CHAPTER 2 : RELIEF PRINTING

2.1 Flexographic Printing

Applications - Process Overview - Image Preparation - Plate Making - Printing

Presses - Inks - Finishing

2.1.1 Applications:

Flexography is the major process used to print packaging materials. Flexography is

used to print corrugated containers, folding cartons, multiwall sacks, paper sacks,
plastic bags, milk and beverage cartons, disposable cups and containers, labels,
adhesive tapes, envelopes, newspapers, and wrappers (candy and food). 

Flexographic presses are capable of producing good quality impressions on many

different substrates and is the least expensive and simplest of the printing processes
used for decorating and packaging printing. The use of flexographic printing presses
is on the rise. There are two primary reasons for this: 1) it is a relatively simple
operation; and 2) it is easily adapted to the use of water-based inks. The widespread
use of water-based inks in flexographic printing means a large reduction in VOC
emission compared to the heatset web or gravure printing processes.

Publication flexography is used mainly in the production of newspaper, comics,

directories, newspaper inserts, and catalogs. Packaging flexography is used for the
production of folding cartons, labels, and packaging materials. Large quantities of
inks are used during normal runs on flexographic presses; however, some printers
are able to recycle a majority of their spent inks and wash waters. Major chemicals
used in flexography include platemaking solution, water and solvent based inks, and
blanket/roller cleaning solvents.

Flexography is a form of rotary web letterpress, combining features of both

letterpress and rotogravure printing, using relief plates comprised of flexible rubber
or photopolymer plates and fast drying, low viscosity solvent, water-based or UV
curable inks fed from an "anilox" or two roller inking system. The flexible (rubber or
photopolymer) plates are mounted onto the printing cylinder with double-faced
adhesive. Plates are sometimes backed with thin metal sheets and attached to the
cylinder with fastening straps for close register or ink alignment. This adds additional
cost to the plate and requires more makeready time, but when quality printing is
critical this type of plate can make the difference.

2.1.2 Process Overview

o Diagram of Image Carriers Used in Printing Processes

In the typical flexo printing sequence, the substrate is fed into the press from a roll.
The image is printed as substrate is pulled through a series of stations, or print units.
Each print unit is printing a single color. As with Gravure and Lithographic printing,
the various tones and shading are achieved by overlaying the 4 basic shades of ink.
These are magenta, cyan, yellow and black. Magenta being the red tones and cyan
being the blue. 

The process of printing each color on a flexo press consists of a series of four rollers:

o Ink Roller
o Meter Roller
o Plate Cylinder
o Impression Cylinder

The first roller transfers the ink from an ink pan to the meter roller or Anilox Roll,
which is the second roller. The Anilox roller meters the ink to a uniform thickness
onto the plate cylinder. The substrate then moves between the plate cylinder and the
impression cylinder, which is the fourth roller.

The impression cylinder applies pressure to the plate cylinder, thereby transferring
the image onto the substrate. The web, which by now has been printed, is fed into
the overhead dryer so the ink is dry before it goes to the next print unit.

After the substrate has been printed with all colors the web MAY be fed through an
additional overhead tunnel dryer to remove most of the residual solvents or water.
The finished product is then rewound onto a roll or is fed through the cutter.

The major unit operations in a flexographic printing operation are:

o Image preparation
o Platemaking
o Printing
o Finishing

Below is a process flow diagram for flexographic printing:

2.1.3 Image Preparation

Image preparation begins with camera-ready (mechanical) art/copy or electronically

produced art supplied by the customer. Images are captured for printing by camera,
scanner or computer. Components of the image are manually assembled and
positioned in a printing flat when a camera is used. This process is called stripping.
When art/copy is scanned or digitally captured the image is assembled by the
computer with special software. A simple proof (brown print) is prepared to check for
position and accuracy. When color is involved, a color proof is submitted to the
customer for approval.

2.1.4 Flexographic Plate Making

Flexographic and letterpress plates are made using the same basic technologies
utilizing a relief type plate. Both technologies employ plates with raised images
(relief) and only the raised images come in contact with the substrate during printing.
Flexographic plates are made of a flexible material, such as plastic, rubber or UV
sensitive polymer (photopolymer), so that it can be attached to a roller or cylinder for
ink application. There are three primary methods of making flexographic plates;
photomechanical, photochemical and laser engraved plates.

PREPRESS - PLATEMAKING

The photomechanical plate making method begins with making an engraving. This is
accomplished by exposing a metal plate through a negative and processing the
exposed plate in an acid bath. The metal engraved plate is used to make a master
which is molded out of bakelite board. The engraving is placed in a mold press. The
mold is produced by applying heat & pressure to the mold material (bakelite board),
which can be either plastic or glass, against the engraving under controlled
temperature and pressure. The bakelite board fills the engraving on the metal plate.
When its cooled you end up with a master mold for the plastic or rubber compound
that will be pressed into the mold under pressure and elevated temperature to
produce the flexible printing plate with raised areas that will transfer the ink.

The second method of flexo plate making is relief plates. This utilizes a solid or liquid
photopolymer. The sheet of photopolymer is exposed to light through a negative.
The unexposed areas are then washed away with solvent or water wash. This is fast
becoming the most common method of making plates.

