Liquid photopolymer or digital strong plates: what are the most significant differences and why going digital is now worthwhile!

Liquid photopolymer plates or digital plates? With the ever changing technology in the production of plates for flexible packaging and labels printing, flexo industry offers more and more varied solutions. A comparison between the two main available materials for the production of plates can’t be helped.

Liquid photopolymer plates and their features.

Liquid photopolymer plates were employed exclusively for printing on corrugated carton and are now almost completely being replaced by the engraved flexo plates. These offer improved results as to:

• versatility.
• quality in the reproduction of the printing elements.

Liquid photopolymer process.

These plates are produced by placing the film negatives onto the exposure unit and covering them with a transparent sheet. A roller evenly and uniformly spreads a liquid photopolymeric resin on top of the transparent cover sheet. The liquid photopolymer is enhanced by exposing the base side of the plate to ultraviolet light, hardening the photopolymer on the reverse side of the plate. Increasing or decreasing the exposure time varies the depth of penetration into the photopolymer of the radiation which varies the ultimate relief height of the plate. A second exposure to UV light from below (i.e., through the negative) hardens the photopolymer in the image areas of the plate. The non-image areas are left unexposed, soft and soluble. The exposed plate is removed from the exposure unit, and the cover film peeled from the exposed plate surface. The exposed plate is then sent to a washout unit which removes the unhardened photopolymer from the plate surface, leaving the exposed image areas in relief.

Digital plates and their features.

The imaging process of the photopolymeric digital plate starts with the CTP.

• A laser ablates the surface transferring texts and images from the PC directly to the digital plate.
• The plate is then exposed to the high intensity UV lights.
• This process enables the polimerisation of the engraved areas.
• After exposure, the following steps include first the automated washout, then drying and finishing of the plate under special UV lamps to restore its original rigidity and allow its use or printing.

Flexo digital plates are versatile and are available in many different versions to meet any specific market need. Digital plates can be suitable for water-based, solvent-based and UV inks or electron beam and offer optimum results to print on paper and paperboard, plastic film, aluminium and adhesive paper, carton, tissue. Find what is the most suitable plate for your print application.

PRO TIP

Digital photopolymer plates are the industrial benchmark for high quality flexo printing and allow a huge production capacity both for short and long print runs.

Advances in technology of digital plates.

These are the points to consider when selecting the right type of plate for a flexo print application:

• ink
• Substrate
• Quality
• Environment
• Production time and costs

Today, digital plates are the most suitable solution for flexo printing on any substrate and with any ink. As digital plates allow a huge potential in technology advances, many companies are steering their business to this product, optimising production time and costs and reducing their environmental footprint.

Try now the digital plate and become a customer of Flexo 24: order now your printing plates!

After COVID-19 many enterprises have been carrying on with their business. Also the prestigious Food Match award of the FOOD magazine directed by Maria Cristina Alfieri for the best products from the food&beverage chain was held.

After COVID-19 recovery is slow but the food industry chain is already anticipating the needs of the new consumer, the “new normal”. As we already pointed out in our article about the sustainable packaging consumers today are more conscious and attentive to their purchase.

“… consumers evolved; they are more conscious and wish to create a connection with the producer for healthy, safe, traceable and sustainable products. The products that were awarded with the “Best Food Product 2020” this year are the living proof that food&beverage companies can listen to the consumer’s voice and offer products that can meet the customer’s needs”

(Maria Cristina Alfieri, director of FOOD).

Consumers have a great responsibility to packaging. Here are the winners of the award “Best Food Product” 2020 edition.

The competition was joined by 160 products from 101 companies and were classified into 14 categories, plus 4 special classes. After a selection, the first 5 brands for each category were analysed through a direct survey among consumers.

"Belle Buone Fette Spesse" - Galbusera Spa.

This product aims to combine the features that the final consumer looks for:

• flavour of blackcurrant, figs and hazelnuts,
• benefit of seeds.

The packaging enhances the ideal time for usage of the product evoking old times through the image of traditional patterns on the background.

"Yoga, il Centrifugato" - Conserve Italia Sca.

The non-alcoholic drink without added sugar from fruit, vegetable and turmeric is the new product from Yoga, a brand that is always careful with the nutritional values offered to consumers. This product meets the need of some healthy features like:

• natural ingredients,
• quality, showing the percentage of each ingredient,

everything is enhanced by the clear glass bottle showing the product.

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"Gran Tenerone sliced Prosciutto Cotto" - Grandi Salumifici Italiani Spa.

GRAN TENERONE Casa Modena stands out for its unique taste and because it melts in your mouth. The transparent tray shows the product and adds a sustainability value as it is made of recyclable paper.

"Cantabrian Sea anchovy fresh fillets" - Rizzoli Emanuelli Spa.

