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Latest News |
MAY 2002 |
Abbey’s ‘FineArtFlute’ flagship
After some twelve months of extensive trialing, Abbey’s ‘FineArtFlute’ has become the flagship of Abbey’s specialist board range specifically aimed at the PoP and top quality screen and flexo markets.
The new board, part of Abbey’s New Deal which is designed to give customers more choice, is a double wall combination of N and E flute which combine to create a material that is strong with a narrow profile and is highly stable. Its development created high customer interest and its final composition was largely influenced by customer input.
Advances in computerised graphics and origination, together with improved inks and technology, has placed demands on traditional materials, particularly in multi-colour process work. ‘FineArtFlute’ has an outstanding surface finish and printability which, in many respects, challenges and out-performs other display boards and solid board.
Because of the small pitch and high density of flutes in ‘FineArtFlute’- there are 550 flutes to the metre - it provides an excellent support for the coated liner and eliminates flute show. The addition of E flute adds to the strength of the board yet it remains remarkably thin - nominally 2.35mm - which is less than a similarly graded B flute board which is 2.91mm thick.
This combination of surface quality and strength provides a flat and stable sheet that allows printers to achieve excellent results with high key graphics and no flute shadow. Additionally, productivity is increased and waste reduced through greater control of the board during printing. That means that printing speeds are improved by eliminating any problems with dot density, colour balance and registration which all add up to considerable costs savings.
With the high cost of running modern multi-colour inline screen and flexo machines, the less downtime or slow running the greater the savings - not only in costs, but also in lead-time reduction which is essential in today’s just-in-time environment. And, as there are no unwanted density and tone changes during printing, running speeds can be increased with considerably less waste.
This new board offers designers wider opportunities without compromising performance. And, apart from successfully challenging existing materials, ‘FineArtFlute’ can offer the user the added attraction of smaller order quantities, shorter lead times and a wider choice of sheet sizes.
‘FineArtFlute’ can even be delivered to suit machine feed requirements. Whether the coated liner needs to face up or face down, the material can be stacked in whichever way is needed to save valuable production time. To maintain the highest levels of quality, the finished material is finally stacked on custom built pallets.
Abbey claims that customer reaction to the new board during trialing was extremely positive and that, for many, it has now become their first choice material.
