Flexographic printing Machine is everywhere and it has been here for many years. You can come across different examples of it on candy wrappers, snack bags, cereal boxes, shampoo bottles, pads, desk calendars, and more. With the help of a flexographic printing machine, these prints are produced. Flexographic printing has a lot in common with other forms of rotary printing. However, these are better as they are versatile due to the ability to hybridize Flexo presses with new digital technologies to enhance productivity and reduce costs.

The Flexo process has been created over decades and has remained quite popular in the printing sector. It is versatile, use quick-drying ink, and is suitable for a wide range of substrate materials. This article will help you understand how the printing process will be carried out.

How does flexographic printing work?

Flexographic printing uses an efficient and effective technology that includes creating an image in relief on polymer image carriers like plates and sleeves. These are generally wrapped around the cylinders and the ink is transferred from a pan to the plate with the help of an anilox roll. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you understand how it works.

1. Creating the Design: The client will come up with an artwork to be printed. Once the artwork is designed, it is optimized for the flexographic printing press. As the image carries or the plates cannot be changed once they are produced, the original artwork must be perfectly designed. One of the major aspects to consider is that an image designed on a flat surface will not look the same when it is placed on a round cylinder. In such a case, you can go for in-the-round image carriers that are distortion free.

2. Collect the substrate and feed it to the press: Once you are happy with your design, you will need to pick ink as well as the substrate. Your labeling and packaging company will help you identify the right one for your needs. However, it is worth keeping in mind the regulations for your specific industry. For an instance, in the Food and Beverage industry, there is a need for non-porous materials and non-toxic ink. Once you pick the components, they will be fed into the flexo printing press. The flexography printing machine’s setup will allow a continuous printing process, which allows you to obtain fast as well as accurate results. As the flexo printing press works at high speeds and guarantees accurate results and it is suitable for large orders or printing needs.

3. Drying and finishing: Once the relief image on the plate has been transferred onto the substrate, this will move through the sections of the machine, which are plate-less. Doing so will dry the ink, which will fix the image and also inhibit faults. To conclude, the substrate is extracted from the machine and it is also rolled up again to be transferred into the cutting section which is the part of the process that will separate one print from another.