Reprint from September/October 2013

THE DIGITAL FUTURE FOR HOT FOIL STAMPING

insight graphic systems

Folding Carton Industry. September/October 2013

Reduced off-press set-up time is the solution to improved

profitability says Michael Brunton

HOT FOILINGMARGINS

ARE UNDERPRESSURE

T he top end luxury carton market,incorporating hot and cold foilstamping and embossing, haslong been known for its above

average profit margins — but this specialistmarket sector is increasingly coming undermargin pressure — whether that be in theUS, Europe or Asia.

Like all major carton end-user sectors,run lengths over the last five years, even inthe luxury carton sector, are becoming evershorter — but the long press set-up time foreach hot foil job remains constant,continually squeezing profit margins.

Another market pressure for thosecartonmakers specialising in hot foiling is thegrowing interest from traditional converterslooking to capitalise on the luxury cartonsector by investing in foiling inline on theirlitho presses. Needing just a single make-ready, and a single crew, in-line foiling alsobenefits from negligible tooling costscompared to hot-foiling, virtually assuredfoil-to-print registration, high runningspeeds, and also offers the possibility ofoverprinting the foil to produce a host ofcolours and effects. However, set againstthese advantages are the issues which haverestricted its uptake. These include thedifficulty of effectively curing UV adhesivethrough darker foils, a lack of the highbrilliance that hot foil stamping offers anddifficulty in applying registered hologramssuch as those used for brand protection.

Well aware of the margin pressuresfacing the luxury carton producers, theleading hot foil press manufacturers werequick to introduce new models to improvemachine uptime, productivity and outputquality. Features such as longer dwell time,machines running at lower pressures and

Folding Carton Industry. September/October 2013

temperatures, larger sheet sizes, improvedregistration, faster foil changes, reduced foilwastage and higher production speeds areall much appreciated — but do nothing toaddress the issue of reducing job set-up.

Job set-upA few years ago, a typical 20,000 sheet job(8 dies) run at 2500sph had a press set-uptime of 2 1/2 hours with a press run lasting8 hours. Total job time was 10 1/2 hours —the set-up time was manageable. Today, amore typical job might be 5,000 sheets (with12 dies). Set-up time is 3 1/2 hours andmachine run time at 2500sph is 2 hours —the long set-up time is clearly an issue.

Some of the most progressive luxury hotfoil carton producers tend to be based inGermany, France, Switzerland and America.More than a few of them have turned to UKbased Insight Graphic Systems todramatically reduce set-up times whileimproving quality and their subsequentproductivity.

Founded in 1995, Insight GraphicSystems markets the FoilConnect™ systemthat incorporates various elements —including Digital Assistant, Die Co-Ordinator,Foil Co-Ordinator and Foil Tracker. Provenin the field over many years, typical benefitsof the FoilConnect system are reduced set-ups (50-60%), increased run speed of thehot foil stamper (+10%), reduced foil per job(-5-15%) and reduced time for estimates(-5-10 minutes per job). With such impressivecost benefits, it’s no surprise to learn thatInsight Graphic Systems are installing two oftheir bigger Die Co-Ordinators (DC1450 tofit a honeycomb suitable for a Bobst 142) inAmerica and France in the coming monthsand a DC1060 is scheduled for installation inFrance in November — taking the numberof installations in France up to eight, all inthe luxury packaging sector.

Technical DetailsDigital workflow for printing has been wellestablished for many years. FoilConnectforms the bridge from customer originationright through to the hot foil stamping press

— linking all the elements required tooptimise the production process. Mostimportantly, FoilConnect has been designedto merge with existing workflows to optimisehot foil stamping performance using eachcartonmaker’s existing production resources.

Digital Assistant enables you to makePDFs already created by the customer’sdesign team, or imposed sheet layoutscreated by your own origination departmentand quickly and easily prepare data (in 2-3minutes) for Die Co-Ordinator and Foil Co-Ordinator. It’s easy to use, accurate andrepeatable, enables contour mapping, hasnine different pre-press interfaces and offersa scientific approach to foil measurement.

