Digital


Flexography

The flexographic printing process is known as a relief printing process because the flexible rubber plate is made by carving or removing the negative or nonprinting area of the rubberkind of like a giant rubber stamp. The image area that receives the ink is raised above the nonimage area. The raised surface of the plate comes into direct contact with the substrate by applying pressure.

Like most printing processes, flexography can be produced with analog or digital plates. Computer-to-plate technology is in the mainstream of flexo workflows as well, and laser platemakers remove (or ablate) the nonprinting areas of the plate.

Because the type of ink used in flexographic printing does not require absorption into the substrate to facilitate drying, flexo is used in conjunction with nonporous substrates required for various types of food packaging as well as many plastics. It is also well suited for printing large areas of solid color. Flexographic inks are very fluid, dry rapidly, and are most often water-basedagain, important in food packaging.

Flexography's fast-drying inks and high-speed presses make this method ideal for printing long runs of continuous patterns (for example, gift wrap and wallpaper). There is no chemistry involved, so printers can come up to consistent color very quickly at the beginning of their press runs. It is the most common form of relief printing on the market.

As with most forms of packaging, trapping is a key step in this process, with solid inks the norm. Multiple up imposition or gang impositions are also common to package printing. Consult with your flexographic printer when preparing your design to make the most of this printing process.

Organizations to visit online include www.fta-ffta.org/andflexoexchange.com.



Adobe InDesign CS2 @work. Projects You Can Use on the Job
Adobe InDesign CS2 @work: Projects You Can Use on the Job
ISBN: 067232802X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 148

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