The new press was given its soft launch and became available for purchase at the International Association of Diecutting and Diemaking (IADD) Odyssey expo in Chicago, US, in May, but will be officially launched at Print 17, Chicago, between 10 and 14 September. Kluge did not disclose the price.
Kluge managing director Thomas Andersen said there are three main improvements over Kluge’s older presses, time, temperature and tonnage, and the control the operator now has over all three.
It runs at maximum speeds of 3,300iph, taking a variety of stocks at a maximum sheet size of 430x630mm.
Andersen said: “If you’re buying this press you’re not buying it for the speed, you are buying it because you gain new capabilities, you are able to run through material that previously would have been very difficult, such as plastics, laminated stocks and UV-coated stock, and you are buying it because you can lay down much larger foil areas for much bigger embossing.”
Time, temperature and tonnage are controlled centrally by ApexFoil’s Compass control system.
“Controlling tonnage we’ve spoken about for a while, we talk about it as compression,” said Andersen.
“With the turn of the handle we can get more or less pressure, you still need to do spot pressure settings but overall can change pressure across the platen.”
The machine’s clutch drive allows the time on each impression to be controlled, so operators can set the time on impressions and can stop a job to inspect mid-way through for bad sheets.
Temperature-wise, it has 24-hour dual-surface heat control with timer control to pre-heat die and makeready surfaces prior to operating. There is a heating plate behind the die but it also a new heating plate on the opposite side, behind the counter-die.
The press has a new design with sliding interlocking safety guards, a touchscreen interface and a multi-point LED lighting package.
Andersen said it will save around 80% on makeready times, with its tool-less registration and ultra-lightweight die mounting plate requiring less operator effort and saving up to five minutes during job changeovers.
He added that the R&D process that was initiated for the press after Drupa had gone far quicker than first anticipated.
“If you’d asked me at Drupa, ‘When will you have a new press?’ I would have said ‘I’ve got nothing new and I doubt you’ll see anything in the foreseeable future’.
“Foil has a massive interest at the moment, there is foil everywhere and people are looking at it as something where they can stand out. So we are seeing a massive surge in the interest in foil embossings and old fashioned graphic crafts that make print stand out.
“As soon as you start adding things like this you have a better chance to have a good margin on your printed products.”
