“NexTech the future”: the evolution of perfection in flexo plate engraving is born from the partnership between Inci.Flex and Esko, who last October 4 presented the Crystal Quartz at flexo prepress service headquarters in Fisciano (SA), the only system in the world currently in production
If flexo printing has made significant progress in the last 20 years, getting ever closer to the qualitative results of gravure printing, great credit must certainly be given to the technology and know-how put in place by prepress companies. Growth on all fronts that goes hand in hand with the evolution that has characterized Inci.Flex, the Campania service that today represents a point of reference in Italy in terms of technology, know-how and ultimately also size, given the path of expansion and presence throughout the national territory, with a branch also in North Africa, wanted by its CEO Enzo Consalvo.
Today Inci.Flex is present in all sectors of packaging, from flexible packaging to corrugated cardboard not only in the flexo sector, but also in gravure with a modern cylinder production line, so all technological solutions for the different application fields are present in the company.
Precisely for these characteristics, it was chosen by Esko to develop together the new Crystal Quartz technology, previewed at last edition of drupa, which Inci.Flex then decided to purchase, the first and currently only company in the world to use it in production.
This is the evolution of Esko’s previous CDI Crystal LED technology, which aims to represent a new standard and benchmark for flexo printing quality.
“Inci.Flex has a history that dates back to 1984, when my father Carmine decided, after having been an employee of a local converter, to start his own business. Since 1997, when I joined the company, Inci.Flex has begun a path of growth and development, and this is also thanks to our long-standing customers”, begins an emotional Enzo Consalvo on stage next to his son Carmine, who has his grandfather’s name and who, despite his young age, loves to be next to his father Enzo whenever the occasion allows – “I would therefore like to thank all the people who accepted our invitation, we are proud to have you here with us today, but let me give a special thanks to our foreign customers from North Africa who are here, and above all to all our long-standing customers from Campania, who, through flexible packaging, represent a valuable support to the entire agri-food industry in our area, which is so appreciated around the world, precisely because with the packaging created by the printing and converting supply chain, it is possible to export safely to every country in the world”, adds Consalvo, not before thanking all his collaborators from the bottom of his heart, because if it is true that Inci.Flex is today a small multinational, the strong family characterization that distinguishes it is equally evident.
The partnership with Esko for hardware and with Asahi and DuPont for materials development
“We installed the Esko Crystal prototype in March 2023, and after more than a year and a half, even though the tests have not yet been completed, we can say that we are dealing with a very interesting technology. Our collaboration with Esko certainly did not begin now for the Quartz project, but we had already had the honor and pleasure to collaborate on the development of HD technology, Full HD, then Crystal, and today with this latest technology, we feel we have in our hands an innovation that, together with the technological developments achieved in materials and printing machines, will be able to offer the market a work of the highest quality”, adds Enzo Consalvo, underlining how today, in order to obtain the best, close collaboration between all the actors involved is essential.
Among the players, plate manufacturers certainly play an important role, and in partnership with Asahi and DuPont, Inci.Flex technicians are testing the best materials to find the right solution in every production area and for the different applications.
“I invite all interested printing companies to explore with us the potential of this technology based on their needs and I conclude by saying that the best results that can be obtained are those made possible thanks to companies that offer more possibilities to understand the conditions, the critical issues of the process, providing us with all the essential data to be able to support them”, says Enzo Consalvo.
The new technology marks an important step towards the future of flexo and represents the evolution in the use of LED, for the simultaneous exposure and back exposure of flexographic plates, together with an extraordinarily precise laser engraving that allows to obtain a microcell of a particular shape that favors the optimal application of the ink even in solids, giving the printed products a brilliance and definition at the highest levels.
The engraving resolution of the microcells is 4000 ppi and their frequency is 2000 Ipi.
Dr. Thomas Klein, CTO Flexo of Esko, retraced the stages of over 30 years of presence in the flexography market where Esko is a leader in both hardware and software systems, demonstrated by 4500 CDI Flexo Imagers, 100 automatic plate production units and 500 XPS Crystal LED UV. To date on the market approximately 80% of digital flexo plates are made with Esko technologies which have made a significant contribution to the automation of prepress process.
“At drupa 2024 we presented Crystal Quartz developed together with Inci.Flex and I thank Enzo and all his staff for the precious collaboration. With this new engraving technology, each dot is extremely defined and sharp and contributes to raise the quality of flexo printing. The development of the technology is a continuous work in progress, so much so that the machine presented at drupa had a productivity of 6m2 per hour, but thanks to the optics mounted on the Crystal in Inci.Flex we have increased to 8m2 per hour and we will continue to improve the productivity of the engraving. In terms of quality, we are now in line with gravure quality for all flexible packaging applications, labels, both on film and paper”, said Klein.
