Flint Group’s new nyloflex ACE Digital plate was recently introduced into the market, and the company reports there have been excellent customer reviews, including reports that the plate runs much cleaner on press, without the need to stop for regular cleaning cycles. Fewer press stops for cleaning result in jobs running in less time with less waste, thereby providing significant cost savings to the printer, Flint Group says.

A printing plate that runs cleaner provides more benefits than can be seen at first glance. For example, besides reducing time and waste, new nyloflex ACE Digital plates require less cleaning, which increases the plate life, since less cleaning results in less surface damage and less mechanical abrasion to the plates. Longer lasting plates increase the number of plate usages, and in turn provide even more cost savings to the printer.

As new prepress technologies such as high definition flexo and flat top dot (FTD) emerged, Flint Group says it became increasingly important to optimize the photopolymer plates used in conjunction with these technologies. For this reason, Flint Group reformulated its nyloflex  ACE Digital plate to provide benefits on press such as sharper details, high contrast images and smoother vignettes. As a result, additional benefits, such as less cleaning stops and less downtime waste emerged.

“In addition to the extremely clean running nature of the plate, we have been able to maintain the high performance printing characteristics for which the nyloflex ACE Digital plate has always been known,” confirms Joan Cekovsky-Kaza, director of sales Flint Group Flexographic Products North America.

Due to the positive feedback Flint Group received during the initial beta testing, conducted in all areas of flexo print applications in over 100 different print trials, Flint Group developed a special tool, a cost savings calculator, that allows the printer to determine the potential time savings, cost savings and capacity increase available to him by switching to the nyloflex ACE Digital plate. This tool provides the printer an effective means to put values behind the plate evaluation on press. Flint Group offers to assist printers, who are interested in determining their specific savings potential, with this cost savings calculator tool.