XSYS has announced the introduction of nyloflex FTV Digital, a hard durometer photopolymer plate for flexographic printing of flexible packaging with solvent inks. Developed with inherent flat-top dot technology and a smooth plate surface, the new plate formulation will appeal to customers serving brand owners who require the highest-quality printing of film-based substrates, while also offering maximum flexibility and higher productivity.   

“Our customers are under constant pressure to deliver consistent print results quicker and more efficiently,” says Simon Top, product manager at XSYS. “With the nyloflex FTV Digital, XSYS has introduced the latest plate innovation for the printing of high-end flexible packaging. Moreover, the new plate does not require any changes to existing solvent digital washout processing equipment or any additional costs from auxiliaries or consumables.”

In combination with standard bank exposure, the nyloflex FTV Digital can hold the finest highlight dots resulting in a wider tonal range and achieve excellent solid ink densities in combination with surface screenings. In the print room, higher OEE can be achieved thanks to its AIF (anti-ink filling) technology for longer and cleaner print runs with solvent based inks. As the new formulation is less prone to plate swelling, benefits also include reduced plate waste and longer durability on press. High consistency and excellent repeatability is achieved due to the 1:1 image transfer on the plate, making it suitable for optional surface screenings. The new plate works exceptionally well with ThermoFlexX Woodpecker surface screening patterns, including Woodpecker Sharp and Nano, as well as being ideal for extended gamut printing. 

Unlike similar plates in the market, nyloflex FTV Digital has been developed to achieve brilliant quality regardless of whether it is exposed using conventional UV-A tube lights or LED UV-A light technology, before being processed in a solvent washout system. The LED-optimized plate formulation makes the nyloflex FTV Digital plate perfectly suited for exposure on the ThermoFlexX Catena-E unit, resulting in superior Overall Equipment Effeciency (OEE) in plate production. “The nyloflex FTV Digital offers customers the best of both worlds because it is equally efficient in both conventional bank exposure and newer LED systems. Since it also reduces complexity in the plate room, it perfectly complements our portfolio for the high end flexible packaging market. Next to well-established nyloflex NEF Digital, which was the first LED-optimized plate for the high-end flexible packaging segment, we can now offer a second LED-optimized plate that also brings excellent print results with bank exposure.” commented Simon Top. “The new plate will give those customers who plan to move to LED exposure, such as our Catena-E technology, an easy and straightforward path to the future with a market-leading quality.”

He concludes, “As always, XSYS’ goal is to enable our customers to be brilliant and help them reduce complexities in the plate room, while increasing their productivity and quality with best-in-class innovations. We have already received excellent customer feedback proving that with the nyloflex FTV Digital, we are definitely achieving just that.”