New Delhi-headquartered flexo pre-press and platemaking trade house Creative Graphics has invested in a complete Esko digital flexo system to enhance its digital offerings.

Creative Graphics, which has plants in Baddi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai, recently moved to a new 20,000 sqft headquarters in Noida, New Delhi.

The company has now installed a full range of Esko equipment and software to increase capacity, quality and efficiency of plate production at the new facility. The set-up includes an Esko CDI Crystal 5080 flexo plate imager, a new processing line and a Kongsberg X22 cutting table – all powered by the Esko Digital Flexo Suite for automatic flexo plate cutting.

Deepanshu Goel, managing director at Creative Graphics, said, “The software suite from Esko has allowed us to fully automate the plate cutting process, significantly reducing plate waste and removing the need for manual intervention, which can lead to further errors.”

With its Optics 100v2 technology, the CDI Crystal 5080 images flexo plates at up to 10 sqm an hour, while the 50x80-inch size increases efficiency and productivity at the new Noida plant, with plate suppliers able to mount several jobs at once. The Digital Flexo Suite, integrated with the Esko workflow software that the company already has, generates the file cutting path on the new Kongsberg X22 cutting table Creative Graphics also commissioned.

“It not only cuts a large flexo plate into slugs in five minutes, but also produces bevelled edges on flexo plates," said Goel. “The accuracy and finish of the automated cutting at an angle mean that printers benefit in mounting plates with a smooth wraparound joint. These bevelled edges at 45-degree angles allow presses to run at higher speeds and for the plates to run longer with less stress on the entire system. The bevelled edges of flexo plates are a great enhancement for flexo printers and operators, and we’re delighted to be able to supply them with the benefits of this technology.”

Creative Graphics is one of the long standing customers of Esko, having purchased its first equipment from the latter in 2010. “Our experience with Esko over the years has been phenomenal. We have used almost every software solution offered by the company in the flexo space and have always benefited," Goel added.

“Central impression wide-web flexography is growing in the flexible packaging segment in a country previously dominated by rotogravure and we are seeing many applications such as diapers, milk pouches, and sanitary napkins shifting to flexo. India is full of opportunities and with constant innovation I believe that flexography has a bright future in India,” he suggested.

Karan Talwar, director of sales, south Asia at Esko, said he was delighted to continue the Esko relationship with Creative Graphics through this latest installation.

“Creative Graphics has always remained ahead of the curve with the early adoption of the best and latest technology to serve its customers better,” he said. “It uses our high-end prepress software and the CDI Spark from Esko at their locations across India, delivering top-notch quality flexo plate service to its customers.

“The recent investment in these latest technologies has enabled Creative Graphics to improve consistency, increase quality, and integrate their processes with a high level of automation. It has always been a pleasure to partner with a forward-looking customer like Creative Graphics, and they’re the epitome of a top-quality trade house with prompt service,” Talwar concluded.