• Login
    • Join
  • Subscribe Free
    • Magazine
    • eNewsletter
    Checkout
    • Magazine
    • News
    • Exclusives
    • Labels & Packaging
    • Markets
    • Technology
    • Equipment
    • Supplies
    • Buyers' Guide
    • Events
    • Jobs
    • More
  • Magazine
  • News
  • Exclusives
  • Labels & Packaging
  • Markets
  • Technology
  • Equipment
  • Supplies
  • Buyers' Guide
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Current / Back Issues
    Features
    Editorial
    Columns
    Digital Edition
    eNewsletter Archive
    Our Team
    Subscribe Now
    Advertise Now
    Top Features
    The 2023 TLMI Label Awards

    Digital Printing Report

    Laser Diecutting

    Labelexpo Europe 2023 Post-Show Report

    Narrow Web Profile: TLF Graphics
    Breaking News
    Converter News
    European Label News
    Industry News
    Industry People
    M&A News
    New Products
    Expert's Opinion
    Live From Shows
    Top News
    Dantex and ACTEGA successfully collaborate

    Prati celebrating 50th anniversary

    All4Labels Group acquires Uniflexo

    Rosas Maschinenbau introduces new RFID label converting line

    Lecta unveils new functional Metalvac papers
    Blog
    Video Bites
    Beauty & Personal Care Labels
    Beer Labels
    Beverage Labels
    Flexible Packaging
    Folding Carton
    Food Labels
    Glue-Applied
    In-Mold
    Industrial Labels
    Medical Labels
    Pharmaceutical Labels
    Pressure Sensitive
    Prime Labels
    Promotional Labels
    Security Labels
    Shrink
    Smart Labels
    Specialty Labels
    Spirits Labels
    Wine Labels

    DOC's 'circumvention' decision drives American jobs offshore

    Rosas Maschinenbau introduces new RFID label converting line

    Amid sanctions and isolation, hard times for Russia’s label industry

    Lecta unveils new functional Metalvac papers

    Avery Dennison announces atma.io updates
    Africa
    Asia
    Australia
    China
    Europe
    India
    Latin America
    Middle East
    North America

    DOC's 'circumvention' decision drives American jobs offshore

    All4Labels Group acquires Uniflexo

    Amid sanctions and isolation, hard times for Russia’s label industry

    Xeikon brings digital expertise to Labelexpo Asia

    Flint Group presents EkoCure Dual Cure at Labelexpo Asia 2023
    Flexography
    Digital Printing
    Prepress
    Finishing
    Sustainability

    Dantex and ACTEGA successfully collaborate

    Prati celebrating 50th anniversary

    Amid sanctions and isolation, hard times for Russia’s label industry

    Attracting new talent – human resources and AI opportunities

    Cartes elevates brands with digital label embellishment
    Digital Printers & Presses
    Flexo Presses
    Label Converting Equipment
    Label Finishing Equipment
    Prepress Equipment

    Rosas Maschinenbau introduces new RFID label converting line

    Xeikon brings digital expertise to Labelexpo Asia

    Mark Andy names Duane Pekar CEO

    India’s Maharshi Labels installs Baldwin’s Guardian OLP

    Arrow Systems adds Ron Brown to sales team
    Dies And Tooling
    Flexo Supplies
    Ink & Coatings
    Prepress Supplies
    Pressrooom Supplies
    Substrates

    Lecta unveils new functional Metalvac papers

    Avery Dennison achieves +Vantage Vinyl verification

    Flint Group presents EkoCure Dual Cure at Labelexpo Asia 2023

    UPM Raflatac targets label waste recycling with new partnership

    APR joins Canada Plastics Pact
    All Companies
    Categories
    Company Profiles
    Label Converters
    Trade Associations
    Add New Company
    International Buyers Guide Companies
    Meech International

    Lemu Group America

    KTI

    Epson America, Inc.

