Lanškroun, CZECH REPUBLIC—As exceptional and productive flexographic printing has become, there is still plenty of opportunity for improvement, particularly with automation.

Recently, SOMA hosted about 200 industry professionals during Innovation Day 2025 at headquarters in Lanškroun, Czech Republic. The  gathering focused on presentations, live production demos, and hands-on showcases.

Visitors could see, from front to back, a fully automated workflow. Plates were automatically mounted and digitally proofed before printing. On press, those same plates were set in register and impression, automatically using Intelligent Registration Impression Setting (IRIS). This was followed by spot color matching using the new SOMA Color Intelligence to achieve color consistency. Finally, paper touch coating was applied using a SOMA IPU inline unit.

Digital proof that the job is ready

Human error can still occur during an automatic mounting process. While mistakes such as plate inversion or using the wrong plates are rare, their impact is significant. Job preparation can be interrupted, leading to considerable time loss and unnecessary cost increases.

Digital proofing elevates the mounting process to an entirely new level and provides customers with the assurance that their jobs will be prepared quickly, accurately, and without unnecessary downtime.

SOMA’s Digital Proof is a digital image created from mounted plates, comparable in quality to a visual test proof. This gives operators instant visual control over the entire job before it goes to the press, allowing them to detect potential errors. It requires no extra steps or additional operator effort. “The system operates completely automatically, and does not disrupt the smooth course of job preparation. Thus, we not only eliminate the risk of critical errors, but also shift part of the responsibility from the operator to the technology itself,” explains Lukas Skalicky, SOMA R&D Manager.

Tools that can assure spot color matching

Next on display was SOMA Color Intelligence, a complete ecosystem for color control to deliver maximum color consistency directly on press.

SOMA Color Mind is the direct result of cooperation between SOMA and Aura, a global color management packaging sustainability consultancy. The color management service simplifies and accelerates color settings directly on the press. It lets operators measure and correct color, reducing the number of color adjustments needed to reach the desired color target. It makes color management accessible, data-driven, and practical for everyday production environments.

Meanwhile, the new SOMA Anilox Management system monitors the condition of the anilox in the press, as well as other important performance metrics such as anilox mileage and anilox cell volume. The system is offered via a partnership with MicroDynamics, an expert in precision roll inspection and measurement systems.

Intelligent Viscosity automatically monitors and compensates for temperature changes to maintain ink viscosity, thus assuring constant color density and preventing color shifts. Meanwhile, Electric Ink Storm, a new electric energy-saving ink washing system, replaces a pneumatic air washup, delivering more efficient energy and running costs.

 Flexo IPU

Printing multi-unit jobs can offer their own challenges. If you have an eight color press and a job requires eight ink colors along with a coating, how do you handle the extra layer?

While it’s always exciting to install a new press and often it’s the best business option, sometimes an inline printing unit can be a logical interim step to upgrade existing presses, adding capacity and capability with a relatively minimal investment.

SOMA’s Intelligent Printing Unit expands flexo presses by adding a separate, connected unit for value-added packaging. They can apply soft touch, tactile finishes, matte coatings, barrier layers, heat-seal varnishes, and others—reducing overall production costs with single-pass printing.

The 90-degree flexo IPU configuration can be applied either upstream or downstream of the press. Upstream is typically used for primers or solid background (white) inks. Downstream usually applies added-value coatings, barrier or functional coatings. The space-saving design makes IPUs ideal within limited production floor space.

During Innovation Day, SOMA showed an IPU with:

• IRIS system for precise impression and register settings
• An intelligent sensor for registration, tracking a portion of the image without the need for marks.
• Peristaltic pumps, which move ink forward to handle highly viscous coatings, such as heat seals.
• Paper-touch coating, a new downstream application, delivering a premium look and feel with tactile surface effects.

 So, automation, always a focus of innovation, continues to identify strategic directions that make job preparation simpler, faster, and less dependent on operator skill. Gains, large and small, can play a significant role.

Garrett Taylor, SOMA North America Sales Director, has more than 25 years’ experience in printing and packaging; specifically with flexo. He plays a significant role developing operations in North America, confirming SOMA’s commitment to bringing the latest flexo technology to the US and Canada. He can be reached at [email protected].