Carton packaging printing technology is simple and economical process, and welcome by the majority. Market demand for cartons is large, there are also a lot of printing process. The packaging printing technology mainly includes: offset printing process, gravure printing process, flexographic process, typography, offset printing, screen printing, pad printing, spherical printing, and thermal transfer. We will discuss the 3 commonly applied ones in this article.
Offset printing process
The offset printing process, apply most widely on custom printed boxes, includes multi-color group, multi-function web and flat paper machine type. The former has a high production speed and is suitable for printing pre-printed cartons with large production batches and relatively fixed product structure. After printing surface paper, it can be pasted directly on corrugated cardboard. The printing speed of the latter can reach about 10,000 sheets per hour, which is suitable for the printing of medium and small batches of carton packaging boxes. The printing specifications of the surface paper can be flexible.
The flat paper machine can also directly print fine corrugated cardboard, and its overprinting precision is higher than the former, and the quality is relatively stable. Offset printing ink layer is more suitable for overprinting or overprinting of fine line and multi-color screen printing. It has high dot resolution, rich printing layer, clear boundary, soft color, good printing and reproduction. The printing is convenient and fast, the printing plate is easy to operate, the printing operation is easy, and the printing cost is low. It is widely used in the printing of color pre-printed carton paper.
Flexographic printing process
The flexographic printing process also includes a multi-color printing machine for web and flat paper. Among them, the flat paper printing machine has a preprinted printing type of printing paper, and the direct printing of corrugated cardboard can be done online, Indented, slotted unit.
The flexographic printing process combines the advantages of the letterpress, lithographic and gravure printing processes. Since the printing plate is flexible, the printing pressure is much lighter than other processes, the printing pressure is lighter, the printing ink is thick, the printing is clear, and the printing plate is resistant to printing. The main features of the high rate. The process can print both glossy surface paperboard and rough surface paperboard; it can print non-absorbent materials and print absorbent paperboard; it can print both thin paper and thick paper; It is suitable for printing fine mesh and line versions, and it is also suitable for printing line or solid version of spot color.
Flexographic Printing Machine
The flexographic printing plate has a rubber plate and a resin plate, and the main materials of the rubber plate are natural rubber and synthetic rubber. Its plate making includes hand-carving, laser engraving and casting. When using the rubber plate, pay attention to its printability, such as the ink-based ink, ink transfer, coverage and reproducibility, while using water-based ink printing, better using natural rubber plate than synthetic rubber plate.
Gravure printing process
The gravure printing process also has the distinction of web and flatbed printing presses. The color set and function also have various models. The printing process has the characteristics of high printing durability and fast printing speed. Because the gravure ink layer is thicker, the printing ink is full and full of three-dimensionality, the printing surface is rich in layers, the texture is strong, and the printing ink color is dried faster, so it is more suitable for large-area, thick ink printing products. The gravure printing process is suitable for printing on the field, spot color line version, and printing fine mesh pattern.
Gravure Printing Process
Compared with offset printing, flexo printing or silk screen printing, the process is the least likely to produce printing chromatic aberration, and the quality of the printed product of the carton is most stable and optimal. Since the gravure plate material is made by processing the steel roll material through electroplating, electric carving, etc., the plate making process is complicated, the plate making material and the cost are relatively expensive, and the plate changing operation is also troublesome, so it is particularly suitable for large batch production in order to better control and reduce production costs.