tesa® Twinlock Solves Workflow Problems for Major Printing Operation

Workflow is the very essence of a large printing operation; everything depends on it. If something is thrown off in the workflow, a ripple effect ensues throughout the entire production process. Schedules back up, deadlines are missed, and customer deliveries are late. 

CHALLENGE

When one tesa customer – a wellknown printer with a global presence – was having problems in the mounting department and press operators began dealing with bounce, the workflow was thrown off, and finding a solution was priority one. An investigation into the issue revealed that a competitor’s plate mounting tape had inconsistent thicknesses and was creating low spots on the plates. Naturally, this was causing press bounce at high speeds, as well as quality issues. A tesa rep suggested tesa® Twinlock, as it absorbs much more bounce than the regular sticky back tape the printer had been using. The customer took an immediate interest and agreed to move forward with a trial.

SOLUTION

At the start of the trial, there were some difficulties with the hardness of the sleeve, but all that was needed was a simple tweak. tesa® Twinlock is available in several different foam hardnesses, so the tesa team tried out the different varieties until they found the one that performed the best based on all the other variables. After starting off with the hardest option, they trialed the medium hardness next, and finally the softest, which proved to be the perfect solution.

In addition, the trial was able to demonstrate how eliminating the process of mounting tape before mounting the plates to the base sleeve would result in significant time savings, which contributes to the overall speed of production. With plates mounted directly onto the permanently sticky tesa® Twinlock sleeves, jobs are set up and ready to run more quickly.

Finally, because the soft tesa® Twinlock foam was absorbing any bounce the customer had been experiencing before, the presses were able to run at speeds they were unable to maintain before, further contributing to overall production efficiency. 

RESULTS

With tesa® Twinlock foam prescribed at just the right level – soft enough to absorb bounce while enabling the highest print quality – and tape eliminated from the mounting process, workflow consistency for this printer was restored to optimal levels. The trial was not only successful, but established a sense of trust for the product and tesa’s service and delivery. Our solution has worked so well for this customer in fact, that while they use a combination of tesa® Twinlock and tesa tapes, 90% of their orders are specific to replenishing their tesa® Twinlock sleeves.