Short production runs are not profitable on high volume machinery, so their growth in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, health care and food products has been applying pressure to packaging producers.
HP Indigo and Kama, who have been working together since 2010, have developed an all-in-one digital carton maker together – adding the end-to-end print and finish system to 450 printers, including Australian ones.
“This complete networked solution for short-run folding carton production hits the pulse of the times. Short runs are not profitable on high-volume machinery, but they are now evolving from an unpleasant irritation to a growth market,” Marcus Tralau, chief executive officer of Kama, noted.
The new solution features an uncomplicated set-up and minimal changeover times, and can handle many job changes in a short space of time without compromising quality – all while running with significantly shorter production cycles.
Kama has developed a folder gluer, the FlexFold 52, to emboss, diecut and strip cartons with automated workflow and easy setup. It works in tandem with Indigo machines, to deal with frequent and fast job changes, and to be set up quickly to produce different products and formats.
The FlexFold’s new APA-System, for automated plough length adjustment, makes it possible to adjust the folding belts automatically in transverse and longitudinal directions, reducing changeover to minutes. The folding cartons are printed and varnished inline with the HP Indigo 30000 digital press Indigo 30000, its inline primer and inline coating (TRESU Icoat 30000), a world’s first.
HP and Kama are distributed in Australia by the Currie Group.
