Miraclon targets process control to drive modern flexo output

Standardisation and process simplification emerge as operational benchmarks for modern flexible packaging converters seeking to optimise CI flexo performance. Speaking at the Flexo Forward conference, co-organised by Bobst, Miraclon, Apex International, and Polymount India, Kulkarni highlighted how transforming traditional prepress and platemaking workflows into predictable, data-driven systems protects narrow converter margins.

The industry currently faces pressures that demand a departure from traditional mentalities. Many converting plants continue to work with variables such as utilising separate ink sets, anilox rolls, and different mounting tapes while relying on the individual skill level of the operator.

Miraclon addresses this by converting manufacturing variables into constants. It aims to simplify the process so that printing houses can predict their output numbers before the materials ever touch the press frame.

The foundation of modern flexo standardisation begins with the underlying imaging science and material structure of the plate. Miraclon utilises a patented technology called SquareSpot, which avoids the use of individual laser diodes that can introduce pixel variations.

Instead, the system uses an optical aperture where multiple lasers throw light to transfer a unified form of energy through multiple channels. The lamination step completely eliminates oxygen contact with the photopolymer during exposure, allowing the physical replication of flat-top dots.

This precision eliminates separate make-ready cycles and allows a press run that would normally require multiple short turnarounds to run continuously for extended distances.

To track these shop-floor improvements, Miraclon representatives utilise a specialised cost-analysis tool that evaluates six operational metrics consisting of press setup times, press operating speeds, press stop reductions, process ink usage, white ink coverage, and extended plate life.

This process control has driven high-volume rotogravure-to-flexo packaging conversions for global consumer giants like Unilever and PepsiCo. In a notable domestic case study, the UFlex team successfully converted a commercial job from gravure to water-based flexo printing on a recyclable film substrate.

The machine ran water-based inks at 200-metres per minute, matching typical gravure operating speeds. The technical switch reduced the required ink laydown from 1.5 GSM to 0.9 GSM, delivering sustainability benefits, and print production lead time reduced from three days to four hours.