(Polywest installs an additional production line to deal with the increased demand for Novotec products) In recent years, digital direct imaging flexographic technology has developed rapidly. On the one hand, due to the development of new laser technology, the accuracy of direct platemaking has been continuously improved, and Greatly shortened the plate-making time; on the other hand, due to the appearance and application of many new materials (such as Polywest's Novotec digital imaging materials), it also promoted the further improvement of the plate-making process and quality level. Previously (precisely, it should be before DRUPA 2000), Polywest only produced and sold Novotec sleeves, but since DRUPA 2000, it has also launched the Novotec plate. Since June 2000, Polywest has installed a newly developed Novotec sleeve production line, which will inject new vitality and vitality into direct imaging technology. Polywest has successfully printed the first print with the Novotec sleeve in 1996, but there are still many difficulties to overcome before the Novotec sleeve is put into series production. According to Heinz Lorig, head of Polywest, no matter how the printing company conducts multi-faceted tests on new materials, the resulting prints are all exquisite, and the quality and effect achieved are unprecedented in flexo printing. The Novotec direct imaging sleeve was originally developed for UV ink printing and is now mainly used for the printing of water-based inks. As for the printing of solvent-based inks, it has certain limitations. If you plan to use water-based inks for printing with Novotec sleeves, Polywest recommends that printers work closely with ink manufacturers and plate makers to work together to get the best prints. In addition, there is a good way, that is, the first test in many ways, and then proceed to mass production. In a variety of flexographic materials, the Novotec family of products stands out for its superior performance and quality, and now has occupied a certain market share in many fields. First, the use of new technologies for large-scale production Since the world's first set of laser engraved sleeve equipment was installed and put into operation in 1997, the demand for Novotec sleeves has grown rapidly. As a result, the production technology of Novotec sleeves continues to grow. Improve. With the increasing demand of the market, when the production capacity of the current production line cannot meet the market demand, it is necessary to significantly increase the production capacity and expand the production scale. Polywest and a professional machinery manufacturing company in Australia jointly developed an efficient production line. The production line started operation in Ahawx in June 2000. The production line is a professionally designed and modernized production line with a fairly high degree of automation. Compared with the previous production line, the production line can greatly increase production efficiency, while greatly reducing production costs. Due to the substantial reduction in production costs, it will certainly play an important role in the promotion and application of direct imaging materials. Heinz Lorig said: "The large-scale production has led to a significant reduction in Novotec's production costs, which will prompt flexo printers to make up their minds to purchase our Novotec sleeves and plates. For now, though, this flexo printer manufacturers directly The performance of imaging media and its print quality are very reliable, but they are scared off by expensive prices. If the price goes down, it may greatly promote the development of direct imaging technology.†Second, use the existing equipment to produce new products At present, people still look forward to being able to make Novotec sleeves from existing production equipment. The adaptive production of "Novotec direct imaging plate" has recently been carried out. According to Polywest, when this new product first appeared in public in DRUPA 2000, it has already attracted people's interest. Since there is now a single sheet format (previously only used for the seamless continuous printing sleeve and direct laser printing sleeve materials), Polywest believes that the use of this single-format direct imaging media is certainly It will be broader than before. The bottom layer of Novotec's direct imaging plate is a layer of PET with a total thickness of 1.14 mm, which means that the plate can also be mounted on a Softcoat surface just like on a thin plate system. In addition, this new type of plate can also use tin as the bottom layer, so that you can use magnetic cylinder printing. Magic Triangle - Cost, Production Cycle and Standardization In the past few years, due to the emergence and application of various new technologies and new developments, the flexographic printing process has undergone tremendous changes. In fact, as Heinz Lorig pointed out, there are two basic factors that are closely related to new products and new systems, and these two factors must also be taken into account in actual production. These two factors are: time and cost! The two are closely related, and to a large extent are affected by another factor. This factor is standardization. With regard to the relationship among time, cost, and standardization, polywest has spent a lot of time in the past few years researching and trying to set standards for the flexographic industry. This question was again raised at the DFTA (German Flexographic Society) Conference. As the novotec sleeve achieves a large-scale production and the production cost is greatly reduced, the customers of polywest company also enjoy the price benefits. Fourth, the standardization reduces the production cost In the flexographic printing, because the repetitive printing length of the job changes constantly, therefore, has brought the certain difficulty to the sleeve production. About 10 years ago, Polywest introduced its own sleeve products for the first time. At that time, they had to face this severe fact and test. After analyzing the first customer's different types of print jobs, Polywest found that to achieve a variety of different repeat lengths of printing, a total of six air-cushion cylinders of different diameter sizes are needed, and the production of each air-cushion cylinder requires Four rollers: one roller is used to wind and cover the sleeve; one roller is used as the coating roller to make the wall thickness of the sleeve reach the specified value; one roller performs calendering on the sleeve; another one is needed The drum installs the sleeve and performs quality control checks on the sleeve. In other words, for the first customer, 24 rollers need to be machined. The second customer also needed only six different air-cushion cylinders to be able to meet different lengths of repetitive printing, which gave a great encouragement to all the staff of polywest. In the end, it turned out that only six drums with completely different diameters were indeed required. . Over time, over the years, polywest has now had a variety of drums of different diameters and sizes. The Stork system alone, which is one of the most popular and best-selling systems on the market, requires 676 different rollers. Fifth, using system 2000 to save costs, reduce costs, and shorten the production cycle as a consumer, may be tempted by manufacturers, for example, not affected by the number of rollers, but in fact, the price of the sleeve has included a sleeve The cost of production, storage and maintenance, which means that all costs have been passed on to customers. In addition, due to large changes in size, that is to say an average of 90 drums per day, this will certainly have an impact on the production costs, but also affect the delivery time. Based on production practices, polywest finally found a solution and launched its own new system, system2000. The system is suitable for repeated printing lengths between 240 and 760 millimeters, and the maximum width can reach 1400 millimeters. Only 9 air-cushion rollers are sufficient. According to the customer's usual wall thickness, even only 5 air-cushion rollers are sufficient. It can be said that system 2000 has brought huge and unlimited business opportunities to sleeve manufacturers. Heinz Lorig said that system2000 is a good example of how to closely link time, cost, and standardization. At the same time, DRUPA 2000 also showed the importance of sleeves to the flexographic printing industry. With a sleeve, the printer can change the repeat length of the printed image, and it is also the basis for the development of direct plate or direct sleeve manufacturing technology. The most important point is that the digital platemaking process that brings great vitality and vitality to flexo printing depends on the development of sleeve technology. In the future, the production speed of the system will be determined by the technical level of the sleeve.