Semi-rotary offset: All advantages and possibilities

From an industrial point of view, all industrial label printers (mainly offset and flexo) are evolving towards much more digitalised production processes, with fast changeovers, automated flows, stability control, productivity, lower consumption thanks to UV LED and automatic register, total software control, etc.

Within all these technological advances, semi-rotary offset has undergone a very positive transformation in recent years and today has a group of improvements that position this printing system as one of the most profitable and productive, especially in short runs, when it comes to producing labels.

Let’s review all these automatisms and improvements:

• Automatic ink traywith CIP3: The ink trays are controlled from the machine’s digital panel and can be saved for later production.
• Automatic cleaning of the offset rollers battery: In a few minutes a colour change can be made without operator effort.
• Automatic registration, although pre-registration already guarantees stability, is recommended when we want to work with plastic materials.
• Chilled rollersto keep the inks at a constant temperature, regardless of the environment.
• Energy saving UV LED curing, proven with offset inks
• Plate cleaningwhen the material is stopped, which saves many metres of material.
• The simple offset pre-press and today’s CTPsallow production to start within 15 minutes of receiving the file.

Advantages in implementation:

• With a semi-rotary offset press, any material can be printed without the need to apply a primer beforehand.
• The inks don’t require further treatment for foil coating, lamination or reprinting. The anchorage is superior to other technologies.

Economic reasons to opt for Semi-rotary Offset:

• The initial investment is half compared to electrographic systems, so the hourly cost of the machine also translates into more economy.
• The normal working speed is higher in Offset.
• Semi-rotary offset does not require a high level of regular maintenance or ongoing support from factory.
• In the job costing, the cost per ink consumption in offset printing is minimal compared to the cost of expensive inks or per click, for example.
• On an offset press with the automatisms mentioned above, the level of waste in the setting of stored jobs is very low, between 40 and 50 metres on a basic press.
• The job changeover time can be less than 5 minutes. – The downtime for maintenance or calibration on a semi-rotary offset press is practically zero.
• It is not necessary to die-cut or varnish off-line. If we focus on short runs, off-line die-cutting involves handling the material in a converting where the final product is often not made, but where it is necessary to pass the die-cut reel through the slitter.

The Market:

Jordi Quera, VP Sales & Marketing at Zonten Europe SLU, analysed the market in an article last January, drawing the following conclusions based on industry data:

<< The undisputed evidence regarding market needs: shorter  runs, quality, productivity, automation and cost reduction.>>

Considering that this is what the market demands, he points out:

<< Semi-rotary offset, is more cost effective, gives higher quality and is faster than any digital printing technology on most short-run orders, plus the possibility to have an in-line configuration to produce finished labels. >>

The Zonten Multiprint ZTJ 330/520

Our Semi-rotary Offset Multiprint ZTJ 330/520 is a high-tech label printer.

Offers solutions for multiple industrial sectors such as health & beauty, bottle labeling, food label printing or in-mold labeling (IML).

Due to its automation system, pre-registration and patented technology, the Zonten Multiprint ZTJ 330/520 is the favourite of our customers, who value its robust design and durability. The machine stands out for being easy to operate.

It has a printing unit that uses an advanced inking system and a water-alcohol dampening system to guarantee print quality together with a multitude of customised possibilities to achieve the best results according to each customer’s needs and work requirements.

If you want to know more about the equipment, you can read the following article.