Long-Term Vision
Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerances (FIRST)—It’s been the talk of the industry for 25 years. Publication of the Premier Edition took place in November 1997.
“As founder and chairman of FIRST, my vision was to create a more united flexo community, one where all participants were focused on improving the product, process and communications; so that our customers—CPCs—could rely on flexography to print their packaging consistently, from printer to printer, product to product, coast to coast, and now continent to continent.”
It marked the culmination of three full years of industry input and committee work.
- An update—the Second Edition—came two years later in fall 1999
- FIRST, 3rd edition entered circulation in 2003
- FIRST 4.0 was published in 2009
- FIRST 5.0 debuted in 2013
- FIRST 6.0 hit pressroom floors in 2017
“FIRST has helped the printer to overcome challenges through a more scientific approach.”
At onset, the catchphrase and the concept spawned a series of road shows and conferences. The book, an actual set of current, state-of-the-industry guidelines, standards and processes for turning out quality consistent print, run after run, has continued to win buy-in from printers, prepress houses, designers and CPCs alike. It continues to define the capabilities of the majority of flexographic suppliers across all segments, from flexible packaging to labels to corrugated.
“FIRST gives the flexo community framework for process control. This will lead to greater consistency in print quality, as well as improved customer satisfaction. End-users will know what can be expected from printers. This will lead to a great understanding of the design end of their projects. It becomes a win-win situation for everybody and will foster great confidence in the flexo process.”
FTA volunteers associated with the launch of this important project included Jeffrey A. Randazzo, Jay Luft, Arleen Neustein, Don Voas, Tim Wake, Danny Ivey, Michelle Beuscher, Kathy McCartney, Peter Bartell, Susan Barkis, Wayne Fortenberry and David Akin. These visionaries—eight printers, two suppliers and two customers—were the members of the FIRST Board of Directors. Some 54 other FTA members, including a 20-member CPC Advisory Board, have been credited with contributing resources to the initial effort.
“FIRST provides an anchor point for flexo reproducibility and consistency. Predictable, reproducible print quality is the key to customer satisfaction.”
Introductory notes from FIRST‘s founders state, “Specifications were developed so that CPCs, designers, prepress service providers, raw materials suppliers and printers would, over the long term, enjoy a win-win program for themselves and their customers. …The mission statement of this committee is to understand our customers’ graphic requirements for reproduction and translate their aesthetic requirements into specifications for each facet of the flexographic printed graphics.”
“FIRST will not only help our customers and vendors, but ultimately make our workday more productive. By having standard colors, terminology and procedures, the demands for shorter lead times and common packaging with multiple printers can be easier to meet.”
Five statements drive FIRST initiatives:
- Identify key basic flexographic procedures and guidelines to be used from the beginning of the process to the end
- Improve quality and consistency through improved communication and measurement procedures
- Reduce cycle time and minimize rework
- Control production costs
- Enable CPCs to obtain true flexographic capabilities, which are equal to or exceed offset lithography and gravure printing