TubeMatrix^© simplifies plate mounting in tube and can printing.

With permanently rising material and energy costs, as well as the demand for the highest product quality, the tube and can printing industry requires an expansion of automation in prepress and the print shop. TubeMatrix© is the smart answer to this shift. For can and tube printing, LEHNER offers you an extremely cost-effective retrofit for your printing lines with TubeMatrix©.

The new clamping strip system with integrated register sensors replaces existing clamping strips on a 1:1 basis. This provides printers with a sensor system that displays the register position of the clamping strips, greatly simplifying plate mounting while maintaining familiar handling.

Extremely economical retrofit for your printing lines.

Permanently rising material and energy costs, as well as the demand for highest product quality, require the expansion of automation in prepress and press room in tube and can printing. TubeMatrix^© is the smart answer to this change. With TubeMatrix^© LEHNER offers you an extremely economical retrofit for your printing lines.

The new clamping bar system with integrated register sensor technology replaces the existing clamping bars 1:1. The printers thus gain a sensor system that indicates the register position of the clamping bars and extremely simplifies plate mounting. At the same time, the familiar handling is retained.

TOKO Etikettier- und Drucksysteme GmbH & Co. KG, based in Erbach, Germany, supplies the full stack of label production: blank stock, full-color printed labels, specialty labels for extreme environments, multi-layer functional constructions, and tamper-evident security labels. Whatever goes on a product — TOKO makes it happen, on spec, on time, and exactly where it needs to be.

Managing Director Tobias Könders holds that standard across the entire operation. In prepress, that means no tolerance for mounting error, no avoidable waste, and no bottlenecks at the plate mounter.

That's why TOKO runs the FlexoMatrix© plate mounting system from LEHNER.

Flexographic label printing lives and dies by registration accuracy. A misaligned plate costs time in makeready, material in waste, and — on tight-margin label runs — margin that doesn't come back. FlexoMatrix© eliminates the manual guesswork from plate mounting, delivering repeatable, touch-free accuracy on every job change.

For an operation where brand labels must be visually flawless and specialty constructions must perform in conditions from arctic cold to desert heat, process reliability at the plate mounter isn't optional. It's the baseline.

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"FlexoMatrix has significantly accelerated our makeready time."

labelprint, based in Estonia, is one of the country's established names in label printing. The company takes a deliberate approach to modernization — digitization and workflow optimization are not background topics at labelprint, they are active strategic priorities.

That focus has sharpened since labelprint became part of the PrimeLabel Group. "As labelprint is now part of the PrimeLabel Group, we are focusing even more on implementing high-end technology into our production process," says Martin Mölder, "and FlexoMatrix plays a significant role in that context."

The results are operational, not theoretical.

Precise plate mounting onto print cylinders is one of the most demanding steps in flexographic prepress. When registration aids are limited to basic marks such as crosshairs, circumferential register quality remains undefined — a process that demands considerable operator skill and introduces variability on every job change. FlexoMatrix removes that variability from the equation.

"FlexoMatrix, in combination with the FlexoMatrix Workflow, has significantly accelerated our makeready time," Mölder explains. "Wind direction and plate recognition no longer need to be checked manually by the operator. We achieve very good stability in our production processes — also because plates no longer need to be remounted from scratch every time, as was previously standard practice."

The automation depth is what sets the system apart. "FlexoMatrix is so easy to operate that one operator can mount a plate while the press is still running. The degree of automation is high enough that after scanning a job order, the machine has all the information it needs to mount the plate in under a minute."

Efficiency and accuracy also mean less waste — in time and material. The era of trial-and-error mounting, with its inherent makeready scrap, belongs to the past. "We also see a significant reduction in makeready waste when using workflow plates. Operators recognize the print image in register much faster, and due to the accuracy of the mounting process, both waste and time expenditure decrease simultaneously."

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Paul Larkin, technical director at Hamilton Adhesive Labels Ltd. describes the challenges of an ever faster evolving world, with much faster communication and technology, as follows:

“Speed to market, shorter print runs, tighter print tolerances and standardisation on a global scale are just some major challenges that Label manufacturers have to face.”

He says that the rise of digital printing with its ability to produce short run work quickly and effectively has exposed the weaknesses in traditional technologies. For Hamilton Adhesive Labels to survive and prosper it needed to do something different, advance its capability beyond our competitors. To adequately meet these challenges, Hamilton set the following goals:

First, the company wanted to take an scientific approach. It wanted to deliver a predictive printing system, raise quality parameters and last not least: standardise print. The project came under the heading “Measurement and Control” a total colour management solution for enhanced quality and competitiveness

“The results have been outstanding”

Building upon the success the business has examined any remaining weaknesses within the system.

Understanding tolerances

“To execute Flexographic printing well, you have to understand tolerances” says Paul Larkin. And he continues: “One of the most difficult areas to understand and measure is the effect the plate laying process has on tolerances. So much so that Printers have to make difficult decisions on grips and traps, white out text in process, do they risk it will work or do they case the text.

Hamilton invested in the FlexoMatrix^© technology  by LEHNER

Lehner had developed a fully automatic contactless plate laying system. Hamilton bought into the technology and invested. The effect of this technology on our workflow was outstanding says Paul Arkin:

“The success of the investment has closed the loop on everything we set out to do. The quality of plate laying is beyond what we have ever seen before, contactless and measurable in microns. The impact has been immediate, and has opened up whole new fields of opportunity such as extended gamut printing.”

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Plate Mounting Machine FlexoMatrix now also in use at the Mark Andy Technology Center in Warsaw

Mark Andy, the world's leading manufacturer of narrow-web flexo printing presses, celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Technology Center in Warsaw – and LEHNER is part of it with FlexoMatrix!

Amid cutting-edge technology, Mark Andy now also showcases FlexoMatrix, the only plate mounting system with 360° controlled plate mounting, as a fixed component of its demo portfolio. The integration of our technology into the core of a global industry leader impressively underscores the precision, reliability, and efficiency that FlexoMatrix® stands for.

A strong statement – firsthand:

“The collaboration with LEHNER has been outstanding from the start – professional, dedicated, and flexible. The FlexoMatrix® has exceeded our expectations: it optimizes our processes, saves time, and impresses with its robust design and adaptability. We wholeheartedly recommend LEHNER and the FlexoMatrix.”Lukasz Kaczynski, Demo Room Manager, Mark Andy Poland.

This feedback speaks for itself – and for FlexoMatrix. A clear signal of quality, performance, and innovation.

Why FlexoMatrix^®?

360° controlled plate mounting Automatic plate identification Easiest operation Robust and low-maintenance 10-50% savings in setup time and waste in the pressroom. Visit Mark Andy in Warsaw. Experience FlexoMatrix live in action – at Mark Andy’s Technology Center. Book a demo appointment now. Contact us for more information.

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