Fuji enters flexo plate market

Fuji is to strengthen its position in packaging and enter the flexo plate market with a high-speed and high-quality direct exposure plate.

"Our strategy is to provide packaging printers with not just offset, but also benchmark flexo CTP," Fujifilm Graphic Systems UK director Keith Dalton said.

The company's direct laser exposure (DLE) plate requires no post imaging UV exposure or processing, cutting an hour from plate production times, compared to current laser ablation mask flexo CTP plates.

"It's unique for DLE plates in offering high-quality and productivity," Dalton said.

Fuji's new plate is claimed to be faster and have a higher resolution than current DLE plates. At Drupa, Fujifilm is showing a technical demonstration of the plate and plans to begin shipping at the start of 2009.