Succeeding Countamat, which was launched at Drupa 2016 and is now being phased out, New Countamat is a high-quality durable counter material that is said to offer improvements including better dimensional stability, less tendency to bend or curl, and a longer life span.

The product, which is commercially available immediately, is supplied as 1,070x1,040mm sheets in incremental thicknesses between 0.3mm and 1.3mm.

New Countamat material consists of a two layer fine woven glass cloth that is said to ensure durability on press and clean channel cutting, while also helping to extend the life of the tool.

Specifically developed by C&T and produced by a new manufacturing partner, the product is suitable for cleaner routing and long-run durability and is available either with or without C&T’s easy peel adhesive backing.

C&T said the product, which is “ideal for long-run packaging work”, is used by die-makers and customers including pharmaceutical, food and beverage, tobacco and cosmetic packaging users.

C&T commercial director Howard Mead said: “We’ve changed the formula that goes into the material, which enables the product to be more stable during the manufacture.

“It’s more dimensionally stable, it cuts very well, and more importantly it lasts longer when it gets onto the press. We’re seeing run lengths of 500,000-plus.

“We’ve already had customer testing in the UK and our first orders to the UK market. Users have been absolutely delighted with the product, which has performed above their expectations. It’s high quality and is also a very cost-effective alternative to what’s out there at the moment so will give users an ideal opportunity to improve their margin.”

Mead said the cost of the product varies according to the thickness of the material required and that there are no minimum or maximum order quantities.

C&T offers several brands of creasing matrix, including Kiss, Jazz, XTC and Corrugate, and also manufactures and supplies a range of accessories for die-making, die-cutting and print finishing.

The Wellingborough, Northamptonshire-based company has also just expanded its steel cutting plate portfolio with the addition of new sizes while at the end of 2018 it bolstered its Sprintrubba range of rubber profiles with the addition of a new self-adhesive version.

Its other recent developments include improvements to its Reverse Bend Matrix product, a new strategy of managed inventory for its larger UK customers and Rapido, which it called “a brand-new concept in PVC creasing matrix”.