Carminati, located in Antegnate, east of Milan in northern Italy, makes flexographic printing plates for customers across Italy, into France and beyond. The plates are produced on two lines at its 5,000-square-meter plant.
In 2021, Carminati decided it was time to replace one of its outdated plate processing lines with a ThermoFlexX Catena-WDLS. The new equipment was installed by XSYS Italia at the end of that year. Less than two years later, a second Catena-WDLS has been introduced to upgrade the other processing line, giving the company a total capacity uplift of more than 20 percent.
ThermoFlexX Catena-WDLS integrates washing, drying, light-finishing, and stacking into one process. The operator loads the imaged plate at the start using a pinbar system and then collects the print-ready version at the other end. This high level of automation reportedly brings numerous benefits, including reduced waste, faster processing, and exceptional quality. In addition, the system is energy efficient, helping Carminati to reach its sustainability targets. For instance, the company reports a reduction in drying time per plate of 30 minutes compared to the old system.
