10.26.09
Kodak, Rochester, NY, USA, has introduced an addition to its Flexcel NX Digital Flexographic System that’s designed to provide significantly smoother and more consistent transfer of ink on press. The application of the new Kodak Digicap NX Screening to the entire image area allows printers to produce plates that improve print quality throughout the full tonal range and expand the achievable color gamut.
The new feature, applied in the Kodak TIFF Front End Software, utilizes the high-resolution capabilities of Kodak’s Squarespot imaging technology and the 1:1 reproduction capabilities of the Flexcel NX System to create micro-texturization of the printing surface. Kodak says the resulting improvements in ink transfer deliver enhanced print quality, as well as production efficiencies, allowing flexo platemakers to more easily mix areas of solids and halftones on the same plate. Additionally, the new feature helps to reduce set-up time on press with plates that come to color more quickly.
“Extensive trials in the flexible packaging market have yielded excellent results. Customers have been delighted with the gravure-like appearance of the solid areas and amazed that they can now enjoy higher ink densities while still maintaining the finest highlight detail,” says Emma Schlotthauer, Kodak’s global marketing manager for flexo plates. “One user commented that, in their opinion, they were witnessing the biggest step forward in wide web flexo in the last 10 years.”
The new feature, applied in the Kodak TIFF Front End Software, utilizes the high-resolution capabilities of Kodak’s Squarespot imaging technology and the 1:1 reproduction capabilities of the Flexcel NX System to create micro-texturization of the printing surface. Kodak says the resulting improvements in ink transfer deliver enhanced print quality, as well as production efficiencies, allowing flexo platemakers to more easily mix areas of solids and halftones on the same plate. Additionally, the new feature helps to reduce set-up time on press with plates that come to color more quickly.
“Extensive trials in the flexible packaging market have yielded excellent results. Customers have been delighted with the gravure-like appearance of the solid areas and amazed that they can now enjoy higher ink densities while still maintaining the finest highlight detail,” says Emma Schlotthauer, Kodak’s global marketing manager for flexo plates. “One user commented that, in their opinion, they were witnessing the biggest step forward in wide web flexo in the last 10 years.”