Makeready

Well-Executed Makeready Can Be a Game Changer

September 4, 2018

by Greg Faddis, direct sales professional, UEI® Group Companies

Improving the makeready component of a job can make a big impact to the bottom line. It is often an overlooked cost center that when materials, processes and tools are improved, profit is generated. From the obvious benefit of an excellent foil-stamped or embossed job to the efficiencies and cost savings generated, well-executed makeready can be a game changer.

There are so many variables in today’s foil stamping and embossing jobs that it’s important to have good makeready practices in place. It goes beyond understanding your equipment well, it now includes more options with paper, inks, coatings and complex design choices. Having the correct makeready products and knowledge are critical to having an effective makeready technique appropriate to the job.

The basic principles for a hot stamping job are heat, dwell and pressure. In most cases, a hot stamping job makeready set-up is with hard phenolic board or epoxy glass board and a spot sheet underneath utilizing makeready tapes.

For some jobs a traditional hot stamping makeready is the answer, but with more complex designs that include both fine-line detail and solid areas/panels together with reverse-out areas, additional techniques need to be added. To have foil cut cleanly around the images, a harder makeready surface is needed, but when you also need to foil stamp a solid area, consider adding a cushion makeready. If you find challenges with cleanly stamping the fine lines while keeping the reverse-out areas open, you may try combining both hard and cushion makeready techniques. This makeready technique starts with the traditional phenolic board or epoxy glass board but with Tough Film underneath. The Tough Film acts as a shock absorber to even out the overall pressure while providing an extra “cushion” in areas where it is needed.

Other aspects of foil stamping that may get overlooked include adjusting the heat and speed of the press. If open areas start to fill in with foil, start by turning down the press temperature, then try increasing the press speed. If you are not getting the foil coverage needed, then turn up the temperature of the press and if the foil still isn’t transferring as desired, slow down the press.

Embossing makeready

When embossing or debossing, the makeready technique choices increase depending on the application. First, the embossing or debossing job adds another element – the pre-cast counter. One of the best emboss/deboss makeready techniques is the floating counter makeready technique because it provides the most flexibility for the operator.

The floating counter makeready technique starts with a float sheet that is taped onto the platen press, which provides the floating aspect. Start with a thin sheet of paper underneath the makeready float sheet, as it will be used as the spot sheet. It is essential to have a spot sheet so you can apply the makeready tape to build up the weaker spots of the image. By taping the spot sheet to the platen (top only) it provides the press operator the ability to remove it for applying makeready tape while replacing it accurately underneath the float sheet.

After you have your makeready float sheet and spot sheet set, begin mounting the pre-cast counter. Apply a double-sided tape (e.g. DuploFLEX FOL) across the entire back of the pre-cast counter (don’t remove the tape backing until later). On a hard surface, and utilizing a tool called the counter pin extractor, place the white counter pins onto the Counter Pin Extractor’s positioning end and inset the pin into the holes in the pre-cast counter.

It is important to execute the preparation of the pre-cast counter on a hard, flat surface to keep the counter pins at a 90-degree angle, which is required to correctly position the pre-cast counter onto the engraved emboss/deboss die. Now, it is appropriate to carefully remove the double-sided tape backing.

After everything is in place, make an impression with your press to transfer the pre-cast counter onto the makeready float sheet. After the transfer, remove the counter pins, using the pointed end of the counter pin extractor.

With the counter and engraved die mounted to the press, it is recommended to “cap” your counters. There are a few choices for capping a counter, depending on the substrate and type of image you are embossing/debossing. The most common would be yellowboard or silver cover film.

Yellowboard is a good choice for both multi-level and single-level embossing/debossing jobs, as it works with a variety of substrates from heavy to light weight. You can also easily cut yellowboard to match the size of your pre-cast counter and apply masking tape to the edges (avoiding image area) to hold it onto the pre-cast counter. It is recommended to slightly moisten the yellowboard by using a spray bottle (apply two mist sprays) or a wet rag to rub over the top of the yellowboard.

With the yellowboard moistened, turn your press on impression and run for a few minutes without pulling any paper. As the press continues to hit on impression, the yellowboard will begin to take form and shape of the image from the pre-cast counter. This process also will help dry out the yellowboard, at which point you can proceed to pulling press sheets. Depending upon your first impressions, you can then apply makeready tape to your “spot” sheet.

