Epic Products

Epic’s Appoints New Japanese Agent

jennifer — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:08:50 +0000

Arlington, Texas, January 26, 2012 — Epic Products International President, Mary K. Barnes announced today the appointment of a new Japanese agent, Epic EK Corporation. Mr. Hirayama, a 24-year veteran of the printing equipment industry, will serve as President of Epic EK Corp., supporting Epic’s existing Japanese customer base and forging new relations with printers across Japan. Tecknik Corp. of Yokohama will serve as Epic’s service representatives. According to Ms. Barnes, “Epic is enthusiastic about working with Epic EK Corp. and Tecknik Corp. Our newly forged partnership has revitalized Epic’s commitment to Japanese market.” Epic Products International is an engineering and manufacturing company specializing in custom designed anilox coating and Delta dampening systems supporting the digital, sheet fed and web offset printing industry. Epic operates a production facility in Arlington, Texas and for over 30 years has by selling their specialty printing equipment around the world.

Can Tech Vietnam

jennifer — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:55:13 +0000

Epic Products has been supplying Asian three-piece can manufacturers with Delta Dampening Systems for many years. For the first time however, we participated in a regional conference sponsored by CanTech. Over 350 suppliers and manufactures from all over Southeast Asia assembled at the beautiful Rex Hotel in Central Ho Chi Minh City to discuss the intricacies of the Asian metal packaging market. Mike Barisonek, Epic’s VP of Sales & Marketing was a featured presenter discussing the Challenges of Ink-Water Balance, an excellent opportunity for Epic to showcase our products. He also had a chance to meet face-to-face with long-time customers and meet many potential customers. Listening to the outstanding keynote addresses given by local producers and touring a Crown facility, brought things into even better prospective. The region offers significant potential, the economies are growing and three-piece cans remain a very viable packaging option!

Mike taking in some local sights

Paperboard Packaging Seminar at Clemson

Lizzy — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:31:24 +0000

Last week I was a content contributor, introducing Epic Delta Dampeners and Epic Anilox coating systems, at the Paperboard Packaging Seminar held at the Sonoco Institute at Clemson University. The two day intensive training covered the details of paperboard and printing processes for the new or newly remapped packaging professional. Even with 25 years in the business, there was much to learn and think about and interesting people to meet. Considering the cost of paperboard, it’s even more important to reduce make readies and get to sellable color fast! Sustainability is on everyone’s mind; paper is a renewable resource unlike other forms of packaging. Fast growing trees are farmed for the purpose of creating packaging and all the by products are used in various ways that would surprise you. Contact Dan Malenke at www.PKGPRO4u.com to improve your team’s knowledge of Paperboard Packaging.

Epic’s Delta Dampening Helps Crown Win Best in Show

jennifer — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:52:25 +0000

Philadelphia, PA – July 27, 2011. CROWN Aerosol Packaging North America, received two “Excellence in Quality” awards from the International Metal Decorators Association (IMDA), including the “2011 Grand Award” honor. IMDA presented the awards to Crown in recognition of its printing capabilities on limited edition packaging for WD-40 Company’s “Support Our Troops” campaign. The collectible series of aerosol cans were created to honor American military forces. The series consisted of four different can designs that contained a wide range of colors: three depicting the United States’ air, sea and land forces and one combined graphic, titled ‘Honor,’ showcasing all five branches of the military, including the Coast Guard. The “Sea/Navy” can, combining blues and greens, won the “Best of Category” award in the aerosol class, while the “Honor” design, containing a wide range of blue shades, was singled out among all the entries for the event’s top prize: 2011 Grand Award. Crown’s winning aerosol cans are the result of close collaboration with the WD-40 Company and its design agency. Crown worked with the concept designs early in the development process to more efficiently evaluate how each image would appear when actually on the printing press. This step proved invaluable, as it allowed the graphics teams to make adjustments to accommodate the complex colors, including WD-40’s signature blue. Crown’s graphic experts provided color correction and blending support and also ensured that common design elements across the four graphics, such as the military stars, all retained the same level of intensity. Crown also conceived a “jumbled” printing strategy that placed all four designs on a single printing plate to ensure that designs would be pre-mixed on the pallets being shipped to contract fillers around the United States. The typical printing process for aerosol cans calls for a single graphic design to be printed on a flat sheet of metal, which ultimately would have required a labor intensive hand sorting process to achieve the same mix. “Just having been able to participate in this project was an honor for Crown, as it pays tribute to members of our Armed Services around the world. It also makes being recognized by IMDA for the work on this project especially meaningfull,” said Brad Dahlgren, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, CROWN Aerosol Packaging North America. “It’s a testament to the skill of our graphics team in Aurora, Illinois, and demonstrates the powerful results that can come from working in close partnership with our customers.” Participants for the IMDA’s “Excellence in Quality” awards are judged by an impartial committee of graphic arts professionals. Entries are assessed based on the quality of printing, degree of difficulty, appearance of coating finishes, registration and degree of technical expertise required for each piece.

