Polish flexible packaging foil manufacturer Marpol has installed the 150th Cyrel Fast Thermal Plate Processor system and upgraded to the latest generation technology with the Cyrel Fast 2000TD Thermal processor, having also installed the first of the series in 2008.

Robert Awruk of Marpol said, “The new DuPont thermal processor meets all our expectations. Maintaining colour consistency, especially on reprints or series of projects, is just as important as being able to instantaneously produce a photopolymer plate.

“In case of a design change or correction by the customer, if a new plate is required in the shortest time, with the Cyrel Fast Thermal Plate Processor Fast technology, Marpol is able to have a new plate ready in less than an hour. It is not required to interrupt processes and wait for a new plate or postponing of acceptance print to another date.”

DuPont created and launched the thermal flexographic platemaking technology in 2000.

The technology is proven in the Global market across 1,500 installations worldwide.

DuPont’s new and improved thermal plate making technology with the Cyrel Fast 2000 TD series has more than 500 installations across the globe, according to DuPont.

The uptake in A/NZ

Locally, the Cyrel Fast Thermal Plate Processor Fast installation base across Australia and New Zealand has predominantly been utilised in the tag and label industry segment, with a couple of units installed for use in wide web flexible packaging organisations according to James Quirke, the sales manager for the A/NZ region.

“With the release of the 2000TD coinciding with our newest range of photopolymer plates my expectation is that we shall see the wide web flexible packaging industry segment look more closely to the use of Cyrel Fast plates, either through purchase of the products through Trade shops that have the 2000TD technology or by giving consideration to moving their platemaking in house. Our latest technology is specifically designed to enable use in such organisations and the print results achieved in the printing of packaging materials for the packaging of bread bags, snack food packaging, such as chips, has been superb”, Quirke said.

“Our tag and label customers love the simplicity of Cyrel Fast. Easy to use and just-in-time plate making is essential to the smooth running of any printing establishment. They can make what they need, when they need it, and as they need it.

“With our thermal plate making technology, where plates can be made and ready in less than an hour, you can make a quick decision on what to do if you have a plate issue on a press. Most customers are running six to eight colour presses so if a plate crashes on one of the units, instead of having to lift the entire job which can be quite costly resulting in significant downtime, you can quickly make a new plate and be up and running in less than an hour.”

Because it does not rely on the use of solvents or aqueous solutions for processing, more than two hours is saved throughout the process by cutting out the need for drying time, and businesses can simplify their OHS requirements by not having to handle and dispose of potentially hazardous materials, according to Quirke.

The Cyrel Fast 2000TD can process plates up to 42×60 inch (1067x1524mm) and for smaller sized plates processing, a narrower developer roll can be used at (37 inch). DuPont’s latest 2021 release, the larger format, Cyrel FAST 3000TD thermal processor, can process plates up to 50×80 inch (1270x2032mm). It has primarily been designed for use by trade shops that supply to wide web flexible packaging operations and/or for such operations that prefer to make their plates in house.