2G&P is the clear example of how, practically from nothing, but with good ideas, a great desire to do things and a pinch of initiative, one can carve out a leading role in a complex and articulated sector in just over twenty years as that of flexo printing plates services. The success of the Paderno Dugnano (Milan) service is based on a long and lasting partnership with Esko
2G&P was born in 1987 and is the natural evolution of an artisan company that carried out its manual drawing activity, creating graphic designs for lithography, screen printing and flexo. After an initial period of growth, thanks to the dedicated photocomposition systems in vogue at the time, but with the entry into the company of Paolo Ghedini, the current owner, arrives the first important decision that laid the foundations for future growth, namely the choice to buy the first Macs and related layout and graphic software. “After having studied them in depth, I immediately understood that those new systems, unknown at the time, but now present in every company that does our job, would radically change our sector. The graphic industry at that time was skeptical, but the transition to those new systems was so sudden that in a very short time everyone converted to Macs”, begins Paolo Ghedini, recalling the first steps taken by his father’s company.
Flexo at that time was certainly not the developed and technologically advanced industry we know today, and the demand for quality was not so preponderant either. The 2G&P customer panel included some label factories and some flexible packaging printing companies, for which the service created the graphic part, strictly in black and white, and then made externally the photopolymer plates.
“Following the market trend, at a certain point I decided to abandon the lithographic and screen printing sector to dedicate myself heart and soul to flexo, and also in this case, seeing where we have arrived today, it was a correct choice”, says Paolo Ghedini, which today mainly serves food, health-care and home-care markets with wide web solutions, labels and shrink sleeves, a sector that has become important for 2G&P.
Investments in technology: the first CDI Spark 4835 in 2002, the latest XPS in 2024
The choice to serve flexo market immediately required a series of investments in technology, since at that point it was not enough to just supply the graphic designs, but it also became essential to produce photopolymers. Therefore, with the entry into the company of the first DuPont Fast production line in 2001, here is the first meeting with Davide Meroni, sales account manager at Esko, to discuss the first CDI which entered 2G&P in 2002, a first fundamental step towards digital production. “That was a challenge for us, but certainly also for Esko who trusted us and allowed us to install this digital flexo platemaking solution , which was followed by others over the years, up to the current configuration with a CDI Crystal 5080 and the two new XPS Crystal 5080 with simultaneously front and back LED imaging, which improve the quality of the finished work, also allowing us to save around 40% of electricity, an excellent result from a sustainability point of view”, adds Paolo Ghedini, reminding us that to date the fleet at his company is made up of 3 CDI and 2 XPS Crystal, 2 solvent lines, 3 Fast lines, one of which is 2 meters, unique in Europe for a total of 20 operators.
“The optics of the latest generation CDIs have significantly improved, and the introduction of the Pixel+ lenses have improved the quality of engraving and reproduction of the microcells, another tool that I believe has significantly changed the quality of the results, allowing to reach unthinkable ink laydown density before the advent of this technology”, says Paolo Ghedini.
The importance of Esko software in daily work
The package of Esko solutions supplied to 2G&P operators also includes Automation Engine, Esko workflow, 11 ArtPro+ licenses, Equinox, Studio, all tools that have now become indispensable in managing the daily work of a prepress service.
“Esko software help a lot, providing advanced tools for color management. ArtPro+ is another advanced tool, indispensable for the accurate processing that files require on a daily basis, while thanks to Equinox we work in seven colors, giving further advantages to those who work in specific sectors where it is essential to be able to have the machine ready for use and with fast set-ups, almost eliminating formulation and management of Pantones. Managing every day jobs for the heat-shrink sleeve market, for us Esko Studio is a precious and valid ally for the management of deformations in real time, with the possibility of carrying out the processes, verifying the results instantly and greatly speeding up the work that was much longer even just with the previous versions, without forgetting 3D rendering function which is very useful for the operator to view the project and a tool for sharing the work with the customer. Finally, thanks to Automation Engine, the Esko solution for the automated management of workflows, we were able to implement speed and safety in production, eliminating possible manual errors, always around the corner without the use of such tools”, says Paolo Ghedini, underlining the importance of a partner like Esko for the growth of his business, whose technologies and solutions guarantee improvements in production, guaranteeing more precision, efficiency and productivity, with a reduction in waste and advantages from the point of view of company organization, optimization of materials and times.
2G&P: partners and not only suppliers
It is the slogan that accompanies 2G&P communication and is one of the characteristics that perhaps Ghedini cares about most. In fact, today, in an extremely complex and volatile market, being able to support your customer, facing his challenges together, establishing a relationship of trust, is fundamental. “Working for the customer means providing them with printing plates, and, as has sometimes happened, being called by the customer to evaluate problems with printing plates not made by us, and this is a clear example of the trust that the customer has in your work”, adds Ghedini, whose objective is to be able to satisfy the needs of its customers, starting from the specific characteristics of each one and to do so in an increasingly timely manner but always keeping in mind the qualitative issue.
Correct use of Esko Crystal screens, added value for 2G&P
The correct use of Crystal screens is one of the choices, probably among the most complex, that a prepress service must make to have a faithful reproduction of the print. In 2G&P where there is great attention and trust towards technology, but where not everything that is launched on the market must necessarily be used, perhaps following current trends, an in-depth analysis was carried out with Esko technicians, to analyze in detail the characteristics of these new Crystal screens, how they behaved in different applications and to have a complete picture of the situation. “Our partner Esko confirmed to us that our in-depth approach to understand in detail the potential of a technology, in this case screens, is a rather anomalous practice”, Paolo Ghedini tells us, confirming that very often when we talk about of screens, there is a greater tendency to find a standard solution that works more or less with all applications, rather than evaluating them in detail.
“Ghedini pronounced a sacrosanct truth, as we, as suppliers of technologies and solutions, offer the same types of products to the market, the difference, as in the case of 2G&P, is then made by the input of the management and consequently the know-how of the operators, to have an in-depth knowledge of the technologies and solutions and decide when, where and how to use them. It is the distinctive element of every single prepress company and 2G&P is certainly an example with its desire to make the most of our innovative solutions”, says Davide Meroni, sales account manager at Esko Italia.
“Our approach, which has always been the basis of our work philosophy, is based on the desire to pay attention to what we are doing; if we didn’t do so, the quality would suffer. I am aware that we do not create works of art to display in museums, and it is right to find a correct balance between quality and price, even if when everyone in the company works with a certain quality standard, accepting compromises becomes difficult“, adds Ghedini.
What future for flexo?
The packaging market requires a level of quality now considered a standard, and until a few years ago it was believed that maximum quality could only be achieved by printing in gravure. On the contrary today, thanks to the notable improvements in pre-printing technologies, flexo is a very competitive for packaging and label printing. “We have several gravure customers who have also invested in flexo, and expect to achieve the same results, which is possible today, also thanks to different color compositions, but which still allow to achieve the objective”, concludes Paolo Ghedini.