    Wilson Manufacturing
    Industry Events
    Webinars
    Live from Show Events
    • Magazine
      • Current & Past Issues
      • Features
      • Editorial
      • Columns
      • Digital Edition
      • eNewsletter Archive
      • Subscribe Now
      • Advertise Now
    • Breaking News
    • Buyers' Guide
      • All Companies
      • Categories
      • Company Profiles
      • Label Converters
      • Trade Associations
      • Add Your Company
    • Labels & Packaging
      • Beauty & Personal Care Labels
      • Beer Labels
      • Beverage Labels
      • Flexible Packaging
      • Folding Carton
      • Food Labels
      • Glue-Applied
      • In-Mold
      • Industrial Labels
      • Medical Labels
      • Pharmaceuticals Labels
      • Pressure Sensitive
      • Prime Labels
      • Promotional Labels
      • Security Labels
      • Shrink
      • Smart Labels
      • Speciality Labels
      • Spirits Labels
      • Wine Tables
    • Markets
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Australia
      • China
      • Europe
      • India
      • Latin America
      • Middle East
      • North America
    • Equipment
      • Digital Printers & Presses
      • Flexo Presses
      • Label Converting Equipment
      • Label Fishing Equipment
    • Supplies
      • Dies And Tooling
      • Flexo Supplies
      • Ink & Coatings
      • Prepress Supplies
      • Substrates
      • Pressrooom Supplies
    • Online Exclusives
    • Slideshows
    • Experts Opinions
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Infographics
    • Blog
    • Whitepapers
    • Events
      • Industry Events
      • Live from Show Events
      • Webinars
    • Jobs
    • Resources
      • Supplier Gallery
      • Literature Showcase
      • Homepage Showcase
    • About Us
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Use
    Expert's Opinion

    Re-skilling plate management with digital technology

    Nick Coombes speaks with Lars Lehner about FlexoMatrix, a solution for automating a key process that brings greater flexo printing efficiency.

    Re-skilling plate management with digital technology
    Lars Lehner with his company’s FlexoMatrix Plate Mounting System designed for industrial print production 4.0
    Nick Coombes and Lars Lehner07.29.21
    NC: What was the starting point for developing FlexoMatrix technology?

    LL: It’s well known that skill levels have declined across the industry in recent years, while at the same time price pressure and short runs have continued to increase with more competition - so there was clearly a need to bring additional automation and greater accuracy to the print production process, and one area that had been largely ignored was that of plate mounting and management.  The need was to link optimized data management to the production process with a practical tool that was easy to use and completely reliable.  That’s why we developed a new technology platform, and we have called it FlexoMatrix.

    NC: How does it work and what are the benefits?

    LL: FlexoMatrix is basically a smart technology platform that automates plate mounting and offers job management support to the operator.  It’s designed so that even lower skilled operators can assemble printing plates reliably, consistently and with the greatest accuracy.  Its 360-degree print register capability offers very quick set-up times in the print room, which in today’s market of fixed colour palettes and short run work, is an important cost saving.

    NC: Does FlexoMatrix have universal application?

    LL: In terms of flexibility, yes, it does!  A quick-change adapter system allows it to work with sleeves and all the popular types of cylinder so it’s a complete tool for all types of flexo pre-press from corrugated to carton and flexible packaging and labels.  It handles all types of popular brands of flexo plates, including Asahi and Kodak as well as cylinder sleeves.

    NC: How does it manage production data?

    LL: It acts as a digital bridge between existing job management, pre-press, and the press room.  By advanced consultation with the customer, we can adapt FlexoMatrix interfacing to fit the established job management system, which saves time by avoiding the laborious manual input of job data like print length, cylinder type, direction of travel, offset, and so on.

    NC: Is this just a speed-up process?

    LL: No, it also adds a layer of product security because each printing plate is identified before it’s mounted, and its print direction is checked.  This makes plate mixing and the subsequent problem it causes a thing of the past.  It also brings a new level of transparency to work planning, which allows production to be optimised.  This means shift patterns can be planned better and the reasons for time and cost overruns are more easily identified and localised.

    NC: How does the FlexoMatrix system approach plate identification?

    LL: It’s based on smart disk identification that makes for easy and accurate archiving of used plates.  Where, for example, an operator may have struggled to read the text written on plates and therefore been unsure how and where to file them, the FlexoMatrix system of ‘plate ident’ makes this an automatic process and removes another variable in the production chain.

    NC: How does this help?

