New printing plate from Flint Group significantly increases tonal range

As a globally operating prepress company for the international consumer goods industry, Flexicon AG offers their customers a complete array of the prepress process under one umbrella. Thus, the company mainly focuses on prepress work for sophisticated primary and secondary packaging. Each year, about 40,000 m² of flexo printing forms are produced worldwide. A high-performance production and an optimal quality management are the basis for its outstanding product quality. For this very reason, the leaders of more than 350 manufacturers of branded goods all over the world rely on Flexicon’s strengths.

Founded in 1985, from the packaging printing producer Bernd Sander, Flexicon initially concentrated on the production of flexo printing plates. Very quickly the portfolio of products and services was developed into the prepress area and a fully digital reproduction department was established. Over time, innovative services such as Artwork and Print Production Management were added. Very soon the company expanded its activities beyond the site in Halle, Westphalia (Germany). So, for example, a subsidiary in Dalian, a coastal town in northern China, was founded in 1996. As the very first German prepress provider on-site, Flexicon ranks among the pioneers in the Chinese flexo printing market. Additional branches in Europe, USA, Latin America and the Near East followed. Managed by Gabriele Kison since 1998 in the second generation, Flexicon is today one of the largest owner-operated businesses on the international prepress market: about 300 employees worldwide serve customers in over 80 countries.

Flexicon provides the appropriate printing plate for each requirement. The range of products extends from the monochrome transport packaging to multi-coloured labels and complex print images for primary packaging. For this purpose, the company makes use of the comprehensive Flint Group portfolio and utilises a number of different nyloflex® printing plates in various thicknesses. Bernd Sanning, head of the service and innovation department at Flexicon, explains the good working partnership of both companies: “I feel that the cooperation with Flint Group is very positive. Information is provided in a very timely manner, and suggestions are well adopted at any time and quickly implemented”.

Flexicon’s aim is to always be the best in every sector of the industry. A precondition for this is to think and act in a customer oriented manner. They constantly strive to offer the highest quality, excellent service and optimal productivity. To achieve this target, Flexicon wants to be on the cutting edge of technology at all times, so, they can refer, for example, to a longstanding expertise in the CTP (computer to plate) process or the latest HD technologies. Therefore, it is just logical that a nyloflex® NExT exposure unit from Flint Group is also part of their equipment. This innovative exposure technology utilises a high intensity UV-A LED light source to conduct rapid crosslinking of the photopolymer surface before oxygen inhibition can occur. The high UV-A output results in a very precise reproduction of the digital data onto the surface of the printing plate. In flexible packaging, printing plates exposed with this technology allow excellent ink transfer, particularly in solids. In corrugated printing, fluting will considerably be reduced as the LED exposure allows a better control of the relief profile.

Up to now the nyloflex® ACE photopolymer printing plate has been used with the nyloflex® NExT exposure, by which very high colour densities in printing could be achieved through the utilisation of surface structures. In the meantime, Flint Group has introduced a new printing plate into the market, nyloflex® NEF Digital, which has been especially designed for the nyloflex® NExT exposure technology and for printing of flexible packaging and labels. A significant advantage is the considerably shorter exposing time compared with standard plates. “With this new plate, the finest relief elements on the plate result in optimal reproduction of highlights and light tones, these are printed very sharp and consistent“, says Bernd Sanning. “Additionally, the solid ink densities can be improved once again by the better ink laydown. Thus, the tonal range of the motifs has tremendously increased!”

Developed for the efficient creation of flat top dots and an excellent reproduction of surface screenings, the nyloflex® NEF Digital plate was introduced in the beginning of August 2014. The new plate shows an outstanding quality in highlight areas. It allows for a reduced bump-up, thus increasing the image contrast. The ink lay-down can be significantly improved and a high solid ink density achieved when surface screens are applied. The result is a brilliant print performance on film, foil and coated paper substrates.


28 October 2014

Deutsche Fassung