The origins of flexo printing date back to 1890. Several centuries later, more and more customers are becoming aware of its benefits – suitability for all types of films from PET to metallised, the use of a wide range of inks and the printing speed. However, the quality requirements of printed products increase along with the development of this technology. The FlexoExpert certification focused on flexo platemaking will help us to improve quality.
FlexoExpert Certification
At the beginning of the year, our subsidiary Chemosvit Folie successfully completed the global FlexoExpert certification program from XSYS, a company specialising in the flexo printing industry. FlexoExpert is a three-step program to standardize the flexo platemaking process.
Chemosvit Folie has passed the audit and successfully converted to XSYS printing plates. For the company, this means recognition of the quality standards of platemaking, employee training and optimisation of production processes.
This is the process of flexo platemaking
The dedicated department produces flexographic printing forms using analogue, digital and Full HD technology. These forms, so-called clichés, can be produced as a flat plate or a round sleeve.
The basic raw material for their production is the flexo printing plate, composed of a protective film, a lams layer, a relief layer (monomer) and a polyester plate. The making of the flexographic printing plate consists of the following steps: pre-exposition, burning/exposing the image data into the lams layer, main exposure, washing, drying and finishing.
At the end of this process, the main part of which is the polymerisation at the burning/exposing points of the image data, the so-called printing surface of the form remains, and the relief is created. Subsequently, flexo plates are used to transfer the image data onto the printed materials – in our case, films.
Are you interested in other topics related to printing? You can read our article about the benefits of a partnership with a Japanese ink manufacturer specialising in offset printing. Find out more about how film de-inking contributes to the circular economy.