The Cantabrian Sea fresh anchovies are fished in northern Spain where the deep and cold water rich in oxygen and plankton makes the fish flesh tender and tasty. Thanks to their low saline content, the fresh anchovies from Rizzoli are especially for connoisseurs. The packaging is entirely transparent to boost the features of the product.

"Pan di Stelle cream" - Barilla G. & R. Fratelli Spa.

When the sweet cocoa cream meets with hazelnuts and crumbles from the Pan di Stelle cookies. This cream made the undisputed position of its fierce competitor Nutella falter among the shelves of supermarkets.

"Yogurt Yomo Bistrato" - Granarolo Spa.

Yomo Bistrato is the new yogurt-based sorbet served in an elegant glass 150g pot. It is available in three tasty flavours:

• citrus with marmalade and orange peel;
• blackcurrant with strawberry chunks;
• coffee and chocolate with cocoa seed crumbles.

The consumer’s awareness of such refined taste is possible through glass only. The graphic design of this layout the division between the yogurt and the flavors was selected as an element to enhance.

PRO TIP

The award "Best Food Product 2020" was established by the FOOD magazine, edited by the Gruppo Food, an Italian editor publishing in various fields: from B2B, publishing, marketing & promotion. All these are an integrated service for the food industry. FOOD has been a reference magazine for the food&beverage field for more than 25 years. The award’s last edition was held as an online event due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

"Pistachio-flavour Tartufo di Pizzo" - Calippo Gelateria Srl.

A white chocolate and pistachio ice cream prepared with Italian fresh milk and pistachios without preservatives and colorants hides the intense taste of a pistachio melting heart. All the features are enhanced by the packaging layout.

"Pizza Line Organic Flour" - Molino Vigevano 1936 Srl.

Crusty Pizza unrefined flour is made with organic soft wheat. It is really easy to use and it’s the best option for preparing pizza. Its packaging conveys and present the perfect usage.

"Farchioni’s Family Collection" - Farchioni olii Spa.

From classic olive oils Farchioni and Casolare, to D.O.P. products and through organic and seasoned olive oils, Farchioni’s long experience creates an high-quality range of products for all tastes. This careful research is fully represented by the new labels design.

"Dimmidisì fresh soup Gusto d’Oriente" - La Linea Verde Soc.Agricola Spa.

The brand-new and original selection Gusto d’Oriente is conceived for consumers who want to be citizen of the world, who think beyond borders and those who are open to new food experiences.

"Le Stagioni d'Italia Senatore Cappelli Pasta" - B.F. Agro-Industriale Spa.

This pasta uses Senatore Cappelli durum wheat, which is an ancient wheat-quality of Italian tradition. Its packaging is outlined to convey those values which consumers look for:

• respect for traditional process,
• highly-digestible products.

"Mamma Emma potato gnocchi" - Master Srl.

Mamma Emma’s artisanal potato gnocchi still preserve the unique softness of homemade gnocchi. They can enhance every taste and recipe as they are made of:

• steamed jacked potatoes,
• soft wheat flour type “0”,
• eggs and salt.

The packaging conveys authenticity and respect of tradition through a careful choice of colours and a paper with a rough texture.

"I Gialli di Agromonte" - Rosso Ciliegino Soc.Agricola Srl.

This tomato sauce is made of one of the sweetest type of yellow cherry tomatoes and gives a touch of class to all recipes – also the easy and fast ones. Yellow cherry tomatoes are naturally grown in greenhouses, picked up manually and then processed with traditional processes, which enhance authenticity and simplicity. Packaging design is conceived to enhance the product and its colour through the glass.

"Parmesan Plumcake" - Parmareggio Spa.

The union of Parmareggio’s expertise and the experience of MD. Giorgio Donegani, Food Science and Human Nutrition specialist, started the project “L’ABC della merenda”, a range of healthy snacks. The packaging becomes informative because it has to conveys information about healthy food. A handy packaging for a healthy, tasty and nearby snack.

"Bonomelli Infusi Speziali" - Bonomelli Srl.

A special spice blend inspired to Africa and its fragrances. The taste of rooibos blends with vanilla’s natural sweetness, to charm the consumer with this delicious amber herbal tea. The packaging remarks and conveys these features.

"Le Naturelle Deluxe" - Eurovo Srl.

Eurovo presents a new product – a special line of natural-coloured eggs. The packaging is clearly intended to encrease and highlits the originality of this product. Four different chicken breeds for four different egg-types:

• Gold, for a snow-white egg
• Blue, for eggs of a soft green and blue;
• Red, for pink eggs;
• Dark, for eggs with a chocolate-looking eggshell.

"La Montanara Oro Butter" with compostable packaging - Dalla Torre Dorotea Srl.

Centrifuged butter from fresh milk and cream – soft and fragrant, for all uses. Wrapped up with its package, 100% eco-friendly as it is totally compostable. A perfect model for sustainable packaging, a topic we discussed in this article: Sustaibile Packaging: reality for all companies!

