Bringing Flexo Into the Fold

Anilox savvy could enhance results. Dan Reilly, graphics specialist at Harper Corporation of America, Charlotte, NC, reports carton printers are running thinner inks on anilox rolls up to 900 line screen and with 1.3 to 1.8 BCM volumes to achieve desired color density and wide tonal ranges.

UV flexo, which Faust says comes closest to offset quality, may be poised to win a folding carton following for additional reasons. Duane Polkinghorne, president of Propheteer Int'l, Palatine, IL, says a 1991 Propheteer survey showed flexo's lengthy clean-up, makeready and unproductive time on press suited it solely for longer runs. UV flexo turned the tables toward short runs, he notes, because basic colors can stay on-press, reducing down-time.