Wetflex breaks landmark 500m printing target

Sun Chemical and Comexi Group are celebrating after crashing through a landmark target of 500 meters per minute with WetFlex printing. This breakthrough proprietary technology, which has been developed in a partnership between Sun Chemical, Energy Sciences Inc (ESI) and Comexi, was shown in public for the first time at drupa.

WetFlex delivers wet-on-wet flexographic printing and is designed to meet the needs of the flexible packaging market for improved print quality, efficiency, and low environmental impact. WetFlex uses new generation energy curable ink technology specially developed and patented by Sun Chemical for the process.

Ignacio Fernandez of Comexi said: ‘We are thrilled. We have achieved 500metres per minute. There has been tremendous interest in this “green” technology.’

Bjrn Heilhecker of Sun Chemical said: ‘People from all over the world have been showing massive interest and are amazed at the quality of printing – both at the demonstrations and by a close examination of the samples available at the stand.’

At drupa, the inks were wet trapped using Comexi’s new iF2 Icube concept Central Impression (CI) cylinder press and cured instantly by exposure to ESI’s EZCure-DF EB in-line electron beam, which had been installed in an ‘short web path’ press layout.