Corrugated board direct offset technology features and applications

Corrugated board direct offset technical features

Main printing equipment for direct offset printing of corrugated board In recent years, the speed of development of packaging printing has been at the forefront of the printing industry in China. The production value in 2005 accounted for 32% of the entire printing industry. It has increased by 12% over the previous year. In the packaging and printing industry, color containers also account for a considerable proportion. With the continuous development of economic development and consumption levels, people are increasingly demanding the packaging of goods. Colored packaging boxes not only have to protect the goods and facilitate transport, but also require that the original appearance of the goods be truly reflected in the goods. On the outer packaging, it plays a role in displaying the quality of goods and promoting sales. Therefore, the color box is a set of new product promotion carriers that combine product protection and product advertising functions. The development of printing technology is a key influencing factor for the development of colored packaging. This article will simply talk about a printing method for colored packaging - the direct offset printing technology of corrugated cardboard.

Market Prospect of Corrugated Board Direct Offset Printing Technology

The printing technology of corrugated cardboard has gone from simple monochrome text printing to monochromatic halftone image printing to today's color halftone tone image printing. The printing of corrugated cardboard boxes is of high quality, multi-color, strong three-dimensional effect and good visual effects. The direction of development. At present, the printing of corrugated paperboard has the most extensive gravure printing in flexographic and offset printing. It also has a certain market share in China. In the processing technology, there are generally printed first, then pre-printed and direct printed. The first printing and then the first time is to print the surface paper first and then compound it onto the corrugated cardboard, and then die-cut. The method of pre-printing is to use a web flexographic printing press or web rotogravure printing machine to print, still take the form of a web after printing, and then use the printed color noodle web as carton paper The upper corrugated cardboard production line is made of corrugated cardboard and then die-cut. Direct printing is to print corrugated board directly on the printing press. Corrugated direct flexo printing is currently mainly used for printing middle and low-grade cartons due to limitations of equipment and related technologies, and the printing quality needs to be further improved. The direct offset printing of corrugated cardboard is a printing method that has developed relatively rapidly in recent years. With the improvement of equipment and process, the direct offset printing technology of corrugated board has matured. Direct offset printing can well meet the multi-color and high-quality development requirements of corrugated board printing, and the cost is relatively low. With the development of offset printing direct corrugated board technology, it will gradually replace flexographic printing in certain areas of corrugated box printing. Corrugated board direct offset printing has the following advantages over flexo printing, offset printing and then printing.

1. Relative to flexographic printing

1 With high printing quality, it can print extremely fine text and complex halftone images, and the number of screens can reach 200 lines/inch.

2 The cost is lower, the offset printing plate making cost is low, the high standardization of the offset printing also helps to reduce the printing cost. In addition, relative to the flexographic printing equipment offset printing equipment investment is less, the flexibility of the equipment is also higher, which also reduces the production cost of the product from another aspect.

3 Relatively short print assist time is more economical for short-lived jobs.

4 The printable performance of various special information can be significantly improved. Surface finishing such as laminating and polishing can be performed, and the printing quality is relatively stable.

2. Method for processing enthalpies relative to first offset paper

A corresponding reduction in processes: eliminating the need for processing costs and materials on the processing steps will be saved. In addition, the reduction in the number of processes leads to a relatively short time for the entire printing process, which leads to a corresponding reduction in the efficiency of the process, and a corresponding reduction in labor.

2 The amount of paper added is relatively small.

At present, there are some limitations in direct offset printing on corrugated cardboard.

1 It is not possible to achieve cardboard linkage production as in flexographic printing equipment, and production efficiency is relatively low.

2 At present, offset printing direct printing paperboard mainly prints micro-corrugated paperboard, and for thicker heavy paperboard, it cannot print directly on the offset printing press.

3 The offset printing format is relatively limited, and the type of web that can be printed is relatively small.

However, with the renewal of offset printing technology and equipment and the invention of corresponding new materials, the above limitations can be alleviated or even eliminated to some extent.

From the above analysis, we can see that in the color box printing, direct offset printing will become the main printing method for miniature corrugated boxes. For paperboards and cardboards, which are relatively simple in shape and pattern and large in volume, they are still mainly printed in flexographic printing. For the top printing quality of the color box is used first offset printing and then processing methods.

Corrugated board direct offset technical features

The structural characteristics of the corrugated board determine its technical characteristics in direct offset printing. Corrugated board printing is performed on uneven surfaces formed by corrugation peaks and wave troughs. The printing pressure during printing must be higher than the printing pressure required for the surface smoothing material and the printing pressure must not damage the corrugated paperboard grooves and backs. . For such difficult requirements, it is impossible to achieve simple operation control of ordinary printing presses, but the development of corresponding technologies solves the above problems. These related technologies mainly include the following points:

1 The new type of blanket adopts a super-compressed sponge layer. Good elasticity can compensate corrugated board peaks and troughs. Printing pressure difference is improved when direct offset printing is performed.

2 The successful development of new types of corrugated board also creates conditions for direct offset printing of corrugated board. Changes in the structure of the corrugated board increase the strength of the corrugated board and weaken the surface irregularities formed by corrugations and troughs of the corrugated board.

3 The successful development of new inks has improved the printing quality of direct offset printing on corrugated board. A good elastic blanket can reduce the pressure difference between corrugations and troughs of corrugated cardboard, but the pressure difference cannot be completely eliminated. This also creates a difference in printing pressure. This printing pressure difference leads to the expansion of ridges and recesses in different degrees. The overprinting of the ink thus creates a quality problem in the printing of corrugated paper - the production of a printed "cooking board" effect. The new ink further reduces print quality problems due to unevenness in the surface of the corrugated board. For example, the Well-Perfect-EV1010-w ink developed by the German GS Ink Factory is designed for direct offset printing on corrugated paper.

4 The continuous development of printing press structure provides necessary conditions for direct offset printing of corrugated board. Now offset printing equipment suppliers have noticed the development of offset printing in packaging printing, and have developed different types of printing equipment exclusively for packaging printing.

The direct offset printing of corrugated board due to the printing pressure, the cardboard strength will also have different degrees of decline, in the printing process under the premise of guaranteeing the printing quality, the printing pressure needs to be reduced as much as possible. Therefore, the direct offset pressure control of corrugated board is the most important issue that we should pay attention to. It has a direct impact on the printing quality and the board structure and is the key influencing factor of the final product quality.

Corrugated board direct offset printing main printing equipment

The rapid development of color carton in recent years is the industry's obvious corrugated board direct offset printing. With the successful development of various technologies, it has become increasingly mature. For this potential market, famous domestic and overseas offset press manufacturers have developed suitable corrugated paper directly. Offset equipment. Here are just a few of the more interesting devices on the market:

1 KBA offset printing machine: At the ChmaPrint2005 exhibition, KBA's operators performed the exquisite product printing on 157 g copper plate paper on the KBA 105 press first, and then changed the substrate to cardboard from the paper to different specifications. Cardboard printing conversion, the final direct printing quality of G-type corrugated cardboard (1ml-f1 in thickness) can be described as perfect.