‍In recent years, Flexography has made great progress in China with its unique advantages in the field of packaging printing. According to statistics, more than 150 flexographic printing production lines have been introduced in China, and more than 7 domestic printing machine manufacturers have begun to produce narrow range unit Flexography machines. Flexography has been accepted by more and more people in the packaging and printing industry in China.
Flexography was originally called aniline printing, which originated in the United States in the early 1920s. It was not developed because the aniline dye ink it used was toxic. Since the mid-1970s, due to the progress of the material industry, especially the advent of polymer resin plates and metal ceramic Anilox, the development of Flexography has made a qualitative leap, becoming the fastest growing printing method in the world, especially in the United States, has been fully developed. Both the manufacturing technology of printing machines and the application technology of flexographic printing represent the highest level of Flexography. Most of the commodity packages seen in the domestic market of the United States are almost Flexography products. According to statistics, currently in the United States, the market share of Flexography in the field of flexible packaging printing accounts for 70%; 85% in the field of label printing; 98% in the field of corrugated box printing; In the paper box printing field, it accounts for 25%. In Europe, Flexography also accounts for 60%, 35%, 85% and 3% of the market share in the above packaging field. In the United States, even 20% of newspapers are also printed with Flexography. This is enough to prove the vitality of Flexography.
The difference between Flexography and other printing methods lies in its unique characteristics. First, the use of soft polymer resin plates, compared with gravure printing, not only reduces the cost of plate making but also shortens the period of plate making. Due to the improvement of plate manufacturing level and plate making technology, the screen plate can now reach the level of 175 lines/inch, which is enough to meet the needs of general packaging printing; The second is to use the Anilox. The Anilox is both the ink transfer roll and the ink metering roll, realizing the same short ink path as the gravure printing, and can accurately supply ink according to the process requirements. At present, the metal ceramic Anilox with laser engraving has reached the level of 1600 lines/inch, providing a favorable means for accurately controlling the ink color and ink layer thickness; The third is zero pressure printing, which not only reduces mechanical vibration and wear, but also expands the range of printing media, especially beneficial for printing flexible materials; Fourth, the narrow Flexography machine has also expanded the functions of the printing machine. In addition to printing, it can complete a large number of post press processes, making the Flexography machine a production line integrating printing and post press processing.