Gravure-Quality Flexo
Up to 20% Less Ink
The Esko CDIs is the digital flexo plate imager behind most premium packaging you've seen this week. Crystal and Quartz models match your plate sizes, throughput, and budget.
Request pricing options + ROI estimate
Revisit CDI with a broader range: Crystal for streamlined plate room efficiency, or Quartz for market-leading quality and reduced ink usage.
About us
Esko is a global provider of integrated software and hardware solutions that accelerate the go-to-market process of packaged goods.
© 2026 Esko-Graphics BV.
Trusted by 1000s of Packaging Teams
Why is this worth my time
If you run a flexo plate room today, the highest-leverage improvements aren't on the press, they're upstream. Modernizing the imager:
- Reduces operator time and manual plate work
- Stabilizes plate quality run-to-run
- Cuts solvent use (and gets you ahead of PPWR)
- Lets your existing presses produce work you currently send to gravure
The free audit tells you exactly how much of that applies to your operation.
What the Esko CDI does that your current setup probably doesn't
Most flexo plate rooms are running on imaging tech that's a generation behind. The Esko CDIs close that gap on three fronts at once:
- Sharper dot structure — HD and Full HD surface screening produce flatter dot tops, cleaner highlights that fade to zero, and gravure-comparable solids.
- 4000 dpi imaging precision — places dots accurately enough that flexible packaging and label converters routinely win work back from gravure and offset.
- Inline UV exposure (XPS) — cures every plate identically. No more plate-to-plate drift, no more press bounce from inconsistent relief.
Same press, same ink, same substrate. Different plate. Visibly different result.
| CDI Crystal | CDI Quartz | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | High-quality flexo across most packaging segments | The most demanding flexible packaging — gravure replacement |
| Screening | HD Flexo + advanced dot structures | Ultra-high-frequency surface screening |
| Print quality target | Premium flexo | Surpasses Gravure-level |
| Plate sizes | Tag/label up to wide-format corrugated | Tag/label up to wide-format corrugated |
| Pairs with | Flexo Front End Crystal | Flexo Front End Quartz |
Crystal or Quartz: pick the fit
Up to 20% ink savings, measured
Better screening lets you run lower-volume aniloxes without losing density or color strength. Converters running CDI with HD or Full HD screening typically see:
- 15–20% reduction in ink consumption
- Plate waste cut from ~25% down to ~6%
- Faster makeready and shorter changeovers
- Tighter color match across runs (more PANTONE® hits without ink swaps)
The ink savings alone often pay for the imager.
