Revolutionizing Modern Printing with the Magic of Photopolymer Plates!

Gone are the days when rubber stamps were used in printing. The printing industry has come a long way since then! Today, we want to take you behind the scenes of a fascinating technology that’s revolutionizing the printing world: photopolymer plates.

At its core, a photopolymer is like a magical resin that dances with UV light. Imagine a material that can transform itself when exposed to ultraviolet rays – that’s exactly what we’re talking about! When UV light hits the photopolymer plate, something remarkable happens: the exposed areas harden, while the unexposed parts remain soft and can be washed away. What’s left is a raised image that’s perfect for flexographic printing, creating everything from product packaging to labels that catch your eye at the store.

Out with the Old, In with the New:

Those days are gone when printers relied on natural and synthetic rubber. Photopolymer plates have been the rockstars of flexographic printing for decades now, and they keep getting better. Think of it as the difference between your old TV and today’s 4K displays – the technology just keeps advancing!

The Three Pillars of Progress

The evolution of photopolymer technology rests on three main pillars:

Better Raw Materials: Scientists are constantly tinkering with the chemistry and physics of photopolymers, creating materials that release ink more smoothly and hold finer details than ever before.

Advanced Equipment: High-resolution lasers and refined processing methods are like the new smartphones of the printing world – they’re more powerful and precise than their predecessors.

Smarter Software: The brains behind the operation, modern software helps maximize the potential of both the materials and equipment, much like how apps help us get the most out of our devices.

The Professional Edge

But the most important thing is that while these advancements are amazing, keeping up with them is not easy. It’s technically possible, but it requires massive investments and expertise that most printing companies can’t justify.

That’s where specialized trade shops come in. They’re like the pit crews of the printing world, focusing solely on creating the perfect plates so printers can concentrate on what they do best – producing stunning final products.

Finding The One-Stop Solution

Whether you need digital or analog plates, solvent processing or thermal, high definition, or flat top screening – there’s a photopolymer plate out there that’s perfect for your project. The key is working with experts, like PlateCrafters who understand these materials inside and out.

We at PlateCrafters also offer fingerprinting services to create printing plates tailored to your press. Remember, in the world of printing, your plate is your foundation. Just like a chef needs the right ingredients, a printer needs the right plate to create magic on paper or whatever surface you’re printing on.

Elevate your Print Business with Art Services and Stamping Dies

With the growing demand and competition in the print industry, businesses are finding it difficult to
match the expectations of their customers. They are constantly looking for ways to improve their
manufacturing process. For developing high-quality premium prints, it is essential to choose the right
products and designs that align perfectly with the needs of the client.


How do art services impact manufacturing and branding?


Art services include designing, artwork setup, and preparation for printing processes. Widely used for
customization like packaging, branding, and promotional material, art services play a pivotal role in
the manufacturing and branding industry. Art services can have a great impact on the final product
and can make or break a brand’s image. Prototyping in art services enables the manufacturers to get
the sample approved from the clients, avoiding any last-moment hassle and delays.


PlateCrafters offers professional art services, with advanced technology and experienced
professionals, we deliver excellent results. With customer satisfaction as our priority, we work closely
with our clients, understanding their requirements and providing tailored solutions.


Stamping Dies:


Stamping dies are used to create designs on different kinds of materials with great precision. They
suit particularly well in the electronic, textile, and packaging industries. We at PlateCrafters bring you
high-quality durable stamping dies that allow you to deliver superb quality prints with great
efficiency. You no longer have to compromise on quality or consistency for bulk orders because of
our stamping dies.


Stamping dies seem to be one of the cost-effective areas for businesses, as the labor cost is not
involved, and they are more durable and apt for production in bulk, resulting in higher profits. They
not only increase the efficiency of printers but also enhance their creativity.


Conclusion:


If you are someone who is looking for products to improve your printing needs, then PlateCrafters is a
one-stop solution for you. With access to advanced technology and experienced professionals, we
provide creative solutions to our clients and help them deliver what they have envisioned. Having
been in the industry for more than 30 years, PlateCrafters has become a top choice in the market for
stamping dies and art services.

