Perfection Packaging talks to Miraclon about their ‘routine production’ FTA Best In Show award-winning job

We spoke to Selwyn Hyman and Hylton Hodes, managers at Perfection Packaging, to find out more about the application and to get the lowdown on what it takes to produce award-winning print:

Q – Can you share a little background on Perfection Packaging?

Established in 1978, we have expanded over the years and now occupy a purpose-built 10,000sqm facility in Dandenong South, near Melbourne. We have five state-of-the-art flexo presses and offer flexible packaging solutions for the FMCG industry, including food, health and personal care. We’re focused on providing quality innovative products with unrivaled customer service and produce work that regularly wins local and international printing awards – though this recent Best in Show win at the FTA is the icing on the cake!

Q – Tell us a little more about the production of the winning bag:

The first thing you need to know is that the job was printed as any job that goes through our plant. This included normal press speeds together with the standard process controls that are applied to every job printed at Perfection Packaging. This job was not treated any differently. It’s printed at 133lpi screen ruling. We don’t push high line screens – that way we minimize the challenges on press.

The key to producing such a high-quality job is maintaining consistency on press with ink density targets, which we were able to achieve by using KODAK FLEXCEL NX plates.

The reprographics, provided by our prepress partner Kirk Group, are produced to a press color profile specific to our presses and substrates. This allows proofs to accurately match the press outcomes. The KODAK FLEXCEL NX plates with Advanced surface patterning allow for ink densities to be quickly achieved and maintained throughout the run without the need to increase impression. This is coupled with the KODAK Advanced Edge Definition technology used on the plates, which keeps the type crisp and clean with both positive and reverse text.

“The key to producing such a high-quality job is maintaining consistency on press with ink density targets, which we were able to achieve by using KODAK FLEXCEL NX plates.”

Q – Were you working to a specific client brief?

The client did not provide any specific direction – they probably didn’t even realize or appreciate the complexity of the design for the flexographic process. They did have a very similar product that had been produced in gravure, so we knew running a minimum dot across the front of the pack wasn’t an option.  This is where KODAK MAXTONE SX screening became critical.

Q – What obstacles did you have to overcome with this job?

The design of the packet is challenging for traditional flexography as the image background of a colored woven material has large areas where the background softly fades to white, with copy in these areas.

Running a traditional minimum dot across these areas was not an option, as it would have reduced the product’s shelf impact. So, to achieve gravure-like results where the tone starts at 0%, Kirk Group utilized Kodak’s MAXTONE SX screening – which is tailored to the imaging of the KODAK FLEXCEL NX plate – to deliver the visual effect of fading to zero. This was applied across the entire job, which allowed for all colors to be very ‘clean’ by starting at 0%.

Q – Why do you think your application won an FTA Best of Show Award?

The results we achieved with this job challenges the traditional expectations of a flexible package printed by the flexographic process – something we aspire to with every job we do!

The design of this job placed all of the traditional limitations of flexography in sharp focus, with fine reverse text, fine positive text, images and background that required the tone to start at 0%.

The end result could only be defined as being flexo by viewing the result under a magnifying glass, something brand owners and consumers do not do.