Kodak will preview a next-generation flexo technology, Flexcel Ultra NX, at drupa, alongside upgrading the Flexcel NX system, including extending the product line to support corrugated production. By Barney Cox at drupa media week in Düsseldorf.
‘At drupa we will preview Ultra NX, our next generation flexo technology, designed to drive flexo as the print process of choice for packaging,’ said flexographic packaging solutions general manager Chris Payne. ‘What if you could make plates twice as fast, that would run twice as long and offer higher quality and do that in a more environmentally friendly way? With this new technology we want to show that performance, quality and sustainability can co-exist.’
Mr Payne added that the firm’s Flexcel customer base, which numbers 450 worldwide, would be able to upgrade their systems to Ultra NX when it was commercially available.
The upgrades to Flexcel NX System ’16 include the addition of high definition imaging, implementation services and a printer certification service. NX tags enables multiple patterns on a single plate, while Advanced Edge Definition controls ink flow at the edges of objects, which is claimed to result in cleaner print. ‘These new features are designed to maximise on press efficiency,’ said Mr Payne.
The Flexcel NXC plate for corrugated applications will also be showcased. This is claimed to offer the benefits Kodak’s technology has already brought to wide web flexible print to post-print corrugated packaging.
Mr Payne said of Kodak’s flexo offering, ‘We are only at the beginning of our journey; we know our core technology can deliver further benefits. Flexcel is only eight years old, the best is yet to come.’
