Miller Graphics Group has increased its fleet of Esko platemaking solutions, installing a new fully automated CDI Crystal 5080 XPS at its Roeselare, Belgium facility, and a XPS Crystal at its site in Limoges, France.
In addition, the company, which supplies flexo plates in Europe and Africa, has also introduced the Esko Flexo Engine automation product to boost efficiency, productivity, and performance at its other sites in Belgium, France, Sweden, and Poland.
Philippe Bataillie, president of Miller Graphics Group, said this latest investment in the fully automated Esko Crystal line of plate imaging and exposure hardware and software followed on from an initial investment in 2022. The investment into the XPS, as stated by the company, increases sustainability by reducing usage of mercury by using LED lamps. The implementation of the Esko Flexo Engine software will help solvent too, said Mr Bataillie.
‘Since we first installed the Esko CDI Crystal 5080 XPS with plate handler and automation at two sites in Sweden and France, we have benefited from consistently high-quality results and a very stable production environment,’ he said.
‘Across the last year and a half, we have also recorded significant benefits in terms of using less resources through the automation and standardised production.’
The XPS Crystal plate exposure unit uses a front and back UV LED array instead of the mercury tubes used in traditional main exposure bank lights. This digital UV LED exposure improves the quality and consistency of flexo plates. The UV power required for perfect curing of a plate is provided consistently through preset parameters by a single click per plate type and plate thickness.
The XPS Crystal recently achieved both Certified Energy Savings and Dematerialization certifications from GreenCircle, a third-party certification entity that verifies the validity of sustainability claims.
Pascal Thomas, director of Flexo Business with Esko, said, ‘Through the exposure time and idle time during the entire working shift, the UV LEDs of the XPS Crystal is only activated for the back UV exposure and the main exposure of the flexo plate. The energy consumption in the idle state is almost zero and clearly helps Miller Graphics meet its own sustainability objectives.’
Mr Thomas concluded, ‘The combination of Crystal screening technology and Esko automation delivers improved consistency and ensures the platemaking process is much less complex, with significantly fewer steps and eliminating wasteful errors.’
