{"id":17984,"date":"2025-06-10T13:08:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T13:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/?p=17984"},"modified":"2025-06-10T13:08:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T13:08:43","slug":"highest-standard-flexo-quality-now-available-to-all-with-global-rollout-of-new-esko-quartz-flexo-ecosystem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/10\/highest-standard-flexo-quality-now-available-to-all-with-global-rollout-of-new-esko-quartz-flexo-ecosystem\/","title":{"rendered":"Highest standard flexo quality now available to all with global rollout of new Esko Quartz flexo ecosystem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cAs one of the first to adopt this technology in the world, we have seen a quality improvement on par with rotogravure, offering more uniform ink coverage, better contrast and deeper shadows\u201d
– Vincenzo Consalvo<\/strong>, CEO, Inci.Flex Srl<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esko has announced that its latest innovation that sets a whole new standard for flexographic print quality, the\u00a0Esko Quartz\u00a0flexo ecosystem, is now available for ordering worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we first introduced the Quartz ecosystem at drupa last year, we hailed the technology as the pinnacle of flexo platemaking,\u201d said Pascal Thomas<\/strong>, Director of Flexo Product Management with Esko. \u201cFollowing further development work and testing with our customer community, we are absolutely thrilled to be now making this innovation available to all those printers and converters across the globe looking to achieve incredible new standards in flexographic print quality. The first shipments should be expected by September.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Esko Quartz ecosystem complements the leading Crystal ecosystem as a top-of-the-line addition to the Esko digital flexo solutions portfolio, offering a dual optics system that supports both legacy and forward-looking flexo platemaking with optimized Quartz Screening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNew Quartz optical technology enables users to image higher frequency surface structures at 2000lpi (Q-Cells) with an imaging resolution of 4000ppi, providing another major leap forward in flexo plate imaging speed and print quality,\u201d said Pascal. \u201cImaging at 4000ppi is nearly double the current industry standard, and microcells engraved in the solid ink areas at a 2000lpi resolution is proven to significantly boost ink transfer, delivering a way for print converters to match gravure print quality in flexography.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eddy Fadel, GM\/VP Esko Digital Flexo Solutions at Esko, said that with the new Esko CDI Quartz ecosystem, the company continues to deliver solutions that accelerate go-to-market while meeting the needs of its customers. \u201cThis brand-new, top-of-the-line complete flexo platemaking solution raises the bar on quality to the very highest level,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Esko Quartz ecosystem truly enables flexo printers to achieve the optimum results for their customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unrivalled screening accuracy, highest quality print<\/strong>
Jan De Roeck<\/strong>, CMO at Esko, explained that the screening technology is an evolution from the award-winning Esko Print Control Wizard software, which uses all critical print parameters and variables \u2013 imaging resolution, exposure settings, plate, substrate, anilox, press type and inks \u2013 to simplify the flexo platemaking process. \u201cThe software standardizes the generation of Crystal Screens specifically used in combination with the XPS Crystal flexo plate LED UV exposure unit,\u201d he said. \u201cWith the CDI Quartz we have taken that to the next level, adding VQ (variable highlight Q-cells) and SQ (stochastic Q-cells) for unrivalled screening accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a perfect combination of Esko flexo systems and software,\u201d he added. \u201cThe Quartz cells form in a flexo plate when exposed with the UV LED technology of the XPS, providing highly consistent and repeatable plate quality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only does the technologically advanced Quartz produce the most accurate and best quality plates, but it also reduces ink usage, making them cleaner to use. \u201cWhat\u2019s more, it does all this while delivering the absolute best quality final print,\u201d said Jan. \u201cIt\u2019s a genuine game-changer in flexo platemaking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking platemaking quality standards to the next level<\/strong>
With 30 years of experience in flexible packaging prepress, Salerno, Italy-based Inci.Flex was one of the first to incorporate the new Esko CDI Quartz into its plate production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInci.Flex is excited about Esko CDI Quartz, which has taken our platemaking quality standards to the next level,\u201d said Inci.Flex Srl CEO Vincenzo Consalvo. \u201cAs one of the first to adopt this technology in the world, we have seen a quality improvement on par with rotogravure, offering more uniform ink coverage, better contrast and deeper shadows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEsko CDI Quartz also eliminates dot bridging and achieves new levels of solid ink density, making our prints cleaner and more vibrant,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Achieve best quality, maximize sustainability gains\u00a0<\/strong>
\u201cIn flexible packaging, gravure is still widely considered as delivering the best in print quality,\u201d said Jan De Roeck. \u201cWith the Esko Quartz ecosystem we are giving printers a way to match that print quality in flexography.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Esko Quartz ecosystem is compatible with solvent and water-based inks \u2013 delivering an increased density of up to 0.7 for water-based inks, which are becoming increasingly popular due to their sustainability benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new Esko CDI Quartz delivers:
\u2022    Unsurpassed quality \u2013 with smoother ink coverage, better contrast and deeper shadows
\u2022    Solid ink density \u2013 increased by up to 0.7 to achieve new levels of depth
\u2022    Solids are smoother \u2013 no pinholes or negative artefacts
\u2022    Eliminate dot-bridging – negative small elements stay open longer and dot-bridging in screens is eliminated, keeping fades and pictures cleaner
\u2022    Improved tonal range in print \u2013 higher ink laydown enables the usage of finer anilox rollers, and thus brilliant solids in combination with fine highlights and fades to zero
\u2022    Sustainability gains – reduced ink usage and compatibility with water-based inks make sustainability goals achievable<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAs one of the first to adopt this technology in the world, we have seen a quality improvement on par with rotogravure, offering more uniform ink coverage, better contrast and deeper shadows\u201d– Vincenzo Consalvo, CEO, Inci.Flex Srl Esko has announced that its latest innovation that sets a whole new standard for flexographic print quality, the\u00a0Esko<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[113],"class_list":{"0":"post-17984","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-print-labelling","8":"tag-esko"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17984"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17987,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17984\/revisions\/17987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}