At drupa 2008, nineteen major suppliers formed Flexo4All—a non-commercial strategic alliance to promote flexographic printing for packaging applications. Partners included Bobst, Comexi, Degraf, DuPont, Eckart, EskoArtwork, Fischer & Krecke, Gallus, Gidue, Sun Chemical/Hartmann Druckfarben, Lohmann Tapes, Omet, Praxair Surface Technologies, Rotatek, Siegwerk, Soma, Tesa, Uteco Converting, and Windmöller & Hölscher.
The alliance organized guided visitor tours linking partner booths, presenting flexography as a competitive alternative to gravure and offset for short and medium runs on film, foil, and paper substrates. Packaging South Asia noted converters seeking equipment to handle variable data, faster changeovers, and smaller order sizes driven by retail SKU proliferation.
Flexo4All addressed a persistent market perception that gravure owned long-run flexible packaging while flexo remained secondary on wide-web film. Partner demonstrations at drupa 2008 showcased CI flexo register stability, sleeve-based changeovers, UV and EB curing options, and integrated slitting—capabilities aimed at snack, confectionery, and personal-care laminate printers.
DuPont's participation connected plate and sleeve technologies to the alliance's quality narrative, while EskoArtwork contributed prepress automation and flexo imaging workflows. Praxair Surface Technologies highlighted corona and plasma treatment modules increasingly paired with flexo lines for adhesion on PP and PET films.
For flexible packaging converters visiting Düsseldorf, Flexo4All simplified comparison shopping across ink, plate, press, and treatment suppliers with a coordinated message: flexo had matured for food-grade film work when paired with modern closed-loop register, low-migration inks, and inert UV curing—technologies several partners would show in live food-packaging configurations on the Gidue Athena platform.