Esko has announced two new solutions, which it claims will automate the flexo platemaking process.
The CDI Crystal 4835 and the Print Control Wizard are two new solutions. The CDI Crystal 4835 supports the 1219 mm x 889 mm (48”x35”) plate size and features automatic plate loading and unloading. In addition, plate waste and plate inconsistencies resulting from manual plate handling are almost eliminated.
An early user of the CDI Crystal 4835, Lene Hoegh Madsen, prepress manager at the packaging group Schur in Germany, said, “The CDI Crystal and XPS Crystal are very easy to operate. We can train new operators very fast, and that enables us to make plates at night or early in the morning depending on our needs, and not only when our platemaking expert is in.”
According to Esko, the new Print Control Wizard software takes the complexity out of flexo platemaking. The plates produced through Print Control Wizard are said to deliver superior print quality as a screen and dot gain curves are used that take into consideration the press, substrates, inks, anilox and other print run parameters.