With new demands on flexo plates such as Full HD Flexo, 175+ LPI, and high speed presses, optimized platemaking conditions are more important than ever. At the heart of the platemaking process is a light source - UVA light to be specific - which is the foundation for producing high quality plates time after time. … Read More...
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Digital Flexo Revolution...Or, as my teenage son would say, "Wait Wut?"The word revolution is a very powerful and emotional word. Merriam-Webster.com definition states: revolution rev·o·lu·tion noun \?re-v?-'lü-sh?n\ • a sudden, radical, or complete change • a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something • a changeover in use or preference especially in … Read More...
Doctor blades are essential components of the flexo printing process. When doctor blades are not optimized, the anilox roll cannot do it's job properly — that is, delivering a consistently metered, accurately measured, and evenly distributed amount of ink to the printing plate. In this blog post, we'll discuss blade selection and common factors contributing … Read More...
The next time you find yourself frustrated when realizing that the Pantone Formula Guide you are trying to match color to is dated 2009, remember this guy... Read More...
Recent news about FlexoConcepts' TruPoint Orange would indicate that there has been a major development in synthetic doctor blade technology, but are these claims truly groundbreaking or just creative marketing? Haven't synthetic blades been around for a long time (see this 1998 FTA FQC study showing synthetic blades have slightly less dot gain vs steel) … Read More...
Introduction: The importance of dot formation and plate quality has not gone unnoticed over the years. In fact, these traits have been the basis for many innovations, both recent and historic. In the 1970s, photopolymer was introduced as an improvement in quality over molded rubber due to its ability to transfer an image directly from … Read More...
In outlining the process control parameters involved in optimizing the color gamut for flexo print reproduction, it was stated in Part 1 of this series that "the path forward involves the commitment to a stringent process control plan...from prepress and proofing, through plate making and on to print reproduction." In practice, however, the path for … Read More...
Recently I had the opportunity to run a 1-color fingerprint at Clemson University in conjunction with another project I was working on there. The main purpose of the 1-color fingerprint was to determine the minimum type size the Aquaflex Optima flexo plate could hold and print cleanly, but I thought, why not take this chance … Read More...
April 2014 - The Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) named All Printing Resources (APR) and SpotOn! Press winners of its prestigious 2014 Technical Innovation Award. SpotOn! Flexo Technology co-developed by the two companies, was the winner in the Prepress-Pressroom category. An elite team of industry professionals conducted the competitive judging, and the winners were announced at … Read More...
We certainly live in a world today where exceptional print quality with flexo is no longer considered a "premium"-it is a given expectation of our customers. So, the real challenge now lies in providing these expected quality levels by the most cost efficient and productive means available. Historically, our most common approach in achieving consistency and stability in the end result has been with the application of spot colors. This approach, however, does little to contribute to our goals related to efficiency and productivity. Read More...