IF THE FLEXO INDUSTRY IS under attack from digital printing, at least in label printing, flexo in turn is aiming to take a bite out of gravure’s dinner.

While flexo offers advantages for the shorter production runs that are now prevalent in packaging, gravure has held the high ground in terms of quality. It is this that a development by Corniche – and aided by Kodak – is aiming to challenge.

Corniche has taken Kodak’s Flexcel NX digital flexo platemaker, adapted the output device and, through its own prepress and colour expertise, come up with a way of making work designed for gravure look just as good when printed with the raised plate process.

This is being marked as Corniche LiNX, offering those controlling the packaging spend a means of achieving top quality and brand control and those printers facing attack from digital technologies, a means to fighting back.

David Ettie, Corniche business development manager, explains: “We are committed to delivering customer value, and balance the need to innovate with responsible investment to develop solutions that deliver real and not perceived value. For Corniche, this means working in partnership to deliver benefit from complementary skills, experience and expertise to bring about results that are both evolutionary and revolutionary.”

It has taken two years to reach this point, Corniche working with the Flexcel system
and Kodak engineers to perfect a flexo plate which sets new quality standards. At its heart is a Trendsetter imager, capable of writing a 10 micron spot size. The Flexcel plate and laminator with Corniche software completes the mix. The plate is good for up to 110,000 metres’ printing, its durability also allowing it to hold the small hard dots that the imaging system is capable of delivering. The result is a dynamic colour range that sets new boundaries for flexo.

“For us, it’s not just about investing resources: there’s an emotional investment in the NX system. We’re now in the business of producing photographic quality,” says Ettie. This means equaling gravure on plastics and litho printed cartons, giving brand managers the chance of consistency across a product range, even when intricate linework or vignettes are included.

Ettie claims that the system can achieve the equivalent of the 175lpi screen used in gravure, and that with the right inks and press set-up 300lpi is achievable. He says: “We believe that the contrast and details in the highlights provided by this plate more than matches gravure quality, and in many cases exceeds it. The main advantage of this process is its wide tonal range, extending from 95% to 0.4%. Light images of subjects such as fish, rice, ice-cream and skin tones – are all exceptional with the NX plate”.

The secret of producing the perfect plate is the elimination of atmospheric oxygen during the exposure and laminating process, so bringing consistency to the dot imaging and maintaining the profile of the raised dot. The colour expertise in converting litho or gravure files to flexo then delivers a consistent and repeatable plate, which will also match an Approval NX proof, simulating the substrate to be used. The advantages of flexo in rapid start-up and shorter lead times remain.

Among the customers that have been persuaded of the value of the Corniche development has been seafood producer Young’s, with packaging printer Ultimate Packaging in Grimsby. As Ultimate prints for a vast number of food producers and retailers, the impact of the new plate is spreading. Using flexo falls in line with a need for faster response on new lines, cost-effective production and no loss of quality. Not surprisingly, the number of Flexcel NX plates that Corniche is producing has made it a major European provider of these plates.

This has been achieved through strong partnerships with suppliers like Kodak on the one hand and with the customer base on the other. “Working with Kodak as an innovative and supportive supplier has helped us to develop our business and to expand our offer. Crucially, our combined efforts have delivered a solution that meets our commitment to developing client partnerships and adding value through appropriate innovation,” Tom Ward, group operations director, says. “We view our business as an extension of our client’s resource; and take seriously our responsibility to challenge process, and thoroughly investigate new initiatives that will bring efficiency and excellence to packaging production. With the introduction of the LiNX advanced flexo technology, we’ve brought something completely new to the market and an innovation that accurately addresses our clients’ needs for increased competitiveness.”