FLEXOGRAPHIC OR OFFSET PRINTING ON CARTON PACKS
Offset printing and flexographic printing are both the majorly used printing technologies in the packaging industry and other industries. It is possible to produce carton packs and personalized or simple corrugated cartons for shipping purposes.
Flexographic printing on carton pack
Flexographic printing, often shortened to flexography, is a printing technique that uses flexible relief plates. Thus, the flexographic printing plates are painted and applied directly to the substrate.
Originally, print quality was inferior, but notable progress has been made in the past 20 years. Currently, flexo printing brings print quality to a level similar to that of offset printing.
Once set up, the process is economical and can print long runs quickly. The manufacture of corrugated sheets, however, is expensive. Therefore, it makes the printing technology more suitable for large volumes of packaging and shipping boxes.
Offset lithography
The offset printing process transfers (displaces) an image from a plate to a blanket and then to a substrate. In this way, this process allows for consistently high print quality.
Indeed, the sharpness of the output is due to the transfer mat following the texture of the substrate.
Plate making is also an economical step (it can be 10 times cheaper than flexo printing), and plates can be ready in an hour, and convenient to use flexo plates for corrugation printing and cup printing.
Offset printing is usually combined with the lithographic technique in the repulsion of oil and water. After all, this allows flat plates to be used for sharper rendering and long life.
Offset printing or flexography depends on the volume of prints
We can see a strong trend towards customization, regionalization, and campaign-oriented designs that make shorter packaging runs an industry-standard in the packaging industry.
The automotive parts packaging box can receive different and special layouts, depending on special promotions, etc.
When flexo printing is an excellent solution for very long runs, where rendering sharpness is not essential, offset printed packaging can be the way forward and economical and flexible. One can use both flexo sleeves and plates according to the desired product.
Benefits with the Flex Printing
- Quality in printing: Through the flexographic process, results are obtained with high quality, all through new technologies, such as digital clichés with reticles with a flat top and microcell, allowing the printing of images with lineaturas (LPI- Lines per inch) more high and flexo plates for nonwoven sack printing, this way the image is with more resolution and can achieve the desired results. Besides, the inks are quick-drying, with a low risk of smearing or staining the print.
- Cost Reduction: as flexography uses clichés for printing instead of engraving cylinders, the production cost decreases drastically, this being a significant factor in choosing the process, and even though reducing this cost, the same quality is obtained.
- Flexibility in order size: Since engraving in clichés is cheaper and faster, the minimum order can be less; this has a significant impact, especially on label and label converters.
- Format flexibility: can be applied to different types of materials for plastic packaging, adhesive labels, and tags and also for corrugated packaging.
Conclusion
The production of packaging with the flexographic process has significant advantages, including the reduction of the cost for your company and the print quality that your packaging will have; bringing a cost x benefit is immense for you that can be transformed into a competitive advantage for your company.