Low Carbon Environment Protection and Green Flexography Packaging

Flexography has a unique combination of flexibility and economic efficiency. It is beneficial to the environment and compliant with hygiene standards for food packaging printing materials . This also why the flexography process worldwide is developing so rapidly.

In China's current industrial climate, offset and gravure printing occupy a large market share in the packaging industry . By comparison, flexographic technology got a relatively late start. Although the former has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, there is still a gap between flexography and advanced international technology.

In recent years, Dongguan Yihua Flexible Technology has dedicated itself to improving the quality of flexography. In early 2013, the Company started using the Kodak Flexcel NX plate making equipment. After installation and debugging the machine functioned efficiently. Within a single year, the company’s sales volume doubled. Moreover, the number of color plates actually tripled. On August 16, the Kodak - Yihua Flexography Plate Making Technology Seminar was held in Dongguan. In an interview, the company’s GM, Qiu Dong, talked about Yihua’s focus on flexographic plate making.

Two Decades of Experience in Flexographic Plate Making

In the early 1990s, the development of the printing industry in Guangdong was the country’s most rapid. As was the adoption of new technologies and equipment. However, flexography was new to China at that time. Flexographic plate making technology in particular was considered a novelty that had been mastered by foreign-funded companies based in places like Hong Kong and Singapore.

During that time, a teenage Qiu Dong joined the plate making department of a printing packaging company - his first ever job. Since then, he has developed a strong bond with the flexographic plate making field, devoting his whole career to it. Mr. Qiu founded his own company in 1994, having accumulated enough experience to successfully operate his own business. Entrepreneurial challenges have been interspersed with extraordinary achievements and huge changes in flexographic plate making technology. Today, Dongguan Yihua Flexible Technology is one of Guangdong’s best known flexographic plate making companies.

Seeking Differentiated Competitive Advantages

In 2012, Yihua, to enable the company’s development, positioned itself as a middle to high-end flexographic plate maker. The company then made plans to buy the most advanced flexographic plate making equipment. After conducting extensive research, the Yihua staff gained a full understanding of Kodak, NetScreen, Esko, Luscher and other relatively mature flexographic plate making equipment brands. The various pieces of machinery all have different features. Because deciding to make a multi-million RMB investment in equipment is no small matter, the challenge is always to make a wise choice.

At that time, the middle and high-end flexographic plate making companies in Guangdong had bought Esko, NetScreen and other plate making equipment a few years earlier. Mr. Qiu turned an idea over in his mind: If Yihua emulated other companies and bought identical equipment, it would homogenize competition. He said, “The sole goal is not just to gain a share of the flexographic plate making market. From a broader perspective, I want more manufacturers of offset printing and gravure to adopt flexography. That will happen when wholesale improvements of flexographic plate making technology take place. This way, the flexography market share will grow and each member of the industry can gain a bigger share.” After much consideration, Yihua adopted differentiated competitive strategies, introducing Kodak’s latest Flexcel NX flexographic plate making machine, China's first piece of super breadth flexography equipment.

Less Investment, More Production

Yihua’s Kodak Flexcel NX plate-making equipment has a breadth of 50’ x 80’ (1270mm x 2030mm). It uses Kodak’s patented square dot laser imaging technology, which has been successfully applied in Kodak offset printing CTP plate making field for decades. It can realize sophisticated image copying, high contrast and high color density. The flexographic plates produced provide superior flexography production capacity for the pre-printing plate makers and flexography printers. They also provide customers with high flexibility, low cost flexography, as well as high printing quality only possessed by offset printing, gravure and digital printing. It adopts the Flexcel NX thermal imaging layer (laser membrane layer) with extremely high-speed imaging, before the conventional UV exposure, the imaging layer will be attached on the Kodak Flexcel NX flexographic plate, which can isolate the oxygen, ensure the creation of the whole flat top dot, provide 1:1 exact copy of the original digital file and realize a complete restore from the initial file to the printing plate.

Since Kodak Flexcel NX plate making equipment was installed at the company, many customers have remarked on the excellent plate making quality. After using the flexible plates made by Dongguan Yihua Flexible Technology with this equipment, Smurfit-Stone (Dongguan), a US-funded packaging giant in corrugated carton production, believes that the plate has higher ability of oil ink transfer, high resolution flat top dot structure, fast preparation for operation, less downtime, faster plate cleaning and a high press run rate. It is also highly competitive in enhancing productivity, saving printing materials and reducing production costs.

