Producing a print sample that impresses flexographers, satisfies a customer and wins new business.
Achieving all three in a single pressrun sounds daunting, but PPC Flexible Packaging Director of Prepress and Design Simmy Coscia and the PPC Payson, UT team did just that with its Vet IQ Skin & Coat/Calming/5-in-One Soft Chew Bags job.
The print earned Best of Show in the wide web category of the 2023 FTA Excellence in Flexography Awards, put a smile on the face of a long-standing customer and caught the attention of new customers.
Here, Coscia discusses what went into printing the award-winning job, some of the specific tools used and how it feels to be a Best of Show recipient.
FLEXO Magazine: How did this job begin? What were the concerns and demands the customer brought to you?
Simmy Coscia: We have had this customer for years. They expected the best—high quality and perfection.
FLEXO: In evaluating the job, what did you identify as potential obstacles or difficulties?
Coscia: We needed to use 300 linescreen for that level of perfection the customer expects. Each artwork has different tones and different layouts. They all use very small reverse text on four colors. They are laid out nicely, but absolutely a challenge to print nicely and smoothly.
FLEXO: How did your press operators go about executing the job and meeting the customer’s requirements?
Coscia: My press operator needed to be extremely careful, paying attention to detail. The ink flow could not be too much; just a kiss touch. The pressure on the press needed to be right on, and the print needed to be clear and sharp.
FLEXO: Talk about some of the significant technologies used in printing the job: What press was used? What plates and imaging equipment were used? What inks and substrates were used? What screening technology was used? Were any special effects or embellishments added? How did you apply targets and tolerances to the job? Did you run to FIRST specifications?
Coscia: A brief rundown of what was utilized includes:
- We bought the press from Paper Converting Machine Co (PCMC)—a Fusion gearless flexographic 10-color press
- The plate system, plates and imaging are from Miraclon—the Ultra NX Plate System with water plate
- The ink is from INX International Ink Co (Synergy), and the substrate is BOPP
- The screening technology is from Eastman Kodak—Prinergy
- We didn’t add any special effects or embellishments
- We did use a color bar with targets and did our measurements from there
- Yes, the FIRST specification is our basic training, plus our own special instructions
FLEXO: Were any automated workflow systems utilized to facilitate communication between prepress and press?
Coscia: We used Eastman Kodak workflow to automate all the prepress files to the plate.
FLEXO: Did you use any job management software or color management software?
Coscia: We used Eastman Kodak’s Colorflow for the color management.
FLEXO: Running the actual job: What speed did you run the press at? Were there any notable aspects of makeready and setup?
Coscia: We ran this job at 700 fpm, like our normal job. We didn’t need to have any special settings.
FLEXO: Judges of the FTA Excellence in Flexography Awards competition singled out the print’s “great tonality and saturation” as well as “the added complexity of the combo.” How did your team feel about the final product? What about its color and consistency? And how about its future repeatability and predictability?
Coscia: We were amazed at how smoothly it was printed. The color turned out perfect, and the color consistency is very good. And if the press is set up correctly, we can reproduce this job pretty easily.
FLEXO: What was the customer’s reaction to seeing the printed job?
Coscia: The customer was very surprised that we could produce a perfect print very quickly.
FLEXO: How can recognition in the FTA Excellence in Flexography Awards help to win new business?
Coscia: Oh, it’s great! We can be proud. It allows us to show customers that we are the best in the industry. It feels good that we won over our competitors. And more new business is coming our way. Some customers even say, PPC equals quality!