PLATECRAFTERS NEW HIGH RESOLUTION ESKO CDI SPARK 4260 FLEXO PLATE IMAGER DELIVERS HIGHLIGHTS ‘WE HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE’

Ghent (Belgium) – With a series of acquisitions, including Para Print, Premier Printing Plate and Art Engraving Company, PlateCrafters has installed a new Esko CDI Spark 4260 imager in their Pennsylvania headquarters facility to support additional capacity.

Colmar, PA-based PlateCrafters is a family owned business founded by C.J. Spering, in 1971. Today, the company’s three locations, managed by third-generation owner Anthony Spering, serves every industry, providing quality prepress services including flexo polymer and rubber plates, digital arts, and stamping dies. Their plates are used for everything from wide web bags, blister packaging and corrugated boxes, to high-end 200 line screen labels. Para Print, gave PlateCrafters a powerful footprint in pharmaceutical packaging, as one of only two trade shops nationally that is prepared to pass pharmaceutical quality audits. “We have grown so much with our acquisitions that we needed to invest in the latest platemaking technology to keep up with demand,” says Spering. “We also needed to offer our customers—particularly for their pharmaceutical work—a high-quality reproducible plate that could hold fine print. With the audits we handle, we can’t afford to produce a rejected plate. It was critical for us to create a perfect plate every time.”

For more than a decade PlateCrafters has used an Esko front-end workflow utilizing Automation Engine and numerous other Esko Suite components. So, an Esko CDI was one of the flexo plate imagers that PlateCrafters considered as an investment. “The CDI imager along with Esko’s reputation and knowledge of the industry was critical. We also knew it would integrate well with our current workflow system,” assessed Spering.

“From our Para Print acquisition, we were able to evaluate an older CDI and call on personnel for their opinions,” recalls Spering. “The CDI is reliable, producing the same results every time. We felt secure that, investing in a CDI, we would be able to satisfy the quality requirements of any pharmaceutical company. It was also the best solution to work with the latest DuPont plate technologies. The CDI Spark 4260 imager, with 4,000 dpi., just made the most sense.

“Agfa Graphics, our reseller, coordinated everything wonderfully, including the purchase of a new DuPont Cyrel 2000 ECLF plate exposure unit to ensure we were getting the most out of the CDI,” adds Spering.

PlateCrafters received the CDI between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. “Esko coordinated delivery and on-site technical support during that awkward week to accommodate our schedule and logistic challenges,” remembers Spering. “The CDI was up and running very quickly. Even on day one, without Esko Flexo Implementation and Quality support, we were making plates. We didn’t need to tweak much at all. The transition to the CDI has been seamless. We just flipped on the switch and didn’t look back. We started all our work on the CDI.”

PlateCrafters has been using the system for about two months. “The plate quality and the crispness of 4,000 dpi resolution—combined with the latest DuPont flat top plates—produce a dot that, when looked under a microscope, we have never seen before,” exclaims Spering. “We are holding down a .2% percent dot. While no one could print that, they are holding on our plates. We are updating our curves to hold a much smaller dot than we have held and are confident that our highlight dots are much cleaner and the drop off much better than even the excellent plates we produced in the past. Because we can also image a larger plate, we have the ability to produce more with fewer flats—which adds capacity.”

“That, plus our DuPont plate technology, offers an exceptional plate with flat-top dots and lets our customers compete with any other form of high-end printing,” adds Spering. We are still in the early stages of demonstrating to our customers what we can now provide them, but the initial responses have been ecstatic.”

“Many of our customers are flexo printers competing against gravure, offset and digital,” concludes Spering. “The Esko CDI is a great tool that meets the quality plate requirements our customers demand. In order to compete with other print processes we needed this type of equipment to offer a level of plate quality that is very difficult for any printer to produce in-house.”