With the continuous development of industrialization, self-adhesive labels have become an indispensable part of modern life. In the production process of self-adhesive labels, printing is the most important part. In the production of self-adhesive labels, commonly used printing methods include relief printing, gravure printing, offset printing, flexo printing, and screen printing. These five printing methods have their own characteristics and scope of application, and we will introduce them one by one below.
1. Relief Printing
Relief printing is one of the most commonly used printing methods in self-adhesive labels. It is a printing method that applies ink to the raised graphics and text on the printing plate, and then imprints the ink onto the printed object. . A letterpress is an embossed printing plate, usually made of a special material such as rubber, nylon, or a polymer material. The material is coated with photoresist and exposed to ultraviolet light to create a raised figure.
During the printing process, a letterpress is mounted on a printing press, ink is applied to the letterpress, and then pressed onto the object to be printed. The pressure of the cylinder of the printing press causes the ink to be squeezed onto the printed matter, forming a raised figure or text. The advantage of relief printing printing is that the printing layer is thick, the color is bright, and has texture. It is suitable for printing labels that need to highlight brand characteristics and visual effects, such as trademark labels, LOGO labels, lwm.
Relief printing is suitable for a variety of materials for self-adhesive label printing, including paper, polyester film, polypropylene film, lwm. In addition, letterpress printing can also use different inks, such as water-based inks, solvent-based inks, UV inks, etc., to meet different printing needs. In a word, embossing is a high-quality printing method, suitable for printing self-adhesive labels that need to emphasize visual effects and brand image.
2. Gravure printing
Unlike relief printing, gravure printing achieves printing by recessing a pattern onto a printing plate, applying ink to the recessed areas, and then transferring the ink to the object to be printed. Intaglio is usually made of a metal-like material such as copper, zinc, aluminum, lwm.
In the gravure printing process, ink is applied to a printing plate, and a device called a plate roll is used to squeeze the ink into the recessed patterns and text. The substrate is then placed under a pressure roller and the ink is transferred to the substrate. Since the pattern and text of intaglio are sunken, the ink will only be deposited in these areas, creating a sense of depth and texture.
The advantages of gravure printing are that the patterns and characters are clear and clear, and the printing accuracy is high, which is suitable for printing small fonts and lines. Gravure printing can also use a variety of inks, such as water-based inks, solvent-based inks, UV inks, etc., to meet different printing needs. In addition, the printing speed of gravure printing is relatively fast, the production efficiency is high, and high-quality self-adhesive labels can be produced in large quantities.
In short, gravure printing is an efficient and high-precision printing method, suitable for printing self-adhesive labels that require clear and detailed patterns and text.
3. Offset printing
In the offset printing process, patterns and characters are printed on a flat printing plate, and then the ink is transferred to the printed object by a blanket printing plate roller. Offset printing can use a variety of different inks, such as water-based inks, solvent-based inks, UV inks, lwm.
The key step in offset printing is the production of printing plates. First, patterns and text need to be drawn on a thin film of polymer-like material, which is then transferred to a flat printing plate. Printing plates are usually made of aluminum, but can be other similar materials.
During the printing process, ink is applied to a printing plate, and a device called a plate roller is used to squeeze the ink onto the pattern and text. The substrate is then placed under a pressure roller and the ink is transferred to the substrate. Since the printing plate is flat, the printing effect is usually smooth and does not produce raised or depressed effects.
The advantages of offset printing are fast printing speed and high production efficiency, and it is suitable for printing self-adhesive labels in large quantities. In addition, offset printing can use a variety of inks and pigments to meet different printing needs, and can print high-quality patterns and characters.
To sum up, offset printing is a fast and efficient self-adhesive label printing method, which is often used to print large-volume, colorful labels, such as labels on beverages and electronic products.
4. Flexographic printing
Flexo printing is a high-speed printing technology and a way of self-adhesive label printing. Flexo printing uses a printing process similar to offset printing, but uses flexographic printing plates instead of rigid lithographic printing plates. Flexo printing typically uses expandable materials such as polyester or polyamide, which can be bent, twisted and stretched to accommodate different printing surfaces and shapes.
The printing plate of flexo printing is relatively soft, which can better adapt to different surfaces and shapes, such as printing bags, pipes, bottles, lwm. Inks for flexo printing are usually thicker to provide even coverage on different surfaces. In the flexographic printing process, ink is applied to a flexographic printing plate and then transferred to the object to be printed by the printing plate roller.
The advantages of flexo printing are high production efficiency, low cost, and suitable for printing self-adhesive labels in large quantities. Flexo can also print on a variety of materials such as metal, paper, polymers and tapes. Flexo printing usually requires less pre-platemaking work and can complete a large number of printing jobs in a short time.
However, flexo printing also has its disadvantages, such as the inability to print high-resolution images and text, and the printing quality may be affected by the plate roller and ink. In addition, because the ink is denser, the printing drying time is longer, which may affect the production efficiency.
Although the printing quality of flexo printing may be affected by flexographic plates and inks, flexo printing is an efficient and economical printing method for high-volume printing of self-adhesive labels.
5. Screen printing
The basic principle of screen printing is to apply ink to the screen, and then place the screen on the surface of the printed object. The ink is transferred to the surface of the printed object through the grid of the screen to form an image or text. Compared with other self-adhesive label printing methods, screen printing has many advantages, such as various types of inks can be used, printing speed is fast, and it can be printed on a variety of materials.
Screen printing has a wide range of applications and can be used for printing self-adhesive labels, glass, ceramics, paper, wood and other materials. Screen printing technology is also widely used in the manufacture of self-adhesive labels, especially for labels that do not require high printing accuracy. Screen printing can also achieve single-color and multi-color printing, but its printing resolution is relatively low, which is not suitable for printing high-definition images and texts.
The main disadvantage of screen printing is that it cannot achieve high-precision image and text printing, and the cost of making and replacing the screen is relatively high, and it also requires additional time and workload when printing. However, screen printing has the advantages of fast printing speed and low printing cost, and is suitable for large-volume, low-precision self-adhesive label printing needs.
Screen printing has the advantages of fast printing speed, low cost and suitable for a variety of materials. Although screen printing cannot print high-resolution images and text, it is still an important technology in self-adhesive label printing.
In general, the printing methods of self-adhesive labels mainly include five types: letterpress printing, gravure printing, offset printing, flexo printing, and screen printing. Each printing method has its unique printing principles and characteristics, which can meet the printing requirements of different needs. For example, embossing can achieve high-precision, high-quality printing effects, while offset printing can achieve multi-color printing and high-speed printing.
When choosing a self-adhesive label printing method, multiple factors need to be considered, such as printing requirements, printing materials, printing volume, printing cost, lwm. Therefore, when choosing a printing method, it is necessary to carefully analyze and compare the advantages and disadvantages of various printing methods in order to choose the printing method that best suits your needs.
