Decorating & finishing.

Printing and decorating on containers and molded parts goes for speed, automation, and versatility.

New pad-transfer, dry-offset, silk-screen, and flexographic equipment will be printing up a storm at NPE '94. Exhibits will emphasize high speeds, convenient servicing and changeover, and automation that integrates pretreating, protective-lacquer coating, and even case packing of finished products. Hot stamping and heat-transfer labeling will be another well-represented field, showing some new approaches and greater equipment flexibility for decorating a wide variety of shapes. Look also for news in surface treating (plasma, flame, and corona), spray painting, vacuum metalizing, plasma coating, and static elimination.

PAD PRINTING GOES CLOSED-CUP

The most obvious trend in pad printing, evident in most of the new entries at the show, is toward sealed ink cups or enclosed ink wells, which reduce solvent evaporation. Elimination of dirt/dust contamination of the ink reservoirs, preservation of ink viscosity during operation, and quick plate changeover are other benefits.

A sealed ink cup is featured on a new air-operated pad printer from Trans Tech America, Inc., Carol Stream, Ill. The Tampoprint Vario 90/130 is available with 90- or 130-mm ink cup, membrane keypad, and LED display. Also new from Trans Tech is the TS100/EM1 with open ink well. It's an all-mechanical, cam-operated unit that can print plate sizes up to 100 x 400 mm at up to 2400 cycles/hr.

Teca-Print USA Corp., Billerica, Mass., will launch two new sealed-ink-cup pad printers, the TPS 251 two-color model for high-speed automated printing and TPX 500 four-color printer with automatic indexing carousel. Both have PLC controls. Teca-Print will also introduce the model TP 100 for printing one- or two-color logos, part numbers, and date codes.

A first-time introduction to the North American market will be the Printflex carousel pad printer from 3DT, Inc., Germantown, Wis., This patented system, which also utilizes a sealed ink cup, is said to be unusual in that it can print up to six colors.

United Silicone, Inc., Fairfield, N.J., will introduce Model UP 505 sealed-ink-cup pad printer, which features upgraded digital controls.

A new low-cost sealed-ink-cup pad printer will be demonstrated by Printex of San Diego, Calif. Model COS-60 has a 60-mm-diam. cup. It is reportedly simple to set up and operate, and costs under $7000.

Pad Print Machinery, Inc., Yonkers, N.Y., will feature its new ceramic-ring sealed ink cups (60-200 mm), which reportedly cut solvent emissions by 95% and are optional on its single- and multi-color pad printers.

Service Tectonics, Inc. (STI), Adrian, Mich. will also introduce a new sealed ink reservoir, available on its line of single and multi-color pad printers. STI will also featured new automatic doctoring system for its small 606AW hand-operated pad printer.

Diversified Printing Techniques, Charlotte, N.C., will show off Padboy, its new hand-operated pad printer, and the PP250 four-color pad printer for images up to 8 in. diam. Diversified will also introduce to the North American market Proll pad- and screen-printing inks from Germany.

Canada Stamp and Stencil Co., Ltd., Toronto, will introduce two new additions to its line of Logica pad printers: Logica 200 four-color automatic unit for CDs and Logica 125R with 60 |degrees^ or 90 |degrees^ print capability. The company will also have a new hermetic inkwell blade system, a bench support for Logica 100-125 pad printers, and a new automatic pad cleaner.

DRY-OFFSET PRINTING NEWS

Polytype America Corp., Union City, N.J., will demonstrate the new CP-200-8 eight-color automatic cup-printing system along with an automatic case packer. Features include high-precision color heads that open horizontally and are easily accessible, as well as plates and tooling that are interchangeable with those of other printers.

Also new from Polytype is the DW-201 dry-offset printer, whose plate cylinders are equipped with dial-gauge indicators for radial and axial registration of the printing plate. This feature allows easier setup and precise adjustment while the machine is operating.

Van Dam Machine Corp., West Paterson, N.J., will introduce Model 465 Lid Printer--a six-color, dry-offset machine with speeds over 500 prints/min and rapid lid-size and print-copy changeover. Also to be shown by Van Dam will be the new Model 570 COM-III container printer, a six-color unit that has new color heads, increased size range (up to 7 in. diam.), and higher production speed (up to 500 prints/min).

