Why should I expect plate quality to improve by bringing in platemaking in-house versus what I experience with professionals that focus solely on platemaking and prepress? An incentive to bring platemaking in-house is often cost savings and fear of a press going down if a plate is damaged, missing, or worn out. In short, what … Read More...
Tag Archives: flexo
Easy to Check - Often Missed Print repeats play an important roll in the performance of the finished product. You may have a beautifully executed award-winning package, however if your repeats are out of specification tolerances you may have to throw the product away. Worse yet, the product could make its way to the packaging … Read More...
More than just dot %... or is it dot area? So often when we are speaking of dot quality and measurement we default to dot %. But is there more we can measure to understand what aspects of the printed dot are affecting dot size, quality, and even longevity? Even if we focus only on … Read More...
Why is this important? If rotational speed does have an effect on outward force, then one could surmise that with increased press speed we will see more force between the photopolymer printing plate and the impression cylinder or drum. The answer to the question is "yes." So why is this important to consider? Well consider … Read More...
You are not alone! I don't believe there are many flexographic printers that have not experienced dirty print at one time or another. As a matter of fact, more printers report that dirty print is an ongoing issue. Part of the reason this issue is so widespread in our industry is because of the number … Read More...
Flat-Top Dots Let’s start by stating what is meant by the term flat-top dot. A flat-top dot on a photopolymer plate is one that accepts the transfer of data from an imaging device to the finished plate at a 1:1 ratio. The 1:1 imaging ratio is measured in the file, post-CDI imaging, and ultimately on the … Read More...
A common misconception in water based ink cleaning is the thought that to be effective it would need to have a high pH and thus, be hazardous to the user or equipment. In reality there are two parts for these cleaners to be effective, pH and alkalinity. The alkalinity levels in these cleaners is what causes … Read More...
In my brief 12-year Flexo career (yes, I started in the dark side of printing — Litho! 😉 ), I have never seen a technology have such a dramatic impact on Flexo print quality as Flat; Top Dot plates. Way back in 2010, I co-chaired the FTA Fall Conference in Louisville, KY along with Chair … Read More...
APR, working diligently with key suppliers and key customers has developed a press-specific doctor blade program. This program, quite simply puts the correct doctor blade in the convertor's hands at the best price. This program covers W & H and Uteco presses and all others utilizing 1.375" blade widths as well as PCMC and Bobst … Read More...
Today's Anilox Roll Cleaning Currently, and for the past several years, we have used four primary means of cleaning anilox rolls. We have hand cleaned using stainless steel brushes and primarily caustic chemicals, ultrasonic, media blasting which limits certain line counts on anilox rolls based on the particulate size of the media. Most recently we … Read More...