@flexoBag System

FAQs for liquid resin plate making

•  What is this innovation of @flexoBag System?

This is an innovative plate making method in between solvent plate and conventional liquid plate making may become a major trend of plate making in the future, especially for paper, paper bag and corrugated board printing industry.

80-90% of photopolymer plates are used for corrugated printing in developed and developing countries, @flexoBag new technology will benefit plate maker by offering its low cost, easy access, economic and environmental green of this new technology in order for plate makers to live happily everyday and enjoy longer life.

This invention / patent is by filling resin into a bag which can eleminate bubbles in advance before making a plate in order to shorten the plate making time and can be washout with water in order to stop using of toxic and expensive solvents.

By this will reduce the production cost 50% lower than using solvent washout plates and enable plate making become very quick and easy.Moreover, @flexoBag has simplified the plate making procedure so that the machine construction is simple now, this will reduce the invest cost of the equipment to only 30% if compare with a conventional liquid plate making machine.

2. What are the merits of @flexoBag plate making system?

•  Do not have to prepare all stocks of different thickness and different size plates.

•  Use only water to washout the plate, do not have to use toxic solvent any more.

•  Quick access only half processing time is needed for make a @flexoBag plate if compare with a solvent plate.

•  Cost down, total plate making cost is only 50% of a solvent washout plate.

•  Equipment investment is also only 30% of a conventional liquid plate making machine

For these reasons, many plate makers will like to use this system.

3.How to make a @flexoBag plate?

We use two films can be hot sealed or stick together to make a bag in 3 edges sealed, then filling the resin into the bag from the 4 th edge which

will be sealed automatically by our new patent – Free seal free quantity technology, (please refer to the VCD at www.flexoBag.us .)

The negative film can be put on the top or under the bag as you like to expose for the image,(this is an unique skill only from @flexoBag) the rest of plate making processes are the same as making a conventional flexo plate.

4. Any difference between @flexoBag plate and solvent plate?

Plate making result is the same as a solvent plate, many printers even like to use @flexoBag liquid plate for the hardness of plate is suitable to print for all purposes than a solvent plate and the hardness can be controlled by using different type of resins.

5. Is the plate same as a solvent plate?

For corrugated board printing, no mater it is using water based ink or paste type ink, the results are the same as a solvent plate.

Although @flexoBag plate is washed by water, however after drying

and finishing, the plate is hardened completely and its water resistible.

6. Is printing result the same as a solvent plate?

@flexoBag plate achieves the same good printing result as a solvent plate or a conventional liquid plate.

For printing solid areas suggest to use F-40 (40 A durometer)

For printing fine dot suggest to use F-32 (32 A durometer)

For printing solid and dot at the same time use F-36 (36 A)

Apparently the choice is wider than a solvent plate.

7. How about flat tolerance of a plate?

Tolerance of the plate is the same as a solvent washout plate, after plate is made, the flat tolerance is +- 0.03mm, this is good enough for corrugated board printing even can achieve fine dot and small character printing at the same time.

8. Will plate be damaged during clean off the ink?

This is a very good question.

Due to image areas are well hardened completely already, therefore, its no problem to clean all the inks off the plate and keep it for reuse.

(To reprint next order)

9. What is the reproduction (sharpness) of @flexobag plate?

The reproduction of @flexoBag plate for dot is 80 LPI and small

characters reaching 4 points, this is depending on the thickness of a plate, the thicker the plate the result maybe worse. Anyhow this is still good enough for corrugated board printing with out problem.

Sometimes, the printing result depends on the printing press, once the plate is reproduced good but if the press is old or not precise enough it will sacrifice the plate quality during printing.

10. How many printing impressions?

Printing impression is something to do with the printing machine, new and precise press can print longer for more impressions.

Generally speaking a liquid plate can print 80000 – 100000 impressions, this is a good enough impression for normal corrugated board printing jobs.

11. What substrates can we print?

Paper, paper bag , craft paper, fertilizer bag and corrugated boards etc.

12. What kind of inks can be used for this plate?

This plate is good for water base ink as well as any paste inks

for letterpress printing on the corrugated board.

(Please have a test before using solvent inks.)

