The company can achieve thsese results due to new investment in hardware and software
Contact Originators, packaging origination and graphics management company, has a claimed a world first in the design and manufacture of a 2.8 meter wide mounted multi piece photopolymer flexographic plate.
According to the company, the plate is dimensionally accurate to 100 micron across the 2.8m width and enables the corrugate printers to maximise print yields utilising the full width of the press.
‘Despite the claims of many press manufacturers, corrugated printers have not been able to truly utilise the full width of their presses, being constrained at 1.92m in reality when running multi colour tight register designs,’ said Steve Mulcahy, CEO of Contact Group.
‘We have now pushed beyond the normal capability of corrugated flexo plate production, through a unique combination of new investment in hardware and software, to create a plate that on initial beta testing has successfully delivered a 48% yield improvement for a leading UK corrugate converter.’
The newly branded MagnaForma technology can be produced on any plate type. The company works with a number of suppliers including Flint Group, MacDermid Graphics Solutions and DuPont and is in the process of conducting further analysis to identify the plate technology with the highest stability for optimum long run print performance.
The new MagnaForma solution retains a 0.2mm register across the print and the butt join, even when used on solid colours, cannot be identified due to the company’s investment in specialist mounting kit and software.
Nick Mitchell, general manager, commented, ‘This is a big step in innovation for the industry. Our recent trials revealed a 45-minute saving per print run for the converter, unlocking additional capacity and volume with every pass. The solution is designed for large volume print runs. For example, we recently trialled MagnaForma technology on a high quality post print job for a large drinks brand, where a typical run length is 20,000 boxes; the results, time savings and increased yield were outstanding.’
