As all my colleagues in the Marketing Communications group of EAMER, I gave a hand for the preparation and organization of the truck tour. I was thus very happy to have the opportunity to see it "life" in Ratingen where the truck made its first stop in Germany at a customer site, DocuPoint Rhein-Ruhr GmbH.

The day started with some generic presentations of the products and solutions offered by Kodak. These served as an introduction for the afternoon sessions, visit of the printer facilities and unforgettable tour in the truck.



All visitors could spend some time at the Kodak NexPress 2100 Plus Digital Color Production Press. They could see it running and get a flavour of its capabilities. Although I've seen it already several times in action, I still take any chance to see the sheets going in and around when the press is opened.

In the truck, many stopped at the digital print bar where they could "feel the difference" with the Kodak NexPress Dimensional printing samples. It clearly showed their interest in this new application that can give finished printed jobs a unique appearance.




Customers and prospects could get the latest information in whatever technology was of interest for them, be it the latest APEX system, the Magnus 4up, the Workflows or Kodak NexPress M700. The Kodak staff was there to help and make sure a personalized attention was given to each of them.

Still many destinations to go in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France, so still plenty of opportunities for you to go and visit it. I can tell you, it's worth the trip.
Tschüss!

After reading Esko's "revolutionary" press release dated March 25 we did a fair bit of head scratching, and while it is not our normal style to comment on our competitors' press releases, we just had to respond with a couple of simple questions. So what is really new, and how can something that is not new be revolutionary?

So how is 4000dpi laser imaging and hybrid screening revolutionary for flexo? Hybrid screening has been in use for many years and there are lasers that are used for imaging flexo at 9600 and 12400 dpi.

Matching offset with flexo. Well that's nothing new either. The Kodak Flexcel NX System has been doing that for the last 18 months with a 2400dpi Squarespot imaging device. It achieves 1:1 image transfer from the digital file to the plate from 10 microns up to 300lpi using AM, hybrid and FM screening, the same as they use in offset.





And about square pixels in the data file and a round laser beam, even John's three year old Lilly knows that the round block does not fit properly in the square hole. This means that a 1:1 digital pixel to dot on plate can never be achieved with a round laser beam.

Irrespective of this "revolution" in resolution and screening technology (which as we said before is really nothing new) the fact that it is applied to traditional digital black mask flexo plates still remains, resulting in oxygen inhibition and rounded bullet shaped dots. These rounded bullet shaped dots are clearly accepted by some of the statements in the press release as causing variation in the press room, delays in press set up, reduced plate life and production inconsistency. This means that the plate is a major cause for variation in existing digital black mask flexo plate systems (here at Kodak we have been saying that for more than a year). The new imaging and screening does not change the profile of the printing dots, so how can it significantly affect their performance on press? High resolution and hybrid screening can certainly help your highlight and fine line performance; we have technology to do this too. Keeping the rounded dots there and keeping them consistent in real world production is the challenge, and only a flat top dot can enable the stability and wide impression latitude that we all desire for true consistency - it is simple physics 101!



Lilly also loves to draw with an ultrafine pencil, which is comparable to small dots, but even Lilly knows that coloring in the shapes in her coloring book takes a long time with such a fine pencil. It is just lucky that as a Flexo industry we don't need to do large solid areas on our plates, otherwise that could slow imaging down greatly.

ESKO claims that more than 90% of all digital flexo plates and sleeves are imaged on CDI imagers. We know this is not true. Kodak is a major supplier of flexo imaging devices and unless none of our customers are actually using their Thermoflex and Trendsetter NX devices to image flexo plates, then the statement must be false. I have actually visited and seen them working in trade shops and printers all around the world. When you see clearly overstated claims like this in a press release it makes you start to question all of the other claims.

Their sustainability statements are a little questionable too. Once again others seem to be hung up primarily in the solvent vs thermal debate instead of looking at the big picture, where industry data indicates that the greatest environmental impact that can be affected by flexo plate choice is in print production. So it's clear that the flexo plate should be chosen to reduce the actual number of plates used, optimize productivity and minimize waste in the pressroom.

