PRP Flexo Patent Pending for Digital Plate with Flat-topped Dot
Indianapolis, Ind.—Following in the footsteps of its patented analog plate with a completely flat topped dot (ExSpect), PRP Flexo has announced that it has achieved the same profile within a completely digital environment, thereby enabling the same print advantages of their analog plate but with a completely digital workflow.
The process now allows converters to direct print onto corrugated and get results comparable to litho or pre-print, enabling flexible inventory control, resulting in significant cost reductions. The same process also achieves tremendous results for flexible packaging printers, as the dot gain received from the new plates is far less than both conventional digital or conventional flexographic plates, in addition to the greatly reduced set-up times.
“For a long time we have been proponents of flat topped dots. They provide the most accurate delivery system for the ink over all other dot profile types. We had seen the tremendous benefits that our customers were able to achieve with our analog ExSpect ™ plates and we wanted to achieve the same results within a digital environment. We were particularly pleased that in addition to the quality of the print we were able to achieve, we were also able to reduce set-up times and in some cases even enable our customers to switch from a litho label to direct print with little or no compromise in print quality. In some cases, that saved our customers a great deal of money by providing more options. Chris Green, general manager of PRP Flexo, said “The new digital plates we have developed which we have called Digital ExSpect should provide our customers with even more options for their next print jobs, along with the advantages of a streamlined digital workflow.”
The patent for the Digital ExSpect plates is pending and is expected to be awarded shortly.