Flexography in Package Printing

Flexographic printing performance, efficiency, quality, and sustainability continue to improve, says Flexo4All.

During the past 30 years, flexography has been demonstrated to be a printing technology with a very impressive growth in terms of quality and productivity. It passed from low- to high-quality printing and today is widely used for packaging production in different applications: flexible packaging, label and tags, plastic bags, carton board and corrugated, shrink-wrap, etc.

Flexography becomes the standard and today is the main printing technology used in the packaging printing industry in America, as well as in Europe (Central, Western and Eastern). But the technology is not standing still and there are continuous process improvements and innovations that strengthen flexo’s leading packaging printing position. A wide range of industry vendors are taking successful steps to make flexo even more productive, cost effective, sustainable, and printing higher consistent quality. Improvements are seen along the whole production process, from the packaging design to the final product.

Improvements in the platemaking room
In order for the quality of flexo printing to rival other technologies, specially offset, the flexo platemakers (services and printers) can use solutions able to combine high-resolution optics with an exceptional screening output. Devices capable of combining 4,000 dpi HD optics with unique screening technologies deliver the advantage of sharper and more accurate imaging. This combination makes it possible to achieve outstanding print quality with a straightforward plate production process. Just as significant, this technology is very easy to use and there is no longer any need for tweaking or adjustments. Moreover, the rounder dot shape produced thanks to this technology combination, means that they are more stable on press, resulting in longer print runs with the same printing plate—even more than standard digital flexo plates. With longer print runs, the press stops less often for wash-ups, resulting in greater productivity.