On Packaging and Printing Technology (I)

Packaging printing is a branch of printing technology and belongs to the category of special printing. Packaging printing is a printing method and post-press processing technology that are used for the main purpose of beautifying, recognizing and propagating goods. It is a result of the application of general printing technology, developed on the basis of general printing technology and formed a new printing industry system. In short, packaging printing is a printing method in which various packaging materials or packaging containers are the main products.
Thus, packaging and printing is not only an important part of modern packaging, but also a new branch of printing technology. It not only gives new contents to modern packaging, but also expands the application range of printing technology and injects new vitality into the development of printing technology.
Compared with the general printing method, packaging printing has the following main features, the diversity of substrates.
The diversity of packaging and printing substrates mainly manifests in the following aspects:
(1) Printing materials. Packaging printing materials not only paper, cardboard, but also other various plastic films, fabrics, metals and so on.
(2) Substrate specifications. The substrate width of packaging and printing is not only the common specifications of general printing paper, but also the printing materials with a width of about 3m and as small as 1m. The thickness of substrates is as large as 3-4 layers of corrugated cardboard, as small as 0.025mm. Thick film.
(3) surface of the substrate. In addition to the plane of the surface of the substrate, there are convex, concave, curved surface and various moldings.
It is of great significance to understand the diversity of substrates, to reasonably select printing methods, to ensure the quality of printed products, and to reduce printing costs.
The versatility of the printing substrates for adaptive printing determines the suitability of packaging printing for various printing methods.
So far, several major printing methods can be used for packaging printing, such as letterpress printing, lithographic offset printing, gravure printing, screen printing, and flexographic printing. However, to obtain inexpensive and affordable packaging prints, it brings certain difficulties to the reasonable choice of printing methods. Therefore, in practical applications, the ideal printing method should be reasonably selected according to the purpose of use, printing requirements, the nature of the printing materials, and the shape of the surface. The following principles can be selected for reference.
(1) Letterpress Printing · Main features: Graphic and clear, suitable for the packaging and printing of lined manuscripts, thick ink, colorful.
Application examples: trademarks, packaging papers, packaging cartons, stickers, etc. At present, most of the parts used for small-format printing.
(2) Lithographic Offset · Main features: Clear dots, rich layer recognition, good color reproducibility, and wide application. (To be continued)