Application of flexographic printing technology in packaging field

Flexographic printing has become the fastest growing and more promising printing process in the printing industry today, and it is growing rapidly at a rate of nearly 5% per year. Green, environmental protection, and pollution-free are becoming the mainstream of the development of the printing industry. The characteristics of low investment, high efficiency, and wide application range make flexo printing the preferred printing solution for various packaging products.

Development history of flexographic printing

　　 Flexographic printing is a form of letterpress printing. It was originally called flexographic printing. It originated in the United States in the early 1920s. Because of its toxic flexographic inks, it was not developed. Since then, the ink manufacturing plant began to use acceptable colorants and was renamed Flexographic Process at the 14th Packaging Symposium in the United States in 1952. In the 1970s, with the advancement of the material industry, especially the advent of polymer resin plates and cermet anilox rollers, the development of flexographic printing had a qualitative leap. It has become the fastest growing printing method in the world, especially in the United States has been fully developed, whether it is the manufacturing technology of the printing press or the application technology of flexo printing represent a higher level of flexographic printing.

　　 Most of the commodity packaging seen in the US domestic market is almost all flexographic printing products. According to statistics, the current US market share of flexographic printing is 70% in flexible packaging printing, 85% in label printing, 98% in corrugated paper printing, and 25% in carton printing. It also accounts for 60%, 35%, 85% and 3% in Europe. Even 20% of newspapers in the United States are printed with flexographic plates. These figures are sufficient to prove the strong vitality of flexographic printing.

　　 Flexographic printing is the most promising printing technology for packaging printing. Although its application in China is far behind the international developed countries, its application fields are also expanding rapidly.

　　 The introduction and development of flexographic printing in China began in the 1970s, and now it has been able to manufacture flexographic printing presses and their substrates, as well as various flexographic printing inks. In particular, water-based inks and water-based glazing agents have achieved large-scale production, which can be used to add one-color water-based glazing to other types of inks to prevent the volatilization of toxic solvents, and they can directly contact food to ensure food safety and hygiene. It has also accumulated rich experience in printing technology, and has been able to print prints of no less than traditional technology. In the label printing of well-known brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi, it has reached the international standard and moved closer to the higher international level.

In the past 20 years, the development of flexo printing technology in China has made certain achievements, especially the introduction of advanced flexographic printing machines, which has made the possession of flexographic printing machines in China reach thousands of more advanced satellite flexographic printing machines and more. The proportion of functional unit type flexo printing machines has also increased significantly. In terms of quality, the printed products printed by China's flexo printing machine have been tested and evaluated, especially after the user's evaluation, and can fully meet the requirements of general packaging printing, which is generally equivalent to the upper-middle level of imported flexo printing equipment. But from the price point of view, the six-color unit type flexo printing machine made in China has obvious price competitive advantages.

Technical advantages of flexo printing

　　 Flexographic printing has many unique advantages, and it has been developing rapidly in countries all over the world in recent years. With the birth and development of various new technologies, new materials, and new equipment, the application range of flexo printing is also increasing day by day. Especially in the packaging field, it shows unique advantages.

　　Flexo has unique advantages in environmental protection and low cost. With people’s emphasis on environmental protection, the continuous improvement of flexo printing technology and the growth of new market demands, especially due to the efforts of people engaged in flexographic printing, the current level of flexographic products has been further improved, which has rapidly expanded the application range of flexographic printing. .

　　 Application of Flexo Printing on Packaging

　　Due to the unique technical characteristics of flexo printing, it has obtained the most successful application in various packaging markets. From the perspective of domestic and foreign application trends, it mainly includes the following aspects:

　　①High-end packaging

The improvement and development of flexo printing process and supporting technologies, such as direct plate making, high-quality UV ink, high-precision anilox roller, servo motor drive and other technologies, enable a unit-type flexo printing machine that is originally one-stop production and has comprehensive cost-effective advantages. In the high-end market, the production method of flexo printing has become more and more accepted by printing companies with the improvement of printing quality, enhancement of environmental protection functions, shortening of downtime, and the integration of multiple printing and processing technologies.

At present, companies including Shenzhen Jinjia, Shenzhen Jiaoguan, Shenzhen Focheng, Foshan Huaxin, Shanghai Toothpaste Factory, Suzhou Jiangtian, Shenyang Times, Guilin Aoqun, etc. have been in the fields of cigarette packs, smart labels, stickers, composite sheets, etc. Become a flagship and lead the development trend of the industry.

　　②Corrugated box preprint

　　 With the improvement of people's living standards, color corrugated boxes are used more and more widely in commodity packaging. People demand that the packaging carton should not only be beautiful, but also have environmental protection functions. A printing factory in Sichuan successfully developed a corrugated box pre-printing technology. The factory mainly uses a 6-color satellite flexographic printing machine imported from Italy. The machine has a width of 1200 mm, a larger printing length of 1000 mm, and a printing speed of 250-300m/min. The daily output of a single shift can be equivalent to 110,000. Cardboard boxes. This machine is suitable for printing on composite materials such as 70-350 grams of coated paper, white paper, and cardboard. The water-based ink it uses is a non-toxic ink approved by the American Pharmaceutical and Food Association among many inks at present.

　　③Label printing

　　 Label printing is the fastest growing field of flexible printing. The growth of label printing mainly comes from pressure-sensitive labels, which are rapidly replacing technologies such as die-cut stacking and direct printing. In the field of consumer product printing, the shift from pressure-sensitive to in-mold labeling and heat shrinkage will promote the shift of offset printing, embossing and screen printing to flexo printing, thereby promoting the development of the entire flexo printing industry. When pressure-sensitive trademarks turned to in-mold trademarks, the printing process also turned to UV or water-based flexo printing accordingly.

　　 flexible packaging

　　 About 20%-30% of consumer products in the US market are in the form of flexible packaging. The survey showed that in 1996, flexo printing accounted for 75% of the flexible packaging market for film materials in the United States, and in 2000 it accounted for 85%. The printing industry in the United States has made flexographic printing the best choice for flexible packaging. Since flexographic printing is the mainstream in the flexible packaging industry in North America, growth in this field means growth in flexo printing.

　　 At present, the international packaging market is very extensive, including liquid soft drinks, dry foods, etc. Among them, dairy products and fruit juice beverages require a large amount, and the packaging requirements are also high: the requirements are environmentally friendly, pollution-free, and recyclable. As a kind of packaging for liquid milk, it has grown rapidly in recent years, with an average annual growth rate of 30% since 2018. It will continue to grow at a relatively high rate in the future, and is expected to reach 33.5 million tons in 2023.

　　 At present, flexographic printing technology is constantly improving, and North America, Western Europe, and Australia, which are in the rapid development stage, have become the fastest growing printing method in the packaging and printing industry.