Color box, color box prepress design and plate making technology application
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In the concept of modern packaging, color boxes and color boxes have changed from the protection of products to the promotion of products. Consumers judge the quality of products by the quality of color boxes and color boxes. Therefore, whether color box and color box design can quickly attract consumers' eyes in many color packages becomes the key to the success of color box and color box design. It can be seen that the prepress design and plate making technology of color boxes and color boxes are unquestionable as the key technology of prepress technology. Its technical ability and level determine the market competitiveness of an enterprise. Its design and plate making staff can be said to be the "baby" of corrugated color box and color box enterprises. The conditions are superior and the treatment is generous. It is the object of contempt for the same industry, and it is also the easiest to be "digging the corner".
Design and plate making are two completely different but closely related two processes or types of work, which can also be said to be technology. Below, the author combines the actual situation of the author company with the prepress design and plate making technology application of color box and color box. Explain.
Prepress design technology for color box and color box layout
The design techniques of the layout are generally divided into original design and imitation design. Under normal circumstances, the following equipment is required for the layout design work: a high-performance computer, a matching printer, a scanner, some also have a color separation meter, and corresponding professional design software.
The original design of the layout, also called creative design, is the layout design of the outer packaging carton according to the product performance and characteristics of the professional design company. This layout design requires a high level of technical skill, expertise and expertise. This kind of design is generally done by professional design companies. Enterprises do not have such designs, but large-scale carton packaging companies also have such professional designers to carry out creative design. The key to the layout design of color boxes and color boxes is color separation and printing dot control. The first is pattern design and layout design. These two designs must highlight the characteristics of the packaged product, so that consumers can be deeply attracted after seeing the outer packaging. This is also a kind of packaging design. The design of the heart. Followed by color separation, color separation must be determined according to the equipment and personnel technology of the enterprise. If the company has several multi-color offset printing equipment, it can be divided into several colors, try not to use spot colors. On the contrary, it is less. Once again, the distribution of outlets must be determined according to the requirements of printing and equipment performance. It should also be truthful feedback pattern appeal, highlighting product characteristics and quality.
The imitation design of the layout, also called the secondary design, is based on the original design. The basic design of the layout is unchanged, but the individual patterns and fonts are adjusted, and some need to be added. Such as adding QS safety signs. If the contents of the solid food fermentation logo are added to the wine carton or the carton, it is necessary to adjust and correct the design of the carton layout. This design technique is relatively common in carton manufacturers. This layout is also the most practical and useful for corrugated box manufacturers.
The following is an explanation of the application of the secondary design technology. There are two ways to design the secondary layout. One is to ask the carton purchasing company to directly provide the designed layout, and the layout designer of the carton manufacturer can handle and issue the layout. After proofing, the sample is sent to the carton purchase company for confirmation and then plate making and printing production; one is to provide the sample box by the carton purchasing company, and the layout designer of the carton manufacturer deposits the pattern of the carton layout into the computer through the scanner, in the computer. After the color separation process is carried out by professional design software, it is restored to the same layout style as the carton layout pattern, and a small sample is sent out. Please confirm with the customer. After the customer confirms, the carton manufacturer can carry out plate making and printing production. The above two layout methods are common practice in carton manufacturers. Of course, the former approach needs to pay attention to: Is the design software used in the previous layout design compatible with the design software used by the carton enterprises? The problem, if compatible, the secondary design will be very fast and accurate; if it is not compatible, you need to pay special attention to the accuracy of the font and pattern, remember to compare with the original; for the design with dots, pay special attention to Changes in outlets. I have had such a problem in the company where I have been, and I have solved it many times.
Application of plate making technology
The plate-making is divided into the following types: hand-engraved plate, laser engraving plate, sun-made flexo plate, hair-filming lithographic plate (PS plate), and die-cutting plate. The above plate making technology is a technology often used in carton enterprises. Depending on the size of the business, the platemaking technology used is different. Most of the small carton factories use manual engraving technology, which is low in cost, but relatively high in requirements for engraved personnel. Now, this plate-making technology is also relatively rare, but it is still relatively common in some small carton factories in the Midwest.
Laser engraving flexo (rubber version): In order to reduce the production cost, some carton manufacturers mostly use laser plate making technology to make layouts for small batches of scattered orders. This plate making technology is used in medium and above carton manufacturers in China. Both are more common. This type of plate making method is convenient, and requires a computer and a laser engraving machine. In the plate making process, a plate-making method that uses a computer-designed layout is adopted.
