Imprimerie de L'Éperon, based in Preyssac-d'Excideuil in the Dordogne, recently purchased its ninth AB Graphic machine at the Labelexpo show in Belgium. The purchase order was signed for the shrink sleeve crimper (SR) exhibited on the American manufacturer ABG's stand. Manufactured at ABG's Girona plant in Spain, the SR will be delivered in November, marking the first installation of its type in France.
The shrink sleeve crimper, capable of operating at a speed of 400 meters per minute, transforms reels of flat shrink film into sleeves by means of a welded seam. This acquisition opens up new prospects for Imprimerie de L'Éperon, a company with 65 employees and sales of 11 million euros.
Shrink sleeves diversify our offering for easier recycling
Laurent Million, production manager at the print shop, explains: "We already print on film, but shrink films are something new for us. We've started the research and development phase, which is likely to continue for some time. The initial idea is to offer an additional service to our craft brewer customers. In addition to the PP labels we currently produce for cans and bottles, we will now be able to manufacture shrink sleeves in small runs."
He emphasizes: "Several of our customers have approached us for this type of product, because thanks to a longitudinal perforation, the films detach easily from the aluminum cans, making them easier to recycle."
The shrink sleeves will be printed on the company's HP Indigo WS6800 press for short label runs. In addition, an Omet 430 XFlex X6 will be used at a later date for flexo production of larger runs.
This new acquisition joins eight other ABG solutions already present in the technological arsenal of offset, digital, flexo and letterpress printers, including a Digicon Series 3 finishing machine and a DigiLase laser cutter.
