Gallus launches Screeny S

The Screeny S line – Gallus’ new generation of Screeny screen printing plates – is being unveiled at Labelexpo 2007 in Brussels. ‘The S stands for Spring hardness, Strength and Speed,’ says Dario S. Schmidhauser, Screeny product manager. ‘The recognized quality of the Screeny screen printing plate is enhanced by new strength properties, including the spring hardness factor. This special feature is a result of the new tissue structure, which combines high strength and excellent resilience.’

The S line was developed at Gallus’s new screen plate plant, and takes full advantage of recent advances in electroplating technology. Schmidhauser says the benefits to printers include higher stability of the screen printing plate for longer print runs. ‘The exceptional strength of the material also enables higher print speeds and the much greater stability opens up the possibility of re-using the screen.’

As the printing plates are far less sensitive, handling is simplified throughout the workflow process, facilitating fast and reliable processing during screen production, according to Schmidhauser. It takes less than 30 minutes to produce a ready-to-print screen.

Their spring hardness makes Screeny S line products resistant to dirt and paper web splicing operations, says Schmidhauser. ‘Kinks in the screen that negatively affect print quality no longer occur, thereby minimising press downtime, significantly increasing productivity and producing brilliant print results.’

A further focus during S line development was optimising key screen printing parameters like the mesh geometry and ink flow characteristics.

The S line is being launched with Screeny models RSS, MFS, RVS and USS. The Screeny RSS enables combinations of fine lines and solid areas while the Screeny RVS – like the Screeny HV – is designed specifically as a long-life screen for applying large amounts of ink. The Screeny MFS is the long-life equivalent of the Screeny KF. The Screeny USS is designed for printing large type and designs with large solid areas and for applying coatings. These new products have an improved navy blue photopolymer layer and are therefore easily distinguishable from the standard Screeny. All four S line variants can be imaged using conventional peripherals and conventional parameters. No investment in new equipment is required and there is no conversion work involved.