A team of eight industry leaders introduced at Nuova Gidue plant in Florence the REVO Project, a technology that optimizes and simplifies the flexo printing process for labels and packaging.

It has been called Digital Flexo Revolution therefore the logo REVO. But by watching it during the live demonstrations, attended by more than 440 printers and converters who came from all over the world despite the hot weather, we should rather connect it to the meaning of “dream, desire” from the French rêve, from which revo in Esperanto.

Up to 112 PMS colors reproduced with 7 colors in the press (practically the complete gamut except the metallic colors), job exchanges (included sleeves and size) “on-the-fly” while the press is running, is really the dream of every printer.
Other manufacturers have flexo rotary press with similar feature of job changes “on the fly” , but not so automated, extreme and without operator. The innovative peculiarities we saw on-the-job are at the moment a unique event.

Extreme Digitization

Two jobs are printed in direct succession witout stopping the press

 All of that has been possible, explained Federico d’Annunzio, (more details on this video) thanks to the cooperation of the REVO members which shared together the idea of a full digitalization of the whole UV flexo process from pre-press to the set-up and printing on narrow web.
Thanks to his high quality and consistency, UV flexo has been selected as the REVO printing technology. The REVO Team Project has been focused on the 7 colors separation (CMYK + Orange, Green, Violet or Reflex Blue) to reproduce 90-95% of the PMS color palette.

Automatic job exchange

The Anilox rollers have been designed expressly with an “open slalom” system, which gives the advantage to use the same rollers when you change job. Print and die-cutting cylinders are changed automatically without operator. The intervention of the operator is limited to the sleeve adaptor cylinders exchange made in security when the press is running, as we have seen in live demonstrations.
You can change job and substrate and move, for example, from self-adhesive labels to flexible packaging.
All the participants have been surprised and satisfied for the demonstrations on the two GIDUE presses: M5 370 for labels and M5 630 for packaging. Now they must wait only for the new presses to be delivered, after the “beta” phase at the British printer-partner and after the first two presses already shipped in “protected” sites.
We are sure the REVO Project will make noise at Labelexpo Americas of the next September.  It is a good example for the Italian business, which is already proud of its supremacy in this industry.

REVO project is the the result of cooperation among 8 companies

A team of 8 companies

The REVO Project was born from the collaboration of 8 companies.
It is important to underline that one of the REVO Members – the British converter Adare – has decided to test the press in production at its own production site.
The other REVO members are: Esko for pre-press, Dupont for Cyrel plates, Apex for anilox, Flint for inks, AVT for band inspections, UPM Rataflac for substrates and Nuova Gidue that has designed and produced the printing press.
To sum-up: REVO consistency is linked to the global digitization of the whole chain, “from pre-press to print” and the use of 7 colors in the press without the need of operators’ skills for color matching.
UV inks and anilox are optimized to work on 80 lines per cm screen and to provide consistency to the production with frequent job exchanges.