•  Solid and fine dot can be printed with good result on the same plate?

Yes, if you use F-36 resin the durometer is 36 A this is good for printing fine dot and solid area at the same time.

14. After plate making is finished can we mount it and print it right the way?

Yes, our plate is washed by water therefore no swelling will be occurred. It can be mounted on the press and print right the way.

As solvent plate will swell, i.e. only outside is dry but inside is still wet, therefore solvent plates are suggested to print after over night laying flat and print it the next day.

15 Plate making time is really so short?

Quick access is one of merit of @flexoBag plate making system,

Plate making time after bag is ready is less than an hour among which is over 30 min. of drying, so the real plate making time is only less than 20 min.

16. Capital investment is really only 30% of a conventional liquid plate making machine?

Due to innovative plate making method of @flexoBag, the construction of the exposure machine is simplified a lot. The elevating lid type of exposure unit is no longer a must as well as the complicate coating procedure on the machine is deleted.

General speaking, the investment of @flexoBag machine is only 30% of a conventional liquid plate making machine.

17.The cost really can reduced so much? 50%?

In addition to the capital investment for the machine is only 30% of the conventional plate making machine. Production cost can reduce 50% the reasons are:

•  No solvent, this will reduce your cost 20-30% of a plate.

•  Liquid resin is supplied in tanks (kgs) the cost of it is only

70-80% of the relative solvent plate.

Therefore, the total production cost is only 50% of a solvent plate.

•  How to make a bag?

Actually it is not complicate to prepare the bag for plate making, this can be relied on the Hot Sealing unit to seal the three sides very quickly.

Bag size depends on the negative and do not have to care about the thickness for it is easy to be controlled by the thickness gauges during procession.

You may use hot seal or just use special tape to make the bag.

19. How to fill resin into a bag?

Due to our patent, the bag is a free-quantity and free-seal therefore the filling of resin into the bag is very simple and easy. Which means that bag will be made according to the negative film and the quantity of resin a little bit less or excess is no harm at all during filling, so it is very simple and easy.

20. What is the available size of plate making machine?

Model: @2436 (for plate size up to 24 x 36 inch = 60 x 90 cm)

Model: @4260 (for plate size up to 42 x 60 inch = 110x160 cm)

Smaller machine is available in A2 / A3 and A4 for stamp making

Bigger machine up to 52 x 80 inch = 132 x 203 cm is also available under request.

21. How many machine included in the System?

@flexoBag plate making system includes:

GT : Double side exposure with treatment for anti-tack.

WD : Water washout unit with drying unit.

BF : High air pressure resin tank for filling into bag.

(air compressor has to be prepared by the user)

BS: Bag sealing unit

BR: Bubble removing unit

22. Can we recover and reuse the resin?

Unexposed and unhardened resin can be recovered and reused without doubt. However, the potential image is there even it is not hardened.

Although many people use filters to separate the resin like new

and reuse it, but the problem is cannot assure for the exposure quality and sometimes even failed so that the whole plate has to draw away.

The recovery access is complicate and take long time, therefore, we do not suggest using the recovered resin and rather like to supply resin with a lower price in order to compensate the users from this point of view.

•  Cover film in between negative and resin, can we get good reproduction result from it?

In theory, it is not a direct contact exposure, however, as long as the plate image can be adapted by corrugated board printing then it is acceptable by the industry.

Fortunately we have a unique way to use negative as cover film of our bag in order to have direct contact of image with resin, this result is the best and superior than any other kind of photopolymer plate. And after wash and clean, the negative can be used again.

24. Can we use LaserBlack Enhancer for making low cost negative film?

LaserBlack Enhancer is another patented item from @flexoBag, its an easy and economic way to make negative film from your HP printer

then go through LaserBlack to get a 300% black density increased film.

By using this negative as cover film for upper bag directly, the plate making result can be superior than a solvent and conventional liquid plates, the cost of it is very economic. www.laserblack.net

25. Only washout with water is Okay?

Putting 1-2% of detergent into water to washout the plate will accelerate the speed and achieve good result of washout.

Fortunately the detergent is not so expensive and can get it from every where very easily.

