Future flexo printing broad market

In addition to digital printing, flexo printing is one of the few printing areas that can still grow in the current situation. Flexo printing is mainly used in the packaging and label printing market, but it is also sometimes used in newspaper printing. With the emergence of the flexographic CTP system, the quality of the flexographic printing has been greatly improved; and the controllability of the CTP plate has also had a significant impact on the production methods of the printed job.
Compared to other printing processes, flexo platemaking has a very obvious advantage in the process of plate making and production because it uses almost all digital workflows. Once the platemaking process is complete, the printing press can start printing immediately, without any need to modify the parameters. From this point of view, it is similar to gravure, but the cost of prepress and press for gravure is higher, so it is more suitable for long-run color printing; flexo is more suitable for short-run printing because it The construction of the press is simpler and the prepress cost is lower. Of course, gravure printing is faster than flexo printing.
In the field of packaging and printing, flexo printing is more suitable for short-format small-format printing, while gravure printing is suitable for long-run printing. No matter whether it is flexo or gravure, it can print on a variety of substrates, and people can only use these two types of printing machines (of course, the emergence of the Agfa Dotrix and the HP Indigo 7200 printer has changed this situation). To produce flexible packaging.
In recent days, Esko and Kodak have made breakthroughs in the digital flexo workflow and CTP. Next, we will first analyze the latest results of Kodak.
At the Drupa show last year, Kodak introduced the Flexcel NX system designed for flexible plate making. The Flexo NX system consists primarily of the Kodak Flexel NX digital flexo plate, the Approval digital color imaging system, the Prinergy PowerPack workflow system, and the Kodak cutting and creasing system. The Flexcel NX thermal imaging layer with high resolution and fast imaging performance offers unmatched graphics quality with a Kodak Trendy NX Flexo Platesetter at production speeds of up to 9.5 square meters per hour. When the Flexcel NX thermal imaging layer is imaged on the Triumph NX Platesetter, it will be overlaid onto the Flexcel NX flex plate with the Kodak Flexcel NX Laminator. The Kodak Flexcel NX plate is a very reliable, high-quality flexographic plate that offers a variety of hardness options and can be printed on a variety of substrates such as paper, film, foil, paperboard, and labels. The entire production process, under the control of Prinergy's workflow system, will bring outstanding capabilities to the packaging industry, with extremely high reliability.
I recently received a small gift package called "Kodak Packaging Power" which showed three different sets of proofs. They used Kodak's Approval digital color imaging system on printing substrates and Gallus and Arpeco flexo printing machines. Kodak Flexcel NX printing plates are printed on PVC, folding cartons and stickers. To be honest, I can hardly tell the difference between these products. As a print service provider puts it: “I have never seen a flexographic printing system achieve such high quality and stability on so many substrates.”
Obviously, Kodak wants to consolidate its position in the traditional flexo printing market with this new Flexcel NX system, but due to its outstanding performance in new markets, the status of gravure and offset printing is also threatened. In other words, using a flexographic press to produce not only reduces the cost of substrates and equipment, but also ensures the quality of the product.
Another noteworthy flexo product is Esko's HD Flexo. To achieve the same level of quality as offset printing, flexographic platesetters must use high-resolution optical screening combined with other screening techniques. As a global leader in flexible digital imaging technology, Esko has creatively introduced HD Flexo technology that can be used on the new Cyrel Digital Imagers (CDI) or on all existing CDI systems. use.
HD Flexo combines high-resolution, 4000-dpi optical resolution with screening technology proven by other printers to bring users beyond-imaginary print quality. The higher the resolution, the clearer the image the customer gets and the richer the details. In addition, the circular dots are more stable on the press and can therefore significantly increase the print resistance of the printing plate. The HD system can place large and small dots in the highlight area to expand the range of gradation. This effect can only be achieved by combining high-resolution optical screening with smart screening. It is understood that the HD Flexo system can be used with a variety of brands of flexographic plates.
According to Esko, they have been hoping to develop a flexo system that is comparable to a offset CTP in quality and ease of use. With the HD Flexo system, Esko has not only narrowed the gap between flexographic and offset printing technology in terms of color stability and print quality, but also improved the industry's view on the quality of flexo printing.
In addition, companies such as McDermid and Fujifilm have also launched their own flexo platemaking systems. This shows that although flexo printing faces serious challenges from digital presses such as the HP Indigo 7200, it still has strong growth potential. And broad market prospects. Maybe it will lose part of its share in the label market, but it will certainly play a more important role in emerging areas such as packaging and magazine printing.