    LL: Because FlexoMatrix knows which plate is mounted onto which sleeve or cylinder, it reduces the risk of error by providing a new degree of traceability.  Information on plate ‘mileage’ and location can be obtained with additional scanning technology on the press and in the plate archive.

    NC: What else does it offer?

    LL
    : It feeds the existing job management system with extra useful information like the plate and cylinder number, the accuracy of the mounting process, the print direction in which the plate was mounted, and a time and date line.  This gives a whole new level of data for more efficient planning and job handling.  The result is greater process efficiency and lower cost, and therefore improved margins.

    NC: How would you sum up the benefits to a company considering investing in FlexoMatrix?

    LL: The improvements come is several layers.  First, there is improved 360-degree register quality and register transparency across all the flexo printing presses in the plant.  This makes for a significant reduction in waste material with every job change and allows more jobs to run on each printing press.  Then, the recorded results set a new benchmark for subsequent and repeat print jobs, which allows the company to optimise its production efficiency.  Well-known issues relating to register become a thing of the past and printers gain standardisation and operator independence.  For these companies, FlexoMatrix offers an easy and important step into the future of flexo print production.

    NC: Do the benefits vary depending on company size?

    LL: Yes, they do, because each company is unique and has its own issues and priorities.  For the larger print houses, FlexoMatrix acts as a comprehensive and reliable technology platform that utilises their existing job data management to automate and provide transparency in their print workflow.  Smaller companies like it because it helps them to optimise their existing processes and allows them to focus on producing more volume of high-quality print from every flexo press.  Large company or small, I’d say they all benefit from the added operator independence and FlexoMatrix’s unique 360-degree controlled mounting process that translates into the highest accuracy on the market.   It’s "win-win," whichever way you look at it!

    NC: Aside from FlexoMatrix, what else does your company offer?

    LL: We have a wealth of experience in automated print workflow and have established a worldwide reputation for partnering companies in their drive for improving production efficiency with automation. By pushing data-transfer and adding smart automated components wherever they are applicable, we can demonstrate reduced set-up times and lower material waste with every job change. Reports from our users vary, but real-life improvements of between 10% and 50% are common.


    Lars Lehner is Managing Director of Lehner GmbH Sensor-Systeme.


    Suggested For You
    GraphTech Ltd. GraphTech Ltd.
    Ligum North America Ligum North America
    Discover Achem Lamination Discover Achem Lamination
    O Labels     Software Technology by Industry O Labels Software Technology by Industry
    Kocher + Beck highlights GapMaster enhancements Kocher + Beck highlights GapMaster enhancements
    Afinia Label Afinia Label
    Global Graphics touts SmartDFE Global Graphics touts SmartDFE
    Fujifilm, Edale find success with flexographic showroom Fujifilm, Edale find success with flexographic showroom
    Fujifilm forecasts bright future for labels Fujifilm forecasts bright future for labels
    Fujifilm responds to label and packaging growth with versatile portfolio Fujifilm responds to label and packaging growth with versatile portfolio
    Archroma launches online regulatory and compliance platform Archroma launches online regulatory and compliance platform
    Toray Plastics (America) delivering clean energy to Rhode Island Toray Plastics (America) delivering clean energy to Rhode Island
    Michelman preparing for 10th Annual Global Day of Service Michelman preparing for 10th Annual Global Day of Service
    Flint Group Narrow Web introduces ‘Evolution Series’ of coating products Flint Group Narrow Web introduces ‘Evolution Series’ of coating products
    NanoGrafix engineers new solutions for security printing NanoGrafix engineers new solutions for security printing

    Related Buyers Guide Companies

    • GraphTech Ltd.

      ...
      Ivan Ivanov, CEO 04.06.23

    • Ligum North America

      ...
      John Jennings, Business Development Mgr. 04.05.23

    • Discover Achem Lamination

      Discover Achem Lamination

      ...


    • O Labels Software Technology by Industry

      ...
      Sebastian Morrison, Manager 04.27.22

    • Kocher + Beck highlights GapMaster enhancements

      Kocher + Beck highlights GapMaster enhancements

      In an interview with L&NW, David Morris explains how his company's latest technology gives the operator full control of the diecutting process.
      Greg Hrinya, Editor

    Loading, Please Wait..

