Carpad S.p.A., an Italy-based specialist printing firm, has installed a number of printing control systems in order to drive productivity, quality and profitability in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. The firm reports an immediate impact on the printing control systems’ ability to deliver higher quality results in a shorter timeframe.
Carpad has combined inline spectral color measurement with press-side color recipe correction on a central impression flexographic press. Since the installation, the company has seen a reduction in press downtime, waste and press start/stop cycle, due to makeready. This resulted in an immediate overall increase of press productivity of more than 20 percent.
The printing control systems accurately measure the spectral response and calculate L*a*b*, Delta E, density and change in density at full press speeds. The patented web stabilizer increases color measurement accuracy on a variety of substrates by controlling the web during measurement and utilizing ISO-conforming black and white backing tiles for transparent materials.
Printing Control Systems User Feedback
Andrea Benetti, plant manager at Carpad, explains: “We were looking at ways of cutting costs due to increasingly aggressive global competition, so we wanted to focus on new solutions in the printing department. These challenges have forced us to continuously cut production costs to remain competitive in the market.
Andrea says the technology has enabled automatic sharing and processing of color data between inline color control and offline color measurement systems, adding, “We have found that color quality stays well within targets and produces consistently high-end results while downtime and waste are reduced dramatically.”
[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”Andrea Benetti, plant manager at Carpad S.p.A.” link=”” color=”#ff00ff” class=”” size=””]We have found that color quality stays well within targets and produces consistently high-end results while downtime and waste are reduced dramatically.[/perfectpullquote]
Giuseppe Milani, printing division manager at Carpad, has reported immediate improvements in a number of critical workflow areas: “Our print makeready process has seen dramatic improvements, with a reduction in both turnaround time and paper waste. We improved the productivity of the machine by 20 percent to 25 percent, seeing a great improvement right from the start. The degree of control and certainty that our technicians and operators now have in respect of faithful end product color reproduction is of enormous benefit to the company and our customer base.”
Aldo Campagnaro, ink kitchen manager at Carpad, adds: “We use this groundbreaking inline color measurement technology from print makeready and throughout production workflow. Above all, the solution is used to correct colors out of tolerance during production. This gives us a huge degree of certainty about what is happening in the printrun without having any color correction issues.”
Booming Bags
Founded in 1983as a paper converting company, Carpad began specializing in the production of paper bags and sacks in 1987. Based in Fontaniva, Padua Province, northeast Italy, Carpad is now one of Europe’s leading suppliers of industrial paper sacks and wholesale paper bags for retail trade, clothing stores and major supermarkets across the continent.
Carpad’s printing facility comprises:
- The newest generation flexographic presses capable of 4-color internal and up to 8-color external printing
- Water-protective varnish finishing
- UV finishing made up of gravure and flexo presses. It also uses various coating, laminating, slitting and finishing and co-extrusion equipment
The company is capable of turning around in excess of 1,200,000 paper bags per day in a number of finishes, including popular flat, twisted and j-fold handles.
About the Author: Stephan Doppelhammer, QuadTech’s market manager for packaging, has more than two decades of expertise in the printing industry, and has shared his knowledge worldwide.
QuadTech Inc. develops advanced color and inspection solutions for the printing industry, automating press operations to ensure consistent print quality, reduced waste and high levels of workflow efficiency. Carpad is the first company worldwide to combine inline spectral color measurement with press-side color recipe correction on a central impression flexographic press, and is already reaping the many benefits offered by the introduction of QuadTech printing control systems.
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