Fully Automated Laser Gravure Cylinder Making System / Development and Manufacture of Ink Jet Printer for Flexible Packaging

Greeting

　As our company name implies, we at Think Laboratory have been creating new products that have never existed in the world by “THINK,” the act of thinking. The gravure cylinder making equipment that we have manufactured since our establishment has been installed by many customers throughout Japan and overseas. Gravure printing is used in Japan and many other countries, especially for food packaging, as a method that enables high-speed, high-quality printing on a wide variety of substrates. In the field of printing, the demand for packaging is increasing worldwide.
　
　Our cylinder making system “NewFX series”, which combines laser cylinder making and transport by robot, differentiates itself from conventional systems in terms of productivity and high image quality, and we have shipped more than 100 sets in total. This system is ideal for gravure printing using water-based ink, which requires high line counts and shallow cell depth cylinder making, and has been further improved and evolved over the years. The system can also be combined in-line with an automatic inspection system for further labor savings.
　
　We are also expanding the possibilities of gravure printing by using laser gravure cylinder production technology to manufacture cylinders for printing electronic components and to apply DLC coating, which is more abrasion resistant than chrome plating, to cylinders.
　
　We have developed the world’s first water-based inkjet printing press for flexible packaging as a solution to the recent trend toward high-mix, small-lot printing, short delivery times, and a shortage of operators. Our inkjet printers using odor-free water-based ink can print at a high resolution of 1200 dpi on commercially available film substrates as wide as 1100 mm without primer treatment.

　The “BMF” (Business Model Factory), located in the headquarters, is equipped with a water-based inkjet printer “FXIJ”, a solvent free laminator, a slitter, a bag-making machine, etc., and shows how the actual manufacturing of packaging, from printing to post-processing, is done in a single pass with a minimum configuration of equipment. The digital printing process, which does not use printing cylinder, is a conventional printing method. Digital printing, which does not use plates, is a new field that is not bound by conventional boundaries, and its possibilities are expanding. In addition to this, we are also practicing having in-house facilities for machining mechanical parts and manufacturing water-based inks to reduce costs, improve product quality, and shorten the cycle of product improvement. Think Laboratory will continue to challenge innovation and contribute to society.

Think Laboratory Co., Ltd. President 
Kaku Shigeta