Thank you for visiting us in Chicago

Lizzy — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:03:55 +0000

We were like nomads in our booths at the Graph Expo 2011 trade show. We came from all corners of the world to see the latest and catch up personally with our customers and of course to make new customers. I’m still writing thank you note and I received this photo today from a team of print equipment distributors from Denmark. If you want personal customer care and printing expertise in Denmark do connect with Henriette Moller at printech. +45 2535 4101. I was impressed and you know that’s not easy to do! Wink.-Lizzy

Variable Data Packaging is HERE

Lizzy — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:52:11 +0000

It might have been an add on for your customers to pull the trigger for coating this year but in variable data packaging it’s a MUST to be able to glue the box and have some shelf life as well. Check out this movie from Xerox. It’s as if you can see through our machine! http://tours.xeroxria.com/aps/

A Blog about this Blog

Lizzy — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 01:43:01 +0000

Here is a clip from a post on another blog about our Blog. Crazy! Obviously I’m not a trained weather girl! Any suggestions there? http://www.printinghub.org/social-media/think-youre-too-small-for-social-media/#comment-21

Coming to a Store Near You!

Lizzy — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:22:18 +0000

This was written by Ken Quast and you can write him at ken.quast@gmail.com..I found it on his blog and it’s the “buzz” at Graph Expo 2011 where I just participated. Very interesting stuff. What do you think? Personally I’d link to NOT have my corn flakes electro-luminant but I would love to see my hair color box this way…did I say hair color? I meant soap. Lizzy

No, its not raisin bran that will be new, but cereal packages may be advertised in a new way. Manufacturers are always looking for a way to attract buyers and they will soon turn to electronics to sell cereal and other products in a new way. I suspect that the sweet kids cereals will be the first experiment. Products have to be eye catching and pop out among other competitors. The current strategy is to use smart graphics to get us to buy one brand over another. Cartoons are, and have been a mainstay, in this effort to attract children. But they will soon be using electroluminescence to make their product literally glow! The cereal box will be printed with an electroluminescent ink that will glow by induction as described in the next photo. I have had to simulate the effect using Photoshop neon glow, but the idea should be clear. On the shelf just below the cereal, there will be a strip of metal containing wires that generate an alternating current. This current will induce an associated current in the electroluminescent ink, wirelessly, to glow brightly. This is the same way that some devices charge their batteries. For example, electric toothbrushes sit in a holder that recharges the battery wirelessly without any contact. So, watch for the show to begin fairly soon. When they can get supermarkets to try it and the cereal flies off the shelves, it will be everywhere. If it costs too much to try, it will fail. The problem as I see it, is that when you get the box home it will no longer be a novelty. It may just be another FAD, (For A Day).

Graph Expo Exposed!

Lizzy — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:47:29 +0000

It didn’t take too much arm twisting to get four Epic employees to Chicago for Graph Expo 2011. Not only is it a wonderful chance to get in front of our customers and hear their excitement about our online and offline SPOT UV and Aqueous coaters BUT we got to chill down in second city where the temps were around 60-70 degrees. It’s a win-win!

Two Centuries of Three Piece Cans

jennifer — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:26:51 +0000

Penny Laurann from Canmaking News Reports

Canning has been used to preserve and package food for two centuries. During this time, the three piece can has been an enduring and traditional container which has evolved as the industry developed. The basic principles of canning have not changed in the 200 years since the technique was first developed, but the techniques of Canmaking have undergone continuous refinements. This feature looks at the history and development of the three piece industry staple. Stages in making a three-piece welded can

Steel strip arrives at the can manufacturing plant in large coils.
Steel strip is cut into large sheets
To protect the can from corrosion and prevent interaction between can and contents, lacquer is applied to the side of the sheets that will become the internal surfaces of the finished cans

Lacquering

With nearly 90 years experience in making coatings and lacquers for metal–packaging Akzonobel was one of the first suppliers to the can market. It provides a range of internal and external coatings for food and drink packaging, including its Diaflex, Aquaprime, Aqualure and Vitalure and Vitalac coatings ranges. AkzoNobel recently perfected Aqualure 915 specifically for thin walled DWI cans. Aqualure 915, is an ultra-flexible lacquer which flexes with the new lightweight steel cans, yet still retains a perfect barrier to protect the drinks. The company innovations include Aquaprime 186 a tactile coating as used by brewers Heineken.

