PAWI Verpackungen AG has invested in cutting-edge computer-to-plate technology from the company Heidelberg. Since July, the packaging manufacturer – based in Winterthur, Switzerland – has been typesetting the printing plates for two B2 sheet offset machines on a Suprasetter. The platesetter works autonomously, with a single cassette loader automatically loading printing plates into it.
PAWI Verpackungen is the first company in Switzerland to start typesetting the new SONORA UV plates, which Kodak launched back in March. SONORA UV plates are process free and ready for print production as soon as typesetting is complete, which means that there is no need for chemical development. PAWI Verpackungen is using SONORA UV plates for sheet offset applications involving UV-cured and oxidative drying printing inks. Specifications for this method of UV printing indicate that it offers a print run stability of 30,000 printing processes, with 50,000 processes guaranteed in the case of oxidative drying inks. PAWI Verpackungen is obtaining the printing plates from Heidelberg Schweiz AG.
Remo Fehr, who heads up sheet offset and digital printing at PAWI Verpackungen, states that the company has chosen a cost-effective typesetting system that will pay for itself within a reasonable period of time. The Suprasetter and the SONORA UV plates, he says, represent an important step on the company's path towards expanding its industrial production capabilities and strengthening its position as a leading packaging producer. The process free printing plates will allow PAWI Verpackungen to dispense with chemical substances altogether as well as reduce the amount of water and energy it consumes. The company is also aiming to make savings in the paper waste generated during the printing process, as the process free plates will mean no more deviations resulting from development.
What process free means:
- Zero chemicals
- Zero water consumption
- Zero energy consumption
- Zero chemical disposal
- Zero processor cleaning/maintenance
- Zero processing time