Esko's statements throughout the press release indicate that the current digital black mask flexo plate system has a whole series of issues that need addressing - issues that have a serious effect on production performance, resulting in higher levels of waste. It's hard to see how just smoothing the dot edge of a round top dot will have the significant effect that they claim in all but the exceptional cases.

Wide impression latitude, significantly extended plate life and consistency are key parameters in minimizing this environmental impact. Sort these issues out and you really start to see the environmental benefits. The improved predictability, reliability and consistency that Kodak's plates deliver, with their 1:1 image reproduction and flat top dots, enable printers to achieve significantly improved waste reduction in production.

The Flexcel NX plate system was built for superior press performance, addressing many of the significant weaknesses of traditional digital flexo. The inherent weaknesses of digital flexo just can not be overcome with 4000 dpi imaging and hybrid screening alone, although they can do a nice job of masking some of the issues!

At best Esko's step forward is evolutionary for them..... it's certainly not revolutionary for flexo!

This post was co-written by Emma Schlotthauer, Global Current Marketing for Flexo at Eastman Kodak.

Should the press "match" the proof? Or should the proof "match" the press? There is a great deal of confusion among print suppliers, buyers, consultants, and even some vendors on this important question.

The two main strategies

There are two main print production strategies the printer can adopt: targeting an industry defined specification for presswork and/or targeting a shop-specific specification. Either strategy will impact everyone in the print production process so it is critical that the decision is based on a complete understanding of the consequences. Once the business decision is made, presswork and proofing can be brought into alignment so that color expectations can be effectively set and communicated.

Strategy One: Targeting an Industry Defined Specification - the press aligns to the proof

Ideally, printers who do not control 100% of the digital files entering their pressroom would target an industry-defined specification as a way of bringing some degree of order to the various inputs that they may receive. In this case the proof is the target and the presswork is brought into alignment with it. This strategy is most appropriate in a distributed printing environment where prepress and scans from a variety of sources must conform to a common print characteristic. Examples are magazine and newspaper advertising or brochures that will be printed at a variety of locations.

This strategy enables prepress tradeshops and production graphic designers to prepare image scans and digital artwork appropriately even when they do not know which printer will be doing the final presswork.

Aligning the press to the proof is embodied in the traditional, analog film-based, laminate proofing systems with the most popular implementation for offset printing being SWOP. In this production workflow print purchasers produce one set of digital files and proofs, and send the set to the various print locations. The proofs, using current digital halftone as well as inkjet proofers, are made in a standardized manner according to the registered SWOP application data sheets (ADS) to ensure conformance to the SWOP specification. It is then the printer's responsibility to align their presswork, by whatever means are appropriate, to the supplied SWOP proof.

Strategy Two: Proofing to a Shop-Specific Presswork Target - the proof aligns to the press

With this strategy, the presswork color is the target and the proof is aligned to it. This strategy would most commonly be used in a non-distributed printing environment where prepress and scans are completely controlled by the printer or where the printer has a close relationship with the print specifier. Examples include brochures, collateral materials, annual reports, corporate brochures, art reproduction, and so on. This strategy is often used by printers wishing to differentiate their presswork from their competition. In this case print purchasers don't care about aligned color across presswork at multiple locations but instead are concerned that their particular project looks as good as possible in print. The presswork is unique — either to the individual print shop or even to a specific press in the shop. The printer may print with higher ink densities, higher contrast, finer halftone screens, or perhaps, custom ink sets, depending on their customer's specific needs. This strategy may also mean that prepress and separations are customized in order to take the unique press condition into account.

A Third Strategy Option: Multiple Targets

Just as one size does not fit all - one print characteristic may not suit all. In today's highly competitive print environment, it can make competitive sense for a print shop to leverage the flexibility of digital proofing and plating systems to offer multiple print characteristics to their print buying customers.

Effectively they would select/offer the color flow that is most appropriate for the needs of their customers - presswork aligned to an industry-defined specification proof for certain projects. Proofing aligned to a unique shop-specific print characteristic for others. This involves greater complexity in workflow, however, once set up can provide the printer with tremendous flexibility in differentiating themselves and better meeting their customer's expectations and needs in print.