Schawk Group, part of the Matthews International Corporation, is one of the largest platemaking operations in the UK, supporting customers with expertise in resourcing, workflow, imaging and color management and finds its core strengths in the packaging market. At its annual print awards, the European Flexographic Industry Association (EFIA) named Schawk Manchester as “Repro Company of the Year."

Schawk Manchester recently participated in Flint Group’s FlexoExpert program and became certified in October 2017. During a six-month process consisting of three main steps – evaluation, implementation and training,  then auditing – FlexoExpert provides the means by which plate makers can further optimise their workflow to make more reliable and consistent plates, time and time again. With the guidance of the Flint Group team, Schawk Manchester implemented the programme and passed the final audit to earn the honor of the FlexoExpert. They became the fourth site within Schawk to receive the certification, alongside Schawk Nürnberg, Jülich and Connect, which serves as proof to its customers that the company follows best practice in its flexo plate making.

“Following the initial audit of our production processes Schawk worked closely with the Flint Group Technical Team,” says Martyn Purdy, Printing Plate Production Manager (Manchester, Alzira, Lodz) at Schawk. Flexo Expert analysis highlighted certain areas of focus to maximise process consistency. Not only did our approach to the physical plate making process improve but also the parameters of control were raised which effectively resulted in an enhanced final product,” he stated.

With its plate-making expertise and focus on service, Flint Group first introduced the program in April 2016, and offers it to customers around the globe who are interested in broadening their knowledge on the standardization of the flexo platemaking process.