"Loriana Piadina Legumi" - Deco Industrie Scpa.

Loriana Piadina Legumi is the latest product presented by Deco Industrie: an exclusive recipe with tasty benefits. As savoury as a traditional piadina, but lighter, softer and more fragrant.

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Next packaging design means understanding the consumer market expectations. Here are the results that will guide the designer's choices to sell goods to the new normal Italian consumers.

Flexo 24 is a smart tool for any flexographic professional, even for the most skilled, that will manage the 1-bit tiff files, read this article. Our service helps graphic operators, designers or pre-press operators to supply plates for the best flexo print. But what do they need to engineer the most suitable packaging?

The 2020 consumer’s market is evolving.

In association with the consulting company Nomisma, we present a report from the results collected from the Observatory for the Packaging Consumer’s market through the survey conducted among over 1,000 Italian sales managers.

The results involve the different relations between the consumers and the packaging that they buy. These relations influence the designer’s choices for the consumer’s Italian market goods that will be shortly displayed on the shelves with a next packaging.

What do consumers look for in 2021?

Their need can be summed up with “sustainable packaging”. The consumption of packed food products has been growing since the first lockdown. Food for provisions increased in the consumer’s market, raising the request of packed products by over 5% than the previous year.

The Istituto Italiano Imballaggio (Italian institute for packaging) also reveals that in 2020 the Italian market stood out for its increase in the turnover (+3%) and in production in terms of tons.

Who are the end consumers and what are their tastes in this market full of packaging?

Both consumers and their behavior in buying have been changing during the pandemic.

Consumers’ inclination in giving a higher value to sustainable products is a message that all the businesses involved in the packaging supply chain must take into account. These companies will also have economic benefits from their sustainability-oriented strategies, from the introduction of the next packaging.

The Italian website “Il fatto alimentare” collected the results from the consumers’ behavior as to labels.

During the last 12 months, there was an increase in the sales of products displaying on their labels low- or no-sugars. Products with other indications in the ingredient list like the reduced content of saturated fats and hydrogenated fats recorded a negative trend.

The first eco-friendly material for packaging comes from Italy: it’s the first biodegradable film.

The first completely biodegradable cling film is called “Leaf” and can be disposed of in the organic waste, finally including a plastic wrapping into a circular economy process.

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The survey reveals the features of the next packaging for the consumers.

The results help to drive the choices in designing and draw attention to the fact that consumers did not shift their focus from their care for the environment even during the sanitary emergency:

And more:

• In Italy one in 5 chooses sellers on the basis of products’ sustainability.
• Nearly 100% of the interviewed want to know how to recycle the packaging they are using following the instructions on the package itself, which are (almost always) missing now.
• Italians prefer paper packaging because it is perceived as a good material for decreasing environmental impact.
• Over-packaging (an additional wrapping over main package) is considered a waste.

PROTIP

The survey highlights that end users might not buy a product again if in the next 12 months a new greener packaging is not employed yet.

It means that:

• What previously described are the new guidelines for the design of next packagings in 2021/2022 that end users expect to find on the shelves.
• Flexo24 makes plates for packaging printing with a sustainable production process

… in the consumer’s market of packed products industry and distribution continued in their progress towards an offer of products more and more sustainable and with a greener packaging”. (Nicola De Carne, Retailer Client Business Partner, the Nielsen Group).

Most important businesses have already started the transformation towards sustainability.

Circular economy is a sought-after goal amongst main businesses in food&beverage industry, and many of them are already reducing plastic for more sustainable packaging.

Smarties, Nestlé S.A.

The results reached by Nestlé with its brand Smarties are impressive. Nestlé declared that the brand Smarties is going to use only recycled materials for the packaging of its famous chocolate confectionery.

Agnesi, Gruppo Colussi.

In Italy the Colussi Group tuned in to the sustainable drive by presenting to their end customers the Agnesi pasta with a compostable package.

The Coca-Cola Company.

A test launch on the European market is planned for the first paper bottle. It is a turning point in packaging history and European market will work as a test bench.

PepsiCo, Inc.

The producer of one of the most famous soft drinks in the world settled his goal for 2022: their bottles are going to be made from 100% recycled plastic.

Tetra Pack Campany.

Supported by the sustainability drive (which also creates new jobs), Tetrapak declares that the old operations model is now inadequate and has to be changed to back up a new relation between business and environment.

Also Flexo24 takes part to the green revolution of your business for a better environment!

It’s time to choose sustainability even for photopolymer plates’ supply chain – plates which you can use to print on any kind of substrate

Big manufacturers are keeping up!

They create new guidelines for end users’ approval of sustainable packaging and use Flexo24 services, which are a great sustainable choice because:

• We produce photopolymer plates for you decreasing material waste and wastes due to machine servicing,
• the whole Flexo24 supply chain employs renewable energy.

Start now and become a Flexo24 customer: order your own plates