Hot stamping technology market development
Just a few years ago, the market's demand for hot stamping became more and more intense, but most flexo printers were reluctant to attach rotary press units to their flexo presses. There are three reasons: First, applying hot foil will slow down the overall speed of the press. Most printers think it is not worth it. Two: In recent years, it has been found that the use of hot foil on flexo presses can waste a lot of materials. From the perspective of cost, the feasibility is relatively reduced. Three: The cost of installing rotary stamping units is extremely high, and non-printers cannot afford it.
Today, advanced technology has made hot stamping foil more popular – a technique that allows aluminum foils to be properly aligned, and the label runs at different speeds – allowing flexo printers to take a look at rotary hot foils. For hot stamping foil manufacturers, the roller stamping foil market has potential for growth. Therefore, many manufacturers have actively researched aluminum foils that can be processed with high efficiency and provide high quality aluminum foil stamping effects.
Just a few years ago, flexo printers used rotary hot stamping in label printing at speeds of up to about 150 fpm. However, the current speed is 3 to 4 times faster than it was several years ago. In addition, the technology of saving aluminum foil is part of the control of the use of aluminum foil by the rotary foiling system, thus reducing the amount of wasted aluminum foil used by 60% to 70%.
In the end, the cost of tools has dropped dramatically. Brass rotary engravings are currently more efficient and can be completed at lower cost. In addition, the market also has other options, including the magnetic cylinder of the steel core, which can use the elastic foil stamping die.
It is believed that the use of aluminum foil and embossing on the market for consumer product labels is expected to continue to grow, with the health and beauty industry and the wine and spirits industry making the difference. The lower-middle-priced products also began to use aluminum foil to print their labels to attract buyers and create a more noble image.
Peter Kuschnitzky, general manager of I.KELACo., a manufacturer of precision plastics and metal parts for manufacturing rotary stamping equipment and tools in Sarasota, said: “The growth rate of our rotating equipment is higher than expected. This was partly due to the increase in demand for aluminum foil from manufacturers of lower-priced products in recent years."
Why is this change in the market? Kuschnitzky stated that this is due to the economic slowdown over the past few years, and the overall size of all specific industries has shrunk. For example, sales of the overall shampoo in 2002 were assumed to be US$20 million, but today it may only reach US$17 million. This means that the entire market is shrinking. If product marketers are interested in gaining greater market share in this shrinking market, they have to create new labels and packaging to maintain or even increase their market share.
As the use of pressure sensitive materials continues to grow, the need for flexographic printers to print hot foil labels has risen, with labels for wine and spirits as the greatest. Chris Corbett, national sales manager of Foilmark, a maker of precision plastics and metal parts for rotating rotary stamping equipment and tools in Newburyport, Mass., said: “The use of pressure-sensitive labels is cheap and easy to handle, so many wine and spirits manufacturers have adopted Pressing materials will then help speed up the conversion of most of these types of labels to narrow format."
As for the use of transparent labels, the industry has begun to use pressure-sensitive materials, among which health care and beauty products are very important. The labels are passing over to the pressure sensitive material. Because the adhesive labels have obvious adhesive marks, all transparent labels are pressure-sensitive, not adhesive.
Another growing segment of the rotary foil market is printed on real or real gold foil and printed in four-color on the foil. This more viable option helps flexographic printer manufacturers to set up an active rotary hot stamping unit at the beginning or end of the press. According to Michael See, President of Precision HotStamp Inc., a manufacturer of rotary brass foil stamping molds in Sarasota, “In the production of labels, the foil is first processed and then coated with multiple transparent inks. Only one aluminum foil treatment is required to create a multi-color aluminum foil effect.†This method has become extremely popular in consumer label applications.
The use of aluminum foil and embossing in consumer products has become more common. One of the most popular industries is wine and spirits labels.
In the future, the overall quality and flexibility of narrow flexographic printing have taken a big step forward. More and more high-priced product labels and small carton printing are introduced into flexographic devices on the market. In turn, most of the high-priced product labels using aluminum foil and/or embossing are currently being produced using narrow-web printers.
In addition, today's flexographic presses can handle heavier cartons and longer paper drums. Previously only large-format and sheet-fed printing presses (even gravure printing presses) were able to process several carton printing jobs, and now narrow-width flexo plates can be processed. This kind of over-provisioning may create more opportunities for narrow flexo printing and hot stamping and embossing.
As rotary hot foiling technology continues to improve and costs continue to decline, the market should not eliminate rotating hot foils in the near future. Jim Hutchison, Vice President of Universal Engraving Inc., a manufacturer of rotary brass hot foil molds in Overland Park, Kansas, said: "The key to applying aluminum foil through rotary processes is that you can put raw materials on one end of the machine and get it on the other end. Labels or cartons, if applied smoothly, will continue to be a good choice for labels and cartons.
Source: Ke Yin Network