Flexo Sleeves Gain Traction

In-the-round (ITR) technology refers to digitally imaged, continuous polymer printing sleeves that permit flexographers to print images on a wide range of substrates by imaging and processing the printing form directly on the sleeve. The photopolymer sleeve may be a continuous pre-manufactured sleeve with a seamless layer of photopolymer topped by a laser ablation mask (LAM) coating, ready for imaging, exposure, and processing. It can also involve mounting individual pieces of photopolymer on a base sleeve with stickyback tape, then imaging, exposing, and processing them in the same manner as the photopolymer sleeve with the LAM coating.