Clean, Green Digital Flexo Plates

Due to new technology developments and enhanced quality, the UK flexo market has largely adopted digital plate making, with many companies now handling plate production in-house.

Due to new technology developments and enhanced quality, the UK flexo market has largely adopted digital plate making, with many companies now handling plate production in-house, according to Esko-Graphics.

The company said it plays a significant role in supporting the successful transition via its CDI flexo plate setters, that it claims to be the world's first digital imagers for flexo plates.

Out of 560 platesetters installed around the world, 27 of them are now operated in the UK.

About 90 per cent of all worldwide digital flexo plates are imaged on an Esko-Graphics CDI flexo platesetter claimed the company.

At Flexo 2005 in Birmingham from March 15-18 (stand 1130, hall 17) Esko-Graphics will show its CDI Advance with the first automatic plate loading system (APL) for the automatic removal of the protective cover sheet, fully automatic plate loading, imaging and unloading.

In addition, the company will also highlight the new Sleeve Option on the CDI Compact with a cantilever arm ? a system that allows one person to change a sleeve without additional tools.

The special system, which fits on a CDI Compact flexo imager, is designed for middle-size web formats said Esko-Graphics.

Esko-Graphics recently introduced a number of new software updates to enhance quality and productivity of CDI flexo platesetters, including Optics 80, Grapholas, Superskip and Platepatcher.

Toby Parker, managing director of TW Parker and an Esko-Graphics customer commented: "We have always used CDI plates which give us a quality that cannot be beaten.

With Esko-Graphics' latest CDI Spark XT we know we have the highest quality plates in the business." DuPont and Esko-Graphics believe they have met the challenge for an increasing demand for digital plates in the flexo packaging market.

At DuPont, Boyd Cushing, the company's UK sales manager said: "Today flexo is not just an alternative process but also the preferred option for many brand owners and packaging designers.

The Esko-Graphics CDI range is tried and tested and customers continue to tell us how their businesses have improved since investing.

We are also now seeing a new and marked expansion of this technology into growing markets - most recently in Ireland." And Hubert Scheir, the director of marketing EMEALA at Esko-Graphics added: "Developments in digital plate technology have been significant.

Digital flexo plates allow for a clean and environmentally friendly production process that result in stable press-ready plates immediately after processing and assuring top quality print.

In the end this is what a brand owner is looking for: his consumer will be attracted by fine packaged products.".

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