In previous posts we’ve talked about digital printing and offset printing. Today, we’ll talk about a third type of printing process known as flexographic printing.
What is Flexographic Printing?
In some respects, flexographic printing is similar to relief printing in that the image transferred to the substrate is applied from a plate in which (negative) non-printing areas of the design are recessed from the (positive) areas that receive ink. However, unlike relief printing, the printing plates are flexible — made from rubber or plastic in a multi-step process — and, like offset printing, are attached to a roller in a press with additional rollers that apply ink and feed the substrate to be printed through the press. And like offset printing, multi-color projects require separate plates for each color to be applied.
What Are the Advantages of Flexographic Printing?
There are a couple of distinct advantages of a flexographic press: 1) a greater variety of inks can be used on the press including solvent-based (petroleum) inks, water-based inks, electron beam (EB)-cured inks, and UV-cured inks; 2) substrates used in packaging (like metal, foil, plastic, acetate, film, corrugated cardboard, and brown paper) can be printed without difficulty.
Who Uses Flexographic Printing?
Flexographic printing is primarily used to print packaging items. Typical products printed using flexography range from corrugated cardboard boxes, retail shopping bags, food packaging, hygiene bags, flexible plastic containers, milk and beverage cartons, self-adhesive labels, disposable cups, envelopes to wallpaper. Recent advancements in the flexographic technology — which have improved the overall quality of printed images including photographic reproduction — has led some newspaper publishers to move from lithographic (offset) presses to flexographic printing.
