A Profusion of Plates and Films
DuPont Packaging Graphics’ portfolio of products includes Cyrel brand photopolymer plates (analog and digital), Cyrel platemaking equipment, Cyrel round sleeves, Cyrel plate mounting systems, and the Cyrel FAST thermal platemaking system. Analog plates include the durable Cyrel EXL low durometer capped plate; Cyrel HIQS for very fine screen and line work; and the Cyrel NOW flexible plate for fine halftone, line, screen, and sold printing. The company describes its DuPont Cyrel round Classic and Cyrel round Thin as “a complete digital sleeve production solution” consisting of a family of ready-to-image printing sleeves supported by complementary equipment for UV exposure, processing, drying, and finishing.
From Flint Group Printing Plates comes the nyloflex range of flexo plates, including nyloflex ACT for optimal results in combination printing, where one plate consists of both halftone and solid printing areas. Intended for high-quality flexographic applications, nyloflex ACT can be used on most substrates including film, foil, and paper and is available in conventional and digital versions. The company’s nyloflex Gold A digital plate is said to be an aluminium-based plate with high dimensional stability for optimum register accuracy, with excellent resistance properties, especially against UV inks and varnishes. Digital processing provides a wide exposure latitude and a steeper dot shoulder profile for wide open reverses, as well as eliminating many potential faults involved with film processing. According to the company, nyloflex Gold A digital is ‘the’ solution for eye-catching effects in print finishing, with coating applications and printing with water-based metallic inks.
Kodak developed its FLEXCEL line of photopolymer solvent washout plates to print on substrates from tissue to flexible film. The line includes FLEXCEL SRM mid-range durometer plates; premium FLEXCEL SRH high durometer plates; and FLEXCEL SRC for halftone reproduction on coarse board. All Kodak plates are said to be optimized for exposure with Kodak Premier Film PR7M, supplied in an .18 mm thickness with a high matte surface.
In its product portfolio, MacDermid includes a wide variety of liquid photopolymers, a complete line of analog and digital sheet photopolymers—both capped and uncapped, options in the water-washed sheet photopolymer product line, and the newly introduced LAVA thermal plate processing system, in connection with which MacDermid has introduced several plates that can be processed either thermally or in conventional solvents. Recent introductions to its digital plate line include Digital Magma capped sheet photopolymer plates; Digital MLT uncapped sheet photopolymer plates; and Digital MUST uncapped solvent digital plates. Analog offerings include EPIC and EPIC NXT capped plates, as well as EPIC QI (quick imaging) capped plates for high-quality printing on film and preprint liner, especially high-quality, process color labels and folding cartons.
