The ThermoFlex Wide II with sleeve option device was developed to image in-the-round on plates pre-mounted on sleeves. Sleeve imaging is designed to enable quick mounting and makeready on press, and to enable extremely precise color-to-color registration.
Imaging in-the-round has two variations:
- Plate on sleeve
- Continuous sleeve
Imaging in-the-round can consist of individual flat plates that are cut out of a flat sheet and pre-mounted on a sleeve. This is known as plate on sleeve—the most common method of imaging in-the-round.
The other variation is imaging to a specially created continuous photo polymer sleeve. With a continuous photo polymer sleeve, it is possible to create a seamless image that wraps around the cylinder and has no beginning or end. Seamless imaging is required for applications like giftwrap or wallpaper, in which the pattern endlessly repeats, with no noticeable joins at any point.
Wall paper is often printed seamlessly, because it may have background halftone screens that are continuous