Setting Land Speed Record

One of the biggest stories at drupa was the enabling role finishing played for digital printing. At HP, where Scalable Inkjet Technology was displayed in a 36´´ web press, it was the offline finishing of books and mailers that made sense of the digital print output. Partner solutions for the HP Inkjet Web Press come from EMT, Hunkeler (Standard Finishing in the U.S.), MBO, Muller Martini and Pitney Bowes. Likewise for digital news printing applications at Agfa, Screen, Kodak and Océ, and for integrated mailers from Kern and MegaSpirea attached to Xerox printers, and for hybrid digital and offset combinations at Kodak (Versamark with a Muller Martini Concepta offset) and Muller Martini (Océ delivering to integrated finishing), Infoprint Systems (linked to Hunkeler and Lasermax/Roll Systems), not to mention Hunkeler and others. It was the delivery to finishing systems that gave meaning to the output, and systems seemed to be operating more reliably than ever before.

If you want to set a record, it makes sense to call in Guinness, which is what GBC did during drupa to affirm the running speed of the 56´´ version of its new 8500HS Cyclone laminator. Operating at speeds that reached 150 meters (492´) per minute, it is fast enough to provide volume output of durable alternatives to coating or rigid substrates. The Cyclone laminated 100 sq. meters (1,012 sq.ft.) of paper in the world-record time of 40.53 seconds. After the Cyclone got up to speed, a signal was given and the timer and sheet counter was activated.

When the counter reached zero, an adjudicator from the Guinness Book of World Records verified the number of sheets laminated, confirming also they were free of creases and air pockets. No records were broken, since this was (understandably) a new category for Guinness. KBA donated printed sheets.

Running at ultra-high speeds requires superior bonding and clean separation of prints, so GBC introduced a high-bonding strength film at drupa, with an aggressive adhesive. The 8500HS Cyclone is a commercial laminator for single-sided lamination of high-volume print runs. It handles sheets up to 44´´ wide and delivers lengths of 56´´, 44´´ and 31´´.

It includes an integrated high-speed Mabeg feeder that can run up to 18,000 sheets per hour. An Advanced Adhesion Mechanism seen for the first time at drupa, is designed to improve bonding at all speeds. After prints are laminated, they are separated by a track-mounted snapping assembly that remains stationary, while maintaining its grip over the entire sheet. Settings for paper movement, sheet overlap, speed, film tension and separation are adjusted by touch screen and retained for recurrent jobs.

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