Increasing efficiency and productivity, reducing costs, and improving customer service were the key drivers for Köstlin Prepress Services in Ditzingen, southwest Germany, when it recently made another investment in FLEXCEL NX Technology from Miraclon. The company supplies flexo printing plates to packaging printers who mainly produce flexible packaging.
Köstlin experienced significant growth during 2024, which Managing Director Marc Talmon Gros attributes to brands launching new products and designs, as well as new customers with a highly diversified SKU portfolio who appreciate the benefits of the central repro service offered by Köstlin.
FLEXCEL NX Technology fully utilized
Köstlin has relied on FLEXCEL NX Technology from Miraclon for more than 12 years, and supplies customers with both solvent-based FLEXCEL NXH plates and water-wash FLEXCEL NX Ultra plates. These plates, which are produced on a FLEXCEL NX Wide 4260 imaging system, now account for over 75% of the company’s total flexo plate production. “Last year, FLEXCEL NX plate production increased by more than 10%, while plates from other manufacturers have stagnated,” explains Marc Talmon Gros. According to him, one reason for this growth is because “FLEXCEL NX plates are still regarded as the gold standard for printers producing flexible packaging at a high, demanding production level and where they need to maximize efficiency and productivity without impacting quality or cost.”
The advantages of switching to the larger format FLEXCEL NX Ultra Solution
In November 2024, Köstlin invested in a FLEXCEL NX Ultra 42 Processing System, replacing the smaller NX Ultra 35 System it installed several years ago. This now allows Köstlin to produce FLEXCEL NX Ultra plates up to 1,067 x 1,524 mm in size.
“With 50% more surface area, the FLEXCEL NX Ultra 42 Processing System enables us to make much better use of the plate material. For example, when we are producing a bag for garden soil, previously only one color of the motif would fit on a plate, and around 35 to 40% of the surface area would be unused. We can now better optimize plate layout to minimize wastage,” says Marc Talmon Gros. He is also very satisfied with the productivity of the system: “With the larger format unit, we can easily produce 16 FLEXCEL NX Ultra plates in an 8-hour shift. I also expect us to reduce our solvent consumption even further. This year, we plan to increase the share of FLEXCEL NX Ultra Plates from 20% to over 30% of the total FLEXCEL Plates portfolio.”
Marc Talmon Gros says their use of PureFlexo™ Printing for both FLEXCEL NXH and FLEXCEL NX Ultra plates is also continuously increasing. “Over the last year and a half, we have reprinted our standard test form with FLEXCEL plates for the majority of our customers, and PureFlexo Printing with its multi-form surface patterning has proven to be the most suitable for controlling ink transfer and dot gain for most of them,” explains Marc Talmon Gros. Köstlin now produces almost 70% of its FLEXCEL NX plates with PureFlexo Printing.
Shine LED Lamp Kit investment to increase exposure productivity
Kostlin at the same time also invested in a Shine LED Lamp Kit, innovated by Miraclon, to convert its large-format fluorescent exposure unit. The replacement of the UV fluorescent tubes with Shine LED lamps was carried out by a local electrician and took less than a day.
“It was a relatively low investment with little conversion work, which has brought us great benefits,” adds Marc Talmon Gros. “The lower energy consumption, significantly longer service life and constant output of LED are, of course, clear advantages over conventional UV fluorescent tubes.”
However, he sees the most important advantage in the productivity gains made possible by the Shine LED investment: “Compared to the previous fluorescent tubes and our other fluorescent exposure frame, which works with scanning LED imaging, we save around ten minutes per plate. That’s incredible! On top of that, the Shine LED lamps don’t need to be warmed up like the fluorescent tubes for us to start exposure. This may only save us 10-12 minutes, but that’s every day. Given our increasing productivity with FLEXCEL NX platemaking, this investment enables us to avoid a potential bottleneck which was sure to happen with fluorescent exposure.”
The Köstlin Managing Director values his company’s collaboration with Miraclon: “We find the partnership and the professional support we receive from Miraclon to be very positive. What’s great is that in recent years we’ve been able to consistently grab the attention of the market with new technology from Miraclon and secure additional business without overwhelming our customers with the changes. That’s a win-win situation – for us and for our customers.”
