High performance flexo CTP will take centre stage on the CRON stand in Hall 5 at drupa, illustrating an important diversification for CRON into flexo packaging and labels. Initially shown as a prototype at Label Expo, CRON’s flexo CTP concept has evolved into two commercially available products, both of which are highly competitive in price/performance.

The new CRON HDI Flexo units are available in two formats: 900mm for label applications and 1600mm for general packaging work. Both are compatible with all digital photopolymer plates, ablative films and polyester-based letterpress plates.

Two versions of each model are available to enable users to tune production to their particular needs. “S” variants have a maximum resolution of 5080 dpi as standard and an exposure speed of 1.3 square metres per hour. “H” variants have a maximum resolution of 9600 dpi and a speed of 3.2 square metres per hour. The exposure platform has been adapted from CRON’s latest magnetic linear drive system which has gained much praise in the offset CTP market for its ability to image accurate and high quality dots from 1-99%. This system provides fault-free imaging across all resolutions ensuring precision output of the finest details, and flexo plates which easily compete with offset quality when printed.

To reduce plate waste, HDI Flexo platesetters have a unique laser guided system for plate positioning and automatic loading. There is also an option for partial imaging or four-color mixed-separation output to improve imaging efficiency and reduce plate costs. These options work seamlessly with all professional flexo workflows through a simple-to-use GUI.

As the flexo plate exposure is an ablative process, all HDI Flexo units are fitted with high volume suction fans to safely remove dust particles to an onboard sealed storage system, eliminating any potential contaminants. 

Mike Xiang, CRON CEO and Founder, comments, "Having established a worldwide population of cost-effective, high performance CTP solutions for offset, mainly used in commercial and newspaper printing, we wanted to bring similar benefits to packaging printers. Using our latest, state-of-the-art imaging platform, our HDI Flexo platesetters will improve quality and turnaround times while saving resources and costs. These are the hallmarks of CRON’s philosophy for product design which can now be enjoyed by packaging and label printers worldwide.”