UK flexo prepress specialist MPH has installed Miraclon’s Shine LED Lamp Kit as part of a wider investment programme aimed at improving plate consistency, exposure speed and production reliability.
The LED system was retrofitted to a Vianord flexo plate exposure unit supplied by Clarkson Services. According to MPH director Ian Runacres, the upgrade has delivered measurable operational improvements, with exposure times reduced by around 30% and more consistent plate performance. He said more than 80% of the company’s plates, sourced from multiple suppliers, are now exposed using the Shine LED lamps.
Mr Runacres added: “In flexo printing, removing variables is often more valuable than chasing headline speed. The Shine LED Lamp Kit investment is about protecting repeatability, reducing risk on press, and supporting customers who need plates to behave the same way every time.
“Compared to fluorescent technology, LED lamps give more stable, uniform exposures and don’t degrade over time in the way fluorescent bulbs do – we had to buy new bulbs pretty much every year. And because LED is instant on/off, there’s no need to warm up bulbs before back-flashing plates prior to main exposure, which saves time and energy.”
Based in Manningtree, Essex, MPH specialises in flexographic prepress for the narrow-web packaging sector. Since a management buyout in 2020, the company has invested more than £750,000 in capital equipment and technology. This includes the Shine LED Lamp Kit, a second Esko CDI imager, a new flexo plate processing line and upgrades to Esko hardware and software.
Mr Runacres said the combined investments are intended to strengthen the company’s consistency, throughput and technical capabilities as it continues to support narrow-web packaging customers.
