Heidelberg has taken aim at the folding carton market with new machines: the Promatrix 106 CS die cutter, the Diana Smart 55, and the Diana Smart 80 folding carton gluing machines.
Stephan Plenz, a member of the management board responsible for Heidelberg equipment, says, “While the packaging sector is growing in emerging markets, we are seeing consolidation and productivity increases in industrialised countries. The packaging market is of great interest to us. We meet its needs with appropriate press and post press products and also with our Prinect post press packaging print shop workflow.”
The Promatrix 106 CS performs die cutting and embossing at 8,000 sheets per hour. Aimed at manufacturers of folding cartons in short to medium runs, Heidelberg says it will also suit commercial print shops that occasionally produce packaging. The company claims a short makeready for the machine, which handle materials from 90gsm to 2000gsm. It processes corrugated board up to four millimetres thick. Heidelberg says the 760 × 1060mm format makes it the ideal post press counterpart for the company’s Speedmaster XL 106.
The figures forming part of the product names for the Diana Smart 55 and Diana Smart 80 refer to the maximum carton width in centimetre.
The Diana Smart 80 has application for straight line and lock bottom carton. The new Diana Smart 55 folding carton gluing machine replaces
The Diana Smart 80
the Diana 45. Heidelberg sees this machine producing small cartons for the pharmaceuticals or cosmetics sector in short and medium runs. The Diana Smart 55 now also optionally offers the latest technologies for this small working width in the shape of the Diana Braille and Diana Inspection Control modules.
The company has adapted components from the Diana X series for the Diana Smart 55 and Diana Smart 80 to make them more compact. The Diana Smart offers a maximum speed of 450mpm, which means it produces around 140,000 cartons per hour. The Diana X produces over 200,000 cartons per hour. The Diana Smart has a modular structure and can be tailored to each customer’s specific circumstances. For example, it can be equipped with the Diana Pile Turner, the Diana Feeder, the Diana Packer or the FAS 480 packing aid. Operators can store all relevant settings for repeat jobs.
The Promatrix and Diana Smart come from Heidelberg’s partnership agreement with Chinese manufacturer Masterwork Machinery (MK) and will be sold exclusively by Heidelberg. MK will work on further advances in the die-cutting and folding carton gluing technologies and products developed by Heidelberg in recent years and incorporate these in new products in the future.
Harald Weimer, member of the management board responsible for sales and Heidelberg services “Our sales staff will work closely with MK’s product management team to ensure that new products meet our customers’ technical and economic requirements. The product portfolio will continue to evolve in the medium term, so that we can offer the right machines and solutions to meet all our customers’ needs for effective folding carton production, including the appropriate service activities. Our customers will have the same Heidelberg contacts as before and will still have access to our global sales and service network.”
