Baldwin Softweb System Significantly Improves Productivity At Italian Web Offset House Coptip
12/21/2005
Italian web offset house Coptip Industrie Grafiche Società Cooperativa reports significant production benefits from its Baldwin SoftWeb remoisturising system, which has been fitted to a new 72-page MAN Roland Lithoman IV web offset press in use at the Modena site.
The contactless SoftWeb system enables accurate remoisturising of the web after it has passed through the heatset drying process, eliminating many potential production problems caused by paper that is ‘stressed’ by the sudden extraction of moisture.
During operation, special nozzles in the SoftWeb’s stainless steel spray chambers spray finely and homogeneously atomized water on to the paper web. The amount of water sprayed can be adapted to suit the substrate and press speed, and this data can be stored for repeat orders.
The spray zones can be switched individually on and off, enabling the active working width to be tailored to different web widths, while the system has been designed to guarantee uniform moisture absorption. This means that the web regains a balanced moisture content in the shortest possible time – without having to add remoisturiser concentrates. Systematic remoisturising with SoftWeb has helped Coptip overcome problems caused by static in the paper, particularly in the pin folder, and prevents moisture loss leading to web shrinkage.
“Since introducing the Baldwin SoftWeb system we have effectively eliminated product warping – a clear advantage, particularly when it comes to high-quality print jobs with coated papers,” says Coptip production manager Claudio Bellelli.
“At the same time, SoftWeb makes sure that the folded products in the shingle stream turn out as smooth and even as possible. This is vital to permit trouble-free processing of the products in our fully automatic stackers and palletising robots.”
Coptip is a full-service provider, employing some 80 employees and specialising in inserts, catalogue production etc in medium to long runs, with the average run being 250,000. The company handles the production of both mass-market and niche catalogues from start to finish. Coptip’s key accounts include national tour operators, retail companies, food manufacturers and makers of kitchen technology.
The printing house was founded in 1920, when several private printers joined forces to form a cooperative, and today operates 32-page and 48-page presses in addition to the recently installed 72-page Lithoman IV. Each of its three web presses is equipped with four double print units and has a cylinder circumference of 1,200 mm. The Lithoman IV press, designed for a maximum production speed of 42,500 cylinder revolutions per hour, is significantly wider than the other two web offset presses, with a web width of 1,980 mm. All post processing systems on Coptip’s web presses are fully automated.
The maximum working width of two metres is one of the outstanding features of the SoftWeb system, which Coptip has had in operation on its 72-page MAN web press from the outset. The exceptionally compact SoftWeb solution has been installed on the Lithoman IV after the chill roller stand.
As managing director Giancarlo Panini concludes: “With the hindsight of twelve months production, and based on the conditions under which we presently operate the 72-page MAN Lithoman IV, Coptip would have no hesitation in choosing Baldwin again.”
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