Do you know what a flexo printing machine is? If not, don’t worry – you’re not alone! A lot of people have never heard of this type of printing before. In this blog post, we will discuss what a flexo printing machine is, how it works, and the benefits of using one. We’ll also answer some common questions about flexo printing. So if you’re curious to learn more, keep reading!

What is a flexo printing machine and what does it do?

A flexo printing machine is a type of printing press that adopts the way of flexography, uses a flexible plate and liquid ink with high flowability to make the ink is transferred to the graphic part of the printing plate and inked by the ink hopper roller and the anilox roller.

The printing pressure is then applied by the press cylinder to transfer the ink from the flexible printing plate to the