Peterborough carton specialist reports major productivity and waste gains following installation of Rapida 105 press and Allpro 110 folder gluer<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Claire Anstey and David Braun, Joint Directors of R Howard Carton-Pro, in front of their new Rapida 105 from Koenig & Bauer<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peterborough-based packaging printer R Howard Carton-Pro is reporting significant production efficiency and print quality benefits following a major investment in both press and postpress technology from Koenig & Bauer. A new Rapida 105 press is now in production, complementing the recent installation of an Allpro 110 folder gluer. As a result, the company reports a double-digit uplift in capacity and widespread efficiency gains.Ergotronic colour control and inline colour density measurement enable the new Rapida 105 at R Howard Carton-Pro to adjust and hold colour, so that sheets remain identical throughout the run<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Managing Director David Braun, estimates that R Howard\u2019s overall production capacity has been increased by as much as 45 per cent. \u201cWork that previously required an 80-hour week is now comfortably completed in less than 50 hours,\u201d says Braun. \u201cWe tend to run the Rapida 105 at a steady 15,000 sheets per hour, rather than at full speed, so clearly there\u2019s still more room to grow throughput in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The seven-colour plus coater combi press is configured for both UV and conventional inking, with UV lamps positioned between the units. R Howard Carton-Pro predominantly uses UV inks, often in combination with conventional coatings, but requirements change frequently for its top-brand clients. The Rapida 105 also features a non-stop pile logistics system and pile turner to support continuous feeding, while fully automatic plate-changing ensures that job changes are quick.The seven-colour plus coater combi press at R Howard Carton-Pro is configured for both UV and conventional inking<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe run a massive variety of jobs,\u201d Braun says. \u201cIn a 12-hour shift we could be running 15 short-run jobs, or 150,000 sheets of a single job. Run lengths are routinely anything from 500 sheets up to 100,000 sheets and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is where the make-ready efficiency of the press has really paid off for the company, according to Braun: \u201cI hadn\u2019t anticipated how well the Ergotronic colour control and inline colour density camera would adjust and hold colour,\u201d he continues. \u201cI\u2019m not exaggerating when I say that I can take a sheet out at the start of the job and compare it to any sheet during the run and they\u2019re spot-on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In practical terms, this quality consistency has helped R Howard Carton-Pro achieve a sharp reduction in make-ready waste. Good copy is now achieved within 150 sheets, and the non-stop feeder and logistics system has eliminated waste incurred at pallet changeover, which was previously around 40 sheets per pallet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
David Braun says that the results bear out the reasons for choosing Koenig & Bauer: \u201cThe size, reputation and on-the-ground support of the organisation were all key factors,\u201d he comments. \u201cBut we also judged that Koenig & Bauer is more proven for handling a wide variety of substrates and for its commitment to packaging innovation across the entire production process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This dedication to packaging had already led to discussions with Koenig & Bauer UK on a new folder gluer. Postpress Sales Manager Sam Ward introduced R Howard management to the Allpro 110 as a replacement for an ageing Signature machine. The speed, automation and flexibility on offer with the Allpro 110 impressed the company, according to Braun; its servo backfold system for four- and six-corner production clinched the deal. With job parameters stored via the main user interface, this enables push-button setup for safe and easy operation at speeds up to 25,000 pieces-per-hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re doing six-cornered carton work, day in, day out \u2013 possibly the most difficult work to do in terms of folding and gluing,\u201d says Braun. \u201cOur Allpro 110 was built for us; it has been consistently brilliant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris Scully, Managing Director of Koenig & Bauer (UK), acknowledges that this project has truly benefitted from the unique blend of individual experience and shared skills of the UK and international team: \u201cAt Koenig & Bauer, we put a lot of effort into getting a holistic understanding of our customer\u2019s situation so that we can create a tailored proposition with long-term leverage. In the case of R Howard, Sam\u2019s long acquaintance with the company was the ideal springboard for developing a truly singular solution. Together with colleagues in Germany and Turkey, we were able to meet the immediate needs of the company, while positioning them perfectly to create added-value opportunities in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Peterborough carton specialist reports major productivity and waste gains following installation of Rapida 105 press and Allpro 110 folder gluer Claire Anstey and David Braun, Joint Directors of R Howard Carton-Pro, in front of their new Rapida 105 from Koenig & Bauer Peterborough-based packaging printer R Howard Carton-Pro is reporting significant production efficiency and print<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[84,51],"class_list":["post-23566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corrugated-folding-carton","tag-koenig-bauer","tag-top-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23566"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23579,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23566\/revisions\/23579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}