Hauke Liefferink, Managing Director of leading South African flexo premedia provider Acme Graphics, is a man on a mission — to change how printers, converters and brand owners in the competitive local market think about ink consumption.
It’s a campaign in which Acme is enjoying considerable success, helped by an ongoing program of investment in FLEXCEL NX Technology from Miraclon, which began in 2020 and has recently been boosted with the addition of PureFlexo™ Printing, triple-form plate surface patterning available through Miraclon’s FLEXCEL NX Print Suite for Flexible Packaging. Says Hauke: “GSM yield is the conventional measure of ink, anilox and plate performance, but PureFlexo Printing, changes the game. We can show customers that with the right pattern and FLEXCEL NX Plate, we can run the same color and achieve the same ink opacity with lower volume aniloxes and a reduced ink film weight.”
49% savings on ink costs
As an example, he points to a recent job for rice bags where they enabled the printer to reduce ink GSM by 22% after switching to FLEXCEL NX plates with PureFlexo Printing. “Then, by adding expanded color gamut (ECG) printing to the mix, it increased the savings figure to 36%. On another job – surface print on low-density polyethylene — we cut ink costs by 49% using our MultiGamut color management system with PureFlexo Printing and ECG.
“These are impressive numbers, because ink consumption is a big pain point for printers and converters, and a major cost contributor that hits brand owners too,” continues Hauke. “Other key challenges for printers include getting up to color faster, increasing press speeds, and reducing press stoppages for cleaning. FLEXCEL NX Technology and PureFlexo Printing help ease this: For example, a customer printed just over five tons of flexible packaging over 12 hours and only stopped once – to clean the white – compared to seven stops previously for the same job.”
Pushing the boundaries of flexo
Acme Graphics is also helping customers address emerging challenges such as ink efficiency, drying performance and press productivity, particularly as interest grows in water-based ink systems for flexible packaging applications. He continues: “In Miraclon and the FLEXCEL NX System, we have found a valuable partner and enabling technology to help us address customers’ pain points. For example, recently a customer easily produced a job of over 6 million meters – with one set of FLEXCEL NX Plates!”
The company is also supporting customers as they explore new production approaches, including extended color gamut printing and the transition toward more efficient and sustainable processes. “ECG is a big talking point in South Africa,” says Hauke. “With our MultiGamut color management system, we’ve created a practical pathway that allows printers to start with conventional processes and expand into ECG or even digital printing over time — all within a single-color management framework.”
Building on a proven foundation
These results are driven by Acme Graphics’ continued focus on improving ink performance through advanced plate technologies. “Patterning plays a key role in what we do,” says Hauke. “It allows us to control ink transfer more precisely, and PureFlexo Printing builds on that to deliver even greater consistency and efficiency on press.”
As the only flexo premedia trade shop in South Africa equipped with FLEXCEL NX Technology – a FLEXCEL NX Mid System at its Durban plant and FLEXCEL NX Wide System in Cape Town, Acme has established a clear point of differentiation in the market. “It gives us something genuinely different to talk about,” he adds. “It opens doors with customers and allows us to demonstrate real performance advantages in a very practical way.”
Towards ‘smart’ Industry 4.0 manufacturing
Founded in 1997, the Acme Graphics group of companies employs more than 80 staff across four production sites in Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Springs, the latter known as Mpact Flexo Graphics, specializing in corrugated packaging. Over the past four years, the company has expanded its national footprint, increased imaging capacity, and broadened its capabilities to serve a wider range of packaging applications.
At the same time, Acme has evolved beyond traditional premedia to become a developer of integrated digital solutions. “Over the last few years, we’ve transformed our business,” says Hauke. “We’re no longer just supplying plates — we’re developing software that integrates with what we produce, enhancing and complementing our products.”
This includes AcmeRobot, a cloud-based platform that enables workflow automation, MIS integration, reporting and color management across proofers and presses; Proofify, a cloud-based artwork approval system; and MultiGamut, Acme’s proprietary approach to extended color gamut (ECG) printing across flexo, digital, litho and gravure processes.
“Our focus is on connecting physical products with digital systems,” he concludes. “That allows our customers to eliminate manual processes, reducing errors and enabling a more intelligent, data-driven production environment. These systems are increasingly used by customers, enabling seamless data flow from job costing through to artwork creation and plate production without the need for re-entering information.”
