The Shine LED lamp kit, innovated by Miraclon, has become the first technology to win two prestigious FTA Awards in one year – the FTA Innovation Award and the FTA Sustainability Excellence Award.

Supplied as a simple, fast retrofit to existing fluorescent exposure frames, the Shine LED lamp kit enables flexo trade shops and printers to gain all the efficiency and sustainability benefits of LED exposure technology at a fraction of the cost of a new system. These include better plate exposure consistency, uniformity and quality, resulting in fewer plate remakes and reduced plate waste; increased plate consistency leads to even greater efficiencies in printing; because LED lamps last longer, reduced hazardous mercury waste from frequent fluorescent lamp replacements; and lower energy consumption due to LED’s greater energy-efficiency.

Joe Tuccito, director of education at the FTA, said, “The Shine LED Lamp Kit is remarkable in that it not only delivers major benefits in plate rooms and on press at a significantly lower cost but is also open to all major flexo plate types and most fluorescent exposure frame types from leading manufacturers. In this way, it meets and even exceeds, the criteria for both our Innovation and Sustainability Awards. This makes the product a truly exceptional addition to flexo production technology, one that recognizes and meets the pressing requirements of today’s flexo businesses – to continue investing in efficient, sustainable technology while minimizing capital outlay and controlling running costs.”

For Miraclon, Reid Chesterfield, chief technology and innovation officer, said, “This is our first FTA Sustainability Excellence Award and fourth FTA Innovation Award. Each of these award-winning innovations, which includes the Flexcel NX System (2009), Flexcel NX Ultra Processor (2020) and, most recently, PureFlexo Printing Technology (2023), build on each other to enable even greater consistency, efficiency and sustainability in printing. We’re delighted with this double recognition of the Shine LED Lamp Kit, as it underscores Miraclon’s ongoing commitment to deliver innovation that helps drive productivity and sustainability standards, offering printers a simple path towards modern flexo.”