Fingerprinting
The primary purpose of fingerprinting in Flexo is to profile print conditions with known, previously established parameters. In this article we will not discuss how measurements are taken and how they are implemented in a workflow. We then have to go deep into the technology and that is not what we are going to talk about right now. Later this year, Rudico will publish a White Paper on this.
We would like to emphasize that fingerprinting in Flexo can be more than just printing a set of full color plates. It is no longer new that a color card should be part of the test form. We use the printouts to measure a color profile so that digitally produced color proofs provide a reliable and predictable image of the final print run.
There are various color cards. With Open-Color, however, we can compose a color chart ourselves. Depending on the available space, we choose “fc-composed” colors that are characteristic of the order package of the relevant printing company. In addition, with Open-Color we can also add Pantone colors in addition to the full color colours. Here too, we can go much further than the now well-known Orange, Green and Blue (Violet) colors. The possibilities are so diverse that we would be happy to inform you further in a personal conversation.
Print Tests
When we make test prints in Flexo, in contrast to fingerprinting, we compare the differences between variable parameters. The aim of this is to improve print quality, often with the ultimate aim of approaching offset or gravure printing. Or in a pre-test stage determining the critical range of a Flexo printing plate, anilox roll, ink or substrate.
Before print tests are scheduled, we must jointly formulate the principles and objectives in concrete terms. The plan of approach then describes which parameters may contribute to the improvement. We can only objectively assess the result of the various parameters if we exchange one parameter at a time. Smartly choosing the order of varying parameters ensures that the test takes as little time as possible. Again, good preparation is half the battle. Rudico is happy to proactively help her customers by already participating in the preliminary discussions. Is your company ready for quality optimization or will old anilox rolls be replaced soon? Please contact us for a no-obligation conversation.
Report
In recent years, Rudico has developed a completely unique way of reporting. The customers who have become acquainted with it are unanimously very enthusiastic. Instead of just coming to tell you how it is, Rudico mainly helps with “looking“. How do you bring order to all those different prints? The enormous amount of information that can be found in all those prints requires structure and visualization of what we can only see through a magnifying glass. Using advanced micro photography of prints and printing plates, we all look at the same result simultaneously through a microscope on a large screen. This High-Res. micro photography, developed by Rudico, has already been crucial during analyses and decision-making in several cases.
During an after-print meeting with all the technicians involved in the test from the printing, preparation and ink kitchen, we will determine together what we actually see. Flexo is simply too complex to think that we can draw conclusions on our own. Only together do we then determine the relevant next steps. Would you also like to get acquainted with the way in which Rudico implements Pressure Testing and Fingerprinting? Then simply contact us.
