Printing & Lamination

Rotogravure remains the right process for long-run flexible packaging. The engraved cylinder lays down a consistent ink film for the entire run, which means colour on the last thousand metres matches colour on the first - a claim other processes have to work considerably harder to make.

Our rotogravure and flexo presses print up to 10 colours at 250 to 350 metres per minute. Cylinders are steel-based, copper-plated for engraving and chrome-finished. When a cylinder is retired, the chrome and copper are stripped and the steel base is reused.

Lamination runs both ways. Adhesive lamination - solvent and solventless - gives high clarity and high bond strength for most structures. Extrusion lamination bonds with a polyethylene layer, which is the more economical route where the PE tie layer is doing useful work in the structure anyway.