What are the color box printing processes?

What are the color box printing processes?

With the development of the market economy, the commodity trade is extremely abundant, and the export products continue to increase. Color box, as the most widely used form of product transportation packaging, has changed from the original single text line printing to color high-quality reproduction sales packaging. Nowadays, color box printing has become a production link that enterprises are paying more and more attention to, and it has also become a symbol of corporate image. So what are the craftsmanships of color box printing? There are many ways to print color boxes in China printing company. The traditional offset printing, flexographic printing, screen printing and the flexographic pre-printing, gravure pre-printing, and digital printing that have emerged in recent years have all occupied their respective markets. The following is a brief introduction by the printers in China.

1. Offset printing process
Offset printing is the most mature printing method at present, and it occupies the primary position in color box printing. There is no difference between the graphic part and the blank part on the printing plate. They are almost on the same plane. When printing, water is first applied to the printing plate, and then ink is supplied to the printing plate. Printing is realized by the principle of ink repulsion. The plate-making process is simple, low cost, high production efficiency, exquisite patterns, and stable quality.
There are two main ways to use offset printing for color boxes, one is to print directly on the cardboard, and the other is to print the facial paper first, and then mount the facial paper. Among them, the indirect printing method is pre-printing of single-sheet paper, and its printing quality is relatively high. After printing, it can also be decorated with surface decoration such as glazing and laminating, which can greatly improve the appearance of color boxes and is used in the sales of high-end products. The packaging has always occupied a major position. However, the mounting efficiency is low. The direct printing method is mainly aimed at micro-corrugated products. This method is widely used in foreign markets and has been relatively mature. It is only necessary to use an improved offset printing machine in production.
2.The flexographic printing process
Flexographic printing is a direct printing method with a short ink path. The plate is made of resin with a certain degree of elasticity. The graphics and text are raised, and the blank part is recessed. It uses doctor blades and anilox roller ink supply devices, and uses environmentally friendly water-based inks for production. There are two printing methods for color boxes: direct cardboard printing and pre-printed face paper and then pasted. Direct printing can be linked to production, and is currently the most widely used in the production of low-end color boxes.
3. Digital printing process
The application of digital printing is another development direction of color box printing, which can make graphic information from the computer directly to the surface of the paper, eliminating the need for intermediate plate making, and printing digital variable information, which can be printed The content is different, and even the material can be changed. On-demand, timeliness, and variability are the characteristics of digital printing. But the printing quality is at least equal to that of traditional printing technology, and much higher than printing technology. The investment cost of a general digital printing machine can be 40%-50% lower than that of traditional offset printing or flexo printing. Compared with traditional printing, its printing speed is faster, the cost per page is lower, and it has a competitive advantage. Among various digital printing methods, inkjet digital printing equipment has developed rapidly.
4.Pre-printing method
Pre-printing methods currently mainly include flexographic pre-printing and gravure pre-printing, and gravure pre-printing is the main method. The process is to first use gravure or flexographic printing roll paper, rewind and then mount the corrugated cardboard on the tile line, and finally die-cut the technology to obtain the color box. The problem of pattern alignment should be considered when pre-printed facial paper is mounted. Generally, a photoelectric tracking control system is installed on the cross-cutting knife to achieve precise cutting at the pattern. Compared with printed cardboard, pre-printing can provide more exquisite products, and the printing quality is more stable and reliable, and the quality of the color box after forming is better. From the perspective of production efficiency, the use of roll paper printing can realize non-stop paper changing operations, which is particularly suitable for color box products with large quantities and high printing quality requirements.