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DS Smith double winner at Flexostar 2015

DS Smith has won two prizes at the Flexostar Awards 2015, which celebrate the best flexo printing of the year.

The ceremony for the 29th edition of the prestigious awards was held  at the Chamonix Conference Centre and were organised by the Association Technique Française de Flexographie (ATF Flexo) (“French Association of Flexo Printing”).

DS Smith’s devotion to quality was once again recognised by the Flexostar jury. DS Smith won a Silver Flexostar for the "Jacquet" printing which was created by our facility in Velin, France and a Bronze Flexostar for the "Andros" printing which was done by our colleagues at our Sud-Ouest site in Cognac, France.

The annual Awards, open to all printers, promote the quality of flexo printing. The President of the jury was this year Mr Bertrand ARNAULT, President of the COF (Carton Ondulé de France) (Corrugated Cardboard of France). Split into two colleges (a technical jury and an artistic jury), the members of the jury previously gathered together on October 15th and 16th to shortlist the best candidates. 

DS Smith has had great success at these awards over the years. In 2014 our entry, 'Envoûtante' (which means 'bewitching' in English) took home three awards:                                                                     

  • The gold award for the pre-print 'pré impression pour carton ondulé' category
  • The 'Prix du Jury Technique', which rewards exemplary technical achievements across all categories
  • The 'Super Flexostar' award, which rewards the top design and print in all categories

Envoûtante was printed on the same Fischer & Krecke machine that earned the Silver Flexostar award for the “Jacquet” printing. Equipped with latest technologies – including a GPS RFID for ensuring perfect pressure and registration between up to eight colours – it is one of only two such machines in Europe, and one of three in the world. The machine allows for HD printing with very specific criteria and the prints it produces are comparable in quality to offset prints – but at significantly lower cost.

Flexographic printing was invented in Liverpool in 1890. Since then, the principles of Flexo printing have remained the same but improved printing plates from cutting edge materials and innovative inks have brought the process firmly into the 21st century.  Flexography (as it is also known) uses a flexible relief plate (where the text or images to be printed are raised off the background) and can be used for printing on almost any type of surface. One of the most popular uses is for printing on food packaging as it has to be made from a non-porous material. Using a non-porous material makes it impossible to absorb the ink used in other printing processes.