Knowledge is (UV) Power

A thorough understanding of prepress and flexo control enabled Brook & Whittle to make the jump to UV flexo.

By Susan Friedman

When applicable process knowledge is in place, UV flexo has provided a quick pathway to profits for package printers. The positive experience of label printer Brook & Whittle demonstrates the importance of preparing, clearing the learning curve and finding commonalities from previous experience that can make the leap to UV flexo a shorter one.

For this printer, a background in prepress has provided that natural bridge to UV flexo. As owner of U.S. prepress firm ColoTone from 1982 to 1993, Anthony Collins was a seasoned expert in film and electronic color separations and tonal ranges.

Upon selling ColoTone, Collins bought Brook & Whittle, a Lancashire, England,letterpress printing firm, where he first successfully implemented a UV flexo operation with the purchase of a Mark Andy 2200 press.

Under control

In April 1996, Collins and associate Stephen Stewart pooled their extensive prepress expertise, initial UV flexo achievements, and familiarity with the U.S. market to establish a 20-employee Brook & Whittle office in North Branford, CT. Again, UV flexo was the primary route-to-market of choice, because Collins and his associates observed that adept process control during prepress could carry through to maximize UV flexo's quality potential.

"If you understand prepress, control with UV flexo is such that you can compete with other processes," says Stewart. "UV flexo's longer tonal ranges and reduced dot gain enables us to produce a more quality-oriented product," he elaborates. "The process allows us to use a higher viscosity of ink for a three dimensional look on packages."

The first step in Brook and Whittle's UV flexo ramp-up here in the U.S. was the purchase of a 10à Mark Andy 4150 press with multiple silkscreen and flexo printing heads. The firm set its sights on the high-end printing needs of blue-chip, corporate accounts, offering UV flexo as the vehicle for producing graphic quality that would support consumer expectations from long-established brands.

Currently, companies such as Crabtree & Evelyn, Stanley Tools, Playtex, Carvel and Pepsi Cola look to Brook & Whittle for 4- to 8-color UV flexo printing of consumer commercial packaging, point- of-purchase displays and promotional direct mail on a full range of substrates and run lengths from 5,000 units to five million plus.

In order to increase short-run, short-make-ready capabilities and focus even more closely on UV flexo at Brook & Whittle's U.S. location, Collins placed an order for a Mark Andy 2200 press in late 1997 that would provide a 10à web-width, eight printing units and four diecutting stations.

Both Mark Andy presses feature "QC" quick change inking systems that allow the ink station to be disengaged for cleanup without tools, and permit anilox roll changes without removal of the ink or the ink pan. The presses also include UV curing equipment from Fusion Aetek UV, corona treating systems, and video inspection systems that display a still image of print jobs every half second, even at speeds of 300 to 400 fpm. UV inks from such suppliers as Sun Chemical and Environmental Inks have provided superior image durability in terms of fade resistance and scratch resistance.

Brook & Whittle's work surroundings are designed, according to Collins, to parallel the value-added reputation of their UV flexo work. A basic office environment of drop ceilings and tile floors can be found throughout the facility, even in printing areas.

With its quality begets quality philosophy in full swing, Brook & Whittle's sales have zoomed from ground zero to $4 million annually in under two years. Collins wants to keep the firm on a rapid, yet controlled, growth cycle. "We don't want to be large, unwielding and unresponsive," he says. "We're proud of being small, adaptable and focused."