KODAK FLEXCEL NX Technology Powers Creative Graphics to Continued Business Growth and Flexo Success
- Published: August 24, 2023
One of South Asia’s largest manufacturers of digital flexographic plates, Creative Graphics is investing in its fifth FLEXCEL NX System from Miraclon. It is the latest stage in an investment program that has also recently seen Creative Graphics install PureFlexo™ Printing and FLEXCEL NX Central Software automated plate layout solution from Miraclon.
Explaining the background to the investments, founder and CEO Deepanshu Goel said, “Our new FLEXCEL NX Wide 5080 Imager will increase our capacity substantially. In recent years we have been very successful in demonstrating to converters and brands that flexo can match, and even exceed, gravure for quality as well as meeting their needs for a more sustainable and flexible production process. Today, this is widely accepted — something that I could only dream of when I started Creative Graphics, but which technology developments have made a reality. In particular, FLEXCEL NX Technology has been transformational for us, enhanced by a steady stream of advances that extend flexo’s capabilities.”
Gravure-to-flexo conversions are an important driver of a CAGR close to 30 percent. Said Deepanshu: “I think we’re in the right place at the right time. Changing market demands are fueling a latent demand for flexo from converters and brands. Several factors are driving this. More sustainable production is a top priority, but so is the additional agility flexo gives to brands — the ability to modify designs quickly in response to changing market dynamics, to produce shorter runs of more SKUs. Flexo plates also take up a lot less space than gravure cylinders.”
Deepanshu said the all-important technology foundation for the company’s success is FLEXCEL NX Technology from Miraclon. and adds that while successful gravure-to-flexo conversion depends on matching gravure for quality, FLEXCEL NX Technology also offers significant advantages to the press. “The predictable, consistent printed results with FLEXCEL NX Plates mean converters not only come up to color faster but also have fewer unscheduled press stops. Reduced ink consumption and substrate wastage means lower costs, so the technology delivers in all the important areas — productivity, efficiency and sustainability.”
A key contributor to Creative Graphics’ success in gravure to flexo conversion is the excellent ink transfer, possible with the advanced plate surface patterning on FLEXCEL NX Plates, recently enhanced further with the introduction of PureFlexo Printing.
Deepanshu added,: “PureFlexo Printing takes flexo to another league. Converters who have used it on practical, commercial jobs tell us they value the benefits of the wider operating latitude — the faster press speeds, fewer interruptions to clean the press, less waste, and so on. So, it’s now our ‘industry-standard’ technology. We implement it with every new client to show what’s possible with flexo.”
PureFlexo Printing has also opened up new opportunities for Creative Graphics, including exploring the potential for ECG (Extended Color Gamut) printing. It significantly enhances the performance of FLEXCEL NX Plate technology with ECG printing by making the process even more stable by delivering excellent color addressability. This means that when the operator dials colors in at the beginning of the run, they can be confident that the colors will not shift during the print run.
Deepanshu said, “Brands have issued suppliers with a clear mandate to strive for sustainable production, and reducing spot colors obviously reduces ink consumption. For converters, it removes the time, machine capacity and makeready waste spent preparing and matching spot colors, and cuts down ink storage inventory. It’s early days at the moment, and brands are particular about their special colors, but we’re confident they will become more flexible in adopting these new technologies.”
