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"Open House" at THIEME |
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 Swedish screen printers gather information about the current status of screen printing technology.
A change in generations faces many Swedish printing operations, whereas
existing screen-print machines are outdated and must be replaced in the
coming years with modern equipment. This must be done to keep pace with
today's requirements for print quality and productivity.
At the "Open
House" of THIEME GmbH & Co. KG., a leading manufacturer of
screen-printing machines, the representatives of the Swedish
screen-printing operations were now able to gather information about
the current technical innovations of screen-printing machinery and
peripheral machinery.
A two-day diversified program with lectures and machine demonstrations awaited the 44 Swedish screen-printing experts, who travelled around 1700 kilometers to South Badish Teningen. In the factory's own technical centre, the interested guests could experience several Thieme printing lines in operation. The lineup of demonstrated machines ranged from the three-quarter automatic machine THIEME 3020 (equipped with special options such as automatic screen cleaning and a dual anti-drip system for printing squeegee and flood bar), to the single colour line THIEME 5020, through to the multicolour line THIEME 5070 XL for large format graphic applications. Additionally, the guests were able to catch a glimpse of the semi-automatic machines THIEME 500 and THIEME 1000, as well as a squeegee cutting machine THIEME TSC. The pioneering role of Thieme in specialized industrial applications was impressively documented by the display of a fully-automated printing line for the coating of crystalline solar cells.
The event's agenda however was not restricted to the display of Thieme machines, but rather covered the complete service spectrum of screen printing, from the topic of colours, to screen preparation, through to the actual printing process. For this purpose, Thieme invited several of its partner companies from the relevant sectors: Marabu/Spacio (colours), Sefar (mesh and CTS-systems), Grünig (screen coating and cleaning) and Kiwo (screen cleaners).
 The Screen-Printing Market in Sweden Large print shops in Sweden are if anything the exception. The Swedish screen-printing market is characterized by many small family and mid-sized companies with around 3 to 50 employees, which are primarily specialized in certain niche applications in the technical sector. Estimates show that over 50 percent of the Swedish print shops are active today in the sector of technical screen printing. Nadine Gabrysch, sales representative in the Graphic Printing Systems Division at Thieme, elaborated on the interests and needs of these companies: "As a rule, smaller companies cannot afford a complete multicolour line, but would still like to utilize the productivity gain of these machines in order to increase their competitiveness. A THIEME 5000 print station or rather one of our semi or three-quarter automatic machines would bring them to the desired level of productivity."
"German Quality"
Such a company is the Firm Screen AB, located in Tingsryd (southern Sweden). Company owner Jörgen Ottosson and his employees have already been using a three-quarter automatic THIEME 3020 for a long time. "We previously also had Svecia machines. We replaced them in the early 1990's with a THIEME 3020," explains Ottosson. Convinced of the "German quality" of the THIEME products, Screen AB recently modernized its machine list with another THIEME 3020 (including dryer and squeegee cutting machine).
Like many screen-printing companies, Screen AB participated in the restructuring of their screen-printing: "In the 1980's there were still many graphic screen-printers", remembers Jörgen Ottosson. "We, ourselves, also offered graphic products. The 1990's saw an increasingly competitive market, causing us to specialize in the technical sector." Today Screen AB primarily prints on coated metal surfaces and more other usual screen-printing materials.
A Great Future Potential for Screen-Printing"
Karl Erik Asp (Firm Kelo, Aengelholm), president of the Swedish Screen Printing Association, reported on the trend away from graphic toward technical screen-printing applications: "Since the early 1990's, the focus has shifted more and more to specialized applications while standard products have been adopted by digital and offset printing." He sees the potential of screen-printing today above all in the printing of special materials such as plastic, metal, glass or wood as well as with special effects and electronic applications. "Who would have thought that foils for bicycle helmets or photovoltaic modules can be manufactured as screen prints?" For Karl Erik Asp, the motto applies: "Everyday is a new day. We must see that we locate new niche markets. Since here still lies a great future potential for screen-printing."
"Significant Productivity Growth"
In addition to the "small" screen printers such as Screen AB, several large companies were also represented at the Thieme Open House - including SCA Packaging which with more than 24,000 workers and 300 subsidiaries in 30 countries is the second largest European producer of corrugated board. SCA produces and prints cartons and corrugated board packaging of all types as well as advertising materials such as point of sales displays. "Corrugated board is a complex material for printing, since it is neither flat nor stable," explains SCA Packaging Production Manager Boerje Bjurstroem, who came to the open house in Teningen from Norrkoeping with his co-worker Magnus Narveby. "At the moment we have two older screen-printing multicolour lines from Svecia in operation, the first of which we purchased already in 1995." For the printing of displays, SCA Packaging in Norrkoeping is now evaluating production alternatives: "We also print digitally but only for runs of 150 sheets or less in large formats of over 1600 - 3300 mm." Bjurström and Narveby can see future possibilities with the THIEME multi-colour line.
"A Very Interesting Event"
While the printing products of SCA clearly fall under graphic screen-prints, the company Brand Factory with 300 employees in Scandinavia and the Baltics has a rather technical application focus. Brand Factory prints predominantly plastic foils, for example for street signs or complete advertisements on vehicles. "We work with both screen and digital printing", reported the representatives of the Brand Factory, Marcus Katorp and Anders Ekhagen from the Brand Factory operation in Linkoeping: "In the screen-printing sector, we have had until now only single-colour machines in operation and would like for this reason to learn more about the current state of the art machinery." For this reason, they want to have an extensive look at Thieme: "Everything we see here is very interesting for us. The event offers an excellent opportunity to gain a complete overview of the newest technologies, which pleases us greatly! We have also gained a very good competent impression of the Thieme company!"
"Complete Knowledge Packet"
"Many customers are pleased to see the complete Thieme machine campus, since this opportunity does not exist on location in Sweden," confirms Lars Nilsson, who as the managing director of the Scandinavian Marabu-subsidiary Spacio was one of the co-sponsors of the event. "Many people are interested in printing on special substrates, for example glass printing for the automotive industry is a special focus for us in Scandinavia." Some of the larger companies were also interested in CTS systems.
This widely specialized interest of the Swedish guests could be satisfied at the Thieme open house. They especially appreciated the presence of several Thieme partner companies, allowing them to catch a glimpse not only of the printing installations but also the entire "screen-printing process" - as the representatives of the packaging manufacturer SCA expressed it - a "complete package of knowledge" to be taken home. One can expect that now the next generation of screen-printing technology will soon find its way there.
www.thieme.eu
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