Phototype

Flexographic printing has come a long way, baby! It’s not your father’s printing process anymore (not even your older sister’s). Flexography has made huge technological gains in many areas, resulting in print quality improvements that have allowed it to rival the benchmark standards established by gravure and offset printing. These improvements, combined with some of its cost advantages, have allowed flexo printing to become a major force in the package-printing arena. “The flexo print process has made great strides in the last decade,” says Darko Martinovic, managing director, SGS Evolution Designworks. “Advances such as hybrid screening, photopolymer plates, direct-to-plate technology, and gearless presses

Business success can be the result of many factors. Sometimes it’s the result of an entirely unique product; other times it’s as simple as being in the right place at the right time. For most successful companies, however, it’s the result of hard work and a focus on what they do best. This latter approach describes the success achieved by Oaks, Pa.-based Global Packaging, Inc., which focuses on flexographic printing—wide-web flexo printing to be more specific. Further, it combines its expertise in flexo printing with a focus on its customers. “Our operating philosophy begins and ends with meeting customer expectations,” says Debbie Hobbs, sales

CINCINNATI, Ohio—Phototype, a leader in packaging lifecycle management for many of the world’s most recognized brands, announces the installation of two Esko-Graphics Advance flexo plate setters. The CDI Advance 5080 has a large exposure size (50in. x 80in.), and features advanced multi-beam fiber laser optics with a record imaging speed of up to 8.0 m2/hr., effectively matching the fastest plate processing equipment in the industry. The enhanced quality and increased productivity of these bigger, faster plate setters will allow Phototype to respond to an uptake in print tool sales to converters and manufacturers of consumer packaged goods. Bill Hounshell, Phototype’s VP of printing services

CINCINNATI, Ohio—-Phototype, a leader in packaging lifecycle management for many of the world’s most recognized brands, is the recipient of the Maxwell Award from the Printing Industries of America. Phototype received the Maxwell Award for 85 years of innovation and contribution to the graphic arts industry. The Maxwell award was established 20 years ago in the name of one of the pioneers in U.S. printing industry. Robert Maxwell brought printing to the Western Territories thereby advancing the establishment of civilization North of the Ohio River. Richard Olberding, the patriarch of this third generation company, accepted the award on behalf of the company’s 140 employees

Despite the many advantages it brings to package printing, flexography has traditionally suffered from significant quality challenges, due to the way the ink is applied to the substrate. NuDot, a proprietary flexographic screening technology from Cincinnati-based Phototype, is designed to eliminate printing problems arising from dot gain and uneven ink lay by improving the way ink is transferred from plate to substrate. Before NuDot, says Socrates Rettos, NuDot product manager, “A single plate could print a good solid or a good highlight, but it couldn’t do both.” NuDot’s primary challenge, therefore, was to achieve optimum solid densities and deliver excellent reproduction of shadow tones without over-impressing

Agfa Offers the Thermostar P970–ideal for VLF applications–and the Thermostar P971 thermal imaging plate. Write 160, Visit www.agfa.com J ANDERSON & VREELAND Offers digital prepress systems and conventional photopolymer processors and plate mounters. Platemaking materials include a range of solvent and water-wash sheet photopolymer, liquid photopolymer, rubber compounds, matrix and accessories. Write 161, Visit www.anderson vreeland.com, See Ad p. 8 J BETA INDUSTRIES The Betaflex 334 Flexo Plate Analyzer eliminates bad plates early in production cycle. Measures flexo plates, negatives, proofs, prints for true dot area, ruling, dot quality. Write 162, Visit www.beta screen.com, See Ad p. 7 BPS Printing Systems Offers state-of-the-art

With digital assets representing a large investment by brand owners, organization and management are of critical importance. WHAT'S IN A package? Prior to the addition of cereal, hand cream, aspirin, or bug spray, the essential elements of a package or label include text; graphics; regulatory information; photos; CMYK, RGB, and 3D images; templates; line art; logos; layouts; and PDFs—to name just a few. The process of making that package involves every stage in the packaging supply chain, from engineering to marketing and legal to purchasing and production. Factor in additional legal requirements and regulatory information for food, pharmaceuticals, and other regulated industries, version

AGFA Offers the Thermostar P970-ideal for VLF applications-and the Thermostar P971 thermal imaging plate. Write 207, Visit www.agfa.com, ANDERSON & VREELAND Offers digital prepress systems and conventional photopolymer processors and plate mounters. Platemaking materials include a range of solvent and water-wash sheet photopolymer, liquid photopolymer, rubber compounds, matrix and accessories. Write 208, Visit www. andersonvreeland.com BETA INDUSTRIES The Betaflex 334 Flexo Plate Analyzer eliminates bad plates early in production cycle. Measures flexo plates, negatives, proofs, prints for true dot area, ruling, dot quality. Write 209, Visit www.betascreen.com BPS Printing Systems Offers state-of-the-art nyloflex® and nyloprint® brand photopolymer printing plates for printing

In the world of packaging and package printing, digital asset management is also dynamic asset management. IT HAS BEEN suggested that packaging and advertising will mount the last defense of ink-on-paper against the onslaught of digital and virtual technologies. Try packaging a box of Wheaties on CD-ROM or wrapping a birthday gift in a graphical user interface. Now that the drama has subsided, the rhetoric has also cooled, leaving the industry to deal with new and evolving realities, among them, the proliferation of digital workflows and data requiring identification, categorization, and storage. What? Why? How? Any digital media file with value to an

The gravure industry spent years just watching flexo improve and promote itself as the printing process of choice. Now, gravure printers and suppliers are preparing to market their process back into the spotlight. GRAVURE'S GOT IT all: unsurpassed quality, affordability, and a committed and passionate industry. So, why is it such an unsung process? There are several theories, but flexo leads the list of culprits. For the past few decades, flexo has successfully worked to upgrade its quality and reliability, and the industry hasn't kept its advances secret. Flexo suppliers dominate the advertising in trade magazines, some of which focus solely on