Label Leaders’ directors, Rene Koen and Theo Raubenheimer, in front of the recently-installed MacDermid EVO 2A washout system. With them is TAD Printing Products’ technical sales representative, Patrick Krieling.
In Theo’s view, TAD is the go-to company for all prepress needs. ‘We’ve built an excellent relationship over the years, based on mutual respect,’ Theo remarks. ‘TAD’s technical sales representative, Patrick Krieling, is one of the printing industry’s brightest minds,’ he continues. ‘In 2017, Patrick installed our Cron HDI-900S CtP unit (PPM June 2017), at the time the first in South Africa, and the quality of plates coming from the Cron unit has helped take our process colour work to fresh levels of excellence, allowing us to deliver high-quality labels in the shortest possible time,’ Theo says. ‘In addition, as part of Patrick’s complete technical package, he has assisted our in-house DTP/prepress department to upgrade their skills from CorelDraw to Adobe’.
As a vital component in Label Leaders’ success is saving time and money, the company needs to seize every opportunity to improve efficiency and reduce costs. As Theo remarks, this usually means investing in the latest technologies.
As a long-time supporter of MacDermid printing plates, also supplied by TAD Printing Products, it was an easy decision to replace the outdated plate washer with the latest EVO 2A system.
TAD’s Rob Bywater lists some of the system’s numerous benefits: for instance, the digital washout unit is designed with a separate prewash section to prevent the black layer contaminating the washout solvent, and an inline washout system with front and rear access.
Other key design features include a servo-driven motor advance system that enables a constant and repeatable washout speed; double movement brushes that reduce washout times to between five and 10 minutes (depending on plate thickness); an automatic solvent replenishment system, with a flow regulation option on the touchscreen; and constant solvent temperature thanks to a looped water circulation system.
The dryer section features four drawers to prevent fume leaks and two separate temperature control interfaces for optimal uniformity. Additionally, drying temperature is reached quickly thanks to automatic preheating and optimised hot air generation and circulation systems.
As Theo Raubenheimer sums up: ‘We view the EVO 2A washout system as an environmentally-responsible and cost-saving option because it uses less solvent and cleans plates faster than our previous machine – enabling us to pass on savings to our customers.’
