Charlotte, NC – Tony Donato of global anilox supplier Harper Corporation of America highlighted two of his company's newest products at the recent Packaging & Label Gravure Association's Global Operational Conference in Miami.

Donato, Product Development Engineer at Harper, used a tabletop exhibit to answer questions and demonstrate the features and quality benefits available to gravure process enthusiasts from Harper's Xtreme Digital Imaging (XDI) and HarperScientific's Phantom QD technologies.

The 2010 PLGA Global session – its 13th – involved a three-day conference at which innovative products were showcased and gravure industry professionals participated in a range of forums and networking opportunities.

With Harper Xtreme Digital Imaging (XDI), gravure printers can take advantage of graphically prepared image cylinders that are laser engraved in ceramic which can be used in registration and on many Product Gravure applications that include digital halftone files, digital patterns and logos. Booth visitors  also learned  that traditional XLT, XVR & LaserKote engravings can be used to create long life ceramic gravure cylinders for applying tints, primers, coatings and in laminating.

Introduced last fall, the Phantom QD is the industry's first ink proofing system that produces constant loading pressure without any external power supply.  A Gravure version QD was shown with a XDI cylinder featuring a simulated printed circuit.  This version combined with the XDI imaged cylinder expands the QD beyond a simple ink proofer to a gravure image tester.  Designed to produce an ink draw downs on any substrate, the Phantom QD  is highly repeatable. It features a linearly guided table magnetic-loaded doctor blade and quick-change anilox roller. 

"The gravure industry has always welcomed new approaches and many booth visitors were seeing the possible applications of the long life ceramic cylinders and how the QD system can help them. A very positive response was certainly apparent again at this year's PLGA Global Operational Conference," Donato said.