Screen printing instead of pressure bumps on pharmaceutical packaging

Eberle Druck GmbH, Vienna, Austria, is a leader in the field of pharmaceutical and securities printing. About 90% of the company's sales come from pharmaceutical packaging, and the remaining 10% come from securities and security printing. In the past four years the company has made significant developments. Recently, the company has invested in a Rotascreen screen printing unit, which is connected to the KM 410 in Dallas to enable the production of a connected carton. The introduction of screen printing opened up three new application areas - Post Finishing, Anti-Counterfeiting and Braille Printing.

Now, all cartons and included instructions in the company are produced by rotary printing. In the fall of 2001, Eberle Druck GmbH and Co., Ltd. started the production of carton products for the Galaxy 410. Since then, the company has started to use rotary printing. Last year, Eberle Druck installed a web offset press to print the instructions on both sides. As a result, the entire printing process was replaced with a rotary printing method, which greatly improved the company's production efficiency. In addition to improving business efficiency, combining multiple printing processes—printing, post-finishing, and die-cutting—onto the same machine (such as the KM 410) is a sign of further optimisation of just-in-time production (JIT).

Steering rotation flexo

Since the launch of the galaxy KM410, all cartridges made by Eberle Druck have been flexographically printed. Since many spot colors are used in pharmaceutical packaging printing, color stability is very important. Mr. Martin Schmutterer said: “By taking this into account, flexo printing is far better than offset printing.” By using UV flexo printing inks, the company can print thick ink sheets with the same ink thickness as screen printing. Moreover, the use of flexo will not affect the quality of the screen by reducing the number of screens, but will not affect the feathering effect. Just when the feathering value is zero, there will be some problems.

The platform concept of the Gallus KM410 fully supports the modular structure. Eberle Druck's printing presses have a total of eight printing units, which can perform seven-color printing and one-time coating in a single pass. At the same time, the carton can be die-cut and pressed at the end of the connection system. . The 410mm print width and the maximum 508mm web length are the ideal format for carton production. The machine can also process thick cardboard with a thickness of 0.6mm.

The Gallus KM410 can have up to 16 operating units that can be printed using water/UV flex/screen inks and can be applied with hot stamping, embossing, back printing, glazing, laminating, and laminating. In addition, the device can also indent the roll paper board, embossing and die cutting operations. The uniqueness of the modular concept of the Galaxy Galapagos KM410 is that the system can be adapted to market requirements in the future. Mr. Martin Schmutter emphasized: "This achieves the flexibility that many printing companies dream of."

Combined screen printing

As all of the company's departments have been adapted to the special requirements of flexo, Mr. Martin Schmutter is also integrating screen printing technology into the KM410. Eberle Druck foresees three screen printing applications. As packaging is increasingly used as a selling point for over-the-counter drugs and generic drugs, the demand for post-finishing finishing processes is also growing. Based on this, Eberle Druck is committed to developing the tactile sensation of point-of-sale packaging in order to open up new markets such as daily chemicals, nursing or luxury packaging.

Screen printing also provides opportunities for learning from the new technologies in securities printing. Mr. Martin Schmutterer believes that the use of Rotascreen screen printing technology to print braille on cartridges (rather than using pressure bumps to create braille) opens up a new market. The EU Directive 2001/83/EC on human pharmaceutical products stipulates that by the second half of 2006, all medical kits in the European pharmaceutical industry must use braille to indicate the name of the drug. This regulation must be implemented in the laws of all EU member states, which puts pressure on the pharmaceutical industry.
Eberle Druck conducted a variety of Braille screen printing experiments. The results confirmed that screen printing satisfies Braille readability and bump and board adhesion requirements.

New Rotascreen Screen Printing Technology

In response to Rotascreen's screen printing technology, Gallus provided a set of equipment including a screen printing unit and a dedicated Screeny screen printing version. In addition, Gallas has equipped Rotascreen with an upper version and a fixed system. This screen printing unit has been applied to the Juras label printer. Rotary screen printing for carton printing is a brand-new attempt.

During our on-site visit, technical manager Thomas Payk showed how to replace the flexographic printing unit with a Rotascreen printing unit in just two steps and prepared it before printing in five minutes. The Gallus KM410 is flexible enough that the silk screen unit can be installed anywhere on the press. Therefore, the system can be personalized according to different print settings.

Gallas has developed a Screeny plate for rotary screen printing. This plate is characterized by a microstructure that ensures optimal ink flow. The stable structure of the screen and the balanced structure provided by the photosensitive resin guarantee a high quality and consistent printing effect. For clear line, field, embossing and embossing effects, users can select the appropriate plate from eight screeny plates. The powerful layered structure of Screeny BZ silk printing plate can print a layer of ink up to 0.28mm in thickness, resulting in a good touch. All in all, using the Screeny BZ printing plate can easily achieve the 0.13 mm ink layer thickness required for Braille printing.

Practical benefits

Eberle Druck has more than ten years of Braille printing experience and has formed its own unique embossing printing process. Braille can only be printed on a specific location in the carton, which increases the design difficulty. Cardboard is also a decisive factor in Braille printing. Mr. Schmutterer believes that only the newly produced fiberboard can achieve the best dot height; recycled cardboard is not suitable for Braille printing. Because even if it can obtain the required dot height, dot distortion will occur during the pasting and storage. Braille printing with Rotascreen print cells predicts dot shape and prevents dot distortion.

Because die-cut stencils can only be used to process one size and box type of carton, every time you change a type of carton, you have to replace the die-cut version, so the time for installing the die-cut version increases. Mr. Schmutterer said: "Because every kit must print Braille in the future, the total die-cutting installation time is a cost factor that should not be underestimated."

Since the time for installing a die cut is reduced to close to zero, rotary screen printing can generate tremendous benefits. "In just two steps, you can replace the screen printing unit and Braille can be printed on the box." The process of printing with the Screeny screen printing plate is the same as the well-known photosensitive resin plate. The screen printing plate is made into a cylindrical shape and its ends are welded together. The rings on the plates are fixed at the ends of the rollers to ensure stability. It takes less than thirty minutes to complete a printable rotary printing plate from film. This screen printing plate is a pre-coated version that can store up to six months.

Mr. Schmutterer believes that so far, in the field of carton printing, screen printing has been combined with other printing processes (at the same time it is also required to press and emboss), which is technically and economically infeasible. The platform concept of the Gallus KM410 can apply all these processes to the same press. The introduction of screen printing opens up new areas for finishing and anti-counterfeiting applications. Screen printing is also the right choice for Braille printed on pharmaceutical packaging. Referring to future developments, Mr. Schmutterer said: “For Braille printing, we will use screen printing as a cost-reducing process that can be used in large-scale industrial production and use it as a unique feature in finishing and security printing. Process."

Source: "Global Box Industry"