and polyethylene, between 51 microns and 254µm microns. The DSI’s chill drum, which comes as standard, ensures these heat-sensitive substrates remain at a constant, cool temperature, eliminating the risk of material shrinkage, and ensuring stability through the print process. 

The first large-scale roll-to-roll printer in McLoone’s 60-year history, the DSI offers a leaner and shorter workflow than its existing flat-bed screen printing and thermal transfer machines.

Keith Rosenthal, vice-president of manufacturing at McLoone, said: ‘We sought a solution that would reduce costs and set-up times when printing runs from just a few hundred units, and give us the necessary productivity to compete for orders of up to 250,000 labels. SPGPrints’ DSI press was the perfect choice thanks to its robust, ergonomic build, modular design and ability to deliver controlled quality on a wide range of plastic substrates.

‘The DSI has given us new levels of flexibility. We can print all colors in a single pass, eliminating the logistically intensive task of printing each colour on a separate machine, and reducing the production steps from 30 to just six. We can run 20 micro-runs consecutively in less than an hour, whereas before on a screen press, this workload would have taken three days.’

Rosenthal added: ‘A large proportion of McLoone’s DSI-printed work is identification products such as nameplates and warning labels, for electronic goods including kitchen and garden appliances. It is vital that the label graphics last the lifetime of the products they adhere to. This can be many years, during which they must withstand abrasion, sunlight, and sometimes, extreme outdoor conditions. We exposed SPGPrints’ inks, and the substrates, to numerous substances, from foodstuffs to aviation fuel, as well as accelerated weathering tests. The excellent test results gave us the assurance that the DSI and its inks could meet the most demanding customer expectations.’

Lynn Krenz, McLoone’s marketing manager, concluded: ‘Thanks to the DSI’s modularity, we have the freedom to expand according to our market needs, as our circumstances change, at a time that is right for us. We can respond to demand for a wider colour gamut by adding orange, violet, green or spot colours. The possibility of integrating a primer, or die-cutter, for instance, could help us diversify into printing on paper facestocks.’

Pictured: Edward Scheppink, managing director of SPGPrints America (left) and Keith Rosenthal, vice-president of manufacturing of McLoone, with the newly installed DSI press at the McLoone factory