by Lara Copeland, assistant editor, PostPress
More than three decades since the world’s first presses for hot foil stamping – the SP 102-BMA and SP 126-BMA – debuted, BOBST, headquartered in Mex, Switzerland, has released its MASTERFOIL 106 PR. This camshaft-driven machine is designed and built specifically for hot foil stamping, and it is suitable for carton, label and commercial print producers working with a number of end user industries, including cosmetics, pharma, food, beverages, toys and household cleaning products. “We were able to design into the machine all that BOBST has learned from the past 50+ years of producing Autoplaten® (automatic platens) for hot foil stamping and diecutting,” explained Doug Herr, director of sales, folding carton BOBST North America Inc.
Herr described several benefits of the BOBST MASTERFOIL 106PR – including improving registration, speed and the overall quality of the end product. With its Power Register II system, the MASTERFOIL ensures perfect foil-to-print register accuracy and offers the ability to register to printed marks on each individual sheet. The Power Register incorporates Registron® cameras and detects printed register marks on the print itself in addition to the sheet edge. This feature reduces feed-related production stops by at least 75 percent while also reducing downtime. These advantages ensure high-precision and excellence in foil stamping.
Complementing the MASTERFOIL’s high-quality production, BOBST also has decreased the amount of time it takes to makeready the machine, thereby increasing the net productivity. “More consistent stamping quality results in the production of fewer unsaleable sheets, Herr confirmed. Additionally, the Easy Foil system makes it effortless to prepare the foils for the next job, cutting setup times by up to 25 percent. The easy access external foil-loading cabinet means working on the foil reels inside the machine is not necessary. Simply mount the reel, feed or splice the foil and push a button to complete the job. Herr noted that, quicker changeovers and higher production speeds enable the converter to gain more business and become more profitable.” The abundance of controls and features on the MASTERFOIL can help to assure timely delivery of high-quality products to their customers.
Lastly, because foil is expensive, Herr said the company designed the machine with the ability to noticeably reduce total foil waste. “The accuracy of the foil advance has been improved, which means images can be stamped more closely together, substantially reducing the amount of foil used on many jobs.” He added, “The machine can be equipped with sophisticated software which accurately calculates the required amount of foil for a particular job, thereby eliminating errors when ordering the foil and pricing out the cost of a job.”
Customers have been pleased with the machinery. “In every situation, the MASTERFOIL has met or surpassed their expectations,” stated Herr. And on numerous occasions, “customers have placed orders for additional machines once they have experienced the advantages and benefits of the MASTERFOIL.” He continued saying that the built-in technology is a selling point, “attracting the highest skilled and dedicated operators in the industry.” Considering the pressure on suppliers to deliver perfect products as quickly as possible, BOBST has simplified makeready processes and has focused on delivering the high-end products customers desire.
Technical Details
The MASTERFOIL 106PR is 33ft long (10.00m), 24ft wide (7.30m), 11ft tall (3.30m) and weighs approximately 22 US tons (20t). Its stamping force is 0 to 100FTU, and its production speed is up to 8,000 s/h.
It offers a minimum sheet size of 15.75×13.75″ (400×350 mm) and a maximum sheet size of 41.75×30″ (1060×760 mm). The stamping and embossing maximum size is 41.25×29.2″ (1050×742 mm).
