Packaging Solutions
At a time when flexible packaging print quality is advancing rapidly with plate technologies such as flat top dots, specialised surfaces and screening techniques, Flint Group has introduced a new thermal, flat top dot plate, nyloflex XFH Digital. The plate was developed specifically for the wide web flexible packaging printer and is the latest addition to the portfolio of thermal plates designed to perform optimally in the nyloflex Xpress thermal processor.
The texturized surface of nyloflex XFH Digital plates requires no surface screening to produce beautiful, dense solids on flexible packaging and can be imaged at high speed at any resolution. Besides exceptional ink transfer which reduces pinholing, uniform vignettes with soft highlight fades and even tones are effortlessly achieved. Combined with the nyloflex Xpress thermal processing system which eliminates all solvent handling and plate drying time, plates will be ready for press – from imaging to finishing – in under one hour.
Plates may be exposed using any standard flexo plate exposure unit and imaged with any laser system suitable for imaging flexo printing plates. There are no additional consumable items or software required to attain the flat top dot structure and texture on the plate. nyloflex XFH Digital plates are specifically designed for the nyloflex Xpress thermal processing system.
‘Printers will especially appreciate the anti-ink fill (AIF) technology that we put into the XFH plates,’ explained PJ Fronczkiewicz, product manager Flint Group Flexographic. ‘As a result, the plates stay much cleaner during printing, reducing stops and increasing press uptime, and they have outstanding solvent resistance which improves color consistency over long runs. The superior resistance to solvent makes the plates more durable, which also contributes to our customers’ sustainability efforts since they are able to reuse the plates in many instances – so it is a win-win option for them.’
Plates are commercially available in 1.14 mm and 1.70 mm standard thicknesses and in 900 x 1200 mm, 1067 x 1524 mm and 1270 x 2032 mm sizes.
