Consumables-General - Plates

BRYAN, Ohio—Automated mounter manufacturer Leader Engineering Fabrication, Inc. and Anderson & Vreeland, Inc. have recently formed a marketing alliance.

Flint Group Flexographic Products announced the addition of Dansen Prepress Corporation to its sales force for the rotec® line of sleeve products, effective December 15th, 2008.

Flexographic printing quality has been approaching that of gravure for some time now. Although it has been attractive to printers due to its lower price point than gravure printing, one of flexo’s shortfalls has always been that its quality is not at the same level as gravure. Trisoft Graphics, Inc. (www.trisoftco.com)—a digital prepress and graphic design company serving the packaging industry since 1993—recently installed a new flexographic platemaking system it expects to use to produce flexographic printing plates that, when employed, will rival gravure’s quality.

In developing the endless photopolymer sleeves we have therefore been able to draw upon extensive experience with ITR printing forms, sleeves and adapter systems. [...] in terms of both the base sleeve and the manufacturing technology, nyloflex® ITR Thin and nyloflex® ITR Classic are based on existing rotec expertise. The wall thickness of the Thin version is 1.570 mm, that of the Classic version 3.165 mm. These sizes are equivalent to using printing plates in the standard commercial thickness of 1.14 mm and 2.84 mm respectively. For customers, this in turn represents a kind of standard in terms of printing forms, regardless of whether a mounted printing plate or an ITR sleeve is used. [...] they have reported improvements in colour transfer and advantages in laser imaging. [...] we may be able to modify the raw material used for the new nyloflex® FAB plate, which is designed specifically for printing with UV-inks, so that it can be used for ITR sleeves. Since components such as polymers, sleeves, adapters and processing units all come from a single source, Flint Group Flexographic Products is able to operate as a full-system supplier. Since the dimensions of nyloflex® ITR sleeves are based exactly on the conventional system, existing adapters can be still used. [...] users can choose alternative endless sleeves with specific print characteristics without having to invest in new peripherals.

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Trisoft Graphics, Inc.—a digital prepress and graphic design company headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif.—recently installed a KODAK FLEXCEL NX Digital Flexographic System to more effectively meet the quality demands of its customer base.

WILMINGTON, Del.—On Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 at 1:00 p.m., DuPont Packaging Graphics will present a “Back to Basics” Webinar, which is designed to help flexo platemakers produce consistent, high-quality printing plates.

Company: J M Heaford Limited, www.jmheaford.co.uk Product: Flexo Plate Mounter Proofer (Viper) What is it?: A device with cameras for attaching flexo printing plates to print sleeves in register using microdot technology and, afterwards, making a printed proof of the plates to confirm register, separations, and plate quality. Features: • High magnification cameras, servo drives, and PLC control • Simple touch-screen operator interface for ease of use • High-quality construction for extreme repeatable accuracy, low maintenance, and a long operating life. Company: DuPont Imaging Technologies, packaging-graphics.dupont.com Product: Cyrel Microflex 850 mm What is it?: A plate mounting system, developed for

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The 2008 PIA/GATF InterTech™ Technology Award recipients have been revealed, and Kodak is pleased to announce that the KODAK FLEXCEL NX Digital Flexographic System is one of 10 technologies to receive this prestigious annual industry award. First begun in 1978, the PIA/GATF InterTech Technology Awards recognize excellence in innovative technology for the graphic communications marketplace. “The KODAK FLEXCEL NX Digital Flexographic System represents an exciting new approach to imaging flexo plates that delivers extremely high resolution and outstanding consistency,” said Doug Edwards, General Manager Prepress Solution, Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group. “Several of our customers have already captured awards for work produced with the

BRYAN, Ohio—U.S. Veteran and printing industry representative Howard B. Vreeland, Sr., 87, of Bryan, died Friday, June 13, 2008. Born on October 4, 1920, in Caldwell, New Jersey, Vreeland was the son of John Henry and Lulu Belle (Ward) Vreeland. He graduated from Kingspoint Merchant Marine Academy in Long Island, New York where he received a degree in Hydraulic Engineering. A Navy veteran of WWII, he married Alice T. Kennedy on December 14, 1945 three hours after his college graduation, in Long Island, New York. She preceded him in death on July 6, 2002. Howard was the Owner and Chairman Emeritus of the Board

Digital imaging of flexographic plates has brought about many improvements when compared to conventional platemaking methods. Sleeve technology offers further refinements to the process. Advances in flexo sleeve technology are yielding opportunities in markets traditionally dominated by offset and gravure—markets such as folding cartons and shrink sleeves. Lightweight, durable, easy-to-handle flexo sleeves not only work well with less expensive substrates such as tissue, napkins, and paper towels, but also provide excellent laydown of solid and metallic inks in packaging applications. Flexo sleeves are being used in two ways: as carrier rolls for flat, imaged plates mounted on the surface or with the image