The specific operation is: the engraving personnel cut the basic plate according to the size of the design layout, place the basic plate in the laser engraving machine as required, and position it according to the requirements. The computer outputs the engraving instruction and the laser engraving machine performs engraving. After engraving, the laser engraving machine prompts, and the engraving personnel need to continue engraving, then just replace the basic plate according to the above procedure and then operate. After the layout is engraved, the plate-making personnel need to clean up the layout, remove the unnecessary parts, and then the plate-making personnel will review the completed layout against the sample, and confirm the correctness and then submit it to the production unit for use or make a hanging version. If you make a hanging version, you need to review the layout of the plate after you have finished the version, and then submit it to the production department after it is correct. Otherwise, it must not be put into production.
Laser die cutting: Under normal circumstances, it is done by a professional plate making company. The advantage of this plate making method is that the plate making speed is fast, the precision is high, and the durability is relatively long. The disadvantage is that the tool change speed is slow and the cost is high. Under normal circumstances, this version is designed by the carton manufacturer according to the specifications of the carton, and transmitted to the professional plate making company through the network. The professional plate making company makes the layout according to the pattern, and then sends it back to the carton enterprise, and is designed. The personnel are reviewed and submitted to the production department for use. There is also a way to make a die-cut version, which is hand-made, drawing drawings through a computer, and manually cutting. Manually enlarge the drawings on the base plate, use professional equipment for punching, sawing, manual loading of the knife line and steel wire. After completion, review and confirm, you can use it and then use it in the production department. However, this method of making plates is inefficient, not durable, and error-prone. Few companies now use hand-made plates.
The sun-made flexo version (resin version): The layout is designed by computer, and the clearing and delivery carton purchase company is reviewed and confirmed before making the plate. The film is cut by sulfuric acid paper or hairline film, and the resin base plate is cut according to the size required by the layout. The film is covered on the resin base plate and covered with light-proof materials to prevent overexposure and affect the normal use of the plate. . After everything is ready, the base plate is placed in a dedicated plate-printing machine for exposure. The exposure time is about 30 minutes. After the completion, the plate is taken out and placed in a professional washer for cleaning. After the cleaning is completed, put it into the baking box for baking and setting. De-sticking is required after shaping. After all this is completed, the professional designer should review the layout, and then make a layout or use it directly to the production department.
Sun lithography (PS version): Designed and proofed by a professional design stencil company. This proofing is a color separation proofing, so that the carton printing enterprise can keep the same color as the proofing ink when printing, especially multi-color printing and dot printing. Pay attention to the control of the dot and color sequence. Plate makers should pay special attention to the exposure time and the cleaning of the exposure equipment when making lithographs. When the plate making staff performs the lithographic lithography, first clean the printing machine, keep the exposure surface clean, open the device and start it, and take a basic plate that meets the requirements and lay it in the middle of the printing machine. Keep the positioning line according to the pull gauge and the front gauge of the printing machine, and place the film (film) according to the position of the positioning line, and lay it flat on the lithographic plate. Close the printing machine and start the vacuum machine, set the exposure time, start the exposure device, and expose according to the set exposure time (in general, the time is set between 20 seconds and 2 minutes. The length of the specific setting time is determined by the plate making. The personnel are set according to the needs of the printing plate. After completion, the exposure device is automatically cooled and then closed, the plate printing machine is opened, the film is taken out, and the lithographic plate is taken out and placed in the developing machine for automatic development. After the development is completed, the layout is rinsed with clean water, and the plate-making personnel trims the layout to remove dirty spots and dirty lines to facilitate printing, and make the layout clean, and then hand it to the production department for use.
The above is a summary of the author's actual experience in the production of large and medium-sized carton manufacturers. In the specific operation, it is still necessary to do according to the actual situation of the enterprise and the specific conditions of the plate-making equipment used, and do not blindly move the hard cover. Nowadays, the design and plate-making technology can be said to be changing with each passing day. In particular, some professional design and plate-making enterprises in China have made outstanding achievements in a certain aspect of design and plate making, and have become the leader in the design plate making industry. However, as a carton manufacturer, we must do it according to the actual needs of our own companies in designing and making plates, and we must not be greedy. Of course, some large and very large carton manufacturers can improve the efficiency of design to meet the requirements of customers more quickly. It is ok to introduce professional proofing equipment. Usually, it is done by professional companies. This cost is more suitable for enterprises. development of.