National Label Company Asia installs SPGPrints screen printing technology

The Singapore-based label converter provides premium decorative self-adhesive labels, predominately for global brand owners and contract packagers in the personal care, pharmaceutical and consumer battery markets. National Label Company Asia is meeting the demand for fine and small rotary screen-printed text from healthcare brand owners after adopting the nonwoven nickel RotaMesh 405 screen and installing a rotaLEN direct laser engraver for imaging screens.

The company sees rotary screen printing as a complementary process for achieving numerous effects, like the opaque white for a no-label look and vivid graphics. SPGPrints’ RSI modules are featured on National Label’s three 440mm-wide Nilpeter presses, one flexo, one offset and one gravure, which are responsible for all output at the Singapore plant. The nickel RotaMesh screens used on the presses can be both reused and reimaged several times.

Screen print is also preferred for printing product information on the label because it provides the text with a vividness that makes it stand out and easy to read. RotaMesh 405 was chosen by National Label Company Asia for this application because its fine mesh met expectations of accuracy and clarity when reproducing small text in Asian writing systems. The RotaMesh 405 combines relatively large open areas with thin, but robust stencil walls. The result is a mesh with approximately 164,000 holes per sq in. With the high mesh count, it achieves sharp edges while avoiding the risk of clogging, while offering the same strength and resilience as screens for standard or coarser effects.

Arumugam Jayakumar, pre-press manager at National Label Company Asia, commented: ‘Printing Thai and Bengali curls and headstrokes, and Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese logograms, is a delicate matter. Any misprint or omission of even part of a character can render a complete phrase meaningless. Moreover, some brand owners seek single label solutions for multiple markets. This means relatively small text has to be reproduced clearly to ensure legibility.

‘The SPGPrints RotaMesh 405 screen enables precise reproduction of 6pt text, at speeds of up to 75m/min. As a result, we can provide labels with more information that is both legible and prominent, while maintaining high productivity levels.

‘For repeat orders, we keep screens in storage until the next time they are required. Typically, we can reuse a screen five times before reclaiming the screen and imaging it with a new design. A screen may be used for up to 10 different designs. This represents a huge long-term consumables saving.’

In parallel with the adoption of the 405 mesh, National Label Company Asia has installed the SPGPrints rotaLEN direct laser engraver to image screens in a digital process. In an engraving cycle, that takes no more than 30 minutes, a carbon dioxide laser burns away the lacquer. After a brief rinse, the screen is ready for the press. 

The speed of the process enables the converter to maintain uninterrupted workflows without bottlenecks, even when surges of demand for screen orders occur. In such cases, the number of screens engraved may rise from an average of three to 10 or more. Furthermore, in the unlikely event of a screen breakage during production, the cycles are fast enough to stop production temporarily and perform a remake without significantly compromising productivity. 

On any shift, two operators are responsible for all pre-press requirements, including rotaLEN jobs. The automated process minimizes manual input and the chance of handling errors, so that quality is not determined by the operators, allowing improved consistency. The software combined with the single-step process of rotaLEN means National Label Company Asia can meet demand with greater flexibility.

‘We RIP files as single colors, and send them to the rotaLEN, and send to the engraver directly,’ explained Jayakumar. ‘The software allows fast changes and retrieval of files. This means we can deal with the increasing number of repeat orders at shorter notice, while assuring identical results. Thanks to the rotaLEN engraver’s automation, quality does not depend on the operator. It gives us a perfect workflow ensuring the consistency and tight tolerances demanded by the brand owners.

‘The SPGPrints RotaMesh 405, together with the rotaLEN engraver gives us a reliable, productive and cost-efficient rotary screen workflow for ensuring the consistency and tight tolerances demanded by the brand owners.’