The U.K.'s Flexo 2001 trade fair closed its doors March 1 after three days of successful business, says organizer Reed Exhibitions. More than 3,200 flexographic-printing technology buyers and specifiers from 49 countries attended, including visitors from South America, South Africa and Eastern Europe.

Business transactions began with Lawson Mardon's Salterbeck, England, flex-pack converting plant placing an order with Alphasonics within two hours of the show opening. Focus Labels closed a deal with Flexiprint for a Webflex modular inline press.

ARC Intl. purchased an Applied Laser Engineering Meridian Atlas 7-m laser-engraving system for anilox-roll production. Proact Ancillary Equipment received an order for an Ameco-Raster Hawk 400 platemounter with Dotlok (see below) from Kingfisher Labels, and Nilpeter sold a large combination press to BP Labels.

The Dotlok system on the Hawk 400 platemounter is said to provide greater accuracy while eliminating the need for pin-register systems and proofing used to validate the accuracy of mounting register. The patented process is based around a series of discs held on a sleeve. Mounting of a plate is controlled at six individual microdot points instead of the usual two. "The positions of the six microdots on each plate are mechanically transferred from the first cylinder to the subsequent cylinders," says Proact marketing director Peter Hughes. "This is achieved by transferring the sleeve holding the discs to the second cylinder and so on, so that all six dots on each plate can be set to absolute register."

Each individual plate around the cylinder is allocated a primary disc. Once the plate has been mounted, the centre dots are set to register on the monitors, the plunger engaged in the V on the disc and the disc locked up. There are also two secondary discs which are used in the same way to lock in the position of the dots on the leading and trailing edges of each plate.

DuPont Cyrel®'s FAST platemaking system made its European debut. Commercial plates are now being produced by Ditone Labels of Kimbolton, U.K. The thermal-process method, which requires no drying, reportedly makes flexo plates up to 37x47 in. in only 15 mins.

Global Graphic's Profile 2530 was another new platemaking launch at Flexo 2001. It operates on a batch processing principle in which plates are rapidly taken into the front of the unit, washed, then ejected back out the front. The arrangement is said to provide rapid processing in a very compact space.

Flexotecnica premiered its first flexo carton press. "The first Ekaton CI carton press to be produced was shipped at the end of December to Southern Champion Trays in Chattanooga to run on 600-gsm paperboard," reports managing director Silvana Canette. The six-color CI-flexo press plus a downstream stack varnish unit has a print width of 1,200-mm. "Before it went to the States, we built a temporary shaftless unwind and rewind to show potential customers how it would run on liquid-carton packaging material," she adds.

CreoScitex showed two solutions from its digital flexo platesetter family: the ThermoFlex 5280 for wide flexo presses and the ThermoFlex 2630. Reportedly the first dedicated, digital prepress solution for flexo-label converters, the 2630 is said to enhance flexo quality by eliminating film contact during platemaking and features the same 8330-nm laser thermal-imaging and external drum technology as Creo's proven platesetters for the offset market. It is available either as a standalone device open to any workflow or bundled with the Brisque Extreme Pack digital front end.

API Foils pioneered technology for stamping-foil application (without the use of etched dies) at the stand of partner Akzo Nobel Inks. Specially formulated adhesives are flexo-printed onto the substrate, which is then passed through a nip system where the foil transfers from its carrier and adheres to the adhesive. Converters benefits include improved design flexibility, lower cost and extended choice of base stock, API Foils explains.

Sistemas Inelme debuted its new automatic viscosity-control equipment. The equipment features self-cleaning and one-button operation. Options include water- or solvent-based, pH and temperature control. SI revealed that it's working closely with major press manufacturers such as Comexi and Bobst Schiavi.