Founded in 2007 and based in Rossendale, Lancashire, Reelvision Print Ltd work in close partnership with customers throughout the UK, serving a diverse range of industries, including pharmaceutical, healthcare, veterinary, cosmetics and personal care products.
The company’s state-of-the-art one-pass production process, combined with the team’s passion and attention to detail, allows them to guarantee a rapid, reliable and flexible service – particularly for short run volumes that need fast turnaround. And with ISO9001:2015 quality and PS9000:2016 pharmaceutical code of practice accreditation, customers are always in safe hands.
Operating in the world of packaging where consumers are actively transitioning away from plastics, Reelvision manufactures with a sustainable natural material that has a positive environmental impact. With a policy of only using board where mills utilise renewable raw material from sustainably managed forests driven by clean bio-energy, the business is perfectly positioned to expand in this growth market sector.
Utilising a natural renewable material with a creative constructional design facility, Reelvision have developed board packaging to replace plastic products for the safe shipment of medical devices. This expertise combined with the status as a principle supplier to the NHS, resulted in the business becoming a key provider of packaging components for numerous COVID-19 vaccine trials and vial transportation packs for the BioNTech/Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines.
With a genuine commitment to consistent high quality standards linked closely to a continuous improvement programme, the company has created an ethos geared around quality assurance which stems from the unique one-pass production process through to all individual members of staff.
Reelvision has rapidly developed a reputation as a leading supplier of high quality printed cartons servicing the growing demand for short to medium order quantities that require a rapid and reliable service.
Reelvision has a clear and simple strategy ‘to make its customers more successful’ and the business has grown through the development of key drivers:
- Producing small batch quantities of printed folding cartons;
- Rapid delivery for newly launched printed designs;
- Print with total colour consistency;
- Never utilise composite printing techniques;
- Offer complete product security in terms of no admixture opportunities during the production process.
Expanded Capabilities
Having worked closely with Edale in 2007 for the design of their original FL5 Carton production line (then known as the Edale Gamma), Reelvision knew as the business grew, further investment would be required to ensure they kept ahead of the growth curve, ensuring a flexible rapid service standard was maintained as the company expanded to meet new capacity demands. The launch of the Reelvision operation was exceptionally successful and as the business grew a second machine was purchased in 2014. The Edale machines combined with Reelvision’s streamlined BSI approved processing system which enables fast accurate order administration, generating clear unambiguous instructions for manufacturing, right through to the dispatch of product, have been paramount in seeing Reelvision secure their position as the leading supplier for short-run printed folded cartons.
Fast forward to 2022 and Reelvision with Edale worked together to develop the FL5 further – as a result, they purchased their third Edale Carton Production Line with new improvements and additional features. The newly developed machine is slightly larger across the web, enabling Reelvision to produce larger carton formats, which is particularly important, as it allows them to run carton carriers/outers in which customers can pack smaller cartons.
“The Edale machines really suit the style of work we do very nicely,” says Deborah Greenwood (pictured left), Sales Director, Reelvision. “Quick make-ready, highly responsive, premium quality, consistent colour reproduction – all for jobs that vary between 2,000, 5,000 or 10,000 pieces. We have been known to run as little as 13 pieces, all the way through to 100,000+ cartons.”
She continues, “Our relationship with Edale goes back to when our joint Managing Directors were setting up the business and they were looking for a production line that could handle short runs with the highest quality, but they did not want to buy lots of different machines – they wanted an inline solution. Conventional B1 or B2 presses were not ideal due to length of make-ready; Reelvision wanted a machine where they could produce eight or nine different designs per shift and the Edale solution fitted perfectly.”
In Detail
The fully automated FL5 single-pass carton production line enables users to produce a highly embellished carton in just one pass . You can print, reverse print, foil either hot or cold, laminate, add holographic effects, cast and cure and coat. The FDC-600 die-cutter can run in line with the FL5, combining low tooling costs with cut, crease, emboss, braille, waste stripping and diverging delivery, all in a single pass.
The FL5 carton production line is ideal for short-run work from 1,000 – 100,000 units and reconfigurable for a wide range of sizes and forms. Advanced tension control, robust construction and technologies dedicated to handling paper board means that the FL5 can handle substrates up to 700 microns (24pt) thick and 600mm (23.6″) wide.
The FL5 carton production lines at Reelvision are running in line with the Edale FDC-600, web-fed flatbed die-cutter, making a highly efficient solution specifically designed for short-run folding carton production.
“With these machines, the customer can order exactly the quantity they want and need, allowing them to de-stock,” adds Deborah Greenwood. “The Edale press is exceptionally good when it comes to colour consistency; that is critical for high quality cosmetics packaging. Repeatability, month after month, is so important.”
She continues, “Thanks to the flexibility of the lines and thanks to fast change-over times, we can get jobs turned around very quickly and delivered just in time. Additionally, our work-in-progress is next to nothing – we quite literally print and cut the carton, send to the gluers and straight to despatch – not many other converters can achieve this.”
Flexo Versus Offset
“Many of our customers are used to litho offset as the print method of choice, but we only offer flexo printed cartons and sometimes we meet resistance,” explains Deborah Greenwood. “But when we sit down with a sample of a carton produced on our presses and put them alongside a litho offset printed carton, many times the customer cannot tell the difference. But once they see the turnaround times, they decided to go with Reelvision.”
One of the latest developments added to the new press is the EZ Reg print registration system, which allows Reelvision to pull the design into register quickly on the run and keep it in register. They have also opted for the EZ Mount system, which can be used on the existing machines; this system speeds up the mounting process for the flexo plates.
“With the Edale FL5 Carton Production lines, we deliver superior print quality and consistency of colour matching each and every time,” concludes Deborah Greenwood. “We are really happy with the machines and our relationship with Edale continues to go from strength to strength. We are looking forward to showing our customers the new press, along with all the internal developments we have made to the factory to accommodate the new production line.”
