Sebastian Longo, owner and managing director of leading Argentinian trade shop Fotograbados Longo, has a distinctive definition of quality. “For us, it isn’t just about offering print quality. It’s also about the quality – or efficiency – of the printing process. We want our customers to be comfortable using our prepress tools, our plates. Comfort means no problems during press set-up or during the print run. It means consistency, and everything being right the first time to maximize efficiency and save costs. This is how I define quality, and Flexcel NX plates with PureFlexo Printing from Miraclon make it something we can guarantee to our customers.”
Miraclon products installed at the company’s product facility in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, earlier this year include a Flexcel NX System with PureFlexo Printing, and a Shine LED Lamp Kit, innovated by Miraclon, which enabled the company to refurbish an older fluorescent exposure unit and increase their LED plate exposure capacity.
Sebastian says that he had tracked Miraclon’s technology innovations for some time, adding that a contributing factor to his investment decision was his membership of the judging panel for the Global Flexo Innovation Awards in 2019 and 2021. “I saw first-hand the benefits that trade shops and converters were gaining from Flexcel NX Technology,” he recalls. “Our company slogan is ‘All Options, The Best Solutions’, and I realized this was a solution we absolutely had to offer our customers in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. After Miraclon introduced PureFlexo Printing and when I saw the print and process quality this technology enables, I thought ‘That’s it. Let’s start!’. It couldn’t have been soon enough.”
Fotograbados Longo was founded in 1938 by Sebastian’s grandfather Alfonso, initially providing zinc plates for letterpress. Under his father Rodolfo, the company was a key player in the development of the Argentinean flexography industry during the 1980s and 1990s and is now a major player in wide web flexible packaging prepress. “Our focus has always been on three things,” explains Sebastian. “Quality, technology and forward thinking – looking ahead to see what’s new and bringing it to Argentina.”
‘Putting the magic into prepress’
Fotograbados Longo provides a full prepress service, from packaging design to plate imaging, injecting what Sebastian describes as “our magic into the prepress stage – retouching, file editing, color management, and so on. This means getting involved early in the design process to confirm what’s possible. But for a lot of it, we need the best plate technology to do this magic justice, which is where Flexcel NX Technology comes in.”
The company works very closely with both converters and brands to provide tailored solutions for each job. Explains Sebastian: “At the start of a new project we meet with the designers, the brand and the converter. Our role is to say what is possible, and what isn’t. If necessary, we take the design apart and rebuild it from the color separation stage, so that everyone involved understands what we’re proposing. Since introducing Flexcel NX plates with PureFlexo Printing, we’ve had customers commenting on the massive increase in plate stability and ink control they’ve experienced during a print run, which is much better than what they thought was possible!”
Releasing the potential of fixed color palette
With PureFlexo Printing in Fotograbados Longo’s ‘toolbox’ the company can now “confidently offer customers the option of fixed color palette (FCP) printing, and the massive production, efficiency and cost saving benefits that come along with it,” say Sebastian. PureFlexo Printing, available through Flexcel NX Print Suite for Flexible Packaging, utilizes sophisticated triple-form plate surface patterning to resist ink spread during printing, lowering dot gain and significantly reducing ink build-up. “This gives a degree of stability and control during printing that’s way beyond what’s possible with other technologies,” says Sebastian. “It makes FCP production much easier to achieve and an attractive option for printers.”
Since the Flexcel NX System was installed, the Fotograbados Longo team has been meeting with customers and explaining what the technology makes possible. “The response has been very positive across the board, from both converters and brands,” says Sebastian. “They immediately appreciate the efficiency, consistency and predictable print quality benefits, while the brands see the very real opportunity to replace gravure production. Flexo is more flexible, achieves the same quality, the same ink laydown, is faster, often costs less, and is more sustainable. It’s a very persuasive proposition.”
Another major benefit of FCP printing for both converters and brands is how it broadens their offerings by simplifying the short runs that brands increasingly need to respond to changing market demands. Explains Sebastian: “With FCP they can easily insert a short run into a medium or long run job. This gives us a powerful message for all our customers – that with FCP and the right tools, we can cover all your needs, whether you’re a large or small brand, and need short or long runs.”
‘Thinking ten years ahead’
Asked to describe Fotograbados Longo’s working relationship with Miraclon, Sebastian talks of “the alignment between our two companies around developing forward-thinking innovative solutions. Ever since my grandfather attended one of the first drupa exhibitions in the 1950s, looking into the future has been a pillar of our business. Miraclon’s commitment to innovation is apparent in everything they do. Take the Shine LED Lamp Kit, for example – it’s an elegant, simple solution to all the problems with fluorescent exposure, and it’s retrofittable to existing exposure frames. It’s very clever indeed.”
Looking to the future, Sebastian says he is “confident that Fotograbados Longo will continue to benefit from Miraclon innovations. I have no doubt of that, because when I talk to many Miraclon people I have the feeling they’re already thinking ten years ahead!”
