UFlex: In praise of its CI flexo mission

Abhay Avadhani (AA): In the aspect of effectiveness, inventory and cost of gravure cylinders is high as compared to flexo, and the space taken by 10-15 jobs of gravure = space taken by 100 jobs of flexo. What is your take on this?
Sanjay Sabharwal (SS): In this scenario, not only the cost, but charges of carrying inventory, space, and the turnaround time of flexo plates is much less compared to gravure cylinders.

AA: There are trade shops in every major city that have flexo expertise. To what extent has the trade shop benefitted the CI flexo movement in India?
SS: Trade shops have not only supported the adoption of flexo technologies but have also made available the required expertise at the printers’ end. With a focus on mono-layer and recycling materials, this is quite beneficial.

AA: How much process control is required to get the expected performance out of the plate even though it's integrated with CI flexo?
SS: Flexo printing is not only machine-oriented but a process-oriented technology. The silver lining is that with proper SOPs and depending on the automation levels of the machines, best results can be obtained.

AA: How can flexo become more popular with the implementation of EPR and single-use plastics ban? Is it going to become a government-favourite over gravure?
SS: The very basic principle of CI flexo by virtue of wrapping the films on drums helps in using even stretchable films with accurate printing. With more focus on EPR, this becomes a necessity. Additionally, the ability to work with different solvents including water, makes it a preferred option.

AA: What are the potential areas of automation in the pre-media segment? How can these be linked with flexo for better efficiency?
SS: Automation is the base of success for any technology, and with auto pressure settings, auto registrations, auto cleaning, and staggered plate mounting, the best results are obtained.

AA: How is flexo competing with gravure on things like speed to market, sustainability?
SS: As far as speed is concerned, the cost of inherent features like a doctor chamber blade, CI flexo can work at much higher speeds with lesser waste. In other words, quick changeover and high speeds help in getting better output and better uptime of the equipment.

AA: Converters believe that the finer the line screen, the better the image. In order to achieve high LPI, the press speed can be reduced, and does that not lead to a drop in efficiency?
SS: With the integration of new technologies and the possibility of lesser bouncing, better images at reasonable speeds are possible.