Since the German flexo plate manufacturer has adopted Esko’s combined flexo plate imaging and exposure solution, it reports improved quality and efficiency.
Stichnothe Druckformen GmbH was founded in 1953. Since then the company has become the leading German manufacturer of flexo printing forms thanks to its several decades of experience and state-of-the-art technology.
Approximately 25,000 m² of flexo plates are manufactured each year in three shifts on four production lines.
The company, with its headquarters near Hanover in Germany, employs 47 staff and operates in the prepress, corrugated cardboard and flexible packaging sectors.
Its customer portfolio encompasses food and non-food applications in Germany and neighboring countries, including France, Poland and the Czech Republic.
With Esko as a market leader in flexo plate exposure and imaging, choosing the CDI Crystal 5080 XPS was easy. A deciding factor was the fact that the Esko solution is an open system, which means that we are able to image a wide range of different plates.
Dennis Melching, Managing Director, Stichnothe Druckformen, Germany
“We owe our success in part to our commitment to invest in state-of-the-art technology,” explains Dennis Melching, Managing Director at Stichnothe Druckformen. “This helps us maintain low tolerances across the entire production process.”
Stichnothe aimed to further expand its production capacities and to strengthen its presence within the high-quality flexo printing segment, especially for flexible packaging.
Stichnothe Druckformen’s innovative approach and desire to be at the forefront of technology have driven the decision to invest in the new combined plate imaging and exposure concept from Esko.
The CDI Crystal 5080 XPS integrates plate imaging and plate exposure in a single process.
The CDI Crystal 5080 is a digital flexo plate imager, based on the current industry leading CDI technology. It uses high resolution fiber laser imaging to produce the perfect plate for all the flexo print applications.
The XPS Crystal 5080 combines main and back exposure with UV LEDs in a single exposure device. The constant radiation of the UV LEDs guarantees a highly consistent flexo plate.
The CDI Crystal 5080 XPS offers excellent results during plate production. The flexo plates are of superb quality and provide a good surface structure of microcells and flat dot shapes.
Stichnothe Druckformen has the freedom to use any brand of flexo plates. That way the operators can select the type of plate that perfectly suits the print application.
With the integration and automation of digital flexo plate imaging and exposure, Stichnothe Druckformen is able to:
Automate. Connect. Accelerate.