The process differs depending on whether solid sheets of photopolymer or liquid

photopolymer are used, though the two processes are similar in general outline. In
both processes the plates are made in ultraviolet exposure units. A negative of the
job is placed between the photopolymer and the ultraviolet light source. The
photopolymer sheet or liquid is then exposed to ultraviolet light, hardening the image
area. Lastly, the plate is processed to remove the unhardened non-image area.
Photopolymer plates are replacing rubber plates because they offer superior quality
and performance at a lower cost.

Flexographic printing plates may be made by laser engraving, which is called direct
digital platemaking. In this process an image is scanned or computer generated.
Then a computer-guided laser etches the image onto the printing plate.

2.1.5 Flexographic Printing Presses

The five types of printing presses used for flexographic printing are the stack type,
central impression cylinder (CIC), in-line, newspaper unit, and dedicated 4-, 5-, or 6-
color unit commercial publication flexographic presses. All five types employ a plate
cylinder, a metering cylinder known as the anilox roll that applies ink to the plate, and
an ink pan. Some presses use a third roller as a fountain roller and, in some cases, a
doctor blade for improved ink distribution. 

2.1.6 Flexographic Printing Press Types

(A) STACK TYPE

The stack press is characterized by one or more stacks of printing stations arranged
vertically on either side of the press frame. Each stack has its own plate cylinder
which prints one color of a multicolor impression. All stations are driven from a
common gear train. Stack presses are easy to set up and can print both sides of the
web in one pass. They can be integrated with winders, unwinders, cutters, creasers,
and coating equipment. They are very popular for milk carton printing. A drawback of
stack presses is their poor registration; the image position on every printed sheet is
not as consistent as in many other printing processes.

(A) CENTRAL IMPRESSION CYLINDER (CIC)

Central impression cylinder (CIC), like the common impression rotary letterpress,
use a single impression cylinder mounted in the press frame. Two to eight color
printing stations surround the central impression cylinder. Each station consists of an
ink pan, fountain roller, anilox roll, doctor blade, and plate cylinder. As the web
enters the press it comes into contact with the impression cylinder and remains in
contact until it leaves the press. The result is precise registration which allows CIC
presses to produce very good color impressions. CIC presses are used extensively
for printing flexible films.

(B) IN LINE

In Line flexo printing is similar to a unit type rotary press or the stacked press except
the printing stations are arranged in a horizontal line. They are all driven by a
common line shaft and may be coupled to folders, cutters, and other postpress
equipment. These presses are used for printing bags, corrugated board, folding
boxes, and similar products.
(C) NEWSPAPER FLEXOGRAPHIC PRESSES

A newspaper flexographic press consists of multiple printing units, each unit

consisting of two printing stations arranged back-to-back in a common frame. The
use of paired stations allows both sides of the web to be printed in one pass. Multiple
printing stations are required to print the many pages that make up a typical
newspaper. Single and double color decks, stacked units, or 4-, 5-, or 6-color units
are sometimes positioned above those units where the publisher wants to provide
single or multiple spot color, spot color for both sides of the web, or process color,
respectively (Buonicore).

(D) COMMERCIAL PUBLICATION FLEXOGRAPHIC PRESSES

Commercial publication flexographic presses are compact high-speed presses with

wide web capability that utilize dedicated 4-, 5-, or 6-color units. Typically, two four-
color units are paired in one press to allow printing on both sides of the web.
Publication flexographic presses generally incorporate infrared dryers to ensure
drying of the waterborne ink after each side of the web is printed (Buonicore).

2.1.7 Flexographic Inks

Flexographic inks are very similar to packaging gravure printing inks in that they are
fast drying and have a low viscosity. The inks are formulated to lie on the surface of
nonabsorbent substrates and solidify when solvents are removed. Solvents are
removed with heat, unless U.V. curable inks are used. 

FLEXOGRAPHIC INKS

These inks consist of colorants, which may be pigments and soluble dyes along with
a binder and various solvents. Both Solvent based and water based inks commonly
contain various types alcohol as the primary solvent or drier. Alcohol rapidly dries
through evaporation and contributes to VOC emissions. The inks may also contain
glycol ether and/or ammonia which facilitates drying.

Types: 

o Water Based
o Solvent Based
o U.V. Curable

Water based flexo inks dry through evaporation and absorption on paper. This
evaporation requires a greater amount of fuel or energy to dry the ink. Coated
papers may be used to control the absorption through the paper. Due to the speed of
the presses and volume of inks consumed daily a pollution control system may be
necessary, especially if the printer is using solvent based inks. If the product allows,
the printer may avoid pollution control equipment if they convert to water based inks
or UV curable inks. The cost of Pollution control equipment for a small Flexo or
gravure printer will cost approximately $400,000 (1998 estimate) for the equipment
and approximately $50,000 for testing and certification. The price increases as the
size and/or volume of the operation increases.

UV flexo inks are commonly used for top coats and lacquers and are responsible for
many improvements in image quality of flexographic printing. The use of UV curable
colored inks is rising within the flexographic printing industry, but product concerns
and equipment investment are obstacles. Note, water based or UV curable inks may
not be an option for some printers due to the substrate being printed or design of the
product.

2.1.8 Finishing

After printing, the substrate may run through a number of operations to be "finished"
and ready for shipment to the customer. Finishing may include operations such as
coating, cutting, folding and binding.