Partnership provides North America customers with fast, local support and application expertise from experienced industry veterans
Labelexpo is the highlight of the trade fair calendar for anyone manufacturing or working with narrow web products. This year’s Americas edition of the show, held at Rosemont, Illinois, was special. Not only was it the first major industry fair in three years – it also marked the debut for GSE’s distribution partner, UPrint Technologies, a specialist in flexo and screen technology.
The partnership with UPrint Technologies gives the North American market easier access to GSE’s complete portfolio of dispensing systems and ink management software solutions – as well as an extra layer of local support.
With extensive inventories at Spartanburg, UPrint supports converters directly with same-day order shipments, keeping lead-times short. It also has a team of service engineers who advise customers how to gain best value from their investments and optimize performance.
Total systems approach for process optimization
UPrint’s ‘total system’ solutions for flexo and screen printing provide the key to process control – a significant challenge for narrow web converters, not least because of the tough colour standards of brand owners, and the increasingly diverse range of substrates used – including shrink sleeves and flexible packaging, as well as traditional PSL.
The equipment and consumable providers UPrint Technologies represents are all technology leaders in their field, with high-quality products proven to deliver better performance in prepress, the ink room and the press room.
Besides GSE, this includes AKK (laser engraving systems), PrimeBlade (doctor blades), Rheonics (viscosity control), Flexoclean (anilox roll cleaning systems) and RKS (screen squeegees), among others.
Harmonizing colour quality
According to UPrint Technologies’ CEO Edward Scheppink, it’s vital for printers to see the elements of the workflow as a harmonious system – not just individual components – to get the best results in terms of operating efficiency and quality:
“In these challenging, inflationary times, converters are rightly looking very hard at their processes to seek cost and waste reduction,” he says. “The right mix of ancillary products and equipment is key to process optimization – and they must be carefully selected according to application. So, for cutting ink waste, the dispensing system brings accurate colour ‘first time right’ – but that colour must be maintained through the run, for example with a long life doctor blade or squeegee, and a viscosity monitor using the targets provided by the dispenser software.”
“This is just one example of how our one-stop-shop flexo and screen product and service program is tailored to the customer’s needs – providing the solution for better process control, maximum uptime and repeatable quality.”
Process standardization for multi-national converters
UPrint Technologies also offers support and consultancy on a global scale to multi-national converting operations – in collaboration with vendor sales and distribution networks.
The company’s co-founder Herbert Skerjanz, COO, comments: “There is a strong trend to globalization in the converting sector – with acquisitions resulting in new multi-national companies. We help them standardize processes globally, by coordinating the introduction of equipment on different presses at multiple locations. We provide support at all stages, from collaboration with test sites, to shipping, and application advice.”
For more information about UPrint Technologies and its solutions for the flexo and screen printing workflows, visit: https://uprinttech.com
