Gent (Belgium), – Swedish group Miller Graphics has become the 100th company to install the Digital Flexo Suite from EskoArtwork (www.esko.com) at its production site in Beauvais, France. The Digital Flexo Suite is installed in conjunction with a Kongsberg XL44 cutting table, which is specifically designed for cutting flexographic plates.

Specialized in image processing for packaging applications, Miller Graphics' Beauvais team decided to invest in the Digital Flexo Suite and Kongsberg XL44 to optimize their packaging prepress process for a variety of food and hygiene brands. "We use the Kongsberg cutting table, which was originally designed for cardboard box makers, for a variety of purposes," explains Pascal Monsieur, Site Manager at Miller Graphics France. "It allows us to plot plans on polyester substrates, and to cut plates – in the standard way or with a bevel – for mounting on mylars or carriers. In short, we handle the fine and precise cutting of the plate before sending it to the printer."

Saving on raw materials
The Digital Flexo Suite is a powerful workflow automation software that gives users the tools to enhance plate making efficiency and reduce plate wastage. "The Digital Flexo Suite enables automated photopolymer plate production. We anticipate that we'll be able to reduce consumption of materials by 20%," adds Monsieur.

The optimized plate and the cutting layout are simultaneously sent to the CDI and the Kongsberg XL table. Both the CDI imaging file and the Kongsberg cutting file carry identical names and registration marks. These are automatically imaged on the flexo plate, for later identification, registration and perfect cutting.

A new way of working
"To optimize our work on the Kongsberg table, we have changed the way we operate and think about our tasks differently. When we carry out work, we always bear in mind that the product will eventually be cut on the table," continues Monsieur. "I have about 30 members of staff and they're all very keen to move with the times. Handling their work differently and working with new tools is not a problem."

The team undertook a week's training on the Digital Flexo Suite, which was run by EskoArtwork. In addition to reducing plate wastage thanks to intelligent plate layout and automated cutting of flexo plates, Digital Flexo Suite significantly reduces errors and makes plate identification faster. Miller Graphics France also uses the latest-generation CDI 5080 equipped with HD Flexo.