Belmark Inc. is one of the top name in the United States when it comes to manufacturing premium-quality labels, flexible packaging and folding cartons. The company serves a wide variety of industries including dairy, snack food, durable goods and pet food. Founded in 1977, Belmark Inc. has grown to an important printing manufacturer in the United States, with over 450 employees. The company has built a solid reputation within the packaging industry and is well know for its quick turnaround and consistent quality.

Belmark Inc., one of the leading packaging manufacturer in the United States, is starting to install the second VSOP Web Offset Printing Press.

Second VSOP Printing Press
Opting in favor of a new investment, Belmark Inc. putting its trust once again in Muller Martini’s modern technology and purchased a variable sleeve offset printing press. This is the second printing press that the American printing house has bought from the VSOP series. In addition to the new five-color VSOP, the company also owns another seven-color VSOP.

According to Karl Schmidt, President and CEO of Belmark Inc., the key factors behind the renewed decision in favor of a new Muller Martini printing press included the quality and high level of automation. “This is our second VSOP. We’ve been very happy with the performance of the one we already have, and that’s given us the confidence to purchase an additional one. We’re very confident in Muller Martini and their ability to service us and this equipment.”, said Schmidt.

Handy Sleeves
The Muller Martini VSOP printing press is a continuous further development of the patents from DrentGoebel which Muller Martini acquired in 2009 and has numerous benefits.
The VSOP web offset printing press for flexible packaging and folding carton markets uses simple and rapid size changes to its advantages. The plate and rubber blanket cylinders in the VSOP printing unit are designed as handy sleeves. Therefore print sizes can be changed quickly and easily without having to exchange the entire printing inserts. This means that the VSOP printing unit is infinitely variable for all print image lengths and a complete job changeover is possible within a matter of minutes.

Short set up times and High speeds
Like the first VSOP the new printing press at Belmark is a hybrid configuration and is equipped with 5 offset printing units and 1 flexo printing unit. It also contains an automatic splicer for non-stop unwinding and an inline flat bed die cutter. With this feature cardboard can be precisely cut, embossed and creased in one hit. To allow quick make-ready, Muller Martini has included a set-up rewinder between the printing press and the die cutter, what enables the press crew to change over both parts of the production line individually at the same time.

For hardening the printing ink the machine is also including an EB (electron beam) curing system. This system is especially well suited to foodstuff packaging, since the ink film is immediately cured all the way through. The result is a high-quality, low-odor and low-migration print product, manufactured under reliable production conditions, without the use of photo initiators or the emission of VOCs.