In the first edition of Packaging MEA’s new business-technology webinar series, key industry figures are treated to a taste of Xeikon’s latest offerings, which aim to push forward the transition from rotogravure to flexo.
The MEA region, along with the rest of Asia and some other emerging markets, is slowly but surely moving towards a flexo-based process for its wide-web flexible packaging print and converting.
This moves away from the current trend which sees a major chunk of flexible packaging print done using long-trusted rotogravure technology.
Flexible packaging printers and converters are facing stress from both clients (brand owners) and suppliers.
Accordingly, Packaging MEA earlier this month conducted a webinar on “The Future of Digital Flexo Plate-making Starts Today”, featuring participation from key prepress bureaus, both wide and narrow-web flexo printers, converters and existing rotogravure printers-converters
During this webinar, Christophe Lievens, Sales and Marketing Director of Xeikon Prepress, not only unveiled new lines from his company, but he also shared his expert views on the future of digital flexo plate-making and how automation can help the crucial area of imaging, processing, washing and delivery efficiently and fast.
While there are many aspects of flexography that could help these printers-converters, as well as prepress bureaus, be more commercially viable and transition from roto to flexo, Christophe elucidated the benefits and importance of automation in the digital flexo plate-making process.
Christophe unveiled the latest additions to Flint Group’s Catena product family – the Catena-W , for Washer, and Catena-DL, for Dryer Light Finisher, follows Flint Group’s promise of delivering solutions which are “Better.Faster.Easier to use”.
Highlights of the new portfolio of imagers and allied processing systems comprising the new Washer and Dryer/Light Finisher as part of its Catena system include:
- Increased productivity thanks to unique plate alignment and advanced plate queuing system
- Sustainable processor due to encapsulated washout zone with very low emissions into the workspace
- Easy handling of large format plates, no human touchpoint
- Excellent performance by pin-bar transport system with automated plate punching, fixing and detaching
Satisfied customers
When Xeikon Pre-press joined Flint Group in 2015, both Flint Group Flexographic and Xeikon Pre-press found themselves in the unique position of having the expertise in plate manufacturing and plate processing equipment in-house.
“This resulted in close collaboration between our R&D departments to provide a fully optimised pre-press environment, including equipment and plates,” said Friedrich von Rechteren, Global Commercial VP, Flint Group Flexographic.
The Catena-W is designed to deliver the highest productivity through a plate alignment which avoids skew during transport as well as an advanced plate-queuing system. This limits the distance between plates and maximizes throughput. An integrated plate shuttle enables a single operator to easily handle large-format plates and offers a minimum gap between queues.
Xeikon Prepress R&D Director Bart Wattyn explained: “By listening to the challenges our customers have to face, like handling large flexo plates that are easy to damage, we developed the Flextray with fully automatic loading and unloading. The positive feedback we received was tremendous.
“ThermoFlexX has brought a fresh and extremely valuable approach to our business”.
Bart Wattyn, R&D Director – Xeikon Prepress
“Consequently, we announced the Catena-E LED exposure system in 2019 with a fully automatic plate feed from our imagers. Plate processing (wash-out) gives an extra challenge and we took it as a design goal that an operator should be able to handle large plates single-handed and without coming into contact with their solvent-wet surface”.
The Catena-DL features an automated lift that can move a plate from the shuttle to the dryer drawers and into the light finishing section while avoiding any human touchpoint.
Stefaan Herman, Site Manager at Miller-Graphics, a Brand Management, Repro and Flexo Plate making company specializing in flexible packaging, paper and foil, corrugated and labels, stated: “We are always interested in Flint Group and especially ThermoFlexX developments and happy to take the opportunity to be first to install the Catena-W and Catena-DL.
“We’ve found the Catena-W pin-bar system to be very useful. It avoids the need for punching the plate by using an external spiked clamp system. Not only does this save a step, it also means there’s no polymer residue.
“Furthermore, the distance required for clamping is less and saves plate material. Rather than a drive chain that passes through the solvent, Catena-W uses a leadscrew that’s outside the liquid, this saves a lot of maintenance. For the environment in our plate room, we noticed that special covers limit the solvent evaporation with almost no smell discernable. The systems are noticeably quieter, too.