The printing process of Corrugated Box is an important part of ensuring the appearance quality of the carton and improving the product image. The following are several main Corrugated Box printing processes and their characteristics:
Flexographic printing (flexo printing):
Flexographic printing is one of the most common processes in Corrugated Box printing. It prints directly on corrugated cardboard, using water-based ink, so it is also called a watermark.
Flexo printing has many significant advantages, including wide-format printing capabilities (the maximum width can reach 2.5~2.8m), making it suitable for printing large cartons; the price is relatively low because the flexographic plate has high printing durability and is repeatable When used, the price of ink is also lower; at the same time, flexo printing can be produced in a coordinated manner, that is, printing, grooving, creasing, cartoning, bundling and other processes can be completed in one machine, greatly improving production efficiency.
However, the printing accuracy of flexographic printing is relatively low. The conventional screen line number is 35~65 lines/inch, which is a low-precision printing method and is most suitable for printing text line drawings. Although the quality of four-color image printing has improved in recent years, there are still limitations.
Offset printing:
Offset printing Corrugated Box uses an indirect printing method, that is, the carton surface paper is printed first, and then the printed surface paper is mounted on the corrugated core paper.
Due to the high resolution of the PS version, offset printing can present very fine printing patterns. Therefore, most of the high-end Corrugated Boxes used for sales packaging in my country use the offset printing process.
The characteristics of offset printing include stable printing quality, fine products (the number of screen lines can reach 150~200 lines/inch), and easy plate making (conventional plate making for PS plates). In addition, offset printing can also perform surface modifications, such as lamination, glazing, etc., to further enhance the appearance of the carton.
However, offset printing also has some limitations. For example, it is not suitable to use a cardboard linkage production line and is only suitable to use a single-sided corrugating machine, which has low production efficiency; at the same time, the printing cost is relatively high.
Screen printing:
The screen printing Corrugated Box process uses a direct printing method, which has the characteristics of relatively stable printing quality, adjustable printing format, and low printing cost.
The resolution of screen printing is not high and the image accuracy is low. The conventional screen line number is 60~80 lines/inch, which is suitable for printing non-fine products. However, the ink color of screen printing is thick, the color saturation is high, and the visual effect is strong.
Screen printing is also not suitable for linked production lines and has low production efficiency. However, it is easy to make plates, has low plate making costs, and has low printing costs.
In summary, the printing processes of Corrugated Box each have their own characteristics. The choice of process depends on factors such as the purpose of the carton, design requirements, production efficiency, and cost.
