This is the second installation of Kodak Flexcel NX platemaking system in the city after a start-up Digiflex deployed a similar system in 2015. This takes the tally of Kodak Flexcel NX installations in India to 25.

Established in 2002, Repro Poly Services has a Xeikon flexo CTP based on lams technology and Glunz & Jenson processing equipment.

Speaking to PrintWeek India, Rohit Shingala, director, Repro Poly Services, said, “We have been supplying digitally-imaged flexo plates to our customers since a long time. So, when it was time to bolster the production capacity, we decided to go wider. After scouring the market, we realised that Kodak Flexcel NX technology was best suited for the capacity and capability needs that we were looking for.”

This installation enables the firm to supply digitally-imaged flexo printing plates of various thicknesses for a variety of applications in flexo printing, for press sizes from 4-inch narrow-web presses to 60-inch wide-web presses. The largest plate size that it can produce is 42x60-inch.

Shingala said, “We are able to offer smoother, higher-density solids in a single pass and also help our customers reduce the number of colours per job for improved productivity.”

“It’s the customer demand that has prompted us to go for Kodak NX system. Today, a flexo printer is looking to accommodate as many print jobs on the press as possible without compromising on the quality. So he needs to increase press uptime, reduce makeready waste and run presses at the maximum speed. Without a flawless plate, one cannot achieve all this. This is what Kodak’s Flexcel plates promise to deliver.”

Talking about the quality quotient of flexo printing in India, Shingala said, “The flexo platemaking has seen a massive transformation over last few years. Thanks to the advancement in plate technologies alongside the improvements in inks and tapes, today, Indian flexo printers have started going beyond 150lpi and 175lpi with vignettes fading to zero.” 

The next step for Shingala is to invest in additional front-end software licences so as to respond to the clients’ needs even faster.