    Breaking News
    • Dantex and ACTEGA successfully collaborate
    • Prati celebrating 50th anniversary
    • All4Labels Group acquires Uniflexo
    • Rosas Maschinenbau introduces new RFID label converting line
    • Lecta unveils new functional Metalvac papers
    View Breaking News >
    CURRENT ISSUE

    November/December 2023

    • DIVE INTO DIGITAL
    • THE 2023 TLMI LABEL AWARDS
    • Digital Printing Report
    • Laser Diecutting
    • Labelexpo Europe 2023 Post-Show Report
    • Narrow Web Profile: TLF Graphics
    • View More >

    Cookies help us to provide you with an excellent service. By using our website, you declare yourself in agreement with our use of cookies.
    You can obtain detailed information about the use of cookies on our website by clicking on "More information”.

    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms And Conditions
    • Contact Us

    follow us

    Subscribe
    Nutraceuticals World

    Latest Breaking News From Nutraceuticals World

    Lion’s Mane Extract Linked to Better Cognitive Performance, Subjective Stress
    NutraShure Introduces SA3X as Exclusive US Supplier
    NPA Lawsuit Claims New York Age Restriction on Supplements is Unconstitutional
    Coatings World

    Latest Breaking News From Coatings World

    Sherwin-Williams Introduces 858 Series Skyscapes Single Stage Topcoat
    PPG to Support Automotive Refinish Education in France
    U.S. Has Tools it Needs to Reach Climate Goals: USGBC
    Medical Product Outsourcing

    Latest Breaking News From Medical Product Outsourcing

    Medtronic Terminates $738M Deal for EOFlow, Citing Agreement Breaches
    Medtronic's Rechargeable Percept RC Deep Brain Stimulation Gets EU Nod
    FDA OKs Bering's BraveCX AI-Based Chest X-Ray Triage Software
    Contract Pharma

    Latest Breaking News From Contract Pharma

    Taiwan Bio, TRACT Therapeutics Partner on Organ Transplant Rejection
    Dr. Reddy’s, Coya Therapeutics Partner on ALS Therapy
    IMIDomics, BMS Expand Partnership to Advance IMID Treatment
    Beauty Packaging

    Latest Breaking News From Beauty Packaging

    Respect Wellness Introduces Facial Balm for Women Navigating Menopause
    Kara Beauty Unveils Eyeshadow Palette Inspired by Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies
    Shiseido Establishes University in Ginza, Tokyo
    Happi

    Latest Breaking News From Happi

    Dollar Shave Club Introduces Two Electric Grooming Tools to Product Portfolio
    It’s a 10 Founder Acquires Canadian Hair Care Company Nisim
    ACI to White House Interagency Panel: Remove the Bottleneck to Sustainable Chemistry
    Ink World

    Latest Breaking News From Ink World

    CPIPC Hosts November 2023 Technical Dinner Meeting
    Müller Martini Adds the Hunkeler Group
    ITMA ASIA + CITME Concludes on High Note
    Label & Narrow Web

    Latest Breaking News From Label & Narrow Web

    Dantex and ACTEGA successfully collaborate
    Prati celebrating 50th anniversary
    All4Labels Group acquires Uniflexo
    Nonwovens Industry

    Latest Breaking News From Nonwovens Industry

    INDA Seeking Abstracts for World of Wipes International Conference
    Monadnock Introduces New Generation of Veils
    G-P Invests in Oregon Facility
    Orthopedic Design & Technology

    Latest Breaking News From Orthopedic Design & Technology

    HOPCo Acquires MyACTome Digital Health Platform
    OSSIOfiber Scores FDA OK to Fix Bone Fractures in Children
    Bone Health Technologies Earns 4th Patent for Osteoboost Device
    Printed Electronics Now

    Latest Breaking News From Printed Electronics Now

    Pragmatic Semiconductor Secures $231 Million Investment
    SRI Unveils Transformative New Brand Identity
    ALMA Lens Promises New Hope for Patients with Vision Disorders

    Copyright © 2023 Rodman Media. All rights reserved. Use of this constitutes acceptance of our privacy policy The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Rodman Media.

    AD BLOCKER DETECTED

    Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
    Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.


    FREE SUBSCRIPTION Already a subscriber? Login