Cylinders for gravure printing and embossing: Progress report on ChromeXtend

Over recent months, Kaspar Walter has supported the implementation of the CTAC authorization in Europe and assisted users in a variety of ways. Across the board, the chromium trioxide exposures that have been measured have been low, and well below the legal limits.

Kaspar Walter would like to remind chromium trioxide users once again that measurement results must be submitted to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) via REACH-IT by December 18. To assist in this process, the company is once more offering support with completing the ECHA measurement template and uploading the data.

Since Kaspar Walter submitted its application for authorization to the ECHA in February 2021, the application has been processed and handled by various ECHA bodies. There has been constructive dialog between the company and the ECHA at various points and Kaspar Walter has been able to answer the last substantive questions satisfactorily. Based on initial discussions about operating conditions and risk reduction measures, it appears that the ECHA views the high process standards and safety measures in gravure and embossing electroplating as credible and adequate.

Kaspar Walter anticipates that the ECHA will complete its report on our application in the next few weeks and pass it on to the European Commission. Based on the ECHA recommendation, the Commission will evaluate the application once again and a legal text will then be drawn up. This text will be passed into law when the member states in the European Commission’s REACH Committee vote on it. Due to the large number of applications for authorization that have been presented to the Commission, it is currently anticipated that a final decision will be reached at the end of 2022/beginning of 2023.

If you have any questions about the implementation of the current chromium regulations, please contact Ms. Sylvia Berger (s.berger@kwalter.de, +49 (0)89 785 96 188).

About Kaspar Walter

The company’s headquarters with cutting-edge production halls and office buildings are located in Krailling, not far from Munich. Here, on a site that spans around 10,000 square meters, our approximately 70 employees design and manufacture state-of-the-art electroplating units for gravure forme production and develop highly efficient process technologies and customized solutions for system integration. The comprehensive portfolio is rounded off by high-performance measuring technology that provides highly accurate and reliable results.

Within the Heliograph Group, Kaspar Walter is the competence centre for automation, electroplating and process development. The Heliograph Group includes the companies Hell Gavure Systems, Ohio Gravure Technologies, Schepers Laser Technologies, Lüscher Technologies, Kaspar Walter, Daetwyler Graphics and Bauer Logistics.