05.04.17
Esko received the prestigious Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) Technical Innovation Award in the category of Prepress-Graphics for the Crystal XPS exposure unit. The award was announced at the FTA’s Annual Forum gala awards banquet, April 30 in Phoenix, AZ.
The new Crystal XPS, part of a complete automated platemaking system, is a digitally controlled LED UV exposure unit, providing nearly simultaneous main and back exposures and supports all photopolymer flexo plates.
“We have innovated flexo plate imaging ever since the digital imaging device was introduced at drupa in 1995 with the CDI, and we received an FTA Technical Innovation award in 1998 as the first computer-to-plate system for photopolymer flexographic printing,” Pascal Thomas, Esko director flexo business, noted. “Likewise, Esko’s HD Flexo and Full HD Flexo technology have received a number of industry tributes. Now we are thrilled that the Crystal XPS exposure unit has been similarly honored. We are convinced it is a revolutionary technology in the same way as the CDI was, offering extraordinary, consistent quality as well as a way to automate flexo platemaking operations.”
XPS Crystal 5080The XPS Crystal is a major achievement because it offers significantly improved consistency, key to achieving and maintaining optimal print quality. One of the primary factors influencing plate stability is UV exposure. UV LEDs don’t need warm-up time and always emit consistent radiation. It has also been proven that the shorter the time (dwell) between main exposure and back exposure, the finer the detail—like highlight dots, tiny linework, and text—that can be held on the plate. The XPS completes these exposures nearly simultaneously, providing the absolute highest quality dot and fine elements. In addition, only when this time difference is fixed, are those elements of repeatable quality–for every digital flexo plate type at every time of the production day. This is simply not possible with a light frame. The XPS does all this while being the simplest exposure system available. There is no more need for constant measurement and adjustment as UV output changes.
The new Crystal XPS, part of a complete automated platemaking system, is a digitally controlled LED UV exposure unit, providing nearly simultaneous main and back exposures and supports all photopolymer flexo plates.
“We have innovated flexo plate imaging ever since the digital imaging device was introduced at drupa in 1995 with the CDI, and we received an FTA Technical Innovation award in 1998 as the first computer-to-plate system for photopolymer flexographic printing,” Pascal Thomas, Esko director flexo business, noted. “Likewise, Esko’s HD Flexo and Full HD Flexo technology have received a number of industry tributes. Now we are thrilled that the Crystal XPS exposure unit has been similarly honored. We are convinced it is a revolutionary technology in the same way as the CDI was, offering extraordinary, consistent quality as well as a way to automate flexo platemaking operations.”
XPS Crystal 5080The XPS Crystal is a major achievement because it offers significantly improved consistency, key to achieving and maintaining optimal print quality. One of the primary factors influencing plate stability is UV exposure. UV LEDs don’t need warm-up time and always emit consistent radiation. It has also been proven that the shorter the time (dwell) between main exposure and back exposure, the finer the detail—like highlight dots, tiny linework, and text—that can be held on the plate. The XPS completes these exposures nearly simultaneously, providing the absolute highest quality dot and fine elements. In addition, only when this time difference is fixed, are those elements of repeatable quality–for every digital flexo plate type at every time of the production day. This is simply not possible with a light frame. The XPS does all this while being the simplest exposure system available. There is no more need for constant measurement and adjustment as UV output changes.