Miller Graphics installs ThermoFlexX imager in Algeria

The ThermoFlexX 80-S installed at Miller Graphics in Algeria has an output capacity of 1,270 x 2,032mm and an achievable exposure resolution of 5,080dpi.

Because of the large plate size potential offered by the ThermoFlexX 80-S, Miller Graphics has purchased a ThermoFlexX Flextray system for the transport and automatic loading of flexo plates that would otherwise be difficult to handle.

ThermoFlexX also supplied Miller Graphics with a Xitron RIP and workflow along with its Multiplate software, which allows the operators at Bejaia to ‘mount’ many jobs on to one plate in order to reduce waste. The latest version of Multiplate can support multiple imposition sheets plus different resolutions on the same sheet, and can be integrated with workflows and ERP systems, as well as external equipment such as cutting tables and mounting devices.

Hubert Sampré, Miller Graphics managing director in France and the Maghreb region in western North Africa, said: ‘I first saw a demonstration of the ThermoFlexX imager technology in 2013, and I was so impressed that I’ve kept in touch with developments ever since.

‘When we were considering the purchase of a flexo imager for our new Algerian factory I contacted the Belgian manufacturer again. The ThermoFlexX 80-S is capable of meeting all of our customers’ plate size and quality requirements. In addition, we can expose whatever flexo plate a printer is used to working with and in thicknesses up to 6.35mm.’

In total, Miller Graphics operates 15 subsidiaries across 11 countries, including three sites in France, two in Finland and the UK, one each in Latvia, Poland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland and Morocco, and the new facility in Algeria.   

The ThermoFlexX installation in Algeria is the group’s first investment in the Xeikon Prepress brand’s technology, and Sampré noted that there are ‘a lot of eyes watching how it performs’.

‘Algeria is a fast growing market,’ Sampré added. ‘There are several major food producers in the Bejaia area and because of this there are also some very important packaging printers. Bejaia, between Algiers and Annaba, was an obvious site for our new factory.

‘The demand in Algeria for ever higher quality of printed products, particularly in flexible packaging and labels, is continuous. Over the coming months we’ll be concentrating on consolidating all of the new equipment installed at the Bejaia factory and in spreading the word about the extensive range of pre-press services that we now provide in the area.

‘It’s still early days, but our rapidly increasing order book has already proved that there is a huge need for high-quality pre-press services, delivered quickly and at a competitive price.’