Edited by Erin La Row, editor, Plastics Decorating
NanoVis Nanocleaners, offered by Automark, are changing the pad printing cleanup game. The company, located in Katy, Texas, has been providing a full range of pad printing and laser marking solutions for medical, cosmetic, industrial, automotive and aerospace industries for over a decade. It now includes the NanoVis Nanocleaners that clean ink from pad printer parts using zero solvents – providing a non-flammable, environmentally friendly solution that is free of hazardous fumes.
“These machines allow for quick cleaning of ink from ink cups and printing plates to radically improve the turnaround time of production printing machinery,” said Brian Bishop, founder and president of Automark.
The patented cleaner provides producers with numerous advantages. “Automark’s NanoVis solution completely eliminates the need for costly hazardous goods disposal, putting monthly disposal fees back into the pockets of companies, which quickly helps pay for these machines,” Bishop said.
The nontoxic nature of the NanoVis solution allows companies to keep cleaning equipment close to production areas since there are no additional requirements for items, such as hazmat storage of cleaning compounds. Because there are no toxic fumes that are typically associated with solvent-based cleaning, the NanoVis cleaners operate without fume extraction processes or expensive ventilation requirements.
Bishop said that while these machines increase productivity, help ensure a safer workspace and save companies money on hazardous goods disposal, the bigger picture is that these machines work to reduce the impact that printing processes have on the environment.
“These machines recycle all the NanoVis cleaning solution, so the only disposed-of product is in the form of a small, cured ink cake that can be thrown away in normal trash receptacles. This reduces the environmental impact greatly, keeping our planet healthier for generations to come,” Bishop added.
Automark’s NanoVis offers two distinct solutions that fall into two categories: the HC-1000, a manual cleaning unit and multiple-size automated cleaning units, called the NC series. Both options provide the same cleaning capabilities. The HC-1000 manual NanoVis cleaner can thoroughly clean 15 of the 90 mm ink cups per 10-15-minute cleaning cycle. Automated units can clean over 100 of the 90 mm ink cups automatically in the same amount of time.
These units have been sold throughout Europe, and Automark has begun bringing them to the US.
“Many companies have purchased subsequent units after their first, due to their cost savings and added productivity,” Bishop said. “The units have been built to last, have been manufactured for many years in Switzerland, and feature stainless steel components, robust frames and A-level components. Automark already has installed these units in the US and companies here have reported loving this technology.”
