Digital printer immij has installed an SBL folder gluer to cope with an increasing of demand for short-run packaging.
“immij identified the SBL TS 800 as the perfect solution to a growing amount of out-sourced short-run packaging,” says Tom Ralph, managing director of supplier Graph-Pak – the company that handled the installation. “As a growth sector of the company’s business, it became increasingly obvious there was a danger of outsourcing profits as well as work.”
The Taiwanese-made SBL machine was originally sold into the local market under a Heidelberg OEM brand, but Ralph picked up the agency last year.
“For the investment, the SBL folder gluer adds a new dimension to the short-run packaging production,” he says. “With most print runs in the sector averaging out at around 20,000, the equipment is well able to handle the work. The decision was made not to over capitalise the equipment with automatic servo-driven changeover technology. The cost of this option would be greater than the manual machine. As there are approximately only six configurations going through the machine, manual changeover, although obviously slower, is the better investment. It’s a good piece of kit and they keep it in excellent condition.”
Ralph delivered the machine and brought in a Taiwanese trainer to bring the immij people up to speed. He describes the SBL folder gluer as an economical entry point for printers getting into packaging. This is becoming an increasing focus of his business, he says.
The TS 800 offers the user speeds up to 200 metres per minute, pre-folding, auto feeding and can produce a variety of boxes including standard folding boxes, double sides boxes and crashlock bottom boxes.
Ralph says the installation completes a good year for Sydney-based Graph-Pak. “We’ve had a boom year with equipment, a lot of SBL and Autobond kit. drupa was very good for us. We've had the best results in ten years.”