In addition to embossing or debossing projects, the floating counter makeready technique also is used for combination foil stamping and embossing jobs. The makeready set-up is generally the same; however, one key difference is how to “cap” your pre-cast counter.

Combination engraved dies are embossing dies that have a foil cutting edge on the outside edges of the image. This edge allows the foil to “cut” away from the substrate while keeping the non-image area free of foil stamping. Foil stamping with a combination engraved die requires a thinner makeready product to “cap” the pre-cast counter.

A makeready product called DuraCover is a great place to start when capping your pre-cast counter for a combination job. DuraCover is applied, just as you would yellowboard, by cutting a piece equal to the size of your pre-cast counter and taping its edges to the pre-cast counter. After that, follow the necessary spot makeready steps as you normally would for a foil stamping and embossing job.

A second option, with combination engraved dies, is to use Silver Cover Film (instead of the DuraCover). Silver Cover Film has an adhesive backing, so the masking tape is not needed to apply it to the pre-cast counter. Both DuraCover and Silver Cover Film are great for helping to eliminate diecutting on the edges of the foil and embossed image, and they also assist in achieving embossing/debossing depth for better definition of the combination die image.

While there are certainly more techniques, the above seem to help solve many makeready needs. As our industry grows, technology changes and integrates with new and existing equipment. We must continue to educate ourselves with proper makeready techniques and craftsmanship that meet today’s needs.

UEI® Group – with a world headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas (US), has several companies and sales offices throughout the world specializing in foil stamping and embossing, including the US, Great Britain, Germany, and Denmark. UEI® Group also offers its products through market developers worldwide. UEI® Group’s leadership in providing quality products, innovative solutions and technologies has made it a market leader. Visit www.ueigroup.com for more information.

Evolution of Flexo Printing Good for Industry

March 13, 2015

by Dave Miller, Anderson and Vreeland

Flexo printing continues to evolve, capitalizing on the mechanical advances in the presses themselves, improved materials and technological advantages.

Press manufacturers continue to improve in mechanical print quality and efficiencies. Makeready requires less time, there is less material waste and coming up to color is much quicker and more predictable. Quality is improving on every touch point to the press itself. We are just as excited to see these same attributes being applied to digital presses. These are all positive steps helping improve our industry as a whole.

We also see advances in plate materials, mounting tapes, sleeves, aniloxes, blades, curing, etc. Improved press performance allows plate manufacturers to refine plate attributes to specific applications. They’re getting really good at identifying raw materials that provide better print quality for different substrates. Increased line screens, higher count anilox cylinders, mounting tape technologies and curing techniques are all contributing to great consumer products. We have never been more focused helping our customers choose combinations that yield better results, faster turnaround and reduce operating costs.

Key technological advantages improving flexo include advances in the process of exposing plate material with flat top dot technologies, either in the exposure process or integrated into the plate material itself. There are new screening technologies for high definition/high resolution allowing for 4000 to 5080dpi that have doubled the resolution. This improves type, drop shadows, highlight and shadow details that now print cleaner. For line work, everything looks sharper, positively effecting nutritional panels, micro printing and corrugated markets. There are CTP devices using higher wattage lasers and advanced optics to ablate the carbon masked plates. In the same pass, an LED exposure head now makes the face exposure process. LEDs used in exposing and curing are eco-friendly and last for thousands of hours while expanding our choice of substrates.

Plate manufacturers are satisfying the demand for higher resolution/line screen counts while reducing dot gain. With a firm understanding of process control, the right plate material and supporting products, makeready and uptime are optimized impacting profitability, labor and capacity.

Dave Miller is creative director for Anderson & Vreeland, Inc. Anderson & Vreeland provides customers with a solutions-based approach to business by offering innovative material and technological solutions in the flexographic industry. For more information, call 866.282.7697 or visit www.andersonvreeland.com.

Reprinted with permission from Flexo Daily.

Level Platens Save Time, Money

November 13, 2014

While it typically takes about 30 minutes to level the platen on a Kluge press, far more than makeready time can be lost when pressure is uneven. Additional time preparing each job can affect a shop’s bottom line. So how do you know if it is time to re-level the platen? Ask yourself a few questions:

Does makeready seem to be taking longer than normal?
Are you spending more makeready time on one side of the platen rather than the other?

