Printing inks and pigments producer Sun Chemical is all set to open its new flexographic printing plate manufacturing facility in Concord, California, US with an investment of $5m.
The new plant will cater to the needs of the printers and brand owners operating in the narrow web tag and label, wide web, folding carton, and corrugated markets.
Set to open on 15 July 2013, the 25,000ft2 facility will comprise all new equipment for the manufacturing of the HD plates.
The equipment will include an Esko HD CDI laser imager, a MacDermid LUX laminator and DuPont's DigiFlow/DigiCorr systems as well as the ESKO Digital Flexo Suite (DFS) pin mounting system.
Sun Chemical Graphic Services vice president Kreg Keesee said as demand is growing for the high-end graphics in packaging the company wants its customers to benefit from its inks and coatings, and also from its HD platemaking capabilities.
"Our investment in the Concord facility shows that we are serious about this business and that we are determined to bring the best products and services to our customers to help them achieve the packaging graphics that brand owners demand," Keesee added.
The company, as part of the investment, will add a mirrored digital HD sheet photopolymer system to its Maumee, Ohio facility.
High-definition plate technology will be manufactured by Sun Chemical's platemaking facilities using ESKO HD software and CDI high resolution imaging of up to 4,000 PPI.
The Concord and Maumee facilities offer the MacDermid Lux system and the DuPont DigiFlow/DigiCorr system methods for producing Flat-Top Dot technology.
The facilities are also equipped with Esko Advanced HD MicroCell technology to achieve better ink densities, cut down or eliminate pin-holing, besides improving print quality in the shadow areas.
