Shine LED Lamp Kit, innovated by Miraclon, lights Fotograv’s path to LED exposure benefits
Fotograv, a pioneer in development of new technologies, and the first to invest in a FLEXCEL NX System in Brazil in 2009, has been one of the leaders in the Brazilian pre-media and flexo pre-press market since 1968. And, consistent with this pioneering spirit and in line with its philosophy of ‘Optimizing processes, Achieving results’, Fotograv became the first in Brazil to upgrade its plate production from fluorescent to LED exposure technology by installing four Shine LED Lamp Kits, innovated by Miraclon.
“LED is the future, because it’s more consistent and sustainable, but there are different paths to that future,” says Fidel Fentanes, Fotograv’s Owner & CEO. “Because the pre-press sector in Brazil is ultra-competitive, we keep an eye on what each other is investing in. We trust Miraclon to use their R&D expertise to come up with something special, so when they explained that the Shine LED Lamp Kit is retrofittable to existing fluorescent exposure frames, in the field and in just a few hours, we were very interested indeed.”
Fotograv became a beta site in February 2024, installing a Shine LED Lamp Kit at its principal production site in Sao Paulo through Miraclon channel partner, Zanatto – Equipamentos e Soluções Gráficas. “Our extensive partnership with Zanatto played an important role in successfully bringing Shine LED Lamp Kits to the Brazilian market,” adds Renato Barbieri, Sales Manager for Latin America South Cone, Miraclon.
More predictable, faster, and for longer
Unlike fluorescent bulbs, LED lamps do not degrade over time, and so provide stable, predictable intensity. The resulting consistent plate production means operators spend much less time monitoring, calibrating and recalibrating — they can effectively ‘set and forget’. Exposure times are faster (by up to 20% in Fotograv’s case), and lamps warm up and cool down instantaneously, increasing productivity. In addition, their longer operating life (up to 5,000 hours compared to 800 hours for fluorescent tubes) enhances sustainability.
Fidel adds: “These benefits also extend to converters, as they receive better quality plates that enable better ink transfer, uniformity and consistency on press. This greatly reduces potential reworks, providing greater stability throughout the value chain, from the supplier to the brand owner.”
He continues: “Once we were up and running, it was quickly apparent that the Shine LED Lamp Kit lived up to Miraclon’s claims. We saw perfect dots across the entire plate, contributing to major consistency and stability improvements throughout the printing process.”
Despite this excellent first impression, Fotograv took its usual methodical approach to commissioning new technology and spent two months conducting trials to ensure that both FLEXCEL NX and LAMS plates performed as they should on customers’ presses. “They did,” says Fidel, “confirming that we were making the right decision.”