Taking time out

“Today you need a day to prepare a plate. That’s too much,” said Riccardo De Caria, president of flexo plate processing equipment specialist Degraf. “With our aim to invest in new technologies we have conducted research on the time needed to dry a plate. We are now finalizing a processor that will allow processing and washing in three or four minutes. So we will be able to prepare a plate in a time suitable for demand. Once we have finished our projects we want to produce a machine that allows a plate to be produced in 30 minutes,” he revealed.

Main focus of the company is the development of technology and flexo plate production equipment that is delivered to the market under the brand names of the major players in flexo plate supply. “DuPont, Flint (BASF), Asahi, Kodak and MacDermid, Toray and Jet are just some of our main business partners,” explained key accounts sales manager Jacques Dutard. “We develop the equipment in partnership with them.” Over 50 per cent of the company’s production is sold in this way; the remainder is marketed through distribution agents around the world. “This is why many people may not have heard of us. The new Degraf was established in 2002 and we now have over 2,000 units installed all over the world,” he boasted.

The company is structured for flexibility, he said. Degraf is headquartered in Lacchiarella, near Milan, where, in addition to the administrative and business offices, the R&D laboratory, prototype department, the logistic group (including machine and spare parts warehouse), and three production assembly units are housed. In addition, manufacturing and R&D are also situated at Degraf France and another three manufacturing companies – Effeci, DES and Wolly are located in Italy. Originally founded over 30 years ago, the company today has a turnover of over e12M.

“Although we serve all those OEMs we are also in direct contact with the end users and therefore we are able also to take that information into account in the development of our own machines,” added Jacques Dutard. The equipment developed by Degraf covers the entire production process for flexographic plates, from the 66 x 81cm format to the maximum format of 132 x 203cm. “The range encompasses all-in-one combined units, which are ideal for locations with limited space, multiprocess units, which perform exposure, drying and finishing processes in a single unit, as well as individual units for each phase in the production process,” he said. “Production involves assembly in groups of 10 or 20 machines to provide for cost savings.

“The company was the first to launch flexo plate production equipment that uses only rotating round shaped brushes. We have really believed in their importance and we have been proved right. After two years the big players agreed with us.” Recent innovations include the HTD 300 and 500 series, for plate sizes of 90 x 120cm and 132 x 203cm, which can dry plates in one third of the traditionally necessary time, claims the company. “We have an international patent on the method we use to remove the solvent in a much quicker way than before,” he revealed. Dryers of this type have already been installed in the USA.

Beta test site for Degraf is one of Italy’s leading flexo plate producers - NuMaber of Roncade, Treviso. When Converting Today visited the plant recently, Livio Simionato said: “We have the first of Degraf’s equipment. For example we have two Concept 505 DW machines. One was delivered in April and the second in early May.”

The processing unit of the Concept 505 DW (above) is designed for large format flexo plates and is dedicated to digital and analogue plates. It offers state of the art washing units for formats of 132 x 203cm. The machine has two separate tanks for the solvent. The first is dedicated to the prewashing and is used to collect the carbon containing layer residue of the digital plate. The second tank used for the washing is therefore operating with uncontaminated solvent.

The equipment features the rotating cylindrical brushes with oscillating movement in opposite directions. This movement of the brushes is claimed to reduce processing time and eliminate any kind of movement of the plate itself when in contact with the brushes. This is said to ensure a stable position of the plate, thus optimizing the mechanical action of the brushes and upping the processing speed. An integrated solvent density meter in the unit’s hydraulic circuit measures the percentage of polymer present in the washing solvent, topping it up with with fresh solvent when the values exceed those of set-up,

And the future? Jacques Dutard believes sleeve processing lines will be important. “We can produce sleeve processing lines in three parts – exposure, washing and drying. We are producing them for one of our OEM partners.

And what about CTP? Riccardo De Caria replied: “I think the traditional system will continue to exist unless a CTP system is developed that will get rid of the interim processor. There will be a solution in the end, but I don’t think we would come up with a product that would be functional. That’s why we are investing in speeding up traditional systems.”