Apex and Troika collaborate

Phil Hall, managing director at Troika Systems, said: ‘We are educating users and visitors at Labelexpo about the advanced quality and market position of both companies. We will also show a banded roll on our stand supplied by Apex, and highlight how Apex is migrating to use Troika AniCAM and Anilox QC for volumetric measurement and management.’

Toon van Steensel, plant manager at Apex Europe, added: ‘Both stands will have a banded anilox as well as a Troika measurement device. Visitors can see how the system works and the reported accuracy, as well as experience the consistency of the anilox surface.

‘We evaluate all measuring devices on a regular basis that are available in the industry. It does remain an issue, though, to show that Apex and Troika will always measure 100 percent an equal volume. Therefore, printers need gauge equipment in the form of a gauge anilox roll. On this banded roll, the measuring device will be adjusted and this process will stay necessary for Apex to guarantee to customers worldwide that all rolls coming from each Apex production facility have the exact same volumes.’

Indicating consistent quality that Apex can achieve in production, Hall spoke about a label printer who he visited to check the consistency of the 48 GTT anilox rolls they had purchased from Apex approximately six months earlier. ‘The anilox rolls were in constant use and deep cleaned on a regular basis. The rolls were measured for differences in volume both laterally and for differences between the individual aniloxes. The maximum variation both laterally and between all the anilox rolls was 0.1 cm3/m2, which is the tolerance of the AniCAM with Anilox QC application. This is an indication of the consistency of quality Apex can achieve in production.’

Hall concluded: ‘Apex has evolved GTT to a point where it is used by many print groups, with a significant number now using the Troika AniCAM with Anilox QC and the Anilox Management System (AMS) for their inventory management. Using the same measurement systems will ensure compatibility and enhance confidence in what the printers measure and what Apex states is the volume engraved.’