Less investment, more production. Dongguan Yihua’s orders have increased rapidly as customers have experienced a boom in quality. Mr. Qiu said, “Our sales are double what they were this time last year. In fact, the number of color plates we’ve sold has actually tripled.”

Create High Quality Flexographic Plates Through Attention to Detail

“Only unwavering attentiveness produces high-quality plates and allows us to provide good service to customers so the company can develop,” said Mr. Qiu, speaking of Yihua’s achievements. The GM believes that success is a direct results of long-standing and consistent efforts to serve customers and provide high-quality printing plates.

For SinoCorrugated South 2014, Dongguan Yihua Flexible Technology is a confirmed and loyal exhibitor. Mr. Qiu believes that the expanding domestic flexography market for cartons and paper boxes is leading the company’s business to increase, year by year. SinoCorrugated South 2014 will boost Yihua’s promotion efforts. The exhibition will run from April 10 to April 12 at the GD Modern International Exhibition Center in Houjie, Dongguan. It will cover an area of 60,000 m2 and feature many suppliers of high-quality packaging and printing equipment, consumables and services. They will provide comprehensive solutions and purchasing choices for carton pre-printing and carton printing with high line-screen levels. The show will be a unique chance for carton factories keen to develop. The new flexography zone at the exhibition – a key showcase in Asian flexography for the printing packaging industry this year, will serve as a one-stop purchasing platform of flexography equipment and consumables. This is sure to facilitate the rapid development of the market.

“Every year, we get a lot out of participating in the SinoCorrugated events organized by Reed Exhibitions. Our basic goal when we join events like these is to understand industry trends, make new connections and find strategic partners. We’re excited about SinoCorrugated South 2014, and will continue to prepare to display our high-quality solutions and services to every customer at the show. We’ll try our best to drive the development of domestic flexography!” said Mr. Qiu.

About SinoCorrugated South 2014– Asia-Pacific's leading trade show for the global corrugated manufacturing industry. The event features the latest, most innovative corrugated equipment and consumables on the market. As a sourcing platform for manufacturers of corrugated boxes, honeycomb paperboard, paper stock models and paper pipes, the show attracts manufacturers, buyers and end-users alike. It is a must-attend event that sharpens participants' competitive edge by providing networking opportunities, technological updates and news of the latest industry developments.

For more information, please visit the official SinoCorrugated South 2014 website: www.sino-corrugated.com.

About Reed Exhibitions Greater China - The country’s premier exhibition organizer

Reed Exhibitions Greater China is a part of a world leading event organizer that hosts 500 events in 41 countries: Reed Exhibitions. Reed Exhibitions’ portfolio of exhibitions and conferences serves 44 industry sectors across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa. Reed’s has 3,000 employees worldwide. In 2012, it brought together over seven million event participants from around the world, generating billions of dollars in business for its customers. The group’s total revenues for the year 2012 were GBP 854 million.

After more than two decades of rapid growth, today, Reed Exhibitions Greater China is the country’s premier organizer of definitive trade events, with eight outstanding member companies: Reed Exhibitions China, Reed Sinopharm Exhibitions, Reed Huabo Exhibitions, Reed Huaqun Exhibitions, Reed Exhibitions (Hainan), Reed Guanghe Exhibitions, Reed Huabai Exhibitions and Reed Hongda Exhibitions.

Currently, over 500 staff from China help Reed to serve 11 specialized sectors: Electronics Manufacturing & Assembly · Machine Tools, Metalworking & Industrial Materials · Converting · Life Sciences & Pharmaceuticals, Health Care, Beauty & Cosmetics · Gifts & Homeware · Auto Aftermarket · Lifestyle · Gaming · Building & Construction · Property and Travel · Marine, Energy, Oil & Gas.

In 2012, Reed Exhibitions Greater China held 56 events and brought together more than 870,000 visitors and 41,000 conference delegates. Our events hosted more than 29,000 suppliers whose stands occupied more than 1.34 million sqm of show floor space.

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