Sophie Matthews Paul reports on Apex Cylinders using the combination of EFI’s Fiery XF and Roland’s VersaUV to move into digital prototyping.
When trends in print evolve according to market demand and in line with new technologies, astute specialist companies are the first to use their expertise and develop new services that complement their original capabilities. Bristol based Apex Cylinders has concentrated on the engraving of gravure cylinders since its formation 23 years ago, and now the company has diversified by setting up its own pre-press and design company to enable agencies and end customers to take advantage of its in-depth packaging knowledge.
Apex set up Studio404 in the building next door to extend its specialist knowledge with a range of design and pre-press services for the packaging market. However, the key to being able to design and generate realistic prototypes relied on finding the right combination of inkjet printer and software, achieved successfully with a Roland VersaUV LEC-330 and EFI’s Fiery XF production software.
Although the company was no stranger to inkjet proofing, it wanted to be able to generate and create job prototypes onto the material which was being used for the final gravure, flexo or offset print run. Conventional wide format platforms weren’t able to offer the right levels of emulation with flexible ink plus the additions of opaque white and clear varnish. Additionally, working with thin and sensitive films and packaging materials meant that the lower temperature of LED UV curing would also be essential.
The company chose the VersaUV LEC-330, with a print width of 762 mm, using flexible UV curable inks with LED curing technology. Its four colour ink set is complemented by white and clear varnish, with the latter able to produce gloss and matte finishes on virtually all materials including PE, PET, synthetics, foils and card.
After trying different software packages, none of which provided the accuracy or flexibility the company needed in terms of output capabilities, it tried EFI’s Fiery XF v4.5. This proved to be successful. By instigating an efficient digital set up and workflow to complement existing wet proofing capabilities, it is now quick and easy to produce mock ups and proofs for creatives, design agencies and brand owners who are now benefiting from fast turnaround, colour accurate prototypes onto the final material.
Allan Bendall, technical director of Apex Cylinders, explained, ‘The whole idea behind Studio404 was to move forward with people who need production based solutions. Creative agencies can develop fantastic designs packed with creative vision, but can find it a challenge to implement them within the production environment efficiently. We have the expertise to convert creative vision into production ready mock ups, and we needed the right system for producing packaging prototypes, and now we can show them a true representation of their finished jobs.
‘Having experienced trial and error with alternative software, the Fiery XF worked straight out of the box. The image quality is phenomenal and whatever we ask it to do, in combination with the Roland printer, it does it. The response we get is always ‘wow’; we haven’t found anyone yet who hasn’t been impressed with the results.’
He continued, ‘We also have the added edge in that we can take a Roland print and overprint with production ready inks. For example, using fusion proofing we can produce a pearl feature colour on a pack, with a real matte lacquer, and register it onto the print.’
The benefits of digital prototyping mean that agencies and brand owners can see their jobs being proofed while they wait, making any changes on the fly and signing orders off during a single visit. These time and cost savings are significant, offering an efficient and quick digital pre-press route before reaching the wet proof stage.
Mr Bendall is very happy with the colour matching from the Fiery XF, with stable results and consistent quality across all types of media. The XF simplifies production routines and job management, with simple to use preview and editing options, including layouts and colour adjustments. Best known for its RIPping capabilities within the wide format sector, the software is also growing in popularity for businesses that want to optimise their digital proofing and prototyping capabilities using third party inkjet devices.
Apex Cylinders uses Fiery XF for the PC with a Macintosh client, working with normalised PDF files generated using Esko ArtPro packaging pre-production editor. The EFI software drives the Roland VersaUV LEC-330 independently to provide complete control between RIP and output device without the need for the printer’s own production program.
The VersaUV LEC-330 is the smaller of the duo of UV curable print solutions which are proving ideal for packaging and labelling companies who want to produce bespoke short runs and prototypes. The machine is able to print direct to a vast range of materials, with its flexible inks and LED curing making it ideal for sensitive substrates.
‘Now that we have a digital prototyping solution which gives us the results we need, reliably, quickly and easily, we are promoting Studio404’s innovative service to end users and designers – with very successful results,’ concluded Mr Bendall. ‘Thanks to the combination of EFI’s Fiery XF software and Roland’s VersaUV LEC-330 printer we are now able to offer our highly knowledgeable proofing services to the complete packaging industry.’
Apex Cylinders is part of the Saueressig Group which specialises in industrial printing and finishing solutions for the packaging sector. The company’s international presence includes plants in Germany, Poland, Jordan, Turkey and Russia, as well as the UK.
