Corona treatment builds better bonds for BOPP laminates

Biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) wasn't regarded as a popular substrate for flexographic printing way back when. But in 1967, James Kuber already recognized BOPP's ability to serve as an ideal packaging material. He relied on the long-term potential of flexo printing and soon launched flexible-packaging converter Prestige-Pak (www.prestige-pak.com) in Fond Du Lac, WI.

"My dad saw that not a lot of people were printing on this stuff," explains current Prestige-Pak president Vince Kuber. "We have grown every seven to eight years with new machines."

As store shelves continue to stock up on products packaged in laminated, flexible bags and pouches, Prestige-Pak decided to ride the wave with a 59-in. Super Simplex solventless laminator from Nordmeccanica NA (www.nordmeccanica.com), purchased last April. "The laminator came swimming in from Italy," Kuber jokes, "and was used for a demonstration in Long Island, NY, before it was shipped to our facility. This is a new direction for us. With better barrier properties, longer shelf life, and the ability to keep oxygen out of the package, laminating has come a long way in a very short amount of time."

Shortly after the laminator installation, Prestige-Pak added two 59-in.-wide universal roll corona treaters from Enercon Industries Corp. (www.enerconind.com) to better ensure lamination strength and improve dyne levels. After careful analysis of all of the proposals presented, the decision was a no brainer, says Kuber. "The logistics of having Enercon in our backyard, and the added value just made more sense.

"As the guy who writes the check, what was important to me was not to be nickeled and dimed at every turn," he continues. "We had one company that offered us a Cadillac —what we needed, and another that offered us a stripped-down Chevy. By the time we added options to try to bring the Chevy up to the level of the Cadillac, we would have spent 25-percent more to get it there."

Adds Prestige-Pak plant manager Gregg Leisten, "In looking at competitive proposals, something didn't seem right. We had the feeling we weren't comparing apples to apples."

With the addition of the corona treaters, the primary and secondary webs on the laminator are electromechanically surfaced at dyne levels close to 44. Each treater features a Compak 2000 7.5-kW power supply that provides stringent quality control. The watt-density control function automatically adjusts the treater power level to match the web speed. With matched speed, Kuber says, waste is reduced and product consistency is ensured.

Enercon's treater design is mechanically and electrically integrated specifically for the Nordmeccanica laminator, which allowed installation to take place in hours rather than days. The laminator was also pre-drilled for easy fitting of the treaters. "Set-up was plug-and-play," says Leisten. "With all the pre-engineering involved, I wouldn't expect anything less."

Predominately serving the snack-foods packaging market, Prestige-Pak is capable of laminating plastic to foil and plastic to paper. "We serve a niche market," says Kuber. "We have mastered short-runs and the business model. Our changeovers are as quick as a pit crew."

Within weeks of installing the lamination treaters, Prestige-Pak decided it was a worthwhile investment to add similar Enercon high-definition corona treaters to its 8-color CI-flexo press from Paper Converting Machine Co. (www.pcmc.com). This addition is expected to improve print repeatability and eliminate pinholing defects. Integration of controls for both the press and the laminator will allow operators to work more efficiently.

The converter employs X-Rite (www.xrite.com) color-matching inspection, which has become a standard practice for every print job performed at Prestige-Pak. "To stay on the cutting edge, we invest in the best technology available to maximize our printing capability for our customers," says Kuber. The program is said to guarantee repeatability through color recipes for every print job.

The new printing-press Enercon treaters, which are expected to be installed next month, will help the ink to wet out and lay down on all substrate types.

Prestige-Pak stands by the US Clean Air Act by using a regenerative thermal oxidizer from Anguil Environmental Systems (www.anguil.com). With the 15,000-SCFM, dual-chamber RTO, Prestige-Pak destroys 99.3 percent of all volatile organic compounds and operates without the use of natural gas for heating as long as the plant is running at least one press."We also recycle everything," says Kuber.