Kodak Flexcel NX System 'saves on printer ink' Dec 01, 2011 17:00 by Matt Bird
Businesses can save money on printer ink thanks to the Flexcel NX System, according Engelbert Hundsberger, managing director of packaging printer Flexopack-Verpackungen GmbH in Allhaming, Austria.
His comments come as Kodak announces that Vienna-based Repro Busek is seeing the benefits of investing in the firm’s flexo technology. Reinhard Deim, sales manager and board member at the company, says the system offers astonishing flexographic print quality.
“It’s the biggest quality leap I’ve seen in more than 30 years in the profession. The Flexcel NX Plates give us results that rival gravure in every respect – and in many cases are superior.”
The Kodak Flexcel NX Imagers use Squarespot Imaging Technology at an effective resolution of 10,000 dpi to enable printing dots as small as ten microns.
Repro Busek opted for a Flexcel NX Mid Imager, which images a maximum plate size of 1,143mm x 838mm in about six minutes, faster than any other imaging system installed on the premises. The company is also reportedly “very impressed” with the simplicity of the Thermal Imaging Layer’s operating and handling.
The Imaging Layer is laminated onto the Flexcel NX Plate in the Flexcel NX Laminator in a purely mechanical process, which does not involve heat. The laminated Thermal Imaging Layer prevents exposure of the surface to air, eliminating oxygen inhibition and the undesirable side-effects on the photopolymer plate.
Mr Hundsberger confirmed the improved ink transfer and expanded gamut facilitated by the Flexcel NX Plates.
According to Kodak, he “believes the ability to reduce the number of inks in combination with Flexcel NX Plates is another significant benefit. The result is lower plate-making expenditure, and shorter make-ready times on the flexo press”.
“If quality is your primary concern, there’s no longer a valid reason to choose gravure,” Mr Deim continues. “The Flexcel NX System matches up to gravure quality, and it’s often a very one-sided match in flexo’s favour.”
Posted by John Sollars
