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Siegwerk strengthens its development opportunities for packaging inks by investing in a new laminator
Siegwerk, one of the leading providers of printing inks for flexible packaging, recently added a Labo Combi 400 laminator to its Technical Center for the business unit Flexible Packaging. The new machine adds state-of-the-art laminating capabilities to the existing testing skills at the European “Center of Competence” and therefore supports the targeted development of packaging inks under industrial or customer-realistic conditions
Siegwerk is one of the first printing ink manufacturers to operate its own laminator for product development and testing purposes. This will enable Siegwerk to offer packaging print providers even better solutions tailored to their specific requirements.
“Internal resources for testing lamination processes and the influence of printing inks on the performance of laminates is highly important for us. It helps to enhance our ink solutions specifically for packaging print providers and to further reinforce our technology leadership”, summarizes Dr. Hanns Martin Kaiser, Head of Technology Flexible Packaging EMEA at Siegwerk, the reasons for the investment. “The new equipment enables us to conduct considerably more extensive ink development tests internally prior to start the qualification process at customers’ facilities. This leads to better ink performance and saves both our customers’ time and machine capacities”, adds Dr. Kaiser. At the same time the opportunity to simulate lamination processes under industrial or customer-realistic conditions enhances the company’s problem-solving skills. Any lamination problems occurring at the customer’s premises in connection with the ink can therefore be better understood and solved.
With the purchase of nordmeccanica group’s Labo Combi 400, Siegwerk has invested in an industry standard for technical center-scale tests. At a web width of 400mm the equipment operates at a maximum speed of 250m per minute and can handle solvent-free, solvent-based as well as water-based adhesive systems on all standard substrates. The machine features two corona treatment units and also meets all other European market requirements. Many co-suppliers, like manufacturers of adhesives or films, as well as some convertors also use the same laminator to conduct their own tests. This makes parameter comparisons easier and results reproducible and transferable. Siegwerk is now even better able to share application-related information, coordinate customer-specific solutions with other suppliers and therefore add forward-looking innovations to its portfolio of ink solutions.