Printing Methods
Flexo Stack 1-2 colour.Flexographic (flexo) printing is a form of printing that uses a flexible printing plate to transfer the ink onto the substrate being printed. It is used for printing on many different types of substrate including plastic, metallic films, cellophane and paper. The printing capability is lower than lithographic printing, typically achieving only 40DPI on the most basic printers, rising to 120dpi on the most advanced. We use 2 types of flexo printing press, a stack printer and central impression (CI) printing press.A type of multi-colour press used in flexography in which all the colour stations—from one to eight stations, with six being the most common—are oriented in a vertical stack, the substrate passing through each one, which lays down successive colours. Some stack presses comprise two parallel stacks, the web of substrate taking a U-shaped path through the press. Each colour station possesses its own independent set of inking rollers, plate cylinder, and impression cylinder. They offer quick setup which is great for short runs; however they tend to have a lower DPI for tone work and are unable to maintain tight registration.Flexo CI 6 colour (large runs).Central Impression PressA type of printing press used in multi-colour flexography in which a single large-diameter common impression cylinder supports the substrate as it contacts a series of adjacent plate cylinders, which lay down successive colours. Central impression presses can have anywhere from two to eight printing units, with six being the most common. The advantage of this configuration is that you can print at a much faster rate than a stack press while maintaining much tighter registration and a higher DPI. Unfortunately they take longer to set up and so are not used on short runs.