Industry-first technology! Printing and inspection in line with an intermittent rotary press

Yoneyama Seal Printing Co., Ltd. (Nishi-Osaki, Sanjo-shi, Niigata Prefecture, Tel: 0256-38-0011) recently introduced CTC Japan,Ltd.'s variable inspection device "iFocus-X", which is compatible with letterpress intermittent presses.

This device is installed in an intermittent letterpress machine with an inkjet (IJ) unit, realizing an inline printing and inspection system.It is useful for manufacturing two-layer labels with campaign codes, which Yoneyama Seal Printing is good at.

We asked Mr.Tomoya Yoneyama, the president of the company, about the background of the introduction and the target system for variable inspection.

First of all, please tell us about the background behind making the IJ unit inline.

The IJ unit was installed in an intermittent letterpress printing machine manufactured by CTC Japan in 2008. Since then, we have been working on laminated labels in small and medium-sized lots of 5,000 sheets or less. Triggered by a request to print an ID number, we installed it in an intermittent letterpress press for six-color printing.

At the time, when it came to installing IJ units on conventional presses, it was common for major printing companies to install them on rotary presses for large lots. I am proud that I have opened up a new job.

How is variable inspection equipment inlined?

Actually, when we installed the IJ unit in 2008, we were promoting the in-line implementation of a variable inspection device made overseas. At the same time, it meanders both vertically and vertically.

In addition to transport, we also tried installing an inspection device in the label winding unit, but the results were the same. With these proposals, we were able to realize our 14-year-old concept of performing the IJ unit and variable inspection in-line with the intermittent letterpress press.

Evaluation points

First of all, there is the contact image sensor (CIS), which integrates the camera and lighting. This was not possible at the time when the inline system was planned, and the sensor camera enables smooth label reading.

In addition, CTC Japan's unique software uses a camera to capture the variable printing area to be inspected. It is displayed on the monitor, and the inspection frame surrounded by it is automatically corrected according to the flapping of the label. Intermittent feeding. I was surprised that the inspection position could be determined instantly despite the movement of the robot.

What effect did the inline system bring to your company?

The improvement in the efficiency of the inspection process is obvious. We have multiple offline inspection devices. Not only does it eliminate the process of setting labels on the inspection device after printing and winding, but it also saves time in initial settings. It also saves the time of reading and writing when comparing with PDF data.

It affects not only visible costs, but also the awareness of the operator’s work. Until now, the inspection process was "let's leave it off-line after printing". With in-line printing, we can prevent printing mistakes and reduce losses, so we can achieve work that does not produce defects.

Please tell us about your future prospects.

In addition to multi-layer campaign labels with variable codes, we would like to focus on the security field, which cannot be done without inspection equipment, and make the in-line system the pillar of our company. Clarify how to use the new equipment. I feel that this is the way to survive as a manufacturing company.