In a $15 million (€14,383,575) expansion and infrastructure enhancement, Platinum Press has installed new Koenig & Bauer and Durst printing presses and unlocked nearly 50% more floorspace for healthcare packaging production at its Fort Worth headquarters.
In a combined effort to shorten lead times while boosting overall quality, Platinum Press has sought to increase manufacturing space, inventory storage, final product warehousing, and logistics.
Two new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 X Printing Presses have been installed at the facility. Reportedly to be the first two Rapida machines utilized in the U.S, they are said to be compatible with an ‘exceptionally wide’ range of materials, from 24# leaflet stock to 32-point carton stock.
Each is expected to produce up to 18,000 sheets per hour, which coincides with the claim that they are the fastest, most efficient presses in their category. They are also set to handle up to 20,000 sheets per hour at their cold foil stations, while their precise application hopes to reduce overall foil usage by up to 85%.
The presses also claim to facilitate a seven-minute changeover that suits both long runs and shorter, customized ones. They are roll-fed in order to prevent sheet misfeeds, with a 100% vision inspection system in place to proof both sides of a sheet and provide automatic colour correction.
Alongside the Rapida 106 X presses is Durst’s new Durst Tau RSCi Digital Press. It claims to produce seven-colour ‘true’ 1200x1200-pixel resolution, even at maximum speeds – using FDA-compliant inks for indirect food and drug contact.
Its offline finishing units enable small-run specialty products – especially small and medium run booklet style, or two-ply extended text labels – to be produced ‘efficiently and effectively’.
“The floorspace expansion and infrastructure investments at our Fort Worth headquarters address both growing customer demands and evolving industry needs,” said Andrew Vale, vice president of Platinum Press. “As we simultaneously heighten capacity and extend capabilities across a number of categories, Platinum Press is paving the way for several new product introductions throughout 2024 and beyond.”
All these updates will be accompanied by the introduction of several new packaging solutions from Platinum Press in the next few months.
Last summer, Coveris made its own €3 million investment in the new Comexi press, set to be operated at the former’s flagship facility in Louth. The press claimed to deliver high-print quality and high-speed efficiencies while minimizing and customizing energy consumption per job.
Meanwhile, Koenig & Bauer launched its MetJET ONE digital printing press – reportedly the first to be suitable for integration into production lines for metal decorating. It is thought to combine proven components from digital printing, sheet handling, and system engineering; the integrated inkjet technology is based on a multi-pass printing unit from Durst.
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