Gent (Belgium), March 17, 2008 – EskoArtwork, the global market leader in innovative design, pre-production, collaboration and finishing solutions for the packaging, commercial printing and sign and display industry, announces the introduction of the Cyrel Digital Imager (CDI) Advance Cantilever at drupa 2008. Especially designed for the imaging of large format sleeves as well as optional large format flexo plate imaging, the CDI Advance Cantilever is targeted at the flexible packaging market, trade shops and large volume converters. Compared to the former CDI Advance 5080, the new CDI Advance Cantilever enhances throughput, as the removal of the mandrels and the offline exchange of print sleeves is no longer required. While the currently available, smaller CDI Compact Cantilever addresses the mid web market, the new CDI Advance Cantilever is built for the wide web flexible packaging market.

The CDI Advantage

The CDI Advance Cantilever is the preferred solution for flexible packaging markets that require the fastest throughput of large format flexo plates. It comes with a cantilever air cylinder allowing a very fast exchange of print sleeves without the need of additional handling equipment such as a crane.  Users of CDI Advance platesetters can exchange drums for 50”x80” or 42”x60” plates (1270 mm x 2032 mm or 1067 x 1524 mm), as well as for sleeves up to a length of 83.1” (2110 mm). The CDI Advance Cantilever can be optionally equipped with the EasyClamp III vacuum drum sleeve (patent pending), a pneumatic clamping mechanism that further accelerates plate loading, quickly turning the Cantilever version into a plate imaging device by just sliding the drum-sleeve onto the cantilever air cylinder, like a carrier sleeve.

The CDI Advance Cantilever also images quickly. It features a maximum speed of up 8.0 m²/hr thanks to a highly reliable fiber laser with multibeam optics. This Optics 80 productivity feature offers the same variable resolution imaging and seamless imaging of sleeves as models with less productive optics. By imaging a full format 1270 mm x 2032 mm (50” x 80”) plate in 19 minutes (8 sqm/h; 86 sqft/h), the CDI Advance Cantilever matches the fastest plate processing equipment available in the industry. CDI Advance Users will also appreciate SuperSkip technology, which moves the imager quickly over areas that don’t require imaging.

Sleeve technology takes the lead

One of the most significant advantages of the sleeve technology is that it allows flexographers to print continuous images. Compared to a printing plate, a sleeve is always imaged, processed and washed in the same position, with highly accurate registration. Because the printing form is seamless, flexo printing can easily compete with gravure when it comes to printing flexible packaging.  Thanks to sleeve technology, the round, endless flexo printing form is imaged and processed on the impression carrier to maximize productivity.  Digitally imaged sleeves provide consistent printing, both across the web and between ink stations.

Faster make-ready times improve response times and offer an important advantage over gravure printing. The flexo printer can deliver a package within a shorter time, at gravure-like quality, and this at a lower overall cost to the customer. Printers save mounting time, enjoy faster setup and generate significantly less waste. Combining higher quality with increased productivity, flexo platemaking has moved one step closer to perfection.

“There is a definite global trend toward the use of sleeves,” comments Jan Buchweitz, EskoArtwork CDI product manager. “Converters find that sleeves allow them to increase press speed on certain types of substrates. The increased productivity pays for the extra cost of sleeves. And, their customers appreciate the better quality. With the CDI Cantilever Advance, EskoArtwork is providing an imager that makes the entire process—from imaging, to mounting, to printing—as easy as possible.”

At drupa 08 the CDI Advance Cantilever will be shown in combination with the Inline Main UV Exposure unit, which cures sleeves on the fly, making handling afterwards as easy as possible.

Dupont and Cyrel Fast

DuPont will present at drupa 08 the Cyrel FAST Round solution for processing Cyrel Fast round sleeves.  Not only will this system significantly shorten processing time; it will fit seamlessly onto the Advance Cantilever for production of high volume flexible packaging.  The end result is high quality flexo that one could compare favorably with gravure. Today, Cyrel Round is the only complete digital sleeve production solution, consisting of a family of ‘ready-to-image’ Cyrel printing sleeves, supported by complementary DuPont equipment for UV Exposure, processing, drying and finishing. The new Cyrel FAST Round system uses thermal technology and includes a key innovation called ‘thermal continuous development’, a “smart” processing technique for developing sleeves.