XSYS has developed nyloflex FTV Digital, a hard durometer photopolymer plate for flexographic printing of flexible packaging with solvent inks.
The new plate has been developed with inherent flat-top dot technology and a smooth plate surface, making it suitable for those printers serving brand owners who require high-quality printing of film-based substrates, while also offering ‘maximum flexibility and higher productivity’.
nyloflex FTV Digital plates can be used with either bank or LED exposure systems. In combination with standard bank exposure, nyloflex FTV Digital is claimed to be able to ‘hold the finest highlight dots’, resulting in a wider tonal range and claimed ‘excellent’ solid ink densities in combination with surface screenings. In the print room, higher OEE can be achieved due to anti-ink filling (AIF) technology that is said to permit longer and cleaner print runs with solvent-based inks. As the new formulation is less prone to plate swelling, further benefits include reduced plate waste and longer durability on press. Consistency and repeatability is achieved due to the 1:1 image transfer on the plate, making it suitable for optional surface screenings. The new plate can be combined with the ThermoFlexX Woodpecker surface screening patterns, including Woodpecker Sharp and Nano, as well as being suited for extended gamut printing.
XSYS nyloflex FTV Digital can be exposed using conventional UV-A tube lights or LED UV-A light technology, before being processed in a solvent washout system. The LED-optimised plate formulation makes nyloflex FTV Digital plate suited for exposure using ThermoFlexX Catena-E LED exposure technology.
Steve Top, XSYS product manager, said, ‘The nyloflex FTV Digital offers customers the best of both worlds because it is equally efficient in both conventional bank exposure and newer LED systems. Since it also reduces complexity in the plate room, it perfectly complements our portfolio for the high-end flexible packaging market.
‘Next to the well-established nyloflex NEF Digital, which was the first LED-optimised plate for the high-end flexible packaging segment, we can now offer a second LED-optimised plate that also brings excellent print results with bank exposure. The new plate will give those customers who plan to move to LED exposure, such as our Catena-E technology, an easy and straightforward path to the future with a market-leading quality.
‘Our customers are under constant pressure to deliver consistent print results quicker and more efficiently. With nyloflex FTV Digital, XSYS has introduced the latest plate innovation for the printing of high-end flexible packaging. Moreover, the new plate does not require any changes to existing solvent digital washout processing equipment or any additional costs from auxiliaries or consumables.’
