Czech manufacturer Soma has been awarded the EGP partnership certificate, which recognises the successful implementation of the expanded gamut printing process (EGP).
The certificate, awarded by finish repro company Marvaco, is given for high quality and excellent process efficiency for prints completed in the last two years, and verifies that the EGP printing results with Soma technology have been excellent on a range of different substrates.
The CI press manufacturer has the capability to build stable and accurate flexo printing machines that can successfully deliver EGP. The first Full HD EGP project between Soma and Marvaco was initiated 2015 and resulted in an ultra-high-quality job ‘Petfood’, printed 100 l/cm on OPP in drupa.
Since then, the two companies have also implemented Full HD EGP for water based inks on paper and solvent based inks on self-adhesive labels, printed in high line screen of 70 l/cm.
The technology of expanded colour gamut for packaging printing is in daily use among the most advanced printers. To promote the easier implementation and recognition of the process, Marvaco and its American partner company, CSW, have advanced to the stage of awarding partnership certificates to companies manufacturing flexographic printing machines and other supplies.
‘Printing companies need skilful and capable partners to implement the EGP technology. Soma’s performance to build efficient and accurate flexo printing machines has been tested and evaluated with various materials and inks,’ said Kai Lankinen, CEO of Marvaco. ‘The stability and repeatability of the Soma Optima flexo press meets brand owners’ expectations for the quality, and the process fulfils the strictest productivity needs of the printers.’
The EGP technology enables a high-quality, efficient, and more productive packaging printing with no need for spot colours. The predictable and precise brand colours are implemented with digitally assisted ink blending. The colour gamut is enriched with additional process inks such as OGV (Orange, Green, Violet), which multiplies the number of available colour shades compared to the Pantone+ colour series. With Full HD EGP, the brand colours that have been restricted by the CMYK method in the past can now be printed in a nearly unrestricted, more controlled, and more precise manner, batch after batch.
