What Price Plates?
Flexo plate costs aren't likely to decrease dramatically until platemaking production is made fully digital.
by Jessica Millward, Associate Editor
PLATE EVOLUTION WILL always set the stage for further development of flexographic printing. But with the invention and advancement of "newer, better" systems and materials, inevitably comes the demand for "cheaper." Unfortunately, as plate manufacturers and prepress providers alike testify, a dramatic decrease in flexo plate prices won't be feasible until processing and production become substantially more simplified.
Better conventional plate processing
There are various methods for improving efficiency within the flexo platemaking process as it exists today. A primary cost-reduction strategy involves finding a way to decrease time involved in plate production, either in the processing or drying phases.
James Kadlec, president, Advanced Prepress Graphics explains, "Two real-life solutions to making photopolymer platemaking more efficient are to simply reduce exposure times, or use a less-aggressive solvent, which penetrates the polymer during processing to reduce drying time."
Dynamic Dies' Product Development Manager Kevin Koelsch agrees that the first priority in prepress efficiency is reducing plate production time, but also sees opportunity for improvement in bigger equipment. "The size of the exposure and subsequent processing equipment needs to be larger. … Enlarging the processing equipment will allow the job shop to organize more jobs per exposure, thus improving the workflow in and through the platemaking department," he concludes.
To complement large-format processing equipment, printers and prepress specialists are now looking for enhanced processing materials to facilitate plate production. According to Brian Gormley, platemaking production manager at CSW, a better variety
of solvent-alternative processes designed for large-format, deep-relief flexo platemaking would be a great boon to platemakers' bottom lines.
Taking a pragmatic, analytical look at the printer's or trade shop's current production success rate might also yield long-term benefits. "The best way to ensure plate processing is optimized is to add control and standards to your process to avoid making bad plates," insists Bob Dalton, flexography product manager at Creo. Dalton counts the need to remake plates as a very significant strike against a platemaking department's time and cost economy. He adds, "Standards that should be in place include press characterization, plate control targets, regular maintenance of UV exposure bulbs, and processor chemistry."
Static price structure?
How far can these measures take plate suppliers in meeting printers' demands for price reduction? The prepress industry in general seems to agree pricing of flexo plates won't change significantly given today's largely non-digital workflow. In the meantime, platemakers struggle to keep their own profit margins reasonable while producing competitive-quality plates.
Kadlec maintains printing plate prices have not altered significantly within the last 10 years, while the cost of materials has risen noticeably. He laments, "We as platemakers have been faced with fiercer competition (cheaper along with lower quality) that sell primarily on price. I have had competitors that competed solely on price—now they are out of business."
Other prepress suppliers recognize the platemaking dilemma. DuPont Imaging Technologies' Ray Bodwell, marketing manager for Cyrel Digital products, points out flexo plate prices, from both the manufacturer and trade shops, have been static or in decline for some time. "Further decline seems unlikely if their businesses are to remain healthy enough for the reinvestment necessary to fully support increasing needs of the converter and package buyer," he asserts. Bodwell sees
the price structure of flexo plates changing significantly only when the entire process is done digitally.
Until a platemaking revolution is well under way, the chief concern for printers should be optimizing available resources. As Richard Bein, president of RBCOR, LLC, attests, "I do not believe that plate cost will dramatically change from today's levels. Attention must be focused on the cost of the plate to press, and whether that one plate performs the entire job requirement."
CTP concerns
With an eye on digital development, prepress suppliers have made a serious effort to bolster the lagging CTP-adoption rates of package printers. Reservations regarding the move to CTP generally stem from fiscal concerns.
"The capital cost of moving to CTP is centered around the digital imaging device and workflow upgrades," states Dan Rosen, product manager for MacDermid Printing Solutions. While printers new to CTP may be unsure about its return on investment, Rosen emphasizes adding CTP capability is an expense necessary to remain competitive.
Koelsch believes the cost of correcting errors may be an impediment to printers' adoption of CTP. It is not uncommon, Koelsch says, for prepress shops to make an error in a separation, miss a trap, and/or lose a piece of copy. "When utilizing a film-based process, the cost to reprint film is much less than the cost to reprint a plate," he reasons.
Film-based workflows of different varieties have also proven to be serious competition to CTP systems. Agfa Packaging Segment Manager Shiela Nysko says with developments in CTF, and with new screening technologies (such as hard dot films and pinpoint contact frames), "film quality has reached an entirely new level."