Most press operators know this means it is time to level the platen on a Kluge press. In fact, many operators find it a good practice to do so every couple of years – or after jobs that require a lot of pressure. Brandtjen & Kluge, Inc., St. Croix Falls, WI, offers the following tips for re-leveling the platen on a Kluge press.

Option #1

Place four new bearer blocks on the corners of the honeycomb.
Put masking tape on the platen where the tape will hit on impression using your 1/8″ diecut plate.
Roll the press closed by hand and compare the pressure the blocks leave in the tape.
Level the platen as needed until all four corners look the same in the tape.

Option #2

Lock four pieces of cutting rule in a chase – one across the top and bottom, as well as up and down on each side.
Take any thin paper big enough for all four rules to hit and level the platen until it kiss cuts all four sides.

Not only will leveling the platen cut makeready time, but it also will improve quality and make press runs more consistent.

PostPress ENews would like to thank Brandtjen & Kluge, Inc., St. Croix Falls, WI, (www.kluge.biz) for their assistance with this article.

Production Digital Print: Changing the Feeding & Finishing Market

February 1, 2011

by: Jim Hamilton, InfoTrends

There are some basic advantages of digital print that sometimes are overlooked. I’m not talking about economic short runs, quick turnaround or the ability to personalize documents. Those are well known and broadly acknowledged. No, I’m talking about capabilities such as electronic collation, automatic duplexing, the ability to mix multiple paper stocks in a document, having one operator run multiple machines and access to a range of finishing capabilities in-line. These capabilities are part of what makes digital print attractive, at least in theory anyway.

In practice, of course, customer demands and the nature of the printed piece will determine which type of print and finishing process to use, whether it’s offset, digital, some hybrid combination or another printing process entirely. Decisions about what process to use are made every day by print service providers. In regard to finishing, commercial printers have tended to use off-line finishing methods because of the wide variety of work they accept. Those who focus on a particular application such as books, catalogs, direct mail, magazines, newspapers or packaging are much more likely to have dedicated finishing capability that they depend on, and which may operate in-line. When digital print comes into the mix, it often happens that print service providers continue with off-line finishing methods because those assets are already in place and effective, even if they are not particularly well suited to the short runs and quick turnaround of digital print. Digital print processes with in-line finishing tend to be employed when users have a lot of one print application. In cut-sheet digital print environments, the most common in-line finishing is for stapled sets, booklets, folded brochures and bound documents. In-line coating and diecutting are in place in a small number of cut-sheet systems. Requirements for roll-fed systems are a bit different. Slitting, cutting, stacking and binding are common for publishing environments while folding and insertion are typical in transaction and mail environments.

Digital print’s biggest weakness to date has been that it becomes less cost effective as run lengths increase. Offset and other types of traditional printing presses, as you all know, are very effective at manufacturing large quantities of static printed matter but they lack the ability to personalize. In production environments, digital print often has been seen as not having the fire power to meet the demands of high-volume printing. A number of trends are conspiring to change this:

Run length requirements are dropping and so are expected turnaround times as the pace of our mobile society has accelerated.
Content creators are rebelling against the old mode of “warehouse and distribute” and instead are moving to virtual warehousing via electronic distribution of documents and selected printing of constantly updated materials.
Digital print engines are becoming faster and more robust, and also are adding capabilities beyond process color (CMYK) such as spot color, spot and flood gloss, white, MICR and UV security features.
In-line finishing for digital is expanding its range of capabilities and at the same time, vendors are standardizing finishing interfaces and using the same finishing devices across multiple product lines; it’s not unusual today for the same in-line finisher to be an option for black and white and color product lines.
In-line devices for cut-sheet production digital print are becoming more compact and productive, in part because of more flexible consumables for functions such as mechanical binding (case in point: GBC’s eBinder and Ellipse consumable).
All types of finishing equipment (in-line, near-line and off-line) are becoming easier to set up and adjust, often automatically.
Automated job ticketing and JDF workflows allow in-line and near-line finishing devices to pick up job information and set up easily for the next job.
Digital print processes are capable of hands-off, lights-out production that takes place with a minimum of human intervention.
New high-speed inkjet technologies are pushing the barriers of cost, speed and productivity.

Many of the items I mention above have been on an evolutionary path over the past two decades. These will continue to impact the market. It’s the last item – high-speed inkjet technologies – that is potentially market changing because the speed and economics of these devices are so impressive. At the same time, though, they create new requirements for next generation finishing systems.

