From the current development trend of the printing industry, green printing has become an irreversible trend. Flexo printing is known as “the most environmentally friendly printing process” in the traditional printing field. The packaging and printing industry is favored in Europe and the United States. Although its development after entering the Chinese market has been in a tepid state, it is difficult to complete with the widely used offset printing, gravure printing and letter printing and so on. However, in recent years, with the implementation of the green printing strategy in China’s printing industry, as well as the continuous innovation of flexographic printing technology, the momentum of flexo printing technology has gradually strengthened, and the future can be expected.

With the implementation of the green printing strategy in China’s printing industry, flexo printing technology continues to innovate and develop steadily. At the 8th Beijing International Printing Technology Exhibition, printing peers from India consulted manufacturers about the performance of flexo printing equipment.

Many highlight of flexographic plate-making plate technology

At present, there are three main technical highlights in the field of flexo prepress: flat top dot plate-making technology, thermal plate-making technology and laser direct engraving plate-making technology.

Highlight 1: flat top dot plate-making technology

The core of the flat top dot making technology is to isolate the influence of the oxygen on the shape of the dots during the main exposure process, so as to achieve a perfect 1:1 copy of the image and text. Moreover, the printing plate made by flat top dot making technology has higher wear resistance of its high-gloss small dots and easier control of dot enlargement, which is important for high-volume orders. At the 8th Beijing International Printing Technology Exhibition on May 18, DuPont, Esko, Kodak, Flint and other companies have increased their efforts to promote their flat top dot plate-making technology.

DuPont Cyrel DigiFlow digital workflow is a new generation flat top dot plat-making technology introduced by DuPont company in February 2012, which exposes flexographic plates in a pure nitrogen or nitrox gas mixture to eliminate the influence of oxygen on the shape of the dots during the exposure process, which greatly improve the accuracy of image transfer between the black film and the plate, and improve the quality of plate making and printing.

Kodak Flexcel NX Technology uses a thermal imaging layer and adds a lamination program to the exposure process to achieve an “oxygen inhibition reaction” that results in a prefect 1:1 reproduction of graphics and text. In additional, the square flat top dots are more sharp and clear, and dots as small as 10 microns can be easily obtained, and the resolution can reach 300 dpi.

Esko Full HD flexo printing technology combines innovative screen technology with the second generation of digital in-line primary exposure technology to perfectly reproduce dome and flat dots on the same plate, resulting in offset and gravure quality.

Flint Nyloflex NExT exposure technology uses an advanced high-energy ultraviolet light source (LED-UV) to first make a quick exposure to the flexographic plate to accelerate the photopolymerization of the image area, making the polymerization from oxygen inhibition competition negligible, and then using a conventional UV lamp for a second exposure to achieve a more stable flat top dot structure.

Highlight 2: thermal plate-making technology

At present, the flexo printing industry is still dominated by organic solvent plates, among which the highly toxic mixed solvent of perchloroethylene and n-butanol is still commonly used, which is contrary to the environment protection concept of flexo printing, so it is often criticized. Thermal plate-making technology is an innovative technology that solves these problems, and typical representative is Dupont, which focuses on Cyrel FAST thermal plate-making technology.

It is worth noting that the DuPont Cyrel FAST TD4260 Thermal Plate making machine uses dry thermal technology to produce high-level and consistent quality flexographic plates. This machine can be used with the Cyrel FAST 2000EC/LF to complete the post-exposure and debonding of the plate, eliminating the need to use, store, recycle and dispose of chemical solvents during the whole plate-making process, which is truly green and environmentally friendly.

Highlight 3: laser direct engraving plate-making technology

In additional, some manufacturers have developed technologies for laser direct engraving of plates and sleeves, which uses a laser to engrave graphics directly on a rubber plate or sleeve and then rinse them with water, such as the Kodak Flexcel Direct system and the Haier Premium Flexo S1300 exhibited by Wirther.

Innovative products and technologies noteworthy are the Haier Premium Flexo S1300 fine flexographic laser direct engraving machine presented by Wirther AG and the perfect matching solution. The system is jointly developed by Haier (HELL) and Conti company, using fiber laser engraving technology, according to the process requirements, on demand to edit the dots, engraving the three-dimensional shape of the dots, the whole process is completely digital, and the number of lines can reach up to 80 lines/cm, can achieve high-quality flexo printing, is a future-oriented green flexographic plate making technology.

The research and development of flexo printing equipment technology is advancing

The pace of development of flexo printing in China is accelerating, in this exhibition, the number of flexo printing equipment exhibited significantly more than in previous years, Kidoo, Omet, United States, Sun Machinery, Ego Fa, Duoweilong, Aerospace Huayang, Xi’an Qinhua, Xi’an Dexin have exhibited or demonstrated their latest flexo printing equipment and technology.

Kidoo M3 digital flexo printing machine. The machine is specifically designed for the label and packaging market, and it can handle a wide range of substrates. At the exhibition site, Mr. Federico d’’Annuzio and General Manager of Kidoo (China) Fan Simin personally explained the charm of the M3 digital flexo press to everyone, which attracted many audiences.

Sun STF-340-8C flexo printing machine. The machine is independently developed and manufactured by Sun Machinery, launched in early 2023, the whole machine is highly integrated, its most prominent innovation is the use of servo motor to control the cold foil unwinding and rewinding shaft, to achieve the reuse of cold foil, greatly saving production costs.

Aerospace Huayang E-flying CI type flexo printing machine. The machine is suitable for printing PE, OPP, PET and other film, with a maximum printing width 1270mm and a maximum printing speed of 350m/min, which can adapt to the large-scale production of large orders. At the exhibition site, the machine also carried out a demonstration of PE cast film printing with a thickness of 22 microns (using DIC alcohol-soluble ink).

The national brand of flexographic printing plate is rising

When it comes to flexographic printing plate, DuPont and Flint are indispensable.At this exhibition, both giants will bring the latest digital flexographic plates to the exhibition. Fortunately, Lekai huaguang also focused on promoting Huaguang flexible resin plate at the exhibition, and demonstrated the flexible resin plate making process on the spot, deducing the power of national brands. It is reported that at present, Lekai Huaguang has launched CTP flexographic plates, direct engraving flexographic plates and other technology research and development projects, and it is believed that national brands will make major breakthroughs in the field of flexographic printing plates in the near future.

Notable innovations includes DuPont Cyrel Solvent Plate DSP and Cyrel FAST Thermal Plate DFP. The new high-performance multi-layer digital flexo plate combines the high resolution and repeatability of digital flexo with many of the advantages f traditional multi-layer flexo and can be used in standard digitl workflows without the need for additional equipment and software investment. The two new plates come with a matte surface that combines high-quality solid printing with fine mesh and fine text printing, with high printing resistance and significantly less downtime.