Italian packaging firm boosts output with Kodak Flexcel NX

- Investment allows flexible package printing

 

- System beneficial in terms of both quality and efficiency

 

Italian packaging provider Domenico De Lucia has boosted the quality of its output after installing the Kodak Flexcel NX system, purchased as part of a project that led the company to diversify into flexible package printing

 

Domenico De Lucia specializes in the agri-food sector, and provides an integrated service, providing packing services for dried fruit and pre-cooked vegetables, as well as flexographic printing of plastic films for flexible packaging.

 

The Kodak platemaking system was purchased as part of a project that led to Domenico De Lucia’s diversification into flexible packaging printing with the incorporation of a local printing house.

 

Domenico De Lucia wanted to invest in the latest, most advanced flexographic printing systems, including in-house plate production.

 

Marisa De Lucia, head of the flexible packaging production division at Domenico De Lucia, said: ‘After evaluating another system, we opted for the Kodak Flexcel NX System with Kodak Prinergy Evo Workflow.

 

‘The high-resolution plates and the printing results delivered by the Flexcel NX system are far superior to other systems on the market.’

 

‘Today, flexography has reached a quality that’s comparable to rotogravure printing – Kodak Flexcel NX plate technology produces high-definition printing dots, consistently on different materials and over an entire print run.

 

‘We print and laminate, and have considerable experience of using materials according to their end use. We’ve become a unique operation, combining the knowledge of an agri-food company with the expertise of a graphics firm.’

 

With sales of almost €17 million in 2011 and 50 employees across the group, Domenico De Lucia made a significant investment in its printing division in 2010 and 2011: ‘We brought the entire pre-press stage in-house.

 

‘We wanted peace of mind that our flexographic printing system would guarantee consistent, predictable and perfectly repeatable results,” added De Lucia.

 

‘Our service is built around the Prinergy Evo workflow. It provides scalable tools for controlling pre-press production, which can be implemented as the workload increases.

 

‘These tools have certainly proved beneficial from both a quality and efficiency perspective.’

 

During the lamination process of the Flexcel NX system, direct contact between layer and plate eliminates oxygen during UV exposure, ensuring a perfect 1:1 reproduction from digital file to finished plate.

 

The result is a stable dot with a flat top, which appears much clearer and cleaner on the plate. It also allows longer print runs, and a wider color gamut.

 

‘The main advantages are fast machine starts, greater plate stability and a dramatic reduction in waste,’ said De Lucia.

 

‘Another important advantage for us is that, thanks to the more extensive color gamut, we can now reproduce photographic-quality images in four colors +1, which in rotogravure printing would be printed as eight to nine colors.

 

‘Coupled with the stability of the plate, this reassures customers that their brand will be reproduced consistently on all packaging products, which is vitally important to them. While from our point of view, it helps keep costs down and ensures optimal use of the printing press.’

 

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