DuPont Advanced Printing Digital Imaging of DuPont™ Cyrel® Flexo Plates

In this video we provide a step by step overview to perform the digital imaging process for your DuPont™ Cyrel® Flexo Plate.

To learn more about Cyrel® Flexographic Platemaking Systems visit us at: http://cyrel.com

Artistri® digital inks at: http://artistri.dupont.com

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Video Transcript:

During the prepress stage, it’s important to develop your own system of checks to make sure all jobs are ripped and output correctly based on your specific needs and workflow. Be sure that the proper line screen, screen angles, resolution, and screenings are applied to the job. Also check that all marks needed for mounting and printing were output with the file. The correct minimum dot bump and dot gain curve for the job is determined during the plate and press optimization stage. Some form of a QC target should be included on each plate that is imaged. If room allows, the QC target should be imaged on both sides of the plate to ensure quality throughout. Decide if you want to use the DuPont Cyrel QC Strip, the DFTA CtP target, or a custom target optimized for your needs. At a minimum, the plate should contain a solid, a 50% midtone dot and your minimum highlight dot to determine if your dots will be held on the plate. Other important elements that can be included are minimum text and minimum line elements, a more detailed tint scale or gray level dot fail scale, as well as any solid screening or highlight screening that your jobs may use. After removing the raw plate sheet from the woody or box, inspect the surface to make sure there are no apparent creases, cracks or dents on the material. This could later affect the imaging quality or cause low spots on the finished plate. After the bulbs have warmed up, place the plate with the shiny polyester backing facing the exposure lamps. Be sure not to kink or crease the plate, and remove any debris that may still be residing on the plate. The back exposure is used to set the floor height and the relief of your plate. The required back exposure time will vary between plate types and can change slightly between plate batches and overtime due to changes in lamp intensities. A back-exposure step test should be performed with each new plate batch and any time after lamps have been changed to ensure correct back exposure times are being used. Place the plate face up on the imager and remove the cover sheet in one smooth motion. When loading the plate into the imager handle the edges of the plate to avoid touching the soon to be imaged area. This will help prevent scratches in the lams layer and fingerprints that could affect imaging. You also need to make sure the plate loads into the imager without any bubbles on the drum. Any raised area will not image properly. If bubbles occur reload the plate until the issue is resolved. It’s important to create a strategy to be sure that your imager is in focus and that the laser is set to the required power. Focus searches and stain tests are covered in subsequent videos. However, we recommend performing focus searches and stain tests regularly to avoid your plates becoming out of specification. Once the imaging has been completed, remove the plate from the imager, again be conscious of not touching the imaged area. Place the plate on the exposure bed and if needed use a can of air to blow off any dust or debris on the face of the plate. Expose the plate with the optimized time determined with a main exposure step test which is covered in another video. Both the main exposure and back exposure times are related to the lamp UVA output. It is important to check this output occasionally to make sure there are no lamps out, or lamps that have become too weak and require a change. We recommend checking your lamps monthly and keep a log of the results.