Leading Indian trade shop Veepee Graphic Solutions has added a second Kongsberg X20 cutting table to its Bengaluru facility, with the new machine significantly boosting production speed and reducing waste to maximize productivity.
Jaichandra, Veepee’s managing director, said the addition of the second Kongsberg table will not only supercharge production but also enable the prepress and flexo platemaking specialist to improve its offering for corrugated converters.
“We are very familiar with the capabilities of the Kongsberg X20 as we bought our first machine in 2018,” he said. “We’ve been thoroughly impressed with the cutting table and Flexo kit, which enables us to finish all makes and thicknesses of plate with high precision. It has helped us to do away with the errors associated with manual plate cutting, and the bevel cut on thicker plates has helped our corrugated customers to drastically reduce print related wastage.
“Using the Kongsberg X20, staggered finishing that would normally take anywhere from thirty to forty-five minutes by hand can be done accurately within three-to-five minutes,” he added. “Plates cut on the Kongsberg have also shown better print results for our customers. It helps reduce press bounce which means they can operate at higher speeds with reduced wastage, while right-first-time mounting brings further efficiencies throughout the run.”
The Kongsberg X20 is one of the most versatile cutting tables on the market, with the specialist Flexo application kit developed to accelerate production without any compromise on quality. Rafiq Shaikh, sales and service leader for Kongsberg PCS, said that the Flexo kit not only enables automated cutting of flexo plates and patches, but also operates back-to-back with the flexo imaging device, physically and digitally.
“The Kongsberg X20 fits in a truly tailored workflow,” he said. “It has seamless integration with the digital flexo software, which enables the customer to have ‘No Muda’ – or waste – while the iPC software, tooling options, and vacuum pump are specifically crafted to meet the production demands of plate cutting.
Furthermore, the Kongsberg X20 addresses the challenges faced when finishing plates for use in corrugated post print, delivering an accurate and consistent cut,” added Rafiq. “The success of their first Kongsberg table is what encouraged Veepee to make the investment in this new, second table.
Veepee’s Jaichandra said that for almost 30 years, Veepee Graphic Solutions has consistently embraced cutting-edge technologies across all facets of its operations. “With our facilities strategically located across five different regions in India and Sri Lanka, we have secured a reputation for delivering first-rate flexo plates alongside excellent service levels and top quality assurance,” he said. “While this latest investment will undoubtedly help boost throughput in service of our labels and flexographic customers, it also enables us to offer plates to corrugated converters at a lower price than before – and save time in producing die lines and plate mounting.
“Previously, the staggered layout plates had to be tediously and carefully cut by hand and were difficult to mount, with the de-mounting of plates from the cylinder after a print run inevitably causing tearing and making them unfit for reuse,” he said. “The staggered layout and precise edge finishing of plates on the Kongsberg X20 eliminates this, and allows the printing and inline converting operations to be better balanced and the press to run at higher speeds.
“We’ve always been satisfied with the quality of the Kongsberg technology,” added Jaichandra, “but just as important to us is the prompt service response time and attentive, experienced engineers who are able to address any issue quickly.”