Face to face with Loreto Simoncelli, flexo area director at Inci.Flex
What is the secret of the perfect plate?
“I like to consider our production process as an orchestra, where everything works harmoniously because each single instrument is perfectly tuned to marry perfectly with the sound of all the others and together compose the melody. In the same way, there is no plate, technology, screening, surface treatment that can assure a superlative printing expression if we do not tune all the work that is done within a pre-press process with the same work that must be done in printing”.
Can you explain to us the partnership with Esko and your experimentation?
“The experimentation on Crystal Quartz started in March 2023 between two entities predisposed to listen to each other, to get involved for a mutual growth that leads to qualitative results of notable importance. When we received the first monochrome plate from Esko, after analyzing it under the microscope we had it printed by a local printer.
The ink flow rate was 3.5 g and the result was astonishing: the ink laydown was flawless with a density of 1.85 without a shadow of a defect. We then began to doubt whether we had relied on a printer who was too good, and then we turned to a second printer who had completely different machine conditions from the first, with a speed higher than 450 m/min but the result was equally convincing, and we decided to start experimenting. The path was not simple at all, starting from the lack of suitable tools such as screens. The tests on the plates were endless, for every application and type of inks and materials and they continue even today. Esko then gave us a new range of screens with different specifications including stochastic ones, which although difficult to apply, can offer an extraordinary level of detail.”
What particularly struck you about Esko’s Crystal Quartz?
“The same harmonization argument made previously for the entire process also applies to production technologies. For example, by purchasing two identical Crystals you are not sure to obtain the same results. In fact, each single machine must be perfectly tuned and kept stable on a daily basis thanks to the in-depth know-how of the technicians who work on it. To date, Crystal Quartz is very slow in engraving operations but guarantees extreme perfection. The microcells are particularly perfect, the focus of this machine is perfectly stable and this is one of the main differences with other machines. The plate produced by Crystal Quartz, if correctly printed, offers unprecedented quality. The laying out of solids and the transfer of dots is incomparable with the previous engraving, to the point that the quality of the dot appears as a perfect transposition onto the print medium, with perfect dot-gain containment, even after tens of thousands of meters. All the percentages are transferred with great accuracy, thanks to the possibility of using a soft shock-absorbing double-sided tape and being able to manage the printing pressure in an optimal way, the transfer of the minimums and highlights is so high that it can easily reach the paper white”.
From this description, the prepress operations seem easier?
“This is absolutely not the case, and I do not want to underestimate all the work done in prepress, which is also carried out following all the specifications of each single customer. There is no standardized process simply because each customer is different, and the entire prepress phase is a customized process, so much so that every time we open a project I always ask my collaborators to know who will be the printer, and, especially in a partnership relationship, you need to know everything about the printer. If we never manage to see a printed product from a customer and we often find ourselves in vague disputes, we probably will not be able to continue a virtuous path towards success. I emphasize this concept because when you decide to experiment with this type of technology you have to learn to listen to the customer and we suggest them to acquire all the skills that we transfer to them.”
Who is this technology aimed at?
“Our task is to make it available and approachable to all our customers, but it is essential that all the equipment present in the press room at that moment must be call into doubt within the printing company. In fact, there is no need for an anilox that transports a lot of ink, with very high lines and I know very well that all printers want to produce, print without ever stopping because a stopped printing machine is a cost. However, we need to find the right compromise between quality and productivity, but if we want to become architects of qualitative growth, we must also get involved by rethinking our process”.
The event attended by over 200 people was organized by Inci.Flex together with partners Asahi, Esko, I&C Gama and DuPont. During the day it was possible to visit all the production departments of Inci.Flex, divided into pre-press for flexible packaging, corrugated cardboard and gravure cylinders.
There were two round tables, the first featuring Sante Conselvan and Dario Cavalcoli of I&C Gama, Antonio de Sousa Ribeiro, Ceo of SISTRADE and Enzo Consalvo, focused on the importance of data and its management strategy for the growth and development of companies
During the second moment of discussion Alberto Palaveri, President of Giflex and Andrea Dallavalle, President of Atif, discussed the hot topics of the sector, from the Packaging Waste regulation to sustainability, innovative technologies and artificial intelligence.
Great surprise and emotion when Enzo Consalvo, visibly moved, wanted to pay homage to Andrea Belloli of Asahi in memory of his father Franco for the friendship and great support given to his father Carmine Consalvo at the beginning of his entrepreneurial adventure. “The machine exhibited in our hall is the tangible sign of that great friendship, and today I am happy to be able to give Andrea Belloli this recognition that for me has enormous value”, said Consalvo.
The day ended with a toast in front of the new Crystal Quartz and in the evening with a gala dinner at Villa Gloria, on the hills of Fisciano.