One immediate challenge is supporting the finishing needs of wider web widths. Production digital print devices typically support a paper web width of between 18 and 21 inches. A number of new high-speed color inkjet printers (such as HP’s Inkjet Web Press T350, Kodak’s Prosper 5000XL, Océ’s JetStream 3300, Ricoh’s InfoPrint 5000VP and Screen’s TruePress Jet 520ZZ) all have expanded web widths, with some as wide as 30 inches. The speed, productivity and web width of these devices present challenges to existing in-line finishing equipment. These challenges are being overcome, but it’s also one reason why some users prefer to stick with the narrower format offerings, simply because they raise fewer issues in finishing.

You’d think that a trade show would be one of the best places to see some of the exciting new developments around roll-fed finishing products, and in fact, if you were at IPEX (last May in Birmingham, England) or have plans to attend drupa 2012 (next May in Dusseldorf, Germany), both of those events provide a great showcase. Most recent, however, was a special event that Hunkeler (a Swiss manufacturer of roll-fed oriented feeding and finishing equipment) has run at its headquarters over the past few years. A lot of people call it the Hunkeler open house, but its official name is “Hunkeler Innovation Days.” It took place from February 14th to 17th in Lucerne, Switzerland, and attendees were be able to see a range of equipment from vendors active in roll-fed print such as HP, Kern, Kodak, Océ, Pitney Bowes, Ricoh/InfoPrint, Xeikon, Xerox and – of course – Hunkeler, among many others. Closer to home, the ON DEMAND show (March 22-24 in Washington, DC) is a great place to catch up on trends in cut-sheet finishing for production digital print (in-line or otherwise).

The extent to which automation in finishing has advanced is demonstrated by what Pitney Bowes presented at Graph Expo last fall in Chicago. There, high-speed color inkjet output from an IntelliJet 30 was slit, cut and inserted into blank envelopes. An intelligent tracking system identified each envelope and, based on the number of sheets contained within, adjusted the height of the imaging platform so that the correct address, personalized information and marketing message could be added in full color to the already sealed envelope. Of course, this kind of high-volume intelligent production system represents a significant financial investment, but there are other examples that demonstrate that feeding and finishing innovation is not just taking place on the high end. For example, the Kirk-Rudy envelope feeder that RISO showed in conjunction with a 150-ppm ComColor 9050 solves a simple, but important, issue. How do you print effectively on all kinds of envelopes, including windowed ones which may have trouble passing successfully through the hot temperatures of the fuser rollers of toner-based systems? Inkjet systems such as RISOs ComColor have a solution, but only when used in combination with an effective and productive envelope feeder. In time, we expect to see more cost effective folding and insertion technologies that bring this finishing capability within reach of smaller print service providers.

We’re also seeing how inkjet technology is being used for spot and gloss coating. MGI’s JETvarnish uses inkjet heads to apply a UV coating on sheets up to 20 by 40 inches. At IPEX, an Israeli company called Scodix showed a digital embossing product it calls the 1200. The 1200 uses inkjet heads to apply a thick UV coating on sheets as large as B2 format (19.7 by 27.8 inches). We expect this to be an active area that is driven by innovative usage of inkjet heads.

Workflows that take advantage of digital print and in-line or near-line finishing are part of a larger trend toward optimization, automation and lean manufacturing. Printing has lessened in importance as it has become one weapon in an arsenal that includes other media. We no longer live in a print centric world and yet print continues to play an important role because it’s physical, lasting and doesnt require electricity to read. Digital print, in particular, is key, because it forces us to revisit the basic value of print in an electronic world. How we answer the following questions will in large part determine the success of print in the future.

How do you most effectively automate print and finishing processes?
How do you use digital print devices as virtual document warehouses?
How do you leverage digital print in conjunction with document delivery via e-mail, mobile or other electronic delivery methods?
How do you differentiate print and add overall value?

Finishing will certainly play an important role in how we address these questions.

In conclusion, it’s short-sighted in light of the changing marketplace to continue to view production digital print as a short-run technology. The market is expanding, and it’s only able to do so as finishing technologies provide a key component to help accomplish this revolution.

Jim Hamilton is a Group Director at InfoTrends (www.infotrends.com). You can follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jrhinfotrends and read his blog at http://blog.infotrends.com/.