The meeting was attended by machine operators and printers, technologists, production managers, prepress workers and representatives of commercial departments of flexographic printing houses based on narrow- and medium-web technologies.

On the 27th & 28th of October the Polish Chamber of Printing (PLFTA) organized the training & workshop meeting devoted to flexo specialists involved in production issues. The event, supported by three technological partners – Mark Andy, Emipak (the Polish representative of BTS) and PC Print, was held in Warsaw and comprised of two parts. The first day, conducted by Krzysztof Skrobot, Director of PLFTA, was filled with theory. On the second day, the participants – including press operators, printers, technology managers, production managers, prepress technicians and sales representatives – were invited to the Mark Andy’s Technology Center in Warsaw. The company, in a co-operation with PC Print and Emipak, hosted the workshops, including prepress and printing in flexo and hybrid presses (concerning different printing and embellishment techniques). During the two-day meeting the PLFTA guests received a huge doze of technological and practical knowledge, inevitable in their daily operations. The meeting was also an opportunity for exchange of experiences, industry integration and informal discussions between the participants.

The first day of the meeting was held in the Arche hotel in Warsaw. Krzysztof Skrobot, Director of the Polish Chamber of Flexo Printing, conducted the conference part and made the extensive speech concerning flexographic technology. He mentioned many aspects of this printing technique: its basis, key parameters, substrates, inks, sleeves, ink rollers, anilox rollers, ink ducts, doctor blades, flexo polymer plates as well as compression and mounting tapes. He also pointed out job approval processes as the important factor for every printing house. “We presented many aspects of flexo and systematized knowledge of printing production – says Krzysztof Skrobot. – We’re extremely happy that our conference attracted a big interest of narrow- and mid-web printers who delegated its employees involved in production processes, including press handling. We wanted to speak about many issues that seem to be not so obvious for our participants as well as inspire them to implement changes in manufacturing processes, if needed. The first day of our meeting was an introduction to the workshops held in Mark Andy Technology Center. Our guests took part in live demos of four presses using flexo and hybrid technologies. Moreover, they could set up parameters of printing test labels in different technologies and compare final results with each other”.

The second day was fulfilled with live demos of Mark Andy presses and accompanying solutions for embellishment and inspection. The Evolution Series E3 flexo press, equipped with 100% print control system from BST was presented as the first one. The representatives of Emipak took its/the opportunity to present the company’s offer and specification of BTS inspection systems. L. Kurz foils (offered in Poland exclusively by PC Print) were used for cold stamping of the samples printed in Evolution Series E3. The representatives of PC Print highlighted this embellishment technology, focusing on appropriate choice of transfer parameters, inevitable for the highest quality of finishing.

During a presentation of Evolution Series E3, the representatives of Mark Andy pointed out easy handling, flexibility and efficiency of the press. The participants could learn its functions as well as receive a doze of knowledge about flexo technology. They were invited to set up and regulate the press, preparing it for printing the test labels and comparing them with results achieved in other demonstrated presses.

There were two hybrid solutions among them: Digital Series HD and Digital Series iQ. Both of them tie digital (inkjet) printing technology with conventional embellishment and finishing units (e.g. foil stamping, embossing, die-cutting etc.). The participants were introduced with inkjet printing technology and functionality of both hybrids from Mark Andy. As before, they set up presses for printing of test labels printing. The last solution presented was a toner-based Digital Pro 3. Besides test jobs, it was used for printing occasional labels containing pictures of participants, taken during the event.

Krzysztof Skrobot underlines that a main goal of PLFTA and its partners was involving the participants in all practical presentations, including job preparation and production supervising. Another important topic was opportunity to compare the labels printed and converted in different technologies and equipment configurations. The participants could ask questions during the entire event as well as indicate problems they face during a daily operations.

Krzysztof Skrobot adds that, besides spreading knowledge among the event’s participants, another key goal of PLFTA was creating an opportunity to exchange and share their experiences. “When observing a big interest of our guests, we’re convinced that this “pilot” meeting was just a beginning of a series of similar workshops & trainings organized in future. I would like to take this opportunity to warmly thank our partners: Mark Andy, that hosted us in its Warsaw-based Technology Center and shared its presses with us; Emipak – vendor of BST print inspection system used for test jobs verification and PC Print – distributor of L. Kurz foils, used for cold stamping. We would like to invite other companies from printing industry to join us in the future events organized by PLFTA. We also encourage all flexo printers to launch issues and topics they’re interested in. We’ll consider them when scheduling next conferences and workshops”.