V-Shapes has added AlphaFlex, a fill and seal packaging/converting machine for on-demand production of single-dose sachets.
V-Shapes is a supplier of vertically integrated products and services for convenient, hygienic and sustainable single-dose packaging. It has previously launched a system combining inline inkjet digital printing with its Prime packaging line, as well as VS dflex, a nearline reel-to-reel machine for printing the top layer of its unique single-dose sachets.
AlphaFlex takes this a step further as a compact, professional-grade system featuring high-quality synchronised printing on both sides of the sachets. The system is powered by Memjet DuraFlex and ColorGATE Packaging Productionserver. A buffering system ensures complete synchronisation of the top and bottom laminates, which are digitally printed in full colour at 1600dpi.
V-Shapes noted that its latest development brings vertical integration of high volume production of single-dose sachets on site, speeding up time to market, and eliminating the need to outsource printing or accomplish it as a separate offline step.
Jesper Gustavsson, a founding partner at V-Shapes and responsible for business development, explained, ‘The introduction of AlphaFlex takes our solution to the next level in a way the market has never seen before. As promised, we have now integrated inline printing into our six-lane Alpha machine, enabling packaging converters/fillers to accomplish the complete manufacturing process of our unique single-dose sachets under one roof, with a compact footprint with full colour branding available on both sides of the sachet, inline, on demand and with the industry’s highest quality.
‘We are grateful for the collaborative efforts of both Memjet and ColorGATE in helping us bring this sophisticated and very unique configuration to market.’
Oliver Luedtke, chief marketing officer at ColorGATE, noted, ‘The bespoke Output Management Set we developed for V-Shapes’ VS dflex nearline printer has been enhanced to accommodate the dual printing technology incorporated into AlphaFlex and brings all of the appropriate ColorGATE capabilities to the system for the utmost in printing productivity and quality.’
Moreover, AlphaFlex represents the first inline execution of Memjet’s DuraFlex multicolor A3+ printheads and water-based pigment inks, as well as the first dual integration of the Memjet DuraFlex printing system into a single device. The advanced features and colour management capabilities of the ColorGATE Packaging Productionserver are also a key element of this new product.
Russell Boa, senior vice president of sales, North America and EMEA at Memjet, said, ‘The marriage of these technologies into a single, high-performance system is a testament to the skill, knowledge and dedication of the respective R&D teams. Memjet DuraFlex was selected because of its compact footprint and 1600 dpi printing, as well as the ability of its inks to dry quickly on inkjet receptive substrates and compliance with food safety regulations.
‘The V-Shapes AlphaFlex is a truly transformational product in this market segment.’
In AlphaFlex configuration, each printing module prints a single side of the single-dose sachets inline, synchronised with each other, and precisely married for die-cutting, filling and sealing. Buffers are used to ensure alignment of printing speed with the manufacture of sachets by the Alpha six-lane machine.
A prototype AlphaFlex line is installed at the V-Shapes factory in Bologna, Italy, factory, ‘and is performing per our expectations,’ said Mr Gustavsson.
‘We are looking forward to placing AlphaFlex systems in customer sites by the end of the summer. There has already been extreme interest in AlphaFlex from both converters and brand owners who see this as a way to differentiate themselves as well as to achieve faster time to market and faster time to revenue in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving marketplace.’
