Interpack increases prepress productivity and drastically cuts waste and resource consumption
Since Interpack invested in the powerful combination of Agfa’s Energy Elite Eco offset printing plates and Arkana smart processor, it has seen its prepress productivity increase, and chemistry and water consumption lower, while press conditions got more stable and restarts faster.
Interpack S.A. is the largest manufacturer of folding cartons in Argentina, operating two sites in Buenos Aires. The company belongs to the Herman Zupan Group, one of the main packaging producers in Latin America, with subsidiaries in Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Interpack manufactures folding cartons and micro-corrugated containers in offset and in rotogravure. It serves diverse industries, from food to household care and clothing. As a full service provider, it takes care of every aspect of the converting process, from design over prepress and printing to finishing and distribution.
Higher productivity and less resource consumption
“We have an 8-up and a 16-up printing press which use conventional, UV and hybrid inks. Print jobs have run lengths between 2.000 and 200.000 sheets”, says Juan Kozelnik, who is in charge of the prepress department. “We started evaluating Agfa’s Energy Elite Eco plates in 2018, looking for an increase in productivity, a reduction in energy consumption (since they do not require baking), lower chemistry consumption, as well as waste and water reduction.”
Diego Goitisolo from Interpack
“In a first step, we tested the Energy Elite Eco plates’ performance for three months with an existing Glunz & Jensen processor. We shut down the baking oven, resulting in a reduction of energy consumption by nearly 99%, and important savings in chemicals and waste. However, with that conventional processor we still used water for rinsing, and maintenance was frequent, albeit somewhat simpler.”
Juan Kozelnik from Interpack
Leaner operations throughout
“Printing results were good, yet there was still room for improvement in terms of rinse water consumption, cleaning and maintenance routines. That is why we took the next step and installed an Arkana 125 processor from Agfa. Waste was reduced by 51% and chemistry consumption went down by 84%. In addition, we no longer needed to use water for rinsing, since the system does not require it.”
Diego Goitisolo, in charge of the printing operations, adds: “With the adoption of Agfa’s Antura AFS1 Fountain Solution, we also reduced consumption of IPA. The press operators were pleased with the improved water-ink balance and the quicker start-ups after a stop.”
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