AtoutFlex owners, Eric and Nadia Thouvenin, with the new ThermoFlexX 80-S imager
A ThermoFlexX 80-S, the largest imager in the Belgian manufacturer’s range, has been installed at AtoutFlex, a leading repro house in north-east France specialising in digital flexo platemaking.
The 80-S can expose plates up to 1270 x 2032 mm in size at speeds of 6 sqm/hr and a resolution of 2540 dpi.
‘What we wanted from any new imager were higher levels of quality, speed and ease of use. However, we were also seeking an innovative manufacturer that had a visionary approach to the flexo industry and which could provide us with a close-working partnership for many years to come. ThermoFlexX met all of these requirements,’ said AtoutFlex owner, Eric Thouvenin.
The imagers incorporate an imaging concept that consists of three independent modules – the motor, laser and optics. This flexible design allows easy replacement of any modules, simplifying service and hardware upgrades while providing the possibility for remote optical fine-tuning.
Furthermore, they can be fitted with up to five different output resolutions. The model at AtoutFlex can output at 5080 dpi, which is the highest resolution available on a flexo imager, allowing the company to handle extremely fine, detailed work.
‘The ThermoFlexX imager has lived up to all our expectations. The ease of operation meant that integrating it into our existing Esko pre-press environment was straightforward, and within two weeks of its delivery at our factory in Velaine en Haye, the imager was in full production, ‘ said Mr Thouvenin.
‘ThermoFlexX has packed its imagers with several ground breaking features such as the vacuum slider,’ he added. ‘On the 80-S this facility automatically cuts off vacuum to areas of the drum not mounted. The mobile Flextray unit has proved to be extremely useful, as this allows us to transport and feed plates into the guiding system on the imager with the minimum of effort and risk of plate damage.
‘The versatility of the 80-S means that we have been able to continue to use DuPont, Flint and Asahi plates, although we intend to test other plates in the coming months. The 5080 dpi resolution allows us to achieve excellent quality reproduction and we’re looking forward to trialling the new surface screening software developed by ThermoFlexX, which promises to raise the quality level of flat dot technology even higher. We anticipate that this investment will enable us to provide printers throughout France with an unrivalled flexo plate service.’
