Apex International, a global supplier of anilox and embossing technologies, hosted a successful Repro Supplier Meet on July 26, 2023, at its production facility located in Sinnar, Nashik. The one-day event was well attended by reprographic and plate suppliers across India. The informative event was dedicated to highlighting the challenges faced by repro houses in relation to anilox technology.

“In light of the current and future trends in flexography, it has become increasingly evident that a high level of integrity is required among key stakeholders in the flexo ecosystem,” states Mangesh Bhise, director of sales-Asia Pacific and ME.

The event provided scientific facts related to the manufacture and measurement of anilox engraving, pros and cons of ECG compared CG (4-color CMYK), and opportunities the flexo industry has if the suppliers unite.

Flexography, as a printing process, relies on a multitude of variables where design, repro and anilox play a vital role in providing the desired output. Since this event was designed to demonstrate how the anilox capabilities influence the flexo process there was no focus on plate and ink specialty surface patterns or pigmentation.

Nick Harvey, technical director, highlighted the importance of an anilox roll in mastering quality print production. He says, “The anilox is a very technical product. If not controlled, it will result in an anilox that can be measured as the same values of line screen and volume but could deliver totally different amounts of ink transfer and color.”

Elaborating that in addition to cell geometry the same line screen with hexagonal cells can be manufactured with different volume and different cells shapes. Whereas GTT 2.0, the company’s patented open slalom channel engraving, is always produced to have the optimum opening to depth ratio.

To demonstrate the consistency of GTT, Apex included a live volume measurement demonstration on three separate anilox (GTT S) using the MicroDynamics 3DQC. The results proved that the channel shape, size, finish, and volume are consistent measuring at 4.21 cm3/m2, 4.24 cm3/m2 and 4.28 cm3/m2.  “This level of consistency is a key benefit of GTT. To be able to achieve this level of repeatability in the engraving gives the flexo process a firm foundation to build on, which will result in faster changeovers, less waste, higher quality imagery, and enable ECG or CG to be adopted easier,” says Dhanraj Patil, managing director.

Consistent engraving delivers predictable ink density. Apex performed live printing to demonstrate consistency using three GTT C3.5 anilox using the same unit, plate, and ink. To push the demonstration to the limit, Apex chose to print black (the most challenging of CMYK). The density achieved across the three printed samples were 1.29, 1.26 and 1.35. This test demonstrated an example of benefits from the GTT engraving.