Two videos we now play at every Sample Lab Day

Most Sample Lab Days start the same way. A skincare or craft beverage team walks in with a box of jars, lids and bottles, and somebody asks how we get the print in the same place on every lid. A bit later the second question comes: will it rub off in the cooler box?

Lately we answer both with a short video first. AM.CO.ZA, who supply the flatbed on our Flat Panel Bay, posted one of them this year, and the other is a flame treatment tip from a CNC and tools channel. Here is our review of each, and what we changed in the lab after watching them.

Video 1: a flatbed that looks before it prints

Watch: Chromadec print with the 600 x 900 mm desktop UV printer, CCD Camera Edition

The clip shows AM.CO.ZA’s 600 x 900 mm desktop flatbed with a CCD camera over the bed. The camera reads where each part actually sits, so the print lands on the part and not where the file expects it to be.

“A foam jig gets you close. On a 200-lid run, close is not good enough, because the client will find the one lid where the leaf sits 2 mm off.”

Mr Johan van Wyk, Applications Lead

What we liked

• It is a real job on a real bed. You see the camera step, then the print.
• It shows plainly why a camera beats re-measuring the jig after every changeover.
• It is short enough to play while the first jig is loading.

What we would add

• A lid or closure run next time. Flat panels are the easy case; round lids are where camera alignment really pays.

The machine in the video is the FlatPRINT F2-6090C/XP600 CCD Camera Edition, a complete package with three XP600 heads for CMYK, white and varnish, plus RIP software and inks. There is also a barebone F2-6090C for shops that already run their own RIP and inks. Both sit in AM.CO.ZA’s flatbed printer range.

“The jig still holds the lid flat and stops it moving under vacuum. The camera only forgives the last millimetre, so we still build the fixture properly.”

Mr Wian Cilliers, who designs our RingGrip fixtures

More on marks and jigs is in our notes on registration marks that crews trust and fixturing before you press print.

Video 2: flame treatment before UV on plastic

Watch: Flame treatment on plastic surface for UV printing durability and scratch resistance

This one is a quick tip: pass a flame over a plastic surface before UV printing, so the ink grips better and resists scratching.

“The video shows flame treatment at the right speed: a quick, even sweep. People who see the clip stop being scared of it, and they stop overdoing it.”

Ms Dineo Mabunda, Ink & Cure Specialist

What we liked

• It explains that low surface energy plastics hold ink poorly until the surface is treated.
• It ties straight into durability, which is what every client asks about.

What we would add

• A note on thin-wall PET. We keep passes very short on light bottles and always test a spare first.

Since then the flame pass is a logged step on PET and PP lids in our CureCheck Lab records. Every sample still gets rub and tape tests, as in adhesion tests to run before a bottle launch. If your range is mostly PET, our note on UV on PET for craft beverage teams covers the rest.

The small parts behind both videos

Camera alignment and good adhesion both fall apart if the ink path is not healthy. A tired damper or a starving cartridge shows up as banding long before anybody blames the printer.

So our InkFlow Station shelf now carries the UV parts our crews reach for most, all from AM.CO.ZA:

• UV-resist ink dampers for DX5/XP600 heads and direct-plug UV dampers for XP600/I1600/I3200
• 220 ml bulk UV ink cartridges with floater
• AM.CO.ZA UV inks, plus FlexiFlow UV-DTF ink for the wrap-transfer station on our UV-DTF printer

“Swap dampers on schedule, not when the print tells you. It is the cheapest fix in the room.”

Mr Tiyani Motaung, Field Engineer

Our spares and pads page lists what we keep for client lines. For setup and everyday care of the machines, AM.CO.ZA’s plain-language guides and the Machinery Support vlog are worth a bookmark, and more clips sit on the AM.CO.ZA YouTube channel.

Training for operators

Videos get a team curious, and skills take longer. When operators want proper grounding in digital machines, we point them to Ambitious Academy, AM.CO.ZA’s training school for Industry 4.0 skills, which runs online courses people can work through between shifts.

What this means at your Sample Lab Day

• We show you the two videos first, so you know what the camera and the flame pass do to your parts.
• Lids and closures are camera-aligned on the Flat Panel Bay, so a full jig looks like one job.
• PET and PP parts get a logged flame pass, then rub and tape tests you can watch.

“We are a lab, so we do not take a video’s word for anything. These two held up on our own benches, which is why they are part of the day now.”

Ms Kgomotso Ndaba, Managing Director

Bring your bottles, jars and lids to Sunnyrock. See the Sample Lab Day page to book. To see where our flatbed comes from, visit AM.CO.ZA or the AM.CO.ZA Johannesburg branch.