Filmless Prepress: The Digital Strategy for the 2pcs Beverage Can Industry

Patrick Geffers at Asia CanTech ,11 November 2013 Surabaya - Indonesia

Two kind of designs

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• Brand owners demanding higher quality and launching more promotional designs

• Competing packaging formats like PET, carton, glass, …

• Other Canmakers especially in markets with overcapacity

Industry under pressure from ...

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Is this attracting the end-consumer?

Photograph: Stork Prints Austria Photograph: Stork Prints Austria

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What is influencing the quality?

File preparation

Rubber blanket

Ink-system

Plate making technology

Printing plate brand

Decorator

Production speed

Substrate

Base coating

Resolution

Screening

No. of colours

Line count

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• CTF Computer To Film or conventional / analogue

• CTP Computer To Plate or digital / LAM´s

• DLE Direct Laser Engraving

Different plate making technologies

CTF and CTP are both UV-techniques, which work according to the same principle.

DLE is a direct system that does not use UV.

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DLE-Technique

UV-Techniques

Both UV-techniques work with a monomer plate. Certain elements are being blocked from UV-light (either by a film or by a mask) and therefore do not polymerize.

The monomer that is not blocked, receives UV-light. This UV-light turns the monomer into a polymer.

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CTF Computer to film

CTP Computer to plate

DLE Direct Laser Engraving

Available techniques compared

CTF + CTP DLE

Surface of the

plate

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Label Quality

Productivity

Consumable price

Flexibility

Initial Investment

Advantages and Disadvantages

CTF CTP DLE

ok higher highest

ok high low

low higher lowest

no no yes

low mid high

• € 200 million revenue company

• 15 worldwide operating companies

• 1300 employees worldwide

• Sound financial position

Who is spgprints?

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Our portfolio

Direct Laser Engraving (DLE)

Highest Quality for centralised studio´s or independent canmaker

Computer To Plate (CTP)

Integrated device for digital plate production at the plant

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DLX

What makes the DLX different to other CTP systems:

More compact

More complete (RIP-system, Inline UV and HD standard)

Easy to operate (due to database and job-tickets, setting up is a few mouse-clicks)

It is developed out of the demands from dry offset plate makers, printers and production managers.

Inline UV standard

Inline UV with LED’s during exposing of the Blackmask layer. Machine can also run without the Inline UV.

The power & speed are adjustable. Result:

Sharper image

Steeper sholders

Less handling

HD standard

Stork DLX:

High power 3 diode system for LAM’s. Lifetime ~10.000 hours; then diode-change.

In case of diode-failure; machine can continue with lower productivity

Customer can switch between 2540 and 4000 dpi

Comparing results

CTP Competion vs. DLX

Dry offset plate production

Traditional CTP (Computer to Plate) workflow:

Computer

(designing)

RIP Exposing

unit

Washing

unit Drying unit

Decorator

CTP unit

File Plates

Plate Plates Plates File

A file (design) is

send to a RIP

(Raster Image

Processor) to be

converted into a

rasterized file.

The rasterized file

is engraved into a

black layer (which

is on top of the

monomer plate.

The non-engraved

(black) layer will

block the UV.

The UV turns the

monomer into

polymer (where

there is no black

layer). As there is

no transparent

film (CTF), there

is less diffusion of

light.

The monomer is

washed away by

water. After the

washing, only the

polymer plates is

left over.

After drying the

plate, it is ready

for printing.

Dry offset plate production

Stork DLX (CTP (Computer to Plate)) workflow: Computer

(designing)

RIP Washing

unit Drying unit

Decorator

Stork DLX unit

File Plates

Plates Plates

The Stork DLE unit has a build in RIP system. The system

does the imaging of the black mask as well as the exposing in

one process. This does not only saves time and process steps:

Due to its UV-exposing ring, the UV-exposing is done steeper

as with normal CTP. This allows even less dotgain and better

definition in print as with normal CTP.

The monomer

is washed

away by water.

After the

washing, only

the polymer

plates is left

over.

After drying the

plate, it is

ready for

printing.

Comparing results

CTF Due to diffusion of light (in transparent part of the film + due to exposing), the printing elements have a wide base. Reversed elements intent to clog up. In print heavy beaded edges appear. Due to dotgain, the smallest dot on the plate (1%) show in pr int a minimum of 12%.

CTP Due to diffusion of light (due to exposing), the printing elements have still a wide base (less as CTF) Reversed elements intent to clog up. In print beaded edges appear. In print beaded edges appear. Due to dotgain, the smallest dot on the plate (1%) show in print a minimum of 8%.

DLX Only little diffusion of light ensures a stable base but, steep base. Reversed elements stay open better. In print beaded edges are, close to, not there. Due to dotgain, the smallest dot on the plate (1%) show in print a minimum of 4%.

DLE Due to no UV-exposing, the image can be shaped optimal for every customer / decorator. This way reversed elements are optimal, no beaded edges appear and dotgain can be eliminated (dots below 1% in print are standard).

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Thank you very much for your attention!