Redfern Labels adds MPS EF 340 Flexo Press with Nexus ONE™ UV LED Curing

In the market for an equipment upgrade, Redfern Labels turned to ROTOCON and MPS for a press that could live up to the same consistency as it’s ol’ faithful – a machine that’s been in the company’s service for 22 years. But once the next-generation MPS EF340 arrived at the factory floor, Redfern Labels hasn’t looked back since.

Redfern Labels installed the new MPS EF 340 next-generation flexo press at its production facility in Johannesburg. Patrick Aengenvoort, director and co-owner of Rotocon and Marius van Lith, regional sales director of MPS sold the machines with the installation completed by service technicians. 

For over 30 years, Redfern has been a key labelling partner to farmers, fruit exporters, educators, entrepreneurs, and many other household brands, offering a comprehensive range of labelling solutions, including self-adhesive, wraparound, shrink sleeves and flexible packaging.

Since 2001, many print jobs at Redfern were done on a Mark Andy 250 flexo press. For 22 years, the press has served the company faithfully (and is still going strong!). Redfern has relied heavily on the press to get the job done. But over the years, Redfern has seen its customers’ printing needs change drastically, compelling the company to evolve and diversify its offering, including the development of more sophisticated colour work along the way. Managing director Teresa Adinolfi and the company’s stakeholders felt it was time for an equipment upgrade, and it was decided to semiretired Redfern’s ol’ faithful and replace it with a more modern machine capable of carrying the new workload.

With limited eight colours, we’ve experienced some challenges over the years, and we realized that we needed that extra ninth colour. The delamination and re-lamination on plastic material was also big deal for us. We found that the polypropylene material stretched on the UV press,’ Teresa comments.

Redfern has noticed a growing demand for reverse printing among its customers. Reverse printing on labels is a process in which the image or text is printed on the underside of the label material so that it’s visible through the transparent or translucent front of the label. ‘We’ve never been able to do it without the process slowing down the press.’ Redfern went in search of a machine capable of overcoming these obstacles.

The company also required a press that could help reduce energy costs, and an LED curing system was a requisite. ‘This was non-negotiable for us,’ states Teresa. ‘It’s not that the machine consumes that much energy, but if you look at UV versus LED, there’s a significant cost-saving on energy.’

According to ROTOCON director Patrick Aengenvoort, they knew that the MPS EF340 would make a great fit for Redfern. ‘They required quick changeovers when the workload got heavy. They have a standing contract with a major retailer, so it’s a lot of short runs. The MPS is designed in such a way that you can actually set up different jobs while the machine is running and allowing quick changeovers.’

ROTOCON has a long-standing relationship with Redfern, supplying the company with consumables and tooling since 2001. ‘They sold us our first ROTOFLEX rewinding machine. They’ve bulked up their technical service offering and their local die-manufacturing facility, which is great. They’ve always been there for us. ROTOCON shares our work ethics and really works hard to provide an exceptional service to us,’ explains Teresa.

Patrick and his team have also upgraded the MPS EF340 press with a WINK SmartGap Advance system that eliminates problems with deviations between the magnetic and anvil cylinder. The WINK SmartGap ensures smooth runs without vibration and requires minimal maintenance.

This highly-automated press includes the country’s first Phoseon Nexus ONE air-cooled UV LED curing system, which enables high-quality printing of substrates at maximum press speeds, energy savings of up to 70% compared to mercury lamps, environmental benefits, immediate press uptime because there’s no waiting for lamps to warm up and reduce scrap rates with increased yields.

Patrick explains that the lamp has a low intensity but a strong curing power. Additionally, no ducting is required for the system, the airflow is very well controlled, which means that the system can go directly into the machine at a low heat. The Nexus ONE is also very operator friendly – the Phoseon swirl colour serves as an indicator of the lamp state: a white swirl shows that the LED station is disabled, a green swirl that the station is enabled, a purple indicator light means that the LED is on, an orange indicator light shows that the LED is in a warning state and a red indicator light means that the LED is in a fault state.

Teresa emphasizes that this was a collaborative effort. ‘Due to the ongoing communication from the ROTOCON and MPS teams with our plant manager Lance Zeeman, who worked with our production and maintenance teams, we knew exactly what was expected. Therefore, they could do the installation as quickly and efficiently as possible. The communication, as well as the project management, was outstanding.’ Patrick states that ROTOCON supplies a full-on label printing production line with all the necessary equipment needed to fulfil any label printing and finishing requirements. ‘We offer turnkey, holistic solutions, whether it’s printing and finishing equipment, consumables, tooling, or 24/7 technical support.’

Patrick adds that part of ROTOCON’s service offering is to incorporate technology that’s in line with modern developments in the label printing space. ‘With our vast international network and experience, we strive to stay ahead of the market, and keep a watchful eye on emerging trends.’ With an undeniable reputation for delivering superior after-sales services, he mentions that ROTOCON customers benefit from the company’s appointed specialists capable of providing them with best practice advice on various print and finishing options.

‘The MPS press filled the requirement of the customer,’ says Patrick. ‘The customer bought into the Performance Program, and immediately realized the value it offered in terms of operator efficiency. It’s a bit like playing golf. You play against yourself. Did I hit the one-hour target again? Did I run the same base wastage for the exact same job? The machine can tell you whether you’re experiencing issues with the dies or the plates. It’s a very clever piece of technology. We’re excited and can’t wait to see what successes will roll off Redfern’s MPS machine in the future. Watch this space …’

 phoseon.com