ProductWatch: Autoprint’s Fine Coat 80

Autoprint’s Fine Coat 80 is an offline flexo rotary coater engineered to deliver full, spot, and spot-not window coating. Unlike converted offset presses, the machine features a stainless steel coating unit and specialised grippers to resist the corrosive properties of UV varnish, reducing long-term maintenance costs and mechanical failure risks.

The system utilises a two-cylinder dry offset principle. The first cylinder serves as a plate-cum-blanket cylinder, allowing operators to use blankets for flood coating or flexo/photopolymer plates for precision spot coating. For pharmaceutical and FMCG packaging, the machine performs spot-not window coating via stripped blankets, leaving designated areas uncoated for batch coding and adhesive application. The second cylinder, an impression cylinder equipped with removable grippers, provides the regulated pressure required for uniform varnish transfer across varying substrate thicknesses.

At the core of the varnish application is a three-roller system featuring a chrome-plated Anilox roller and a chamber-style doctor blade. This configuration provides precise control over varnish solution thickness, supporting substrates ranging from 60-gsm labels to 450-gsm boards at a maximum size of 22”x32”. The system achieves a throughput of 5,000 sheets per hour, synchronised by a stream feeder and a pull-type side lay for accurate registration.

The machine is integrated with a 12-foot UV/IR dryer unit, utilising a Teflon-coated fibre belt conveyor and a vacuum hold-down system. The standard setup includes a UV module and two infrared lamps, utilising German-manufactured lamps and reflectors. Automated delivery is managed through a receding pile stacker and rigid delivery grippers, ensuring consistent sheet handling at high speeds.

Primarily targeting the packaging and publishing sectors, the Fine Coat 80 provides a high-speed alternative to lamination. By utilising creasable varnishes, it matches offset press production speeds while preventing cover cracking during post-press binding. 

With over 250 installations globally, the system is positioned as a strategic upgrade for packaging units transitioning from manual feed processes to automated, industrial-grade finishing.