Litho
 Our
process is designed with the ultimate offset printing application
in mind. At all stages we take great care to keep the material
clean, free from surface blemishes and flat - all essential
qualities demanded from an offset plate. Our raw material
is rolling ingot, sourced only from approved
casthouses, with whom we have long-standing and progressive
supply chain partnerships covering all aspects of quality
and logistics.
Our first process is hot rolling, where the rolling ingot
is rolled to a coil of 3mm in thickness in one process line.
Here the surface cleanliness and flatness is controlled using
best, proven control techniques. The coil is then transferred
to the specialised Litho Centre. Here it is controlled at
all stages by automated handling equipment, eliminating the
risk of accidents, damage and debris associated with fork
lift trucks. The coil is then batch annealed to achieve optimum
mechanical properties.
The next process is cold rolling on the Achenbach thin strip
mill, using the latest measurement technology to control flatness
and thickness at speeds in excess of 1000m/min. The coil is
then trimmed to the ordered width, stretch levelled and degreased
to remove residual rolling oils. Uniquely, the levelling line
includes input shape and gauge measurement together with in-line
surface inspection at speeds up to 400m/min. Finally, every
coil passes through the final inspection area, where surface
quality and dimensional accuracy are manually checked and
flatness is verified with a laser measurement system.
|
