Popular Printing Technologies for Packaging

When it comes to finding the best printing method for your brand, there are plenty of choices available.

 Let’s look at the most popular technologies in use today: 

OFFSET PRINTING: Metal plates transfer or off-set the design onto a rubber roller and then to the printing material.

SCREEN PRINTING: Suitable for bulk printing, mesh screens press the inks and transfer the image on the desired material such as fabric.

DIGITAL PRINTING: Giving a quick turnaround time, digital printing deals with digital designs rather than printing plates. Ink is transferred through inkjets.

ROTOGRAVURE PRINTING: It’s an Intaglio Printing technique in which a copper-plated Steel cylinder is laser-engraved with the intended design. It involves engraving the image onto the cylinder and then transferred it to the substrate through pressure.

FLEXOGRAPHIC PRINTING: Quite like letterpress printing, the printing plates get attached to raised rotating cylinders. It is a form of printing process which utilizes a flexible relief plate. And fast-drying inks are transferred onto the material to print the desired images.

The popularity of Gravure & Flexographic Technologies in Flexible Printing 

Rotogravure and Flexographic Printing are the two most prevalent techniques used to meet versatile packaging requirements.

And they are commonly used in the food, beverage, and personal care industry where they use flexible (lightweight, malleable, or non-rigid) packaging materials. These include plastic films, paper, or foil that take the desired shape with ease.

Rotogravure Vs Flexo Printing

Rotogravure Printing offers exceptional-quality and accurate prints, preferred for printing labels, shrink sleeves, laminates, and pouches.

Wide Web Flexographic Printing is ideal for long runs, and when the desired printing speed is super-fast. Since it offers excellent print text clarity, it gets used for printing labels and films.

Narrow Web Flexographic Printing is good for self-adhesive labels, pressure-sensitive labels, and short runs of shrink sleeves.

Key Differences: 

CHOICE OF INKS: Though Gravure printing supports many inks, a broader range of inks are available in Flexo printing.

PRINT QUALITY: Flexo offers higher clarity when the design has fine detailing and written text. However, if the artwork is detail-heavy and intricate, Gravure gives more consistency and vibrancy in print quality.

EXPENSES: Flexo is a more cost-efficient technique than Gravure when you compare the printing plate costs. However, cylinders used in Gravure generally last longer across multiple print runs than the Flexo plates.

Which is Better? 

Since both Rotogravure and Flexographic printing techniques have pros and cons, we cannot replace one with the other. So before choosing a printing method, you must consider the best technique for the task you wish to accomplish.

Do you need an expert’s opinion to select the right printing method? Feel free to book a discovery call with me at www.chetan-jain.com, and I will be happy to assist you.