First Benelux installation of Esko Full HD Flexo at Athena Graphics

“We have been working with Esko hardware and software solutions since our founding in 1991, and we will continue to do so. Having such a close relationship with Esko enables us to deliver the high quality our customers – both brand owners and printers – are demanding,” says Ignace Cosaert, Managing Director at Athena Graphics.

The addition of an Esko CDI imager with Full HD Flexo capabilities takes Athena Graphics another step ahead of the competition, explains Cosaert. “Brand owners today simply demand the very best quality. Printers are looking for new ways to meet that demand. And with Full HD Flexo from Esko, we have found the right solution to satisfy those needs. Because of the unique dot shape this technology creates, we now can produce flexo plates that not only deliver superior printing quality, but also better performance and consistency during the printing process,” he says. At the same time, Athena Graphics can bring cost savings to brand owners “Because Esko Full HD Flexo allows for a much broader color gamut, we are now able to use four or five colors instead of six to get to the same high quality end result,” Cosaert adds.


Innovation, productivity, cost-effectiveness through automation
Software is another essential part of Athena Graphics’ portfolio. At A-ton, Athena’s IT-department operating as an independent business unit, many Esko software features are integrated into the tailor-made solutions provided to customers. “In a way, we sometimes even compete with Esko in finding the best solution,” says Cosaert with a smile, “just another benefit of our close partnership.”

Automation is just as important to customers as it is to Athena Graphics itself. Cosaert says, “Our customers want to lower costs, decrease time-to-market and reduce the number of mistakes. The same goes for us, of course. So we have a team of four talented people who are constantly looking for ways to improve our processes through automation. We need to be able to do more, with the same number of people. Esko’s Automation Engine sets the standard for us in this field, and it is the platform that we build on. We really take its possibilities to the limits.”

Based in a state-of-the-art building at Roeselare, Belgium, Athena Graphics’ headquarters are very near to Esko’s Ghent offices. “It is really great to have them so close”, says Cosaert, “especially since we are using almost all of Esko’s portfolio. We are always in close contact, and we appreciate their responsiveness. Very often we are one of the first users to put their new products to the test. This is highly beneficial to both of us: Esko can trust us to provide professional feedback and we can take full advantage of the latest technology at an early stage. And we can trust Esko to stay ahead of the curve in bringing innovative solutions to market.”

Quality: a driving factor for growth
The packaging market continues to offer great opportunities for Athena Graphics. “Just walk into any supermarket and take a look at the enormous amount and diversity of products – and everything has packaging,” Cosaert states. The trend of packing smaller volumes of a product to cater for smaller households, combined with an increasing number of varieties of a product, have resulted in a larger number of jobs for Athena Graphics: “Each year we see our volume of flexo plates go up by 10 percent. Actually, all of our departments are growing by some 10 per cent annually.”

Athena Graphics now has offices in Belgium, The Netherlands and France, and works with almost every European country. Being a family-owned business keeps the company fast and dynamic. “We have our vision in place and can respond very quickly to new developments,” he concludes. “We are always eager to have the newest and latest technology, because this ensures we can deliver the highest quality in the most efficient way. That is also why we will continue to work with Esko: quality is what drives us both.”


Image captions:
Pic_1: the Esko CDI with Full HD Flexo at Athena Graphics
Pic_2: on the left Ignace Cosaert, current managing director of Athena Graphics, and right his father and founder of the company, Geert Cosaert (who passed away in the summer of 2014).
Pic_3: the state-of-the art building of Athena Graphics in Roeselare, Belgium
Pic_4 to 6: Athena Graphics prepress specialists at work


About Athena Graphics (www.athena-graphics.be/en)
Athena Graphics is a dynamic prepress company that delivers high-quality prepress, printing forms and online services to the entire packaging chain in order to reduce the time-to-market. The company was founded in 1991 by Geert Cosaert as a new player in flexo prepress. Five years later, his youngest son Ignace Cosaert, current director, joined the company. Thanks to the perfectionist approach, Athena Graphics swiftly managed to become one of Europe's leading printing shops. Today, the company is pioneer in the application of new graphic technologies. They handle the prepress of all their client’s packages and produce colorfast proofs and flexographic printing forms. As finishing touch, the company develop and supplies qualitative services to printers and brand owners. Athena Graphics has offices in three countries: Belgium, France and the Netherlands.


About Esko (www.esko.com)
Esko is a global supplier of integrated solutions for the packaging and labels, sign and display, commercial printing and publishing industries. Esko products and services drive profitability in the packaging and printing supply chain by reducing time-to-market and raising productivity.


Portfolio
The Esko product portfolio supports and manages the packaging and print processes at brand owners, retailers, designers, packaging manufacturers and print service providers. For 9 out of 10 retail packages, Esko solutions are used in packaging management, artwork creation, structural design, prepress, 3D visualization, plate making, workflow automation, quality assurance, sample-making, palletization, supply chain collaboration and the production of signage and displays.

The Esko solutions consist of an extensive suite of software and two hardware product lines: CDI flexo computer-to-plate imagers and Kongsberg digital cutting systems, complemented with professional services, training and consultancy.

Enfocus, with its suite of automation solutions and PDF quality control tools for printers, publishers, and graphic designers, is part of Esko.


Facts & number
Esko employs around 1300 people worldwide. Its direct sales and service organization covers Europe, Middle East and Africa, the Americas and the Asia Pacific, Japan and China regions and is complemented by a network of distribution partners in more than 50 countries.


Esko is headquartered in Gent, Belgium, and has R&D and manufacturing facilities in five European countries, the United States, China and India. Esko is a Danaher company (www.danaher.com).

For more information, visit www.esko.com or contact:
P.R. agencies
Corporate and EMEA
Nancy Vermeulen
duomedia
Tel: +32 2 560 21 50
nancy.v@duomedia.com

Esko
Corporate
Jef Stoffels
Director of Corporate Marketing
Tel: +32 9 216 90 32
jef.stoffels@esko.com

EMEA
Bruno Vermeulen
EMEA Marketing Manager
Tel: +32 9 216 93 09
bruno.vermeulen@esko.com

All press releases, as well as corresponding product pictures, are available at the press section at www.esko.com.