Apex Machine Co., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will demonstrate its new automated, arc-style printing system designed to feed, treat, print, and dry cylindrical components at speeds over 300 parts/min. Apex will also feature its new C-40 self-contained package of treating unit, four-color dry-offset print section, and uv curing system. It's designed for both off-line test use and low-volume production.

Two other firms will show new dry-offset printing equipment. Kase Equipment Corp., Willoughby, Ohio, has a high-speed, multicolor sidewall printer. And Automation Equipment, Inc., Norwalk, Ohio, will bring an automatic, six-color system for printing 10-in.-diam. lids.

Custom Systems Integration Co., Inc., Vista, Calif., will have a five-component parts-handling system for plastic tubes, which is said to interface with most offset printers on the market.

WHAT'S NEW IN SILK SCREENING

Dependable Machine Co., Inc., Cedar Grove, N.J., will introduce Model RP-4MAH-UV, an automatic, one-color screen printer for round bottles that runs at up to 60/min. Also to be featured is Model SC-VI, a new free-standing uv spin-drying system, adjustable for round, one-side oval, and fiat bottles up to 6-in. diam.

Recently named the exclusive North American distributor for M.O.S.S. screen and offset printing equipment from Italy, Dependable will show the new M.O.S.S. MS-1050 modular, automatic, two-color screen printer. It boasts speeds to 100 prints/min, as well as compact layout and fast coupling of modules for printing round, oval, and flat bottles.

David Mazzalupo & Associates Inc., Old Lyme, Conn., will introduce to the U.S. market a Nassetti screen printer, Model TOP 2001, which prints up to six colors on containers and tubes.

Elexon Ltd., Elk Grove Village, Ill., will demonstrate its newly developed Prism Multicolor high-speed, screen printer for containers from 2 oz to 1 gal. It can print up to five colors at up to 6000/hr and also features Windows operating software, precise servo-controlled indexer and print-head drive systems, in-line uv curing, and automated container feeding.

Cleveland-based Monode Marking Products, Inc. and Hanky and Partners, Ltd. of Taiwan will introduce the Model CD-500 five-color system for CDs. Using five Hanky Model TP-100 d-c driven silk screeners, the system automatically feeds, prints, uv-cures and stacks up to 2400 discs/hr. Monode will also demonstrate a new computer-controlled dot-matrix pin-marking system, Model PMS-2001, for marking serial numbers, part numbers, or date codes on parts.

FREE-STANDING FLEXO UNIT

A new free-standing flexographic printing station, to be introduced by Bell-Mark Corp., Pine Brook, N.J., is equipped with the company's enclosed doctor-blade system, which is said to eliminate "ink sling" and to maintain viscosity at high speeds with little ink evaporation. Besides printing at up to 1200 ft/min on films, this system is designed to interface with extrusion, die-cutting, and slitting operations. Printers handle web widths up to 120 in. and print images from 4 to 70 in. wide.

HOT STAMPING & HEAT TRANSFER

What appears to be a new concept in roll-on decorating equipment will be shown by The Wagner Co., Pacific, Mo. The company's new Smartroller is a roll-on machine for hot stamping and heat-transfer decorating. It utilizes an inexpensive, flat silicone-rubber die that is wrapped around a heated drive drum, which rolls the die onto the hot-stamp foil or heat-transfer label. By just changing the die roller to a standard cylindrical silicone roller, the unit can perform just like a box-motion hot-stamp press.

Wagner will also show a new peripheral hot-stamp press for decorating square or round products. The SR3000 can process 40-60 parts/min and can decorate a variety of product shapes with diam. from 0.75 to 5.5 in.

Three new hot-stamping units will be introduced by Acromark Industries, Berkeley Heights, N.J. These include a 5-ton press (Model 820) with microprocessor-controlled preprint feeder and Model 730P for in-line hot stamping of profile extrusions. Also featured will be a 3-ton direct-air hot-stamp press, Model 590-100, that utilizes low air pressure.

Also featuring foil decorating of extruded profiles will be Kurz-Hastings, Inc., Philadelphia. Its new LS-101 system is designed for this application.

United Silicone will show a new 4-ton hot stamper, Model US 40, which features a digital controller.

Cassco Machines, Don Mills, Ont., will feature its line of high-tonnage hot-stamping presses with new control options that include foil drape, heat-transfer indexing, foil-strip delay, energy-saving cycle, and a multi-language option.

