Flexo Prepress for Boxmakers

Published: March 18, 2003, By Teresa Koltzenburg, Senior Editor

Antioch, California, the "Gateway to the Delta," according to the city’s welcome sign. And now it’s the home of the brand new flexo prepress house SunGraphics.

The fact SunGraphics’s (a div. of Sun Chemical) newly opened Antioch prepress operation is situated in this suburb of Oakland seems key. The fertile delta soil yields an abundance of fresh produce farmed in the area, which is then shipped via boxes and cartons (not to mention it’s very close to wine country, which provides additional packaging opportunities). Boxmakers—corrugated box and folding carton converters—as well as POP (point-of-purchase) display manufacturers in the area can now take advantage of the facility’s proximity.

In addition to flexo prepress for the region’s converters, SunGraphics’s Antioch facility—in conjunction with its Maumee, OH, sister facility (and SunGraphics division headquarters)—can service converters across the country. Together, the locations supply services for graphic design, film processing, and flexographic printing plate manufacturing for paper packaging and wide web flexible packaging applications.

In early March, SunGraphics showcased its new California facility with a wine-country-themed open house. Customers, area converters, as well as PFFC were treated to cuisine and wine from the Northern California region and a tour of the Antioch operation. Among the highlights (besides the wine and the driving range, which is literally out the plant’s back door): a DuPont Cyrel 3000 BP flexo plate production unit, and at the heart of the operation (and taking up an entire room of its own), is Antioch’s Esko-Graphics (formerly Barco) Gigasetter.

SunGraphics business manager Dave Garnache says it’s the West Coast’s largest imagesetter, capable of providing one-piece films up to 96.5 x 63.5 in. "When used in conjunction with our large-format Dupont Cyrel platemaking system, the new Esko Gigasetter, and Kodak Polychrome Graphics films and processors, will allow [us] to produce a single set of films to make flexo plates for printing of large boxes used for computers, electronics, and other industrial markets," he explains.

SunGraphics at Antioch also is equipped with a plethora of other capabilities, software, and hardware, including: Esko-Graphics BackStage workflow software and its preproduction software PackEdge; Adobe programs Photoshop, Streamline, Pagemaker, Acrobat, and Indesign; layout program Quark Xpress; Microsoft Office; Macromedia Freehand; Symart Pro 3.5 (for bar codes: scs, upc, and ean); as well as variety of printers including two Canon color laser printers and an HP DesignJet 800 plotter/printer.

In addition, says Garnache, SunGraphics can provide film sets in line-screen halftone or the emerging stochastic screen for other applications requiring extra large formats, like that of process-color offset or wide web flexible package printing.

This extensive prepress technology line-up and the capabilities it offers is important for customer service, explains Garnache. "We know companies use a variety of software systems in preparation of their graphics, so we’re prepared to handle virtually any format they might require to produce consistent images."

Product-delivery timeliness also is a big part of this prepress provider’s customer service package: SunGraphics offers fast turnaround—often same-day or next-day service. "We place a special emphasis on determining customer requirements, providing fast turnaround, and then making accurate flexo plates that assure consistency of quality when used at multiple printing locations," adds Garnache.

Whether you’re printing corrugated boxes for outboard motors and refrigerators or boxes to hold wine bottles or strawberries or even bleach containers, SunGraphics seems positioned to provide quality and timely prepress service for boxmakers sending their products on trips around the world.

Contact SunGraphics at:

Visit Sun Chemical at sunchemical.com.

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