Läser AG is a leading packaging business based in Gontenschwil, Switzerland. Serving brands in the food, tobacco, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, the business supplies a wide range of cartonboard packaging, cut and die-cut labels, shrink sleeves and die-cut direct mailing products.
Established in 1952 by the Läser family, the company’s board of directors is composed of the family’s second and third generations, and today, Läser AG has a workforce numbering over 100 employees. Supporting customers from design and prepress to a high-quality finished article, Läser AG has built a reputation for quality, precision and speed. Reflecting changes seen across the global packaging market, the company sought to make better use of digitalization, connectivity, and automation.
Läser AG selected the BOBST Digital Inspection Table (DIT) 106 for folding carton as the ideal complement to its packaging operations. The innovation is a standalone quality inspection unit, designed to make zero-fault packaging effortless. DIT is suitable for 106 format die-cutters and hot foil stampers, as well as folder-gluers and CI flexo printing presses. With precision and speed at the heart, BOBST DIT helps packaging converters to control cost, shorten makeready time and curtail waste. Crucially, its accuracy helps to eliminate expensive and reputation-harming recalls. Following the investment and installation of the DIT, Läser AG found significant advantages in quality, as well as a reduction in downtime.
Tobias Frank, Production Manager and Deputy Managing Director at Läser AG, explains: “We installed the DIT in our pre-press department, where we feel it adds an extraordinary level of value to our workflow. We use the machine to check all print products before we make the printing plate, whether that’s for packaging, labels or specialty products. Previously, we had a complex foil filing system and made a 1:1 print example of every single job that came in, which we then checked. Fitting perfectly into our workflows, when we assemble a print sheet, a PDF is created and automatically sent through to the Digital Inspection Table. By projecting the whole sheet assembly onto the unit, we can check internally defined control points and identify any potential issues before they happen. If the print sheet is good to go, we then make the printing plate. Then, the first printed sheet goes to prepress again, and is projected using DIT. We can then see whether any errors have occurred during plate exposure, which helps us to create a slicker, faster and more reliable quality assurance process.”
