HELL presents direct laser engraving of copper gravure cylinders ...

23 th edition · September 2006
Dear Reader,
The world’s most modern cylinder production system with the Cellaxy output device
was recently showcased at an open house event. Find out what makes Cellaxy
so special and what else has happened at HELL in this latest issue of e-topics.
Sincerely,
Dr. Siegfried Beißwenger
Ulrich Knehans
HELL presents direct laser engraving of copper gravure
cylinders with Cellaxy at an open house event
The first presentation of direct laser engraving
for copper cylinders offered over
200 visitors an in-depth look at the world’s
most modern cylinder production system
at 4 Packaging at the end of June.
The centerpiece of direct laser engraving
is the Cellaxy output device. The Cellaxy
is fitted with a high-power multi-kilowatt
laser with a resolution of 2540 dpi (1000
l/cm) that lasers cells directly into the copper
surface. The electroplating process for
producing the engraving cylinder surface
remains unchanged. The laser is in continuous
operation and is controlled with a
3D-Rip. The writing principle is thus similar
to that of an offset platesetter, with each
cell being formed from a matrix of 16 x 16
laser dots, for example. In contrast to
offset, the laser can vary the intensity, and
therefore the depth, of each individual
laser dot. This enables the engraving
screen to be freely adjusted in terms of
screen resolution, dot shape, depth, and
cell-to-wall ratio. In the future, this property
will allow a printing form to be adapted
to the specific printing conditions. As the
Cellaxy always employs a write resolution
of 2540 dpi, extremely high contour definition
is produced. This makes the
Cellaxy ideal for applications in the cigarette,
labeling, and pharmaceuticals
sectors. The Cellaxy is being used
Cellaxy forms each cell from a large number of
laser dots. Modulated laser intensities result in
different depths in the copper surface.
1

initially at 4 Packaging for engraving fulltone
cylinders in the cigarette sector,
which requires high print densities and
ultrafine text and graphics.
A detailed report on the event is available
on our website:
www.HELL-Gravure-Systems.com/News
If you were unable to attend this event,
you have the chance to visit 4 Packaging
during an ERA event. Further information
on this can be found in this edition of
e-topics on page 3.
GAA Golden Cylinder Award for K6
The Gravure Association of America
(GAA) has awarded the Golden Cylinder
Award to the HelioKlischograph K6.
Managing Director Dr. Siegfried
Beißwenger accepted the award at the
GAA annual conference in Richmond,
Virginia.
Among other reasons, the award was
presented for the increased productivity
generated by the K6 in automated
gravure form manufacture, a benefit
now enjoyed to the full by the majority
of printshops.
Dr. Siegfried Beißwenger
All eyes on the Cellaxy.
INLINE cylinder store –
a new highlight of the AutoCon line
Discussions in the relaxing atmosphere of a
marquee.
Bauer Logistik recently unveiled the
unique compact INLINE cylinder store.
The INLINE cylinder store is designed to
be a fully automatic high-bay system,
typically housing more than 100 cylinders.
PLC controllers, sensors, and servo-drive
technology ensure reliability and speed in
daily use.
Visitors to the open house event at
4 Packaging at the end of June were able
to take a closer
look at the new
INLINE cylinder store
already integrated
into fully automatic
cylinder production
with AutoCon.
The compact INLINE cylinder store.
2

ERA Packaging Con–
ference in Osnabrück
PremiumFlexo open house event
at Hueck Folien
HELL will be providing detailed information
on direct laser engraving with
Cellaxy at the ERA Packaging Conference
in Osnabrück on October 11-12. Following
an opening presentation on the first day
of the event, a visit to beta tester 4 Packaging
is scheduled for the second day.
This will offer a closer look at the world’s
most modern cylinder production system.
Among other things, the fully automatic
AutoCon cylinder production line integrates
4 K500 HelioKlischograph systems,
Cellaxy, K.Walter slimline electroplating,
and the Bauer INLINE cylinder store.
www.era.eu.org
HELL Gravure Systems and Hueck Folien
unveiled PremiumFlexo at a joint open
house event in Weiden at the end of May.
The invitation to Weiden attracted over 90
visitors. At the time of the event, the beta
installation had only been installed for four
weeks. Despite this
short period, several
color sets of elastomer
sleeves had
been directly lasered
and tested on various
substrates under pro-
-duction conditions on an external UV
flexographic press.
For Hueck Folien, which has been involved
in innovative collaboration with HELL
for 40 years, PremiumFlexo is a logical
Initial color sets were presented to a specialist
audience.
progression in using cutting-edge technologies
for printing form manufacture.
From the end of summer 2006 onwards,
Hueck will be deploying the directly
lasered PremiumSleeves to print on aluminum
foil on a UV flexographic series
press from BHS.
The open house event at Hueck Folien
clearly demonstrated the suitability of
direct laser engraving of continuous/
seamless elastomer printing form sleeves
and its benefits, which can scarcely be
overestimated. This makes the process a
serious alternative to established production
processes in flexographic printing.
With PremiumFlexo, HELL Gravure Systems
has developed a complete concept
geared to high-end flexographic printing.
Consisting of the PremiumSleeve,
PremiumRip, and PremiumSetter modules,
with the high-resolution laser as its centerpiece,
all the components are fully
In PremiumFlexo, all the components are fully integrated with each other.
3

integrated with each other. The print
proofs and direct laser engraved sleeves
presented at the event demonstrate the
high potential of this system for manufacturing
flexographic printing forms.
A series of milestones
Milestones are always a cause for celebration
and HELL saw three reasons for a
small company party: Production of the
2000th HelioSprint engraving head, the
500th HelioKlischograph from the K500
family, and delivery of the 25th Helio-
Klischograph K6.
PremiumFlexo and
Cellaxy at
Converflex / Grafitalia
Horst Löscher unveils the PremiumFlexo process.
The laser was the key theme for HELL
at this year’s Converflex trade show in
Milan. Both newly developed processes
for high-resolution direct engraving of
flexographic printing and gravure forms
were showcased at the booth of the local
representative ETS.
e-topics – always up to speed.
The Hell Gravure Systems GmbH electronic customer magazine is published
every 2-3 months in 7 languages and is sent to the company‘s
customers and friends as a PDF file. You can subscribe to e-topics
free of charge at www.HELL-Gravure-Systems.com.
Earlier editions are available in the e-topics archive on our website.
HELL Gravure Systems GmbH
Philipp-Reis-Weg 5
24148 Kiel / Germany
Tel.: + 49 (431) 23 77 - 0
Fax: + 49 (431) 23 77 - 12 35
www.hell-gravure-systems.com
info@hell-gravure.de
www.ma-design.de
4