Flexographic Plates - Overview

Platemaking time

With total processing time of 30 minutes, Flenex is more than 3 times faster than solvent systems and 1.5 times faster than thermal and 25% + than competitive waterwash plates.

Productivity

Faster plate making time means significantly more output per shift allowing reduction of labor costs or allocating those hours for more value-added activities.

Print Quality

With 175 lpi, 1% process dot, and superb dot structure, Flenex delivers consistent ultra high quality prints.

Environmental

The exclusive chemistry of Flenex requires use of only a mild detergent for washout. This eliminates the environmentally damaging manufacture, application and disposal of solvents. Because no wicking cloth is required, there is no eventual landfill or increase in carbon footprint from transportation and recycling the cloth. Although local regulations should always be validated, the uniquely mild washout material allows for the residual solution to be treated as common wastewater after a small amount of residual particulate is removed. This particulate can normally be treated as common waste with extremely minimal environmental impact.

Safety

The low pH level of this unique washout solution provides a much safer work environment than other water-wash plates that require high alkaline solution and create industrial waste. A much safer environment is provided with the elimination of solvents where those systems are used today.

Durability

In varying tests of ink types and substrates, Flenex ranged from 4 to 11 times more durable than two leading competitive waterwash flexo plates and more than twice as durable as solvent.

Plate Swell

In 12 and 24 hour plate swell tests comparing Ethyl acetate, UV Ink and single and double functional monomers submersions, Flenex resulted in 25% to 45% less swelling compared to solvent plates.

Ink Compatibility

Both the analog and digital versions can be used with UV, waterbase or solvent based ink. There is no requirement for different plates for different ink types.

Equipment

Since the only equipment required to process Flenex is low cost standard water-wash equipment, both the cost of the thermal and solvent systems as well as the sizeable footprint is significantly less. “Up-charges” on consumables with existing thermal and solvent technologies can be eliminated with very reasonably priced water-wash equipment. While almost any existing water-wash equipment can be used with Flenex, Fujifilm will also offer a full range of equipment from small stand-alone units to much wider full in-line systems.

Sizes and Specifications

A wide variety of sheet sizes from 20” X 21 “to 42” X 60” are available in varying hardness (Shore A) ranges from 60 to 79 degrees. Thickness of .045” or .067 are available.