Fujifilm Flenex FW Water-Washable Flexo Plates
Flenex FW is a water-washable flexo plate that provides the highest print quality and productivity, while significantly lowering the cost-in-use compared to thermal, solvent or other water-wash plate technologies.
The key benefits of Flenex FW water-washable plates are:
- Total platemaking time under 40 minutes
- Highest flexo quality (200lpi, 1% process dot), depending on the conditions
- More output per shift for class-leading productivity
Technology overview
Flenex FW photopolymer plates contain a special rubber-based compound that offers a number of inherent advantages over other elastomeric materials from which most other flexo plates are made. In particular, rubber is not oxygen sensitive, which minimises the effect oxygen in the air has on the dot shape and the complexity of the system to eliminate oxygen from the plate production process. The other advantages of a rubber-based plate material are listed in the box to the right.
Advantages of a Rubber-Based Plate Material
- Reduced dot gain
- Better ink transfer for cleaner, brighter print results
- Faster exposure and washout times
- Much more durable
- Mild washout with water and dishwasher soap
- Reduced plate swell
High quality print
The Flenex FW water-washable plate system does far more than simply eliminate the need for solvents and wicking cloths. It delivers longer runs while producing a consistent 200lpi at 4,400 dpi, 1% process dot structure for superb high quality print, depending on the conditions.
Flat top dot structure
The rubber-based compound means a 1% flat top dot can be achieved without complex systems to eliminate oxygen and results in lower dot gain. In addition, better ink transfer produces noticeably cleaner and brighter print results.
Flenex FW benefits your business
Higher productivity
Flenex FW water-washable plates reduce platemaking processing times to less than 40 minutes, 300% faster than leading solvent systems and 1.5 times faster than current thermal and water-wash technologies. Faster platemaking means more time on press and a dramatic increase in output per shift, freeing you to redeploy labor to more value-added activities.
Typical benefits include:
- Increase in number of plates produced
- Faster job turnaround
- Maximise press time
- Lower labour costs or opportunity to redeploy