PFFC - October 2008 - (Page 68)

TSIP TRADE SHOW IN PRINT Special Advertising Section Aquaﬂex Specializes in Specialization price and features. They are made by respected and experienced manufacturers — yet one fails while the other succeeds. Certainly the caliber of the press operator is a factor, but more likely it is the design compromises that make the difference. When designing presses with broad capabilities, there are always engineering trade-offs or compromises. The manufacturer must perform a challenging balancing act between cost, performance, and probable use. This is especially true in entry and midlevel presses. Top-of-the-line presses tend to represent fewer compromises and that is reflected in their price. Here is where press-design philosophy defines the press’s overall performance. It goes well beyond cosmetic differences like “all show and no go.” The quality of these compromises reflects the design team’s selection of the minimum performance parameters for any given press. To determine those performance parameters manufacturers often look to their traditional customer base and design toward what they believe their customer values most. In other words, critical compromises are weighted toward what their traditional customer is most likely to buy. On the surface that might seem like a smart idea; however, it can be counter productive to innovation. Aquaflex also designs presses to the needs of our customers. They tell us what capabilities they want in a press and we work to deliver what they asked for. However, virtually every press we build also has a degree of customization involved to address a specific need or specialization. That’s why we’re often thought of as a custom press manufacturer. Our design philosophy focuses more on optimization than compromise. Rather than delivering a “general” press we work to deliver a “specific” press that delivers optimum performance. The old saying that “need is the mother of invention” rings true at Aquaflex. Our customer’s need is our innovation engine. In order to deliver a “specific” press, we work very closely with our customers to discover and understand all the complexities of what they hope to achieve. You see, it’s more about delivering a specific set of capabilities than selling a particular press. We start with Aquaflex basics—flexible designs, robust construction, reliability, and superior reproduction. From there we adapt our technologies to optimize the press to our customer’s specific needs which may include a unique specialization. This simple design philosophy combined with our over-riding commitment to deliver on what we promised, has clearly set Aquaflex apart and served our customers well. Here is where our design philosophy pays off. Many of the presses we sell are the result of rigorous competitive comparisons— we simply printed the customer’s test job better than anyone else. Aquaflex specializes in building specific printing solutions for an industry that thrives on specialization. By Mac Rosenbaum, Vice President, Aquaflex / F. L. Smithe Machine Company Package and label printing has always had its areas of specialization that differentiated one printer from another. Unlike commercial litho printers who print anything their presses will run, flexo printers tend to be selected on the basis of their areas of specialization and expertise. That’s not to say specialization indicates a narrow product mix; in fact, it’s quite the contrary. Today’s flexo printer offers a broad range of capabilities on an even broader range of substrates. It’s just that flexo printing and inline converting is a complex discipline and that complexity tends to spawn areas of specialization. It is the diversity of need created by specialization that prompts press manufacturers to design presses with wide ranges of capabilities. Often jobs will run well on one manufacturer’s press and poorly on another, even though both presses were designed to run that type of work. Why is that? These presses are comparable in 68 | OCTOBER 2008 Aquaflex is a Division of the F. L. Smithe Machine Company, Inc. 899 Old Route 220 North Duncansville, PA 16635 Tel: 877-247-6627 Fax: 814-695-0860 International: +1-814-695-5521 PFFC-ASAP 602 WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM http://www.aquaflex.com http://www.pffc-online.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PFFC - October 2008

PFFC - October 2008 Contents First Glance Calendar of Events From the Editor Web Lines Process Management News Clips Narrow Web & Label Reporter Narrow Web & Label What's New Products Shrink Sleeves Carton & Box Reporter Carton & Box What's New Products Cover Story - Custom Coating Core Shafts Show Preview Flexo Printing Film Converting Static Control UV/EB Inks What's New Products Trade Show in Print Services Directory Classified Marketplace Equipment Buyers & Sellers Advertisers Index Experience Speaks

PFFC - October 2008

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