Toyobo Cosmolight – A water washable plate to create a positive difference for flexo printers

Time:2018-09-10 From:

 

Flexo printers require photopolymer flexo plates that have the ability to print on many and varied types of substrates, provide optimised ink transfer, are cost efficient and reduce processing times. Although these demands may seem like a challenge, they can make a positive difference for a flexo printer.Toyobo Cosmolight is designed for such printers who focus on not only optimum print quality, but also on cost reductions and time efficiency.
 


Resistance and durability
 

Toyobo Cosmolight is not only resistant to any solvent, UV or water born inks, but also offers a durable flexo plate that provides phenomenal ink transfer, an integrated flat-top-dot, the ability to keep stable small dots on the plate and near 1:1 reproduction. Reproducing stable small dots allows the printer to print fine screens and smooth vignettes. On the other hand, the ink transfer of Toyobo Cosmolight enables an efficient ink lay down, allowing the printer to achieve great solid area densities. The ability to combine these two different requirements into one plate, empowers flexo printers to print the best quality for their customers.
 

Flexible, cost effective and productive
 

 Additionally a water washable flexo plate can be made press ready within 45 minutes which has made the Toyobo Cosmolight water washable flexo plate a very cost effective and productive option. The printers can now adapt to any last minute changes to their production schedule or even accept rush jobs which could increase reaction time and thereby increase potential sales opportunities. The downtime resulting from broken or damaged printing plates is also reduced, increasing the productivity and output of a company. This has a direct influence on the profitability and is thus creating a positive difference for the flexo printers. Sustainability, user friendliness and cost savings are some of the other benefits of Toyobo Cosmolight water washable flexo plates.
 


Toyobo: Higher performance with chemistry
 

In 1977 Toyobo was the first company to produce water washable flexo plates. R&D has always been the philosophy and backbone of Toyobo and their slogan “Ideas and Chemistry” combines ideas that drive higher performance with chemistry to create new materials. A unique chemical composition with a large rubber compound creates an optimal surface energy for the plate allowing phenomenal ink transfer. The laminated laser ablation mask (LAM) allows for an almost 1:1 reproduction and supports the generation of flat-top-dots during the subsequent plate processing steps. This allows for further process stability and controlled print results.