Metal Decoration

Increasingly the modern trend is to print the labelling onto the metal. For hygiene reasons, labels for food cans are usually made of paper and added after filling and cooking. Printing onto tin plate requires specialist expertise, and the coat must be rub resistant and impervious to oil and moisture. With the high cost of tin plate and the demand for flawless print, metal decorators strive to control waste and quality. By retrofitting a metal press with Epic’s Delta Dampening System, virtually defect-free printing can be achieved – minimizing waste, reducing press down time and saving hours of product inspection. The improved print quality, combined with the efficiencies gained in productivity, result in a rapid return-on-investment. Epic says that the system can be retrofitted to all makes and models of presses.

Lacquered sheets are oven dried

Oven drying

Another established supplier to the Canmaking industry is oven specialist ARC Pacific With more than 75 years combined experience in product sourcing, engineering and producing ovens for steel and aluminum can manufacturing, ARC Pacific constructs state-of-the-art, thermal E3 oven products with energy-saving elements. The company combines China manufacturing with guaranteed quality and reliability. The company also works with customers to achieve continuous product improvement based on customer input and technological advancements. The beverage, food and aerosol cans product range includes drying ovens; pin ovens; internal bake ovens and cap cure ovens.

Large sheets are slit into can size pieces

Slitting and detection

Italian company Cevolani, founded in 1900, prides itself on being a world-leader in the design and manufacturing of complete lines for the production of three-piece cans for food, aerosol and general-line. Latest developments include a new high production double slitter with ultra low change over time. An automated detector is used to spot double sheets or double blanks before they cause damage to canmaking machinery. Sencon’s double sheet detector is a fully self-contained system, requiring only a pair of sensing heads to be fitted, together with connections for power/signals. The heads are made from stainless steel and all electronics are fully encapsulated for a lifetime of operation in the toughest factory environment. The sensor automatically calibrates at the beginning of a batch and constantly monitors its own settings. This sensor can also be used as a double end detector to protect the seamer on can filling lines.

Each small sheet is rolled into a cylinder
Cylinder edges are welded by squeezing them together whilst passing an electric current through them
The inside surface of the weld is sprayed with lacquer and then cured by heated air

Protection of welded seams

To welded seam must be pore-free and able to withstand flanging, necking and beading processes as well as the aggressiveness of the product itself. Rising costs for lacquers containing solvents combined with stricter regulations to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mean that can manufacturers may be looking for new techniques in the future. Frei AG has developed a new system to powder coat the complete inside of drawn food cans, aerosol monobloc cans and tubes. Using powder virtually eliminates solvent emissions because there is no need to exhaust VOCs. The machine concept consists of a chain conveyor on which the rotating cans travel in horizontal position past a group of parallel powder guns. The guns move along with the cans or tubes as they reciprocate in and out of the can bodies. In order to guarantee the industrial hygiene each coating station is provided with a dust extraction system adapted to the respective can diameter. Frei AG supplies components of proprietarily developed powder guns and offers a complete system including machine and safety engineering, controls, etc.

Cans pass through a flanger where the top and bottom are flanged outwards to accept the ends

German company Lanico is a leader in the field of general line can making equipment. Lanico’s Can Former CF 412 is the latest development is the new series of CF 4xxx machines. It can operate as high speed machine for the production of round cans or three piece welded necked-in or straight walled aerosol cans, general line cans or food cans. Depending on the machine type and the toolsets mounted operations that it can perform include flanging, necking and flanging, bottom end and top end seaming. It is designed to combine a working range of up to 200 mm diameter, quick change-over of height and diameter and a high production speed of up to 300 cpm. The welded or drawn can bodies are fed vertically to the machine, separated by infeed spirals and transported to the first of up to two flanging or necking carousels. On completion of this operation the can bodies are transferred to the next carousel wheels for seaming bottom and top ends or other optional operations. One of the main features of the Can Former is the use of modular change parts allowing diameter changes to be undertaken within a short time. The pre-set change parts minimise further adjustments. Height changes are performed by the motor driven adjustment system and are completed within seconds. A video monitoring system allows a visual inline check of the neck shape. Typical applications for CF 4xxx include the production of large paint cans, beer kegs, large milk powder can, and large food and general line cans

Plain ends are seamed to the can bodies to close one end of every can.

