Kodak Flexcel NX System

Kodak Flexcel NX Plates – Prepress Best Practices with

Flexcel NX Plates

Date Created: 04-13-2012

Date Modified: 4-30-2012
Version ID: FLEXNXRG_100.1

Overview

As with any flexographic printing process, it is important to maintain best practices in prepress. Angles,
dot gain curves, and line screen are just a few examples of things that need to be considered when
printing with photopolymer plates.

Detailed information and recommendations regarding flexographic prepress activities can be found
within the FTA FIRST 4.0, manual. These activities include, but not limited to, image resolution, line
screen, trapping, creating codes, color separation, step and repeat, bearer bars, narrow and wide web
quality control marks, moire, and plate distortion.

This document will outline some important prepress best practices when making Kodak Flexcel NX
Plates.

Bump Curves
A conventional flexographic plate has oxygen inhibition present in the platemaking process. Because of
this, a plate bump curve is needed to sharpen the minimum dots.

Digital dots sharpen when exposed to UV light. For this reason, the mask opening is enlarged or
“bumped” so that a minimum plate dot can be created and supported. A “bump” curve is applied at the
Rip, when imaging.

By imaging the Kodak Flexcel NX Thermal Imaging Layer first and laminating second, oxygen inhibition
is not present in the Flexcel NX Platemaking process. Flexcel NX Plates do not require a bump curve.

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 Line Screen and Dot Shape
For smoothness and accuracy of 4 color reproduction, higher line counts will dramatically improve 4-
color process builds of spot color reproduction. The Kodak Flexcel NX System recommended dot
shape for line screens lower than 150 lpi should be round dot. Respectively, the dot shape for line
screens higher than 150 lpi should be Euclidean or the Rip equivalent of Euclidean. This provides for
exceptional detail in tonal transitions.

Anilox Roll Specifications

Prior to changing line count, a banded anilox test should be performed and evaluated with printing
conditions. High line count plate screening requires high line count anilox rolls of matched specification
sets. In most cases, the current anilox roll specification for Flexcel NX Plates is a minimum of 1000 lpi
for 150 lpi plate screening. A 1200 lpi anilox roll would be required to print line screens at 175 lpi. All 4
color process anilox sets are required to have the same lpi and BCM, and should always be supplied by
the same manufacturer. An effective anilox roll maintenance and auditing program is highly
recommended in order to obtain and maintain consistent results on press. Worn or dirty anilox roll sets
will directly affect print results. Refer to Chart A.

Chart A

Anilox Suggestions For Optimal Print Performance

Line Screen Anilox lpi Anilox BCM

120 800 lpi Volume changes by ink system and substrate,
133 900 lpi but remains constant between anilox line

150 1000 lpi counts.

175 1200 lpi Solvent: 2.0 - 2.2 Film

200 1400 lpi Water based: 1.8 - 2.0 Film & Coated Paper

240 to 300 & S25 1400 lpi UV: 1.6 - 1.8 Film & Coated Paper

Uncoated papers including recycled board

will require higher volumes within any
given line count, which may limit plate
screening line count as a result.

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Screen Angles
For all pre-press activities, we recommend using the traditional offset angles according to ISO, ensuring
that no colors align with the anilox roll being utilized:

"For half-tone dots without a principal axis, the nominal difference between the screen angles for cyan,
magenta and black shall be 30°, with the screen angle of yellow separated at 15° from another color.
The screen angle of the dominant color should be 45°."

Shifted flexo angles are also known to aide with this, as well as print performance when using hybrid or
Frequency Modulated (FM) screening. Testing is required to determine which angles perform best on
special substrates, under specific print conditions. In many cases, pending line screen, Amplitude
Modulated (AM) screening is sufficient.

Ripping
For the first time in flexography, the Flexcel NX System, with its unique dot holding capabilities, makes
a known limitation visible. The Kodak Trendsetter NX Imager, along with Kodak SQUAREspot
Technology, is capable of producing a single pixel dot that is 10.6 microns in size, which corresponds to
a resolution of 2400 dpi. If every dot is present at 10.6 microns, we will arrive at a 0.4% highlight at 149
lpi. Any screen resolution higher than this will display missing dots in the Kodak Flexcel NX Thermal
Imaging Layer below a certain grey level. This is not an artifact or a problem but simply a direct function
of imaging resolution.

Minimum Dot Coverage

In some cases it will be necessary to use minimum dot coverage to avoid sharp breaks in continuous
tone images and vignettes. This is very dependent on print conditions, substrate, etc. and needs to be
judged carefully.

Though the Flexcel NX Plate has shown itself to be very forgiving in terms of scum dots, we
recommended that a cut-off point is set to fully control the very end of the highlights for some
resolutions, resulting in a more stable and predictable plate making outcome. It is important to
remember that a cut-off point is meant to compensate for specific printing conditions.

Note: A “bump” curve (often confused with a cut-off point or minimum dot) is a curve applied to
control the actual plate in conventional flexographic platemaking. Again, a plate bump curve is not
needed for Flexcel NX Plates.

Cut-off points can be applied in Adobe Photoshop or at the Rip. If applied at the Rip, it will affect the
entire image area.

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Refer to the procedure below for applying a cut-off point in Adobe Photoshop.

Applying Min Dot Procedure

Easy Procedure
1) Open the “export” CT image
file in Adobe Photoshop. The
export file is the high resolution
file that is used when making
plate. (ie: CMYK format, PAN-
TONE Colors, etc)

2) Turn on the Curves

(Command M) in Image >
Adjustments > Curves.

3) Open the Curve Display

Options

4) Change to Light (0-255).

The Ink% will not allow you to
assign densities less than 1%.
You must work in the 0 - 255
additive luminance mode.

5) Select the specific color

channel you wish to apply a
min dot.

ink% RGB
6) Click the 255 anchor. 0.0% = 255
This is 0% value in
0.4% = 254
Pigment/Ink% mode.
0.8% = 253
7) Change Output to 1.0% = 252
minimum dot value. 2.0% = 250
3.0% = 247
8) Click OK button when done.

9) Save revised art file.

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For additional information and recommendations for producing a Flexcel NX Plate, refer to individual
documents within your Kodak service and support portal. You can locate these documents via the
following link: https://partnerplace.kodak.com

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