APR helps specialty printer find the ideal tape and mounting plate combinations
Customer: Packaging Specialties of Georgia is a food packaging printer servicing industries such as poultry and consumer goods.
Situation: To maintain a competitive advantage, be more efficient and standardize plate materials, Packaging Specialties of Georgia seeks expert tape mounting analysis.
Solution: A highly detailed tape and mounting plate print analysis done by APR helps find the ideal tape/mounting materials combinations for Packaging Specialties of Georgia.
Bottom Line: APR delivers the measurable and quantifiable analysis that Packaging Specialties of Georgia needs to optimize printing and standardize materials for potential cost savings.
The Story
The management of Packaging Specialties of Georgia decided that a detailed analysis of their tape backing and plate mounting process was needed to help maintain and perhaps improve their print quality. With several facilities and 22 printing presses, standardization was a priorityÑwith standard materials came the potential for great efficiency and cost savings. While some printers may choose to perform an internal technical analysis, Packaging Specialties of Georgia determined the best analysis would come from an outside expert.
Plant Manager
Packaging Specialties of Georgia
"It was important to us to have an impartial analysis and conduct testing without any bias," says David Hodges, Plant Manager. "APR was already our supplier for all our tape backing, so we decided after meeting with Catherine Haynes that we were going to perform a mounting tape and printing analysis."
"Mounting tape is a critical element, a critical part of the printing process," says Catherine Haynes, Southeastern Technical Solutions Manager for APR. "In this case, they were looking for the best mounting tape for the printing plates they were using. So we looked at the quality of line work and screen art, how well the ink released and what the solids looked like... a number of important variables and factors go into the analysis. It's a very thorough process."
APR Makes Quality Quantifiable
The print team at Packaging Specialties of Georgia started the process by printing several different runs using multiple combinations of tape backing and mounting materials. With these samples, Catherine used analytic tools and a baseline of quality print parameters from an APR database to quantify and grade each plate-tape combination. The selection was then narrowed down to the top three, with finally one main tape product chosen as the ideal product for their mounting department.
Production Manager
Packaging Specialties of Georgia
"Our analysis was as comprehensive as possible," says Catherine. "We put together a very detailed report that identifies specific variables that go into print quality. It's a very meticulous process that also helps eliminate factors not related to tape. Ultimately it wasn't so much about finding the one tape that solved a specific problem, but identifying which plate-tape combination delivered the specific and measurable results they wanted."
APR provided Packaging Specialties of Georgia with a very detailed and thorough unbiased analysis of print tape and mounting material combinations. This analysis lasted 30 days and included:
- Blind samples protocol: All tape and mounting combinations were given a sequential number to ensure unbiased grading.
- Pre-test plate material testing: To help eliminate variables not related to tape, plate materials were tested to identify these factors.
- Print quality analysis: Using the blind samples, specific and measurable differences were identified related to ink lay down, pin holing, dot circularity, slur, dot size, dot gain and more.
- Database comparison: After comparing print quality with an extensive APR database of baseline quality parameters and specifications, grading was assigned to each sample.
- Detailed report: Highly specific and quantifiable quality measurements for each tape and mounting material combination were provided; the top three choices were presented.
The Benefits
"We have more consistent print quality and our mounting materials are standardized, plus we have better solids and less pin holes," says Tony Gilleland, Production Manager for Packaging Specialties of Georgia. "Our mounting department is not changing backings as often, which reduces our downtime. And now that we have fewer and more standardized materials, we're seeing some cost benefits from bulk purchasing."
After six months, the management of Packaging Specialties of Georgia reports that these benefits continue to reap rewards for their company and are happy with the results. In fact, they've contracted APR to conduct additional analysis on other print production areas to further increase their efficiency and potentially realize more cost savings.
"APR has been our longstanding supplier for several years, but this was our first service project with them," says David Hodges. "Needless to say, we are very pleased and feel like we definitely made the right choice."