Rotary offset printing is increasing in label printing
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In label printing, the reciprocating paper feed half-rotation and all-rotation offset printing equipment is a new type of printing method, which is mostly used in combination printing, and is also suitable for short (long) version in single printing processing.
In the current printing methods used for label printing, various printing methods such as offset printing, gravure printing, flexo printing and silk screen printing are applied. Rotary offset printing is a new force entering the label printing market, providing label printing processors and their customers with a new way of printing. Unlike flexo, it offers higher quality.
Advantages of offset and flexo
Offset printing and flexographic printing can also be used for label production, but in a different way, although the use of flexographic printing is more common in narrow-format printers, offset printing has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Offset ink delivery systems are complex and consist of a plurality of ink rollers that make up a longer ink path. The offset printing plate is a positive picture, while the flexo printing is a negative picture. Offset printing is a widely used printing technique that is a printing method that first transfers an image of the inking onto a blanket and then transfers it to the surface of the printed material.
The inks used in the two printing methods are also different. The ink used in flexo printing is similar in viscosity to milk. The plate is made of nylon or plastic and the ink on the plate is transferred directly to the base or paper substrate. Offset inks are mushy, heavy and have a strong tinting power. The ink is transferred to the plate first and then transferred to the substrate via the blanket. The ink transfer system is more complicated.
The maximum printing accuracy of flexo printing is 170~180 dpi, and the rotary offset printing can reach 200~300 dpi, and the printing method is simpler and more economical. Offset printing must be UV dried, while flexo printing can be dried with hot air or UV.
The ink flow rates for offset and flexo are also different. The ink flow of the flexo is controlled by the mesh volume of the anilox roll, while the offset is adjusted by the ink fountain key. The difference between flexo and web offset: the prepress preparation time is the same for both. Both print speeds are high, about 100 to 200 meters per minute. The printing speeds of the two are not much different, and can reach about 1000 feet per minute.
The quality of offset printing is superior to flexo printing, which is the advantage of offset printing that is often mentioned. Compared to flexo printing, offset has more dots per inch and a more uniform optical density. The range of dots reproduced by flexo printing is generally between 3% and 98%, and the reproduction range of offset dots can reach 0 to 100%. One of the biggest advantages of offset printing is that the cost of the offset printing plate is much lower than the cost of the flexo printing plate and the gravure cylinder in terms of the booting cost of the new job. At the same time, the offset printing time is much shorter than the flexo printing, which takes an average of 10 minutes. This means you can print new jobs soon.
Easy operation is another advantage. Even a sloppy printer can print excellent quality on offset presses, but in flexographic and UV flexo printing, care must be taken to do everything possible. Not only that, the stability of offset printing is high, and it is more suitable for printing jobs with large printing volume and long cycle.
Offset printing has good consistency for color reproduction. The biggest advantage of offset printing is that it is the only printing method in the world with a common standard, which can achieve the same color effect according to the standard formula.
Offset facing challenges
No printing method is perfect, and web offset printing is no exception. The current challenge is how to master this printing technology. Offset printing is different from flexo printing. It will be difficult to learn, but after good training, there is no application problem. Flexo printing can be applied to non-absorbent materials such as films or stickers, which is a challenge for offset printing. At the same time, in the face of wide-format substrates, offset printing can only be discouraged.
We found that the offset printing has the following shortcomings: the technical requirements for the printing workers are higher; because the structural design of the offset printing machine is complicated, the investment of the equipment is higher; the waste is more; the preparation time for the booting is longer than that of the flexographic printing.
Usually the size of the printing web of the offset offset is fixed, although it can be solved using a printing size variable web offset press, but it is more expensive.
Water offset VS waterless offset
At present, there are two printing methods for offset printing, one is water offset printing and the other is waterless offset printing. In the water offset process, water is transferred to the printing plate via the dampening roller, and the ink cannot adhere to the blank portion of the printing plate due to the presence of water. Waterless offset printing does not require the presence of water during the printing process. It uses a special plate material. After the plate material is finished, the blank portion does not absorb the ink. Waterless offset printing does not have the problem of ink balance, so it is easier to control the hue and dot gain than the water offset press.
When printing a new job, water offset printing often requires a lot of material waste to solve the problem of ink balance, while waterless offset and flexo printing do not need to be so complicated. Waterless offset printing is similar to letterpress printing, and the temperature and humidity requirements of the working environment are very demanding.
