The Lithrone GX40 (GLX- 640+C) and Lithrone GX40RP (GLX-840RP) Packaging Open House was held in June 2014 at Komori Corporation’s Tsukuba plant based on the theme ‘Komori Packaging Solu- tions.’ Held mainly for overseas cus- tomers, the event provided information to users interested in considering a Lithrone GX40 or Lithrone GX40RP packaging press.
The open house consisted of a sem- inar, factory tour, printing demonstra- tions, and presentations on packaging markets by customers. Some 96 visitors representing 59 companies from 17 countries participated in the event and experienced Komori’s ‘Packaging So- lutions.’
At the beginning of the event, the vis- itors gathered in various seminar rooms in the Tsukuba plant according to lan- guage. There, based on the ‘Packaging Solutions’ theme, they heard an expla- nation of trends and the outlook for the overall printing industry, an introduction of corresponding Komori products — offset presses, Komori-Chambon ma- chines, and digital printing systems, — and a briefing on the functions and sys- tems of the Lithrone GX40 and Lithrone GX40RP, which were specially specified for package printing.
Live demonstrations
The seminar was followed by a tour of the Tsukuba plant. In the afternoon, the participants watched the demonstrations of the Lithrone GX40 and Lithrone GX40RP. Narration of the demonstra- tions of both machines was handled by
Doug Schardt of Ko- mori America.
In the demonstration of Lithrone GX40 (GLX-640+C) the press performed initial package printing of pharmaceuticals boxes on 0.3 mm stock with plates that had been mounted in the press ahead of time, and after check- ing colors and register, the press print- ed 500 sheets at 18,000 sph without any adjustment. During the run, the meas- urement results from PQA-S, which has a color control function in addition to the print quality inspection function, were shown on the operation stand monitor (KID) for confirmation by the automatic feedback function.
During job changeover after the printing of 500 sheets, the various sys- tems that support improvement of pack- age printing productivity were ex- plained, starting with the KHS-AI (Ad- vanced Interface) integrated control system. The Lithrone GX40 can be equipped with a variety of features that are effective for package printing. By linking the automatic devices on the press with KHS-AI-based systems, quick stable operation is possible and paper wastage can be significantly reduced.
In the Lithrone GX40 (GLX-840RP) demonstration the press performed ini- tial package printing of gift boxes on 0.3 mm stock with plates that had been mounted in the press ahead of time, and after checking colors and register, the press printed 400 sheets at 16,500 sph without any adjustment.
Also, measurement of the total time for two jobs was started as a ‘time chal- lenge.’
After the printing of 400 sheets, the press completed changeover automati- cally up to test printing using the Smart Sequence system of KHS-AI without any operator assistance. The GLX-840RP used the A-APC Asynchronous Auto- matic Plate Changing system for simul- taneous changing of all plates at the same time; this press is an eight-color machine but all platechanging can be completed in 85 seconds even if the ma- chine is configured with 10 or 12 colors. Then front and back register adjust- ment and color matching were per- formed and production printing was started. The time for the job change — from the end of the first job to the start of production printing for the second job — was just 3 minutes 19 seconds.
After both demonstrations were completed, visitors were able to freely inspect the machines.
Perfectly equipped to meet a range of requirements, including an auto- matic non-stop operation system and control systems and automation for long runs at high printing speed, the Lithrone GX40 and Lithrone GX40RP presses will be a powerful presence in package printing in the years ahead.
