Folding carton flexographic printing industry (printing)

Second, printing 1) water-based ink, UV ink and coating

Choosing between them generally refers to the use of water-based inks, or UV inks (or both) for carton printing. Each ink has its own advantages and disadvantages. It needs to be considered comprehensively, and market factors will play a decisive role. The commonality of the two systems is to reflect the consistency of color and the quality of color reproduction. The printer's adjustment of the anilox roller and doctor blade has little effect on color. The correct color and the selection of the anilox roller are related to the ink properties, and it is not very much related to the operator's adjustment of the twist knob to adjust the amount of ink. Because the color that a printer can call on one device can be recalled by another printer on another machine.

2) Aspects to be mastered when copying printed materials

If the same color pattern is used on the same anilox roller, the copied colors are also the same. In today's flexo printing, coating and laminating processes can also be added to the folding carton printing process, which adds more added value and reduces costs. UV, water-based and EB coating oils and glues are widely used. When choosing the ink system, the selection of UV, water-base and EB coating oils and glues must be based on actual conditions.

3) Consideration of film base

The type of film base will have a great impact on the print quality of the carton. For example, a smooth surface will have less dot loss and better color reproduction than a rough surface. The brightness of the paper tray will affect the overall appearance of the paper tray. A dark, matt surface will affect the printed ink color. Modifying and correcting before platemaking can reduce the impact of this situation and sometimes completely eliminate the impact. Every printer wants to use the highest quality film base forever, but considering economics, the most suitable film base should be selected.

4) Use ink, anilox and plates together to get the results you want

In any flexo printing, only the equipment, ink, anilox roll, film base, plate material, and coating oil/glue are used in combination to achieve the highest quality in folding carton printing. All these improvements can make flexo printing comparable to offset printing. Although not all offset prints can be imitated with flexo, most of them are not problematic. As technology advances, the gap between the two is getting smaller and smaller. For example, high-line anilox rollers are used with the latest high-strength inks, and digital printing plates can be used to print very clear, sharp dots.

It is well known that rubber anilox roller testing and instrument testing are the best starting points when deciding on the composition of a component and how to process the document for color reproduction. This is particularly important for the folding carton market because of the wide selection of film bases, you must have a wealth of experience and knowledge, and know what effect each type of film base has on color reproduction before you can choose it. After the basic work has been done, it is time to select anilox rollers, inks, gaskets and plates suitable for the substrate, and also to select the appropriate curvature of the substrate. When it is tested that all the requirements are met, the procedure will be simplified and waste will be reduced, and the quality of the printing will be greatly improved.

Achieving offset printing quality does not mean that flexo printing can also be printed like offset printing. For example, there is a huge difference in the number of colors, ink color sequence, and prepress technology. This information is sometimes known to end customers who are accustomed to offset printing. The customer is more concerned about the printing effect, but there is not much interest in what method to print. This is sometimes a challenge for flexo printers, but it is very important to convey the message to the customer so that the customer does not attempt to completely relocate the flexographic requirements to flexo.