The first low migration (LM)-related workshop, organized by Mark Andy and associated partner suppliers was declared a mega success, attracting more than 120 people from countries around Europe.

The event was held in the company’s Technology Center in Warsaw (Poland) and included the first ever demo of a new flexo press – the Mark Andy PRO Series.  Joining this first workshop were tech partners J.S. Hamilton, a certified research lab involved in packaging industry work, ink manufacturer Siegwerk, UV curing specialists GEW, and substrate supplier UPM Raflatac.  All participated in the workshop that also saw live presentations of three Mark Andy presses, including the new PRO Series.

“A high attendance and keen interest in all of presentations during the event, including the lively Q&A sessions, confirmed the growing importance of low migration in the label and packaging market,” says Lena Chmielewska-Bontron, European marketing manager Mark Andy.  “It’s especially relevant to printers working in ‘sensitive’ industries like food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.  As a press manufacturer, we feel a dual responsibility for delivering top class equipment devoted to label and packaging production and spreading knowledge of the different issues faced by our customers.  LM is one of these and we’re very happy that it attracted the interest of such as international audience.”

The visitors were welcomed by Przemyslaw Polkowski, general manager Mark Andy Poland, who underlined the importance of the events organised by Mark Andy in line with its ‘Total Solutions Partner’ maxim: “Besides offering top class printing presses, based on conventional and digital techniques, ancillary equipment, software and consumables, we’re committed to being a trusted partner and technology advisor.  These events are an integral part of this strategy that includes close co-operation with leading manufacturers and companies active in the label and packaging markets, such as those offering curing systems, inks, and substrates. It’s a great pleasure to have three of them – GEW, Siegwerk and UPM-Raflatac as technology partners in this LM workshop.  For the first time we also welcome J.S. Hamilton as a partner. This company supports printers and brand owners in research and testing substrates and final label and packaging products, in the context of legal compliance.”

When Low Migration Becomes a ‘Must Have’ Issue
The conference was opened by Adam Fotek, Research Expert at J.S. Hamilton.  He invited the participants to take a ‘virtual walk’ around the company and its lab located in Gdynia, Poland. He also presented  types of packaging tested at the LM workshop. The research work included the possible migration of particles from packaging and labels to fresh food.

Fotek presented the research methodology used by his company on different types of labels and packaging, including printed tubes, self-adhesive labels, shrink sleeves and IML. He pointed out different types of migration, its characteristics and the possible impact on food or cosmetic products. He presented several kinds of tests run by J.S. Hamilton: sensory analysis, global migration, specific migration, including PAA and printing, and heavy metal content.  He also highlighted the special equipment used in research and testing work.  Legal compliance topics attracted interest from participants as they differ, depending on the region of the world and market specifics.

Low migration was also the main topic of two following presentations. Marcus Greenbrook, International sales director at GEW, talked about his company’s curing systems that are fitted to today’s printing presses.  He compared different types of curing, including air-cooled UV and LED UV.  Focusing on LED UV, he underlined its suitability for LM inks and its impact on energy saving.  GEW is a key provider of curing systems on Mark Andy presses, and recently introduced a hybrid solution that uses different ink curing technology.

Marc Larvor, head of Technology Business Unit Narrow Web EMEA at Siegwerk, presented LM solutions manufactured by the company specifically for labels and packaging printed on narrow-web presses.  He pointed out various market areas that offer a big capacity for LM inks, including the food industry.  Siegwerk has developed a special LM-oriented series of products named SICURA Nutriflex. These include inks, varnishes, primers, adhesives, and consumables. 

The LM workshop was the first public opportunity to show this new flexo press recently introduced by Mark Andy and devoted to self-adhesive label production. Lukasz Chruslinski, European sales manager, listed its key benefits: “PRO Series is based on well-proven, reliable servo technology from our Performance and Evolution Series.  It has a modular design that means, depending on the user’s needs, it can be upgraded with toner units and transformed into a hybrid press.  The toner-based module is installed between flexo units and PRO Series then becomes a Digital PRO Max press.  We anticipate that its flexibility, compact size, and opportunity for upgrading, combined with additional finishing and embellishment and VDP printing options using the toner technology, will attract interest from many printers.”

Pro Series works with the same anilox rolls, print and magnetic cylinders as Performance Series and Evolution Series.

Following this presentation in Warsaw, the PRO Series will be one of the highlights of Mark Andy’s booth at the forthcoming Labelexpo Europe in Brussels this September.  Scheduled presentations at the expo will also include Digital Series HD hybrid press, which was demonstrated at the LM workshop.

“By presenting three presses our visitors had the opportunity to learn more about our comprehensive portfolio of technology, including different printing techniques that included the toner-based Digital Pro 3 press installed in our Technology Center in Warsaw.  We hope that the presentations and press demos will encourage other printers to engage with Mark Andy to confirm to our existing users that they have made the right choice.  We’d like to thank all the workshop participants as well as our technology partners, and we look forward to welcoming everyone to our booth at Labelexpo in Brussels,” Lena Chmielewska-Bontron concluded.