Giant-width solutions that deliver proportionately big advantages that step up to today’s many challenges theme Baldwin Technology Co.’s latest innovations at Corrugated Week 2022. Sharing the spotlight will be the brand-new XP Max LED-UV system and Ultra Wide FlexoCleanerBrush™. Corrugated Week 2022 tooks place at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, TX, September 19-21. Baldwin exhibited its full portfolio of innovative technologies for optimized corrugated high-graphics package printing and drying in booth #409.

“We continue to see a strong market, with ongoing underlying challenges that are a concern for many of our customers, including global supply chain uncertainty, inflation, increasing energy costs and labor constraints,” said Baldwin Vice President of Sales Craig Black. “As Baldwin continues to expand in the corrugated space, we are really excited to have a strong team at Corrugated Week, where our goal is to help attendees learn more how we can help to alleviate many of these challenges while ultimately increasing their bottom-line profitability through our wide range of solutions that deliver higher productivity, improved quality, and reduced downtime.”

Baldwin featured its newly launched XP Max LED System, designed to cure especially wide substrates moving past it on a printing press, corrugated rotary die cutter, or manufacturing conveyor belt. Instead of one long LED array, XP Max uses numerous 20-inch (508mm) modules. These LED modules are set at an angle to allow for overlap of the LED emitting areas, forming a continuous UV curing array that spans any press or conveyor width needed.

The LED-UV modules within the XP Max system can significantly reduce energy and downtime costs while improving operational safety. LED-UV technology cures ink instantly with no drying time, using much less energy than both IR and arc UV. The modules can be turned on and off to cover only part of the conveyor, saving energy use when curing smaller stock widths. This arrangement also enables individual maintenance, allowing the removal of a single module without shutting down the full system for repairs. Lastly, the LED window temperatures are much cooler than both IR and arc UV, resulting in a much lower chance of fire when the corrugated substrate falls onto lamp heads.

Baldwin also showcased its new Ultra Wide FlexoCleanerBrush – a fully automated flexo plate-cleaning system that can be up to 126 inches (3.2 meters) wide. As Baldwin’s flagship solution to enhance print quality and improve worker safety in corrugated printing, the system automatically removes dust and contamination from the plate in seconds during production, without stopping the press. It also performs full end-of-job plate cleaning and drying in fewer than four minutes, enabling increased uptime, improving sustainability and saving of thousands of dollars per year in consumables spending.

Because the FlexoCleanerBrush is fully automatic and spans the entire width of the plate cylinder, it improves safety by eliminating routine operator contact with the machine and reduces the risk of operator contact with wash agents and cylinder nip injuries. Its core is made of carbon fiber, which ensures a stable, uniform and consistent flexo plate cleaning throughout the whole width of the plate and keeps this wide system to a minimal weight. See FlexoCleanerBrush demo from SuperCorr 2021 here: https://baldwintech.com/blog/2021/8/11/broadcast-baldwin-technology-at-supercorrexpo-2021

In addition to these ultra-wide technologies, Baldwin highlighted its FlexoDry Infrared (IR) drying system. Developed to maximize press throughput, boost production speeds and reduce energy consumption, the FlexoDry system utilizes Diamond-IR lamps to focus powerful IR radiation. These lamps use a unique ceramic reflector that directs all light to the substrate, resulting in 30% energy savings when compared with other IR lamps.

Fueled by 100 years of innovation, Baldwin supplies new equipment to consumers, maintains and services existing equipment with quality replacement parts and provides highly engineered consumables and engineering services, including upgrades and retrofits in addition to regular maintenance.