Importance of Unwinds
Every industry has its own unique nomenclature, and the label printing industry is no different! Learning the ins and outs of each other’s day to day verbiage can lead to better communication and success in mutual partnerships. To give you a snippet of knowledge from the label perspective, we want to talk today about unwinds.
What is an unwind?
An unwind tells you which direction the label, and the label verbiage, comes off of the roll. Below you can see a graphic depicting each of the 8 unwind positions.
Where are they found?
We use the above graphics in every area along our process flow.
At the beginning of our process, the designated unwind is provided by our customers on their Technical Specification Form (TSF). This unwind graphic then appears on your Proof and on your Quote to ensure we are setting up the item correctly. When your Purchase Order is placed, and the information is sent over to our Bill of Materials team to set up the item. They ensure that the unwind matches the TSF, the proof and the quote then plugs the correct information into our Bill of Materials screen.
On the production side you can find the unwind graphic on our plate files, which holds everything needed to print the item, as well as the Bill of Materials information. Lastly, unwind cards are used on the finishing units of our presses so that the operators can ensure they are finishing the rolls in the right orientation.
Our top priority is ensuring that the unwind matches on all of these elements across our facility.
Why is it beneficial for you to know this information?
Understanding unwind orientations is important for label application purposes. If the unwind is incorrect, it can create downtime and confusion in your packing area. Imagine if all of the labels were applied backwards to packages or the unwind printed would not work for your label applicator?
Ultimately, you choose the unwind orientation that works for your product, and we make sure it happens!
If you have any questions about unwinds and how they affect your business, please contact us today!