Gallus describes its exciting new Gallus ICS 670, due to be launched at

Drupa 2008, as the the ultimate in efficiency and flexibility for folding carton

conversion . To find out more about this claim we talked to Uli Kretzschmar,

Business Development Manager, who explained the

philosophy behind the machine s development, which is the first

collaboration between the Gallus and BHS team under the new flag

Gallus Stanz- und Druckmaschinen GmbH, and identified the key

elements that will make the new Gallus ICS 670 attractive to carton

converters worldwide, all of whom are seeking new ways to protect their profit

margins while remaining competitive for their customers.

The concept of narrow and mid web carton production is not new. The

attraction of single pass production that converts a blank web of board to a finished

folding carton in the space of a 30 metre footprint at speeds up to 350 m/min (1,140

fpm) with minimum handling and without the need to stack down pallets of sheets is

appealing.

But, the concept has never really found favour in the more traditionally minded

European market, where sheet fed offset printing and offline converting are

dominant. All that is about to change, according to a buoyant Kretzschmar, who

says the new Gallus carton team: Just can t wait for Drupa to open!

Setting the background for the new machine, he said: We have

deliberately targeted the new Gallus ICS 670 at mid size cartons in

medium to long run lengths with a high degree of added value.

Independent sources are predicting this sector of the market will grow substantially

over the next five years, which makes our positioning of the Gallus ICS 670 so

exciting.

The new press sits alongside the Gallus CCS 510 (formerly Gallus KM 510 S) at the

top end of the quality market, complementing the Gallus Intro L/XL models that

serve the low cost and high volume sector.

Carton converters should know that the Gallus ICS 670 brings new

technology and years of valuable expertise to the market. Its modular design offers

the very latest in production flexibility, including hot foil embossing, which was

previously only available offline, he added.

Typical target markets for the new press are the highly prized and highly priced

beauty care and cosmetics, personal and healthcare,

confectionary, tobacco, and other non-food areas such as blister cards and clear

plastic boxes. The common thread running through all of them is small format size

coupled with high added value content.

There are four key features that give the Gallus a clear lead in this market sector:

its platform design; its dedicated inline flat-bed die- cutter; its hot foil embossing

facility; and its capacity to change jobs on the fly , explained Kretzschmar.

Configurations for the Gallus ICS 670 can include HiDef flexoTM, gravure, and

screen printing, cold foiling, hot foil stamping and embossing, as well as laminating.

The bonus with the Gallus FCL 670 flat-bed diecutting unit is that can be used inline

or offline with equal ease and accuracy, and as well as offering the prospect of

cheaper tooling than its rotary counterpart, it is familiar technology to converters.

Hot foil embossing brings the third dimension into graphic design, which because of

its zero tolerance register, adds an additional and unique element to package

printing and significantly to high value product differentiation, so beloved of Brand

Managers around the world.