One of Malaysia’s leading flexographic companies, Eye Graphic Sdn. Bhd., has invested in the latest Crystal technology from Esko to improve plate quality and boost productivity as part of a continuous program of growth.

The premedia trade shop, which was the first company in Malaysia to secure HD Flexo certification from Esko, has become the first in the ASEAN tradeshop segment to install a CDI Crystal 5080 XPS at its Penang facility, giving a consolidated, fully automated platemaking workflow that delivers both enhanced plate quality and increased production stability.

Eye Graphic was founded in 1990 as a joint venture between Texchem Resources Bhd. and Eye Corporate Planning Japan. Mr. Yap Kee Keong, Group President of Texchem Resources Bhd., said the addition of the new CDI Crystal XPS was part of the company’s plan to expand its presence in the South-East Asia region for high-end digital flexo. “Eye Graphic has successfully grown from a single small business to a regional operation,” he said. “Today we have a specialized team of 30 staff members in Malaysia, with headquarters in Penang and branches in Shah Alam and Johor Bahru, both of which use the Esko CDI 5080 digital flexo imager.

“We have grown tremendously to become one of the most trusted names for high-end color separation, professional graphic design and high-quality flexographic printing plates,” he says. “With a number of multi-national companies among our client base, we are looking to continue our path of growth. In order to further improve our quality and productivity, we need to transform and move towards being an Industry 4.0 company, where automation is the future.

“That’s why we purchased the Esko Crystal 5080 XPS CDI plate imager – to improve our color separation technique and digital plate quality.”

The Esko CDI Crystal 5080 XPS can be operated with single touch operation using an intuitive screen interface and enables unattended operation. It is equipped with Optics 100 V3, a further optical development exclusive to the Esko platform, which combines best in class imaging quality with optimal productivity. The award-winning Esko XPS Crystal technology combines UV main and back exposure, using LEDs that always emit consistent UV light as opposed to traditional exposure frames, which use lightbulbs with fluctuating output.

Peter Goh, regional sales manager with Esko, says that the combination of Crystal screening technology and Esko automation means that Eye Graphic now has complete control over the quality and performance of its plates and their subsequent print consistency. “Because the digital imaging and LED UV exposure processes are integrated and automated, it improves the overall ease of use for the prepress operators,” he adds. “The CDI Crystal XPS delivers greater consistency and ensures the platemaking process is now much less complex with significantly fewer steps, while the automation ensures total accuracy and exceptional results.”

Benny Ho Wei Min, managing director of Eye Graphic Sdn. Bhd, notes that customers have an increasing need to differentiate their packaging graphics to brand owners, who value product differentiation. “They require plates that can competently handle the complex screening required to reproduce today’s increasingly complex supplied digital files,” he says.

“With flexo presses becoming faster and more automated, the pressure for productivity improvements has been passed onto platemaking equipment manufacturers. The addition of the Esko Crystal 5080 XPS CDI machine minimizes dependency on individual skill and knowledge on color separation, while maximizing delivery of the best possible printing plate quality with the highest level of consistency and repeatability,” he adds. “The simplified process and automation also help to reduce the number of manpower hours needed to handle the complete process, freeing up operator time to handle more value-added tasks.”

“This latest investment emphasizes our underlying confidence that we can continue the substantial growth Eye Graphic has experienced over the past 30 years, in virtually all sectors of the print and packaging industry, by providing our clients with good service and excellent prepress technology,” he concludes.