Experts describe packaging printing technology

Packaging printing is a branch of printing technology and belongs to the category of special printing. Packaging printing is a printing method and post-press processing technology that are used for the main purpose of beautifying, recognizing and propagating goods. It is a result of the application of general printing technology, developed on the basis of general printing technology and formed a new printing industry system. In short, packaging printing is a printing method in which various packaging materials or packaging containers are the main products.

Thus, packaging and printing is not only an important part of modern packaging, but also a new branch of printing technology. It not only gives new contents to modern packaging, but also expands the scope of application of printing technology, and injects new vitality into the development of printing technology.

Compared with the general printing method, package printing has the following main features.

Substrate diversity

The diversity of packaging and printing substrates is mainly reflected in the following aspects.

(1) Printing materials. Packaging printing materials not only paper, cardboard, but also other various plastic films, fabrics, metals and so on.

(2) Substrate specifications. The substrate width of packaging and printing is not only the common specifications of general printing paper, but also the printing materials with a width of up to about 3m and as small as 1m; the thickness of substrates is as large as 3 to 4 layers of composite corrugated cardboard, as small as 0.025mm Thick film.

(3) surface of the substrate. In addition to the plane of the surface of the substrate, there are convex, concave, curved surface and various moldings.

It is of great significance to understand the diversity of substrates, to reasonably select printing methods, to ensure the quality of printed products, and to reduce printing costs.

Adaptability of printing methods

The diversity of substrates determines that packaging printing has good adaptability to various printing methods.

So far, several major printing methods can be used for packaging printing, such as letterpress printing, lithographic offset printing, gravure printing, screen printing, and flexographic printing. However, to obtain inexpensive and affordable packaging prints, it brings certain difficulties to the reasonable choice of printing methods. Therefore, in practical applications, the ideal printing method should be reasonably selected according to the purpose of use, printing requirements, the nature of the printing materials, and the shape of the surface. The following principles can be selected for reference.

(1) Letterpress printing.

Main features: graphic and clear, suitable for the packaging and printing of line originals, thick ink, colorful.

Application examples: trademarks, packaging paper and packaging cartons, sticker printing, etc. At present, most of the parts used for small-format printing.

(2) Offset offset printing.

Main features: Clear network, rich recognition, good color reproducibility, wide application.

Application examples: samples, advertising, trademark printing, metal printing, etc.

(3) Gravure printing.

The main features: thick ink layer, a three-dimensional sense, a clear level, suitable for flexible packaging materials printing.

Application examples: various plastic films, composite paper bags, wallpaper and building materials printing.

(4) Flexo printing.

Main features: Applicable to all kinds of printing materials. It can obtain good results for various lines of manuscripts and general dot printing, and the cost is relatively low.

Application examples: Flexible packaging printing, label printing, corrugated cardboard printing, packaging carton printing, water-based ink can be used to achieve pollution-free printing, widely used in medicine, food packaging and printing.

(5) Screen printing.

Main features: The ink layer has a heavy sense of weight, good durability, suitable for printing various printing materials and moldings.

Application examples: printing on paper, cardboard, fabrics and various packaging containers.

Complexity of printing and post-printing processing

In packaging printing, on the one hand, different printing materials, different printing plates. Different inks have different printability; on the other hand, in order to protect the printing surface, increase its surface glossiness, and obtain special visual effects, it is often necessary to perform printing such as coating, laminating, bronzing, and indentation after printing. , Die-cutting and other post-press processing. Therefore, higher requirements are placed on the printability and the suitability of postpress processing of packaging printing. This requires a comprehensive understanding of the suitability of printing and post-press processing. It will continue to summarize and accumulate experience in order to obtain good printing and post-press processing results.

Product quality and high efficiency

In general, since the main functions of packaging and printing are to beautify and promote products, promote sales, and increase sales value, the quality of packaging and printing products mostly belongs to China. High-end products. In addition, in order to maximize the quality of printed products, new technologies, new processes, and new materials are often first promoted and applied in packaging printing, so that the quality of printed products is always in a leading position. In other words, packaging and printing occupy the market with high quality and gain high efficiency with high quality. This is also one of the important reasons why the packaging and printing industry has attracted worldwide attention in the past decade or so.