Permanent Label Corp.'s Machinery Div., Clifton, N.J., will introduce the Acrobot 1000 microprocessor-controlled heat-transfer and hot-stamp machine. It boasts "self-learning" capability that reportedly adapts to customized product shapes, allowing the unit to print up to 360 |degrees^ around non-round shapes with as much ease as if they were round.

Kensol/Franklin/Foilmark, Melville, N.Y., will feature the KF Model 500, a new 1/2-ton direct-air hot-stamping press, and its recently introduced KF 1.0, a 1-ton press with electric-eye indexer for stamping heat-transfer decals.

You'll also find some new foil products at the show:

* A series of new bright metallic and holographic foils for decorating thermoplastic substrates will be featured by Webtech, Inc., Robbinsville, N.J.

* CFC International, Chicago Heights, Ill., will feature a new line of uv-resistant exterior-grade woodgrain and other patterned hot-stamp foils, new holographic diffraction foils, and low-temperature cosmetic-grade metalized foils for PP and PE.

* Melco Engraving, Inc., Rochester Hills, Mich., plans to show three new texture plaques.

NEWS IN SURFACE TREATING

New equipment for plasma, flame, and corona treatments will be shown at NPE, all aimed at enhancing surface adhesion of inks, coatings, and adhesives.

Plasma Science (formerly Himont Plasma Science), Foster City, Calif., will introduce a new plasma reactor for gas-plasma treatment of catheters and guidewires. Unlike typical plasma systems where space can be limited, this reactor does not require coiling the parts in order to allow partially assembled catheter systems to be treated.

Technics Plasma, div. of Krauss-Maffei Corp, Florence, Ky., will introduce to the U.S. market its Model 440 plasma cabinet, which has a large process chamber with no inner electrodes and optimized microwave coupling for uniform plasma distribution.

A new high-speed CGB-150FT flaming system capable of surface treating 150 3-in.-OD bottles/min will be shown by Carlisle Machine Works, Millville, N.J.

Lectro Engineering Co., St. Louis, Mo., will introduce a compact corona-treating system, called Blower Sparks, which treats flat and 3-D products.

Several new corona-treating rollers will be introduced by American Roller Co., Bannockburn, Ill.

COATINGS MATERIALS & EQUIPMENT

Paints and coatings will not be a big category of exhibits at this show, but injection molders may want to observe demonstrations of the first commercial in-mold coating technology for thermoplastics at the booth of Batterfield of America, West Warwick, R.I.

Other unusual coating methods include plasma deposition of scratch-resistant and anti-fog coatings for optical parts, which will be featured by Plasma Science. The scratch-resistant coatings reportedly outperform solvent-based coatings in ASTM tests, while the antifog coatings are said to withstand exposure to a variety of cleaning materials and procedures. Scratch-resistant and antifog attributes can also be combined in a single coating.

Also intriguing are a series of FlawRepair touch-up coatings from Chem-Pak, Inc., Winchester, Va. Available in aerosol cans and in gallons, these are clear, low-gloss coatings that cover aesthetic flaws such as splay, flow and knit lines, and inconsistent gloss levels on molded parts. Current products work on PP, ABS, PVC, and PC; the company will also soon bring out a version for nylon parts.

In paint-spray equipment, Gusmer will unveil a new high-pressure, air-operated machine for dispensing plural-component coatings. The FF-3000 is designed to operate at 3000 psi with a max. output of 10 lb/min.

Balzers, Hudson, N.H., will introduce LiteLine 2000, a low-cost system for vacuum metalizing plastic automotive reflectors. It applies pretreatment, metal film, and protective topcoat in one process.

NEW ANTISTATIC EQUIPMENT

A new ionizing air blower, called NeutroAir, is designed to prevent dust from adhering to parts prior to decorating or finishing. New from Tantec Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., it incorporates a flashing clogged-filter indicator to alert the user that intake filters need to be cleaned. Because it has its own high-efficiency blower, cleaning and static elimination are accomplished without using expensive plant air.

Julie Associates, Inc., Noah Billerica, Mass., will introduce the AB3000 ionized-air blower. The unit's patented self-balancing circuitry is said to maintain an ionization balance of |+ or -^5 volts under normal operating conditions.

What to Look For

* Pad printers have sealed ink cups.

* Eight-color dry-offset cup printer comes with automatic case packer.

* Pad printer handles six colors.

* Automated system screen prints CDs in five colors.

* Roll-on hot stamper wraps die around print roll.

* Hot-stamper "learns" how to decorate up to 360 |degrees^ around non-round shapes.