Flexographic printing has been widespread for decades. Examples include candy wrappers, refreshment bags, cereal boxes, plastic shampoo bottles, peel-able double-sided medication labels, notebooks, legal pads, desk calendars, and your seasonal roll of printed paper towels. Originally published on https://garmentprinting.com.au/blog/flexo-printing/

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Emergence of Flexo Printing:
Transforming Print Technologies
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2. Overview
Flexographic printing has been widespread for decades. Examples include candy wrappers, refreshment
bags, cereal boxes, plastic shampoo bottles, peel-able double-sided medication labels, notebooks, legal
pads, desk calendars, and your seasonal roll of printed paper towels.
Almost everything that is printed today can be flexographically produced.
It may seem like magic, but the steps of flexo printing are best explained as a meticulously choreographed
science that results in a beautiful and functional printed product.

3. Flexo Printing
Flexographic or flexo printing is a technique that transfers pigment onto a variety of substrates using heat and
pressure. Due to its ability to print on a wide variety of substrates and its high level of detail, its prevalence has
increased.
Unlike traditional lithographic printing, flexographic printing employs oil-based inks rather than water. This makes
the process quicker and more efficient than lithography, which frequently requires days of curing time between
steps.
In this article, you’ll learn about flexographic printing, its effective technique, and how to leverage its benefits for
your business.

4. What Sets the Flexographic Printing Method Apart?
Flexographic printing employs a blanket, drum, or press to apply pigment to a flat surface. It is used in the
printing industry due to its low cost and high-quality output. Flexography is used in various applications,
including posters, labels, T-shirts, and packaging.
Typically, flexography requires the following steps:
● Ink application to a substrate
● Utilizing force to press pigment through the substrate
● The process of removing the substrate from the covering.
● Ink transfer from the blanket to another surface
● Repeat stages 1 through 4 until the desired result is attained.

5. Flexographic Printing and Letterpress Printing
The only difference between flexographic printing and letterpress printing is using pigment instead of type. Both
procedures qualify as typesetting. Because it shares many similarities with letterpress printing, flexography is
often mistaken for a form of letterpress printing.
In both procedures, the image is transferred from the plate to the paper via impressions, which involve rubbing
the plate back and forth over the paper.
Letterpress printing does this manually, while flexography does it mechanically (through rolling). In flexography,
the ink is transmitted to the substrate using a roller that presses against the substrate and transfers ink with
each pass.

6. Flexo printing Vs. Offset Printing
Offset and flexo printing use wet pigment and plates, but their techniques differ. Flexo prints directly from the
plate to the substrate, whereas offset transfers the image from the plate to an intermediate carrier and then to
the substrate. The choice between them is determined by the nature of the product, its quality, quantity, and
substrate.
Plates
Flexo utilises flexible plates wrapped around a photopolymer cylinder. Each colour necessitates its plate. The
image is printed directly onto the substrate, and adequately stored plates can be reused.

7. Ink
Offset printing typically employs four ‘process’ colours (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) with
corresponding stations. There are both water-based and UV-curable inks.
Components
Offset printing is utilised on smooth, flat materials such as paper, metal, and vinyl. It is ideally suited for
newspapers, novels, and pamphlets. Additional processes, such as two-sided printing and die-cutting,
are performed separately.

8. The Flexo-Printing Technique
Thousands of different varieties of flexographic printers are available, with the best being publicly available in the
United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States. In Australia, with its rapidly growing printing industry,
understanding the mechanism of flexo printing machines can equip you with the knowledge to comprehend
others, given they all employ the same printing method.
Making of plates
The printing plate, which contains the images and text to be printed in negative as a mirror image, is the most
vital component of flexography. A distinct plate must be created for each color in the print run. Placemaking is a
distinct art and science.

9. Rubber Plates
The print image is first incised in negative onto a zinc or magnesium metal plate, then washed in an acid bath.
On the plate, the image will appear in bas relief.
Photopolymer Plates
The print image is etched directly onto a light-sensitive polymer plate using ultraviolet light and a photo negative.
Digital Plates
This cutting-edge technique employs a computer-controlled laser and a digital image to etch the printing plate.
This eliminates the need for a photo negative and is currently the fastest-growing platemaking technique.

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Conclusion:
Flexographic printing is one of the most prevalent
printing processes in use today. It is used for packaging,
product labelling, and even currency printing.
Considering this, many people are curious about how to
use this printing method to produce the highest quality
prints feasible.