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Deluxe Packages has embraced the use of Lean Manufacturing in order to focus on becoming World Class.  The Yuba City plant has recently completed training on Lean and has identified potential Kaizen events through Value Stream Mapping.  The Kaizen events will focus on reducing critical set-up time and eliminating waste.

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Deluxe Packages Media

Converting Magazine June 1999 Issue By Ela Fruscione, Associate Editor

With versatility in mind, Deluxe Packages brings a 60-in.-wide, eight-color Kidder flexographic press, and an in-line PSI laminator, on board to meet present and future market demands.  Adding wide-web eight-color capabilities to its business not only lets Yuba City, Calif.-based Deluxe Packages meet internal efficiency goals, but it equips it with the tools needed to keep up with the fast pace of the flex-pack industry.

Deluxe Packages serves the California market, producing flexible packaging for such products as snack foods, dried fruit and nuts.

“The graphics on most flexo products are now demanding eight-color capacity,” says Tom Boots, printing manager.  “Even with products running less than eight colors, the ability to run multiple items is required.” 

According to Kidder, there seems to be a “wider” trend in the film market.  There are more inquires today for 60- to 65-in. presses compared to two years ago, when mid-web presses at 45 in. were the standard.

Deluxe chose the Kidder Centraflex 886 central-impression flexographic press because its capabilities matched the needs of Deluxe: wide web printing, eight-color printing, high productivity, long runs, and the ability to accommodate an in-line laminating station from PSI.

This 60-in.-wide press’ Magnetek drives have the ability to handle an in-line cold-seal upgrade.  By doing so, Deluxe has prepared itself for the opportunity to grow its applications as the future market demands. 

Press design caps performance
“The Kidder is a very stout machine, a workhorse, very dependable,” says Boots.  “What makes it unique is Kidder’s design overall.”  Eight color stations are configured around an 86-in.-dia. Impression cylinder.  Deluxe tends to run the press between 700-800 fpm when coating/laminating in-line.

The print station allows easy operator access to the fountain roll, printing cylinders or the linear-actuated reverse-angle Kidder doctor blade applicator.  This doctor blade applicator provides ink and coating metering with quick color changes and cleanup.  A unique double-lip surface seal eliminates leaking, and a lightweight quick-change blade applicator ensures speedy blade replacement.  Powerwise electric ink pumps include one supply hose to the applicator and one return hose from the pan.  A precision deck actuator places ink fountains in extreme outboard locations for easy accessibility at job changeover.

Deluxe required the press to be equipped with 2000 Series Enercon 10kW treaters and BST’s Eagle video web inspection system.  The BST monitors print quality during the run.  “With the Eagle you can zoom in and actually look at dot configuration and printing configurations while you’re running,” says Boots.  It also features online UPC verification.

Jobs that run four-color process use Harper United anilox rolls at 760 and 800 lines/in.  Two drying systems are involved: high-velocity between-color dryers for printing and a containerized, pushthrough overhead final dryer.  The dryers are ideally suited for Deluxe’s water-based ink operation.  “The efficiency of the ovens allows us to run water-based at higher speeds,” says Boots.

Press installation, start up and training was completed in April.  “The mechanical installation was almost flawless,” says Boots.  “It went very smooth.”  Both Kidder and coater/laminator manufacturer PSI worked with Deluxe to provide complete assistance.

“We are able to achieve high-quality print on our Kidder presses,” says Boots.  Deluxe has two other central-impression presses on its plant floor: a wide-web six-color Kidder with cold-seal capability and a mid-web eight-color Fischer & Krecke model.           

In-line laminating pros
Deluxe Packages runs a 24-hour six-day operation at its Yuba City facility.  Most of it is six- and eight-color printed polypropylene adhesive-laminated to polyethylene, but it also prints on polyester and polyethylene.  AET and Mobil supply most of the PP.  Printing and laminating in one pass is ideal for Deluxe.  “Just to eliminate a step in our operation saves 45 to 50 percent of actual machine time,” says Boots.

Installed with the Kidder press was a PSI coating line, including a Kidder chambered doctor blade.  The coating station has a 9-in.-dia. coating roll with PSI’s “TRS” tool-less removal system that allows the coating roll to be changed in minutes without the use of tools.  The laminator has a 22-in.-a., spiral-bound, double-wall laminating hot roll. (For more information on Deluxe’s PSI coating/laminating installation, see CONVERTING’S June 99 Coater/Laminator Technology supplement.)

PSI also designed the in-line unwind and turret rewind stations that are touchscreen-controlled via Allen-Bradley processors.  Both stations are equipped with Boschert safety chuck “V” inserts for easy loading and unloading of the material shafts, Erhardt & Leimer digital web guides and a special horizontal knife assembly for high-speed web splices.  Tidland composite air shafts are outfitted on the unwind.

In addition to printing, coating and laminating, Deluxe makes and mounts its own rubber plates, extrusion laminates and slits its film in-house.  Two outside sources supply photopolymer plates.  It has six slitters that predominately razor-slit at speeds up to 600 fpm at widths varying from 2 ¾ to 21 in.

Reprinted from Converting Magazine March, 1999
Copyright 1999 by CAHNERS BUSINESS INFORMATION

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