Case Study

Elimination of Hazardous Waste Steam Just One Benefit of Automated Cleaning for Label Printer

Overview:

One of the largest label manufactures in the U.S. uses multiple 10-color Flexographic printing presses to produce labels for the pharmaceutical industry. As print jobs change, steel ink dispensing pans must be removed from the presses and cleaned on a continuous basis. Improperly cleaned dispensing pans can lead to defective colors and poor print quality. The frequent use of UV and UV Metallic inks in the label industry makes the cleaning process even more of a challenge.

Current Cleaning Process:

Press operators manually clean about 60 dispensing pans per day with a highly flammable solvent. With the cleaning process taking approximately 10 minutes per pan at a plant overhead labor rate of $100 per hour, costs quickly added up. The process also produced an average of 500 gallons of solvent waste per year.

ARMAKLEEN™ Recommendation:

Use non-hazardous ARMAKLEEN™ Paint & Ink Remover combined with Safety-Kleen's Parts Cleaning Service that includes:

• Patent-pending ARMAKLEEN™ Paint & Ink Remover
• Safety-Kleen Model 81.8 Agitating Parts Washer
• Maintenance of chemistry and equipment
• Proper waste disposal

Results:

After testing and demonstration, five dispensing pans were simultaneously cleaned successfully in 4 minutes at 160°. Though some hand wiping remains, labor hours were reduced dramatically. The reduction in labor costs combined with elimination of hazardous solvents and solvent waste to reduce ink cleaning costs by $100,000 each year. The automation process also allowed press workers to speed up color changes, resulting in more print jobs run per shift to yield higher sales and profits for the company.

QC Inspectors from the printer's pharmaceutical clients prefer process automation for several reasons: it takes the human element out of the cleaning equation, and results in improved performance and better print quality. Finally, the plant's health & safety officer was delighted at the elimination of its last reportable hazardous waste stream.