MPS Open Day showcases offset and flexo packaging machines

MPS held a successful Open House event on January 15-16at the company’s headquarters in Didam, The Netherlands.

Existing customers, new contacts and suppliers from the package and printing industry braved snowy travel conditions to attend the event for a tour of the MPS production facility and witness live demonstrations of the EXL410 UV full servo 14-colour offset and an EF410 UV full servo eight-colour flexo presses.

Four demonstrations of a 14-color offset and the eight-colour flexo presses were held each day followed by one-on-one meetings.

The EXL offset press, initially launched at Labelexpo Europe 2011, has variable sleeves for different repeat lengths, for both plates and blankets. The offset press can be equipped with various flexo, gravure and screen units, in addition to flexo units on rail. Multiple converting units like hot/cold foil, delam/relam, die-cutting and laminating can also be installed. A gravure unit enables the converter to dry solvent-based inks with the use of hot air.

Another feature that the offset press offers optionally is the MPS Ultraflex rail system. This positioning and parking system for rail-mounted units provides the ability to set aside or move the unit to the job location where it is required. Numerous capabilities of this press were shared during the live demonstrations.

Within minutes of set-up preparation and only a few meters of set-up waste, a complete print job change was completed, including design and material change from ultra thin foil to very thick paper. As different substrates, preferences and print and pressure settings can be calibrated and saved into a job memory, set-up times and wastes are kept considerably low, providing substantial economic benefit, especially for short runs.

Die-cutting was demonstrated with the MPS Change Die station which enables die-cutting of fine materials and difficult shapes at high speeds, followed by a matrix removal system also engineered by MPS that shreds and removes the matrix. At full speed the offset press can run up to 200m/min. Overall, the MPS EXL offset press demonstrated that efficiency and affordability together with superior and stable offset print quality is achievable.

Live demonstrations on the MPS flagship EF410 UV full servo eight-colour flexo press included a quick material and design change. The EF press is equipped with the MPS Nonstop Print Change (NPC) technology, that allows the operator to prepare any idle print unit for a new design without needing to stop the press.

MPS managing director Eric Hoendervangers said: ‘Although the weather was not in our favor, we were pleased with the quantity and quality of the visitors who attended the open house.

'The event allowed us to demonstrate our innovative technology on fully built presses, and provide guided tours of our facility. Feedback from our visitors was very positive. It is always nice to observe that every time we show the capabilities of our presses, people are amazed by the performance and wide range of design possibilities.’

Read more about MPS on labelsandlabeling.com here