Extra! Extra! Extra!

There are some drawbacks to sleeves, however. There are still problems with durability, handling, accuracy, balance, and longevity, Deamer said. Also, while sleeves are lighter than traditional cylinders, at widths over 60˝, they are still too heavy for an operator to handle.

In addition, printers without the capital to spend on a new piece of equipment may find themselves losing customers. According to Deamer, sleeves and servo drives combined have made flexo presses older than 10 years "obsolete and non-competitive in today's aggressive price-pressured market place."