MPS, PREVIOUSLY CHESAPEAKE, HAS installed a second KBA Rapid 106 at its Greenford pharmaceutical leaflets factory, adding a four colour perfecter alongside the six colour perfecting Rapida 106 from 2010.
The new machine offers two colours each side and is a key element in a £3 million investment for the site. Mark Wilson, general manager of the leaflets UK & Ireland business says: “The Rapida 106 will future-proof our print print capability for the next phase of our development. We aim to take the lead in everything we do and this investment will help us remain at the forefront of the industry.”
THE PLANT IS A DEVELOPMENT site as much as a production site and is involving in testing new label formats and offerings to serve mainstream and niche markets. New regulations from the EU are moving the industry towards larger text on drugs leaflets, meaning a move towards the B1 format and to the increased use of lightweight papers that can be folded into a pharmaceutical carton
“Much of our work is on 40gsm and we wanted to work with a specialist in light-weight papers”, explains Wilson. The press has also been fitted with a Mabeg reelsheeter ahead of the SIS infeed. The sidelay free system provides greater stability to sheet travel and a fraction more time to reach the front lays which helps handling. The antistatic equipment that KBA has fitted is also effective in helping the sheet travel smoothly through the press.
THE SHEETER ENSURES ABSOLUTE consistency in the size of each sheet, reduces the risks of handling damage and helps with a smoother sheet progressing through the press, helping increase productivity. The sheet is tumbled at 15,000 spy regardless of the weight of the paper. Other options that Chesapeake has chosen for the press include Simultaneous Plate Change, Plate Ident, Cleantronic Synchro washing system, ColourDrive ink density measurement and LogoTronic to accept data from the production network.
As well as the early press in Greenford, MPS has a KBA at its Tewkesbury factory for leaflet printing, though the group a Komori GLX740 with reverse printing unit which was installed at its Limerick plant in Ireland last year. The new four-colour perfecting press is replacing two B2 Roland 300s and will be matched by upgrades to prepress and finishing where there is a GUK capable of handling a B1 sheet for pharmaceutical work and Horizon StitchLiners for producing booklets for healthcare customers.
