Relief printing technologies for a wide range of applications
Complete relief printing
The Heliograph companies Lüscher and HELL have all the answers when it comes to relief printing as well as flatbed, internal drum, and external drum CTP systems for sleeves and plates. The Heliograph portfolio includes photopolymer systems using the LAMS method, direct UV imaging and the new elastomer generation for innovative direct fiber laser imaging.
Tried-and-tested photopolymer plate technology
Photopolymer plates represent the leading technology in terms of quality and productivity in most applications. All the Lüscher products – external drum, internal drum and flatbed imager designs – can be used for LAMS imaging of plates of various sizes and thicknesses: for narrow-web label printing, central impression flexo printing, and sophisticated spot coating plates in sheet-fed offset printing. The UV-Flex version of the MultiDX! Flatbed imager combines thermal mask ablation for flexo plates with direct UV imaging for screens, which makes it the market’s most flexible CTP system. The XPose! internal drum CTP system offers the ultimate in easy handling, regardless of plate format or thickness.
PremiumSETTER sets new quality standards
PremiumSetter technology from HELL combines maximum resolution with the undercut feature for optimized 3D design of relief elements. The PremiumSetter’s cantilever system makes it far easier to handle sleeves, and the version with a vacuum cylinder is ideal for plates. Depending on the format width, up to four low-maintenance fiber lasers can work in parallel, which further boosts cost-efficiency. PremiumSetter systems can also produce intricate coating plates for inline surface finishing in sheet-fed offset printing and embossing forms made of harder elastomers.
Letterpress printing – a method with undreamt of possibilities
Today’s letterpress plates are made of polymers and are used for a whole host of sophisticated applications, including direct printing and embossing on labels in narrow-web presses. Letterpress plates meet the toughest requirements when it comes to reproduction of details and ink transfer, including special-effect pigments.
Heliograph has the perfect solution for all these applications thanks to the Lüscher portfolio with its infrared configurations of the MultiDX! Flex flatbed system, the XPose! Flex internal drum system and the XTurn! Flex external drum imager. In addition, the possibility of combining different laser sources supports processing with varying spectral sensitivity and simultaneous processing for different printing methods. It enables users to choose whether to have one of the diode lasers remove the masking layer thermally on a letterpress plate or image a UV-sensitive conventional offset plate.