Seaming

Seaming machines for the food industry are the speciality of Spanish company Montajes Conserveros De Galicia (MCG ). Created in 1994, MCG has designed and manufactured a range of seamers that provide better seam quality with new material and ends systems, consistency, bigger output and state of the art hygienic and safety systems. The company manufactures a wide range of seaming machines for all type of cans: round, rectangular, oval, etc made from tinplate or aluminium for the food industry, for small and larger can sizes and output. Its complete range of seamers has 3,4,6,8 and 12 seaming stations and capacity up to 1.200 cpm. The technology which recently won the IPA packaging innovation award, is targeted at the fish, processed meat and shellfish segments. Future applications are slated for milk powder, coffee powder and nuts – with the company looking to incorporate a gas chamber to facilitate these. In collaboration with the University of Carthegana it is developing a new range of vacuum seamers for irregular cans. Work is ongoing to boost the current prototype performance from 100 to 300 cans per minute.

Cans are passed through a beader where the walls of the cans have circumferential beads formed to give added strength
Cans pass through a pressure tester, which automatically rejects any cans with pinholes or fractures

Inspection

The Quality by Vision Can Profile Analyzer uses moving laser profiling technologies for can profiling inspection. This is an ingenious new method of analyzing the can profile and its designers say that it offers the first ever completely automated solution for bead measurements. This new system means can manufacturers can swiftly and accurately measure cans in the production environment. Using state-of-the-art optics, a typical can profile can be measured in seconds. The completely automated software automatically detects the beads, flanges and can height in optimal accuracy at this top speed. Ad-hoc measurements can also be taken anywhere on the scanned profile. A certified calibration gauge can be added to the system for full ISO 9000 compliance. The Can Profile Analyzer can integrate additional measurements and values into its reports (e.g., additional can diameters) using standard gauges/calipers or even using the keyboard. Measurements and reports can be exported into any popular file format, including Microsoft Word, Excel and even Internet formats.

Finished can bodies are then transferred to the warehouse to be automatically palletised before despatch to the filling plant

Milestones in the development of 3 piece cans

1795	France	Emperor Napoleon offers 12,000 francs prize for devising a way of preserving food for his troops
1809	France	Confectioner Nicholas Appert receives the 12,000 franc prize from the for idea of packing food into special “bottles”
1810	England	Patent awarded to Peter Durand for using tinplated iron as food container
1812	America	Englishman Thomas Kensett starts a plant in New York canning oysters, meats, fruits and vegetables in hermetically sealed containers.
1813	England	John Hall and Bryan Dorkin open England’s first commercial canning factory
1818	America	Peter Durand introduces tinplated iron can in America
1819	America	Thomas Kensett and Ezra Gagett start selling products in canned tinplate cans
1825	America	Kensett awarded American patent for tinplated cans
1830	England	Huntley & Palmer start selling biscuits in tins
1856		Canned condensed milk patent
1849		Patent awarded for the pendulum press – capable of making a Can End in single operation. Production increases to about 50 cans per hour
1858	America	First can opener patented
1866		E.M. Lang is granted a patent for sealing tins by casting or dropping solder on can ends
1875		Sardines canned
1880		Semi-Automatic Can Making machinery is first introduced.
1890	America	George W. Cobb preserving company perfects the sanitary can. It takes two more years before sanitary ends are adopted for food canning in Europe.
1909	America	Tuna canned
1914		Introduction of continuous ovens to dry inked tinplate
1926		Ham (SPAM) canned
1935	USA Wales	Introduction of the beer can. “Krueger Cream Ale” – Richmond, Virginia. Felifoel Breweries Wales
1957		Aluminium introduced into cans
1959		First all-aluminium beer can
1960		Easy open cans introduced
1964		Development of two piece can
21^st century	Worldwide	Three piece can continues to be in use across the world

Penny Laurann penny@jaymac.co.uk