A MacDermid LUX installation at OEC Graphics marks the 100th installation of the LUX Platemaking Process since its commercial launch. Introduced at the FTA INFO*FLEX in 2010, the LUX Platemaking Process enables the production of flat-top dots on flexo printing plates, creating a smaller printed dot and increased print quality and consistency.

OEC Graphics, headquartered in Oshkosh, WI, USA, is a prepress supplier to converters and packaged goods companies. OEC has added the LUX Platemaking Process to its production workflow in a number of its facilities. “Adding LUX flat-top dots to our product line-up puts us in a unique position to offer our customers unsurpassed performance and technology that can compete in any packaging market,” says Brad Vette, corporate managing director at OEC.

According to the company, MacDermid’s LUX has been the global choice for flat-top dot technology since its inception, with LUX installations on six continents. “Given the tremendous interest we have seen with LUX, we are anticipating that we will install at least another 100 units in 2012,” says Pat Mullaney, global packaging group director at MacDermid.

In addition to celebrating the 100th installation of LUX, MacDermid is also marking the introduction of two new enhancements to the LUX Process: Membrane 200 and a new version of its large format 62″ laminator. Membrane 200 allows the simultaneous creation of both flat-top LUX dots and an engineered surface pattern in the plate. This innovation combines the print advantages of the LUX dot shape and the improved ink transfer of a surface pattern in one simple step.

The updated 62″ LUX laminator laminates plates up to 62″ in width and includes several new features that the company says will make lamination of the LUX membrane easier and more efficient, including digital control of gap settings, a membrane hold-down device and pin cutter, and a transition table to ease plate movement from the laminator to an exposure unit.