From left, President Jose Luis Mora, Marco Carrara, CI flexo Technology Sales Director, and Luis Mora, CCO
Colombian converter Litoplas SA is a pioneer in the global flexible packaging market, leveraging BOBST printing technology to create streamlined and optimized workflows, leading the way in extended color gamut (ECG) printing for almost a decade and delivering high-quality packaging products that consistently meet brand specifications.
The partnership between BOBST and Litoplas spans more than 30 years and has seen numerous investments in the Swiss manufacturer’s printing and converting equipment. In 2015, Litoplas added the first BOBST CI flexo press equipped with oneECG technology to its product line. Since then, the two companies have been working closely together to unlock the full potential of this innovative printing method and reap the numerous benefits. Today, Litoplas operates three BOBST flexo presses equipped with oneECG.
Luis Antonio Mora, chief customer officer at Litoplas, said: “Configuring our BOBST presses with ECG technology has made a real difference to our printing operations. The change has reduced our reliance on spot colors, streamlined processes, reduced waste, and delivered better results and a much more efficient workflow.”
Entrepreneurship drives innovation
Headquartered in the northern Colombian city of Barranquilla, Litoplas SA was officially founded in 1967. In the 1960s, founder Luis Mora Martin-Mora built his own two-color machine to produce packaging for his condiment business. This entrepreneurial spirit still guides the company’s vision today, driving innovation to support customers through the design, development and manufacturing of advanced, sustainable flexible packaging solutions.
With over 500 employees and a production capacity of over 420 million square metres, Litoplas primarily serves brands in the food, confectionery and snacks sectors.
Owned by the Mora family and led by President José Luis Mora, the company opened a new international manufacturing plant in Guatemala in 2023. The installation of this additional facility continues the company’s commitment to BOBST machinery. A state-of-the-art new VISION CI press with oneECG stands proudly on the factory floor, running in conjunction with a multi-technology BOBST NOVA D 800 laminator.
Approximately half of Litoplas’ production is currently produced with ECG, with three BOBST CI flexo presses at two locations 100% dedicated to this particular production method. Speaking from the company’s extensive experience, Luis Antonio Mora says: “Since installing ECG, we have seen significant improvements in both efficiency and image quality. This has resulted in consistent and predictable production results, easier job repetition and increased overall productivity.”
Revolutionary ECG Results
To integrate oneECG, Litoplas made several adjustments to its existing workflow, re-evaluating both work culture and process best practices. All aspects of the press operation were standardized following strict protocols, including moving to single-pigment inks, fixing anilox volume and using flat-top dot plates with special screening technology. A full quality control program was implemented with press fingerprinting and anilox volume and linearity measurements.
One of the biggest changes in thinking is the color management procedure: ECG takes a different approach to color matching than traditional methods: instead of relying solely on CMYK inks and spot colors, it uses a predefined set of process colors and additional inks to expand the color gamut.
The results of these efforts have been encouraging, Mora explained. Litoplas has realized significant improvements in press efficiency due to faster set-up times, fewer press stops required for color adjustments, and the ability to print multiple SKUs in one run. Additionally, costs and waste have been reduced as raw materials have been standardized.
Additionally, ECG printing offers a wider color range and greater color accuracy compared to CMYK printing, resulting in improved image quality. This also had a positive impact on contract proofs, increasing accuracy, ensuring consistency, and reducing reliance on spot colors, helping to meet brand standards.
Naturally, this major change in methodology raised some concerns. But the sales force was trained to reassure customers that product quality would not be compromised in any way. Indeed, the move to ECG would bring many new benefits, such as less variation in color and print quality across jobs and even between different production runs. They were also convinced by energy savings, fewer plates required, less ink and material waste, and an overall lower environmental impact.
Meeting demand with ECG
With ECG utilisation now at its highest level, Litoplas is able to provide packaging solutions that fully meet customer demands – high quality, colour consistency, fast delivery and superior sustainability – at a very competitive cost. To maintain this streamlined operation, the company’s fleet of flexo printing presses is supported by a local BOBST team to maximise efficiency and productivity.
When asked about the collaboration, Mora said, “BOBST excels in manufacturing ECG-enabled machines, and more importantly, they go out of their way to ensure our machines are running optimally. Their commitment to excellence in service and support allows us to get the most out of our ECG technology,” and concluded, “We would highly recommend BOBST and their oneECG technology to any packaging manufacturer looking to improve their printing process, technical capabilities and overall productivity. There is no doubt that ECG is the future of flexo printing.”
From BOBST’s perspective, this long-term project has provided valuable experience and real-world data to support the further development of its solutions and services. Marco Carrara, Technology Sales Director, comments: “BOBST is proud to have worked with Litoplas for 35 years to build sustainability. The ECG project has been a great success and we look forward to continuing to innovate together for the flexible packaging market in the future.”