26. Any problem of washout water draining?

The washout water is free to drain, for the washout unit itself has equipped with filtration system, residues are well blocked in the filter and washout water actually is like detergent water it is the same as the drain of a cloth washing machine.

27.How to avoid annoying bubbles?

Bubbles are terrible nightmare of liquid plate making, but for our @flexoBag system, we have good ways to avoid it:

•  We fill resin into bag before plate making in advance, therefore

it has plenty of time to avoid bubbles.

(Normally bubbles are always go up, and from small to big, big to break and become no bubble.)

•  What we fill into bag the resin is already no bubble because we have put the resin into a high pressure air tank in advance where all the bubbles are gone.

28. Can we use conventional solvent plate making machine?

Due to oil and water are completely opposite solutions, we do not suggest client to use water / solvent plate at the same machine, although some of the machine can wash both kinds of plate.

29. How long can we keep the plate? Will it crack?

Finished plate or a printed plate after cleaning and packed well in a plastic bag, keeping in a dark and dry place can be kept over one year.

It is the same condition with a solvent washout plate.

Once you keep it as instructed, the plate will never cracking or breaking.

30. Does base film stick with resin firmly?

Base film has been treated for sticky with resin stably.

On the contrary, if you need a base film strippable from resin, you may have to use back side of the base film to release it.

31. What quantity of resin to put into a bag?

The quantity of resin is related with the thickness and size of the plate (bag) you want to make.

We have a formula of how many resins needed to put into a bag for your desired size for the operators.

•  In addition to machine and resin, what consumable materials

we will need?

•  Cover film as upper bag 1.0m x 100m per roll

•  Base film as lower bag 1.0m x 100m per roll

•  Sealing tape (super sticky) 36 meters per roll

•  Thickness gauge: +- 0.01mm to decide plate thickness (reusable)

•  Moving rod: +- 0.01mm slide to fix the 4th side of a bag (reusable)

33. How to control for making different thickness plate?

The thickness of a plate will be determined by the gauges

you are using during exposure.

The accurate the gauge the precise the plate in thickness.

34. What durometers (hardness) plate can we make for printing?

If you use F-36 resin, the plate hardness will be 36 A.

(Good for solid and fine dot printing at the same time)

If you use F-40 resin, the plate hardness will be 40 A.

(Good for fine dot printing)

If you use F-32 resin, the plate hardness will be 32 A.

(Good for solid area printing)

35. Only one exposure (no mask) really can get good result for fine

dot and reversed small character printing?

F series resin (F-32 / F-36 / F40) from us are special designed for wide latitude, it is no problem to get good result for exposing fine dot and small reversed character at the same time in one exposure.

36. Liquid resin bought from market can be used for @flexoBag plate making?

Any liquid resin available from market can be used for @flexoBag plate making, however this contemporary free-seal free-quantity sachet technology is protected by our invention and patented over the world. Any usage of this technology has to be permitted by us.

We suggest to use our special created resin to achieve best result in addition to the economic cost if you buy the resin from us.

37. Conventional liquid plate making machine can be used for @flexoBag?

Yes, but we have to emphasize it again that this innovative machine with technology is our invention / patent in many countries, any imitation or copy maybe punished by law.

38. We always make solvent washout plates, can we get used to it very quickly?

With your experience from solvent plates it will be easier for you to switch to @flexoBag system as well as enjoy the benefits from water-wash, quick, low cost and high profit

39. Can printers accept this plate?

Printing factory will rather like to use our @flexoBag plate for they will have more choice of durometers to print in order to get best printing results of solid area (32 A) or fine dot (40 A) reproduction or both of 2 good results in a plate (36 A).

This kind of choice is not available from solvent plate. (only one determined durometer)

40. How about warranty and after service?

Our warranty is one year and our client can enjoy after service

with our machine and product for ever. (professional service since 1974)

41. How long the training course will take?

Standard training course is 3 days, the course will include machine maintenance and repairing as well as bag making / filling and plate making with the system.

42. How about installation and training for overseas clients?

For the clients abroad who is needing our erection of the machine and

training for the system, English spoken engineers can be sent from

our headquarters in Taiwan free of charge.

While, a round trip air ticket and accommodation with foods have to be prepared by the client.

w w w .f l e x o b a g . u s