In the rapidly changing world of packaging printing, more demands are placed on brand owners to further differentiate their products in the market with enhanced designs and features to better catch the eyes of the consumer. With a faster pace of life, convenience portions have created demand for additional sizes, substrates, and functional elements to be incorporated in the packaging design. These changes challenge printers to run faster and find new substrates and ink technologies that will provide increased quality and consistency. Additional requirements are also being placed on the prepress suppliers in terms of efficiency, reliability, and productivity, and the need for improvements in flexo printing plates and processing equipment plays a key role in meeting those demands.

Flint Group's nyloflex ACE plates have been a proven winner for the package printer for over a decade. First introduced in 2001, nyloflex ACE plates quickly became a market standard, winning print awards in North America, Europe and Asia. Why change such a proven winner? As new prepress technologies such as high definition flexo and flat top dot (FTD) emerged, it became increasingly important to optimise the photopolymer plates for these technologies. For this reason, Flint Group reformulated its premium, nyloflex ACE plate to provide benefits on press such as sharper detail, high contrast images and smoother vignettes. When NEW nyloflex ACE plates are used in combination with the nyloflex NExT exposure technology, significant improvements are found with increased solid ink density and excellent ink lay-down, as well as producing flat top dots.

The NEW nyloflex ACE plate exhibits outstanding longevity, due to its excellent solvent resistance and improved cleaning characteristic. Extensive field testing in over 100 press trials worldwide reveals that fewer press stops for plate cleaning are required. The plates run longer, saving valuable time and substrate in the process. The transparency of the new plates also allows for easier mounting. Designed for solvent, water and most UV curable flexographic inks, NEW nyloflex ACE plates remain extremely stable on press.

In the prepress area, the NEW nyloflex ACE plates exhibit a more controlled back exposure, providing an even smoother plate floor with a more consistent relief. No changes with the laser setting are required, since the NEW nyloflex ACE plates contain the same black mask as before.

Shorter light finishing times (UVC) of only 2 to 10 minutes bring additional advantages to the customer. They show positive effects on the ink transfer and result in energy savings and less wear of the tubes.

For over 40 years, Flint Group has been a leading supplier in the field of photopolymer printing plates and continues to lead in the development of new technologies for high quality printing and efficient processing of flexographic plates. To capture the market requirements in the development of its products, Flint Group works closely together with customers and partners and utilises feedback from brand owners, printers and prepress providers. The NEW nyloflex ACE plates and the nyloflex NExT exposure technology are just additional examples of how Flint Group continues to set the benchmark in flexo printing.