Cost comparison between offset and flexo
In general, offset presses are more expensive than flexo presses. The investment cost of offset printing equipment is 30% to 40% higher than that of the equivalent configuration of flexographic printing equipment, mainly due to the complicated design of the ink and dampening unit structure.
Although offset presses are more expensive than flexo presses, offset supplies are much cheaper than flexographic printing. The cost of making a flexo is 10 times more than the same offset version. In addition, with the improvement of the quality of flexographic printing, the printing cost is also rising, but the cost of offset printing is basically unchanged.
Compared to flexo printing, the amount of offset ink is greatly reduced. He explained: "We have measured for our users that using offset printing on purchased inks can save a million dollars. Although offset printing is expensive, the production cost per square meter is very low. In Europe, solvent inks are used. There are not many flexo manufacturers, so if you switch to offset printing, it will bring considerable economic benefits.
An offset printing plate costs about $6, while the flexo plate is $60. Printing costs vary depending on the job. Although the cost of the flexo plate is higher, the total investment in flexographic printing is lower, and the running cost of offset printing is lower than that of flexographic printing, but the waste is higher. For short runs, it is more cost effective to use flexographic printing, while for jobs above 2000 meters, offset printing is less expensive than flexo printing.
It is necessary to remind printers that training operators to learn to use offset presses is also a cost. In this process, offset operators need to constantly adapt to new technologies and new processes, which is a big challenge compared to flexographic printing.
Why use offset printing?
Rotary offset printing has attracted the interest of equipment suppliers. With the development of digital information, digital printing and offset printing share the same workflow, the same data can be used for both digital printing and offset printing. These two technologies share the same prepress file management environment, so that they can obtain the same Print quality, sharing the same printing standards.
Market pressures are an important reason why people tend to apply web offset printing. Today's customers demand higher quality and flexibility from their presses. In order to achieve the required quality, a better printing method is needed. Offset printing has an unparalleled advantage in print quality.
The label market is a typical end-customer-driven market driven by world-renowned brands, with more suppliers focusing on high-end areas.
In addition, the high production cost of flexo printing is one of the reasons why people tend to offset printing.
Status and prospects of offset printing applications
Because of the quality advantage of offset printing, most of the self-adhesive labels are produced by offset printing, especially for well-known brands such as health care, beauty and wine, which have high requirements for product packaging. They value the opportunity to distinguish other products on the shelves. In the design of its product label pattern, there are generally higher number of lines and smaller dots. In combination with various requirements, labels printed with offset printing are most suitable. In addition, the quality of the packaging text of pharmaceuticals with a large amount of labels is more prominent and more important than attracting consumers' eyes, because these words must be easily identifiable.
Flexographic printing dominates the self-adhesive label market, especially in North America, while the market share of offset printing is growing at a rapid rate, and many label printers today have begun to use offset printing.
Many label printers now use offset printing to print self-adhesive labels. At least 30% to 40% of the business in each year uses the combination of offset printing and flexographic printing and gravure printing, and the number will increase.
I believe that offset printing will become more and more common. Customers' demands for quality and value-added continue to increase, which has led to further subdivision of the printing process. Offset labels have begun to grow rapidly in the field of wine labels, and many other beautiful labels will follow.
Among the global label printers, the application of web offset printing has been further increased. Based on its friendliness and economical features, it is also feasible to apply web offset printing in medium-sized enterprises. We believe that the market share of offset printing will be further expanded as it can meet the growing market demand and can handle almost all jobs, including difficult jobs.
Of course, there are also different opinions, and the number of label printers applying offset printing in the US is less than 20%. It is not convinced that the offset printing market will grow in the future, although this has been the case in recent years. Flexo industry is a more loyal team, they have been working hard to improve the quality of flexo printing. For them, offset printing is too slow. So at the end, they will continue to choose to use flexo instead of going to offset.
Only a small number of label printers use web offset printing. Regarding future prospects, offset printing will increase in certain areas, but because of the high cost of offset printing equipment, this will keep small businesses out.
Flexo and offset will coexist for a long time, and there will be no tendency to replace each other for a long time to come.
The market share of offset labels will further increase due to various factors such as comprehensive technology and cost. With its wide range of applications, the label offset process will be more mature, and offset printing will become another leading process after flexo printing.