Bobst has announced the launch of the Bobst Nova RS 5003 gravure press engineered to deliver superior performance with water- or solvent-based ink printing on a wide variety of flexible packaging materials, including the new eco-friendly substrates. The press launch took place at the Bobst facility in the Jiangsu province of China, dedicated to the production of web-fed equipment for the flexible packaging industry. The event was attended by brand owners, converting companies, industry suppliers and members of the trade press from countries in South-East Asia and Pacific.
“The region is buzzing with interest since news of the launch of the Nova RS 5003 that takes over from the very successful RS 5002 press with new powerful features and automation,” explained Sebastien Geffrault, zone business director SEAP, Business Unit Web-fed at Bobst. “Our gravure solutions bring together all the advantages of Bobst leading-edge technology with the flexibility of configuring them with market-related technical solutions. For example, the choice of inking systems that can handle a broad variety of ink types, including the market-specific varieties that are used in the Indian and Asian flexible packaging industry, always with the highest graphic quality.”
The Nova RS 5003 features best-in-class automation, including the possibility to add TAPS, a fully automatic pre-register setting at the touch of a button. As per Bobst, the job make-ready and changeovers are very fast: the new doctor blade system is easy and quick to set, and the Twin Trolley solution, unique to Bobst, enables to change the printing cylinder without changing the ink, minimizing job changeovers and color matching time.
The twin flow dryers are also an exclusive technology, Bobst said. The ventilation system minimizes residual solvent on substrate, maximizes energy savings and ensures low noise level in the pressroom. It is also the perfect platform for water-based inks, where drying capacity is one of the main concerns.
“The Nova RS 5003’s advanced press design delivers many advantages and is ready to take on board the market evolving requirements, including the possibility of further expand the automation architecture of the press,” said Davide Garavaglia, head of product line gravure at Bobst. “Looking ahead at market trends and focus on sustainability, the press is fully compatible with water-based ink printing, and can handle very efficiently the widest range of materials, including the new eco-friendly substrates.”