Product of the Month: Sakurai Screen Press

What does the machine do?
Sakurai offers fully automatic screen-printing solutions for packaging, automobile, credit card, electronics, solar, textile transfer, ceramic transfer, bio-medical industry and many more. Sakurai offers screen printing machines along with a foiling attachment for foiling and value addition to the packaging and commercial printing industry.

Which are the different models?
We suggest different models based on customer requirements. For packaging and commercial printing, we suggest the entire line, which consists of the Sakurai MS-102AX fully automatic cylinder screen printing machine (30x40-inch sheet size), LQM 105 (foiler), Natgraph UV dryer line, automatic collecting stacker to provide UV value addition with a foiling application for hairline precision for inline foiling application.

Among other models, the MS-80AII is a 20x30-inch fully automatic cylinder machine. The MF-80VII is a fully automatic flatbed machine. The MS-80/102 SD is a servo drive fully automatic cylinder press, where squeegee speed needs to be controlled. It is used for precise printing. The MS-110 DDS is a direct-drive servo machine. There are no gears present in the machine to avoid any backlash, with the accuracy of printing around +/- 0.01-mm. The Sakurai MSDR 30/MSDR 60 is an automatic roll-to-roll cylinder printing for heat transfer labels, capacitor printing, flexible circuit printing, and diabetic stripe printing with a web width of 300- to 600-mm. Print material thickness is between 25- and 200-micron.

Is there anything in the machine which is available as a standalone, if the equipment is modular?
Screen printing machines are fully automatic standalone machines. We also provide dryer modules depending on the customer’s requirement of drying particular inks with a tolerance of +/- 1-2 degrees.

 When was the equipment launched?
In 2019, we launched the LQM foiler which can be inlined and attached to Sakurai screen printing machines for foiling applications along with UV applications. With this, one can print inline with reasonable speed with hairline registration at economical consumable costs and low maintenance capital machinery.

What was the thought process when the equipment was conceived? 
Sakurai has been in the market for the last 60 years. We are constantly developing new market segments for the same apart from commercial printing and packaging. As far as the packaging segment is concerned, the Sakurai MS-102AX line along with the LQM foiler unit can compete with mid-size run foiling along with UV application without having a burden on input material costs and digital head maintenance costs.

What is the target market(s)?
For Sakurai MS-102AX along with the foiler LQM 105 line, we are looking at the large volume packaging market and the commercial market having requirements for automated foiling without dies and skilled operators.

What kind of substrates it can handle?
It can practically handle any kind of flat sheet that is flexible in nature with thickness from 75-micron upto 0.8-mm.

How fast is it?
Sakurai machine speed is 4,000 impressions per hour. However, along with the integration of the foiler line, it can go up to 1500 impressions per hour without any human intervention.

What are the USP of the equipment?
The USP of our machines is that they can run 24x7 with hairline precision without any human involvement and low maintenance costs.

How easy is it to use?
The entire machine is PLC-based. It means operators have to adjust squeegee pressure, flood bar pressure and just insert the screen frame and turn on the machine.

What training and support are on offer?
We not only provide installation service but also provide training and application support as we have a dedicated team for the same who are trained in Japan.

How much does it cost?
It costs almost 40% of the nearest digital inline foiling competitor for 30x40-inch sheet size. It is a versatile and flexible technology which can be changed to other industrial segments of printing. Thus, a printer can change its segment or can have good resale value compared to its competitors. There is also an advantage of using any cast and cure UV varnish as there is no printing head involved in this technology.

Users’ numbers worldwide?  
Right now, there are 3,000+ users of Sakurai screen printing presses across the world and 100+ users of the LQM foiler. We expect users to increase by 10-15% in 2024 due to the improving global scenario and acceptance of foiling on packaging becoming the new normal for end users.