Toray will use the upcoming Label Expo show to demonstrate its new Imprima waterless offset plates. These plates were shown at last year’s Drupa as a technology demonstration but are now commercially available.
There are two versions of the Imprima plates: Imprima LA, optimized for increased durability; Imprima LB, said to offer consistent and high quality prints. They can be used with a wide variety of paper stock and non-absorbent substrates such as foils and synthetic materials.
Toray claims that waterless offset can be an alternative to short and medium run flexo because it offers lower print form preparation cost. Naturally, waterless offset helps cut down on water usage but also reduces the need for toxic chemicals.
Olivier Laulan, managing director of French label printer Imprimerie Laulan, says that he chose waterless printing for wine labels for its speed and image quality but found other benefits. He explains: “In particular, we get better inking stability that lets us run longer print jobs without having to adjust inking along the way. Also, we have faster make-ready times, which translates into less paper waste. Additionally, waterless limits dot gain as compared to conventional offset. This offers increased detail in images and graphics. It also allows for stronger inking, which is useful when printing on patterned papers. Finally, a strong and stable inking means we have no loss of inking when we need to stop a print job to change the paper reel or a hot foil stamping plate.”
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