During an exclusive online event overnight, Miraclon globally launched the Flexcel Prime Plate, which the company is calling its most advanced plate technology to date.
Designed to retain the industry-leading characteristics of Flexcel NX Plates, Flexcel Prime introduces new performance-driven features that help printers reduce press stops, improve plate reuse, and increase overall press uptime.
Following a multi-year R&D program and extensive field validation in commercial production environments, Flexcel Prime – comprising a new plate and film combination – has already been installed at over 30 customer sites across 14 countries.
More than 5000 commercial print jobs have been produced with the new plate and the company said users have already confirmed tangible performance improvements in daily production.
“Flexographic printing is operating in an environment of tighter tolerances and greater production demands than ever before,” said Reid Chesterfield, chief technology and innovation officer at Miraclon.
“With Flexcel Prime, we set out to push the performance boundaries of the plate itself – reducing ink build-up and lowering impression requirements, which extend plate life. These measurable gains translate directly into increased efficiencies and more stable production on press.”
Elevated on-press performance
Flexcel Prime introduces two key performance enhancements developed to increase uptime, expand latitude, and deliver more consistent results on press.
Lift resist formulation: Engineered for improved plate drape and surface consistency, the lift resist formulation eases mounting and re-mounting with reduced plate curl, supporting better plate reuse and contributing to wider press latitude. The plate’s optimised chemical structure requires lower impression and maintains consistent performance over time, helping reduce waste and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
Stay clean properties: Reformulated plate surface characteristics further resist ink build-up and drying during press runs. In combination with Miraclon’s triple-form plate surface patterning (PureFlexo Printing), this helps keep plates cleaner for longer periods, resulting in fewer press stops and easier cleaning between jobs. The outcome is more uptime, less waste, and improved productivity.
“The biggest sustainability gains in flexo happen in the pressroom,” said Emma Weston, chief marketing officer at Miraclon.
“By helping plates stay cleaner longer, improving reuse, and maintaining performance with lower impression, Flexcel Prime enables printers to run longer and potentially faster – while maintaining the high print quality and consistency associated with Flexcel NX Plates.”
Designed for seamless adoption
In addition to enhanced on-press performance, Flexcel Prime was engineered for straightforward integration.
The new plate and film combination integrates seamlessly into existing Flexcel NX Systems, and the ‘seamless fit printing’ approach enables printers to run mixed Flexcel NXH and Flexcel Prime plate sets without reprofiling, curve changes, or workflow modifications.
This eliminates the time, cost, and risk typically associated with introducing a new plate into production.
“For more than a decade, Flexcel NX technology has enabled the adoption of modern flexo — bringing greater process control, higher productivity, and improved sustainability to flexographic printing,” continued Weston.
“With Flexcel Prime, users gain new performance advantages while continuing to operate within their established workflows. We made it better, not different.”
Smarter, more efficient platemaking
While delivering enhanced performance on press, Flexcel Prime also streamlines plate room operations through improvements in processing, inspection, and handling.
Faster plate production: A shorter de-tack/light finishing (UVC) step reduces processing time from approximately 20 minutes to around five minutes, increasing throughput.
Simplified inspection: High black-and-white contrast film improves visibility for faster content and orientation checks.
Improved handling: Operators peel the film from the plate rather than the plate from the film, simplifying delamination. This is particularly beneficial for larger plate formats.
“Flexcel Prime represents the next step in the ongoing evolution of Flexcel NX technology and reflects our innovation strategy of building on the same proven platform, ensuring backwards compatibility and protecting our customers’ investments,” explained Chesterfield.
“By delivering measurable performance improvements today, while preserving a streamlined plate portfolio that serves the broadest range of flexo print applications, we are helping shape a more efficient, sustainable, and future-ready flexographic production environment for our customers worldwide.”
The Flexcel Prime Plate is commercially available now and will be integrated with customers systematically in the coming months.