Die Co-Ordinator is considered by manyto be the industry standard for pre makeready die registration. By accuratelyregistering hot stamping and embossingdies off-press, Die Co-Ordinator has beenproven to reduce press set-up by up to50%. Current Die Co-Ordinator users in theUK, Germany, France and Spain havetogether saved more than 2,000 productionhours per year. Features of the Die Co-Ordinator include:! Point & Click means that a job can be

programmed in under 2 minutes! Self-datuming servo motor driven linear

slides mean that Die Co-Ordinator

PROTECTING MARGINS

recalibrates itself every job, eliminatingmechanical variation

! Repeatable, consistent movementsaccurate to 0.005mm combined withimage magnification to 0.03mm per pixel;automatic compensation for boardstretch and heat expansion; fingerprintingeach honeycomb to each press enablesyou to achieve the highest level of dieregistration possible

! Job database store can hold >100,000jobs and allows you to recall a re-order inseconds

! Robust and rugged construction ensuresthat Die Co-Ordinator is designed tomatch and exceed the lifetime of yourpresses

! Adjustable guides ensures that Die Co-Ordinator can work with most hot foilstampers (Gietz, Bobst, Iijima, Brausse,SBL, MK and Saroglia).

Foil Co-Ordinator is a comprehensive andsophisticated foil management system thatcalculates every possible foil advance for themost complicated jobs in seconds andalways presents the optimal solution. It linksto estimating, production, stock,purchasing, foil supplier and direct to thepress itself. Obvious benefits includeimproved press set-up time and reducedadministration costs. It extends digitalworkflow to any foil stamping press, sendinginformation for the foil reel positions, foil

Die Co-Ordinator

Technical Assistant allows you to communicate directly withadvisers to make changes or provide assistance directly on yourworkstation in real time, addressing specific issues to your satisfaction.

ERP Highway provides you with a structured, automated methodof transferring data within the FoilConnect modules and alsoexternally to your existing ERP systems for purchasing and stock,including your foil supplier’s manufacturing programmes.

FoilStock itemises and allocates every piece of foil in your factory.Whenever a job is estimated it automatically checks existing andordered foil allowing you to use existing material rather than having toguesstimate and order more foil than you actually need.

FoilTracker records the history of every piece of foil that youstamp, from the original estimate enquiry, through ordering, receiptof stock, warehousing and on to press. Every event is date and timestamped along with the identity of the person handling the foil. Thisprovides security and quality control information both for your internalrecords and for your customer.

For years, hot foil stamping has been excluded from digitalworkflows and can be a major bottleneck in production. With one ormore of the eight modules that makes up the FoilConnect systemyou can now reduce your press production time, optimise your pressrunning speed, minimise your estimating overhead, save foil on everyjob and reduce your inventory. At a later date you can add otherFoilConnect modules (as required) to complete a totally digital hot foilworkflow that will protect your hot foil stamping margins for years tocome. !

PROTECTING MARGINS

TEST FACILITIESInsight Graphic Systems have a network of highlyrespected sales agents in Germany, Austria,

Switzerland, UK, France, Spain, Italy and the USA. In conjunction with their sales partners Gietz, there is a test

facility in Switzerland at Gossau near Zurich where customerscan bring their own sheets and dies of existing work. They willset up the jobs in real time and stamp the sheets on state-of-the-art presses (both full-size and half-sheet) while you arewatching. This enables clients to evaluate how the Die Co-ordinator and other FoilConnect modules could benefit andoptimise their own workflow.

Des O’Keefe, the Managing Director of Insight GraphicSystems and designer of the Die Co-Ordinator and Foil Co-ordinator, will be presenting the FoilConnect modules withprocess improvement techniques for hot foil stamping specific tocarton manufacture in greater depth at the ECMA annualCongress in Dubrovnik (September 18-20th).

advance programmes and feeder/delivery settings with one singlemouse click — eliminating manual error, duplication of effort and set-up time.

Digital Assistant enables you tomake PDFs already created by the customer’s design team, or imposedsheet layouts created by your own origination department and quickly andeasily prepare data (in 2-3 minutes) for Die Co-Ordinator and Foil Co-Ordinator.

Die Co-Ordinator accurately registers hot stamping and embossingdies off-press and has been proven to reduce press set-up by up to 50%.

Foil Co-Ordinator is a foil management system that calculates every possible foil advance for the mostcomplicated jobs in seconds and alwayspresents the optimal solution. This is ascientific approach to foil measurement.

Technical Assistant allows you tocommunicate directly with advisers tomake changes or provide assistance directly on your workstation in real time.

FoilStock itemises and allocatesevery piece of foil in your factory.

ERP Highway provides you with a structured, automated method of transferring data within the FoilConnectmodules and also externally to your existing ERP systems for purchasing andstock.

FoilTracker records the history ofevery piece of foil that you stamp, fromthe original estimate enquiry, through ordering, receipt of stock, warehousingand on to press.

MAXIMISE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY WITH THESE FoilConnect ELEMENTS

insight graphic systems ltdShore Road Kilmun PA23 8SE Scotland+44 (0) 1369 840088 info@insightgraphicsystems.com www.insightgraphicsystems.com

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