Supreme Plastics invests in gearless packaging technology

According to Paul Abbot, print manager, much of the work created on the press is for the competitive frozen food industry, which requires overlaying of line and process colour to give perfect depth of colour.

"Demand has increased for jobs involving even more intricate artwork,"​ he said. "The new 10-colour press is a real asset to the group, which is expanding continually. Together with existing equipment, it gives us capacity to swiftly and reliably handle both regular customer jobs as well as those urgent one-offs that the supermarket industry frequently requires from food processors."​

The company claims that the Theorema 10 Stealth Gearless press is faster, at up to 350 metre/minute, than its eight-colour predecessor and offers advanced electronic features, with highly accurate registration and superior print quality. This, says Bielloni, achieves results previously only achievable by the rotagravure process.

The new press uses an innovative, electronically controlled gearless system that replaces gears with direct motion transmission to the printing cylinder, anilox and central drum - featuring a/c motors with independently adjusted digital drives.

Print repeats can be electronically adjusted by up to +/- 2 per cent- without modifying the sleeve diameter. Repetition of parameters for memorised jobs, automatic printing deck positioning and register adjustment have helped boost production efficiency at the Lincoln plant.

Waste at start-up has been minimised, while machine set-up and job changeover times have been reduced.

Supreme Plastics Group has over 40 years experience in the design and manufacture of flexible packaging products. The company has retailer-approved status and specialises in quick response, short to medium-run work.

The UK site provides printed film for the food industry, plus finished resealable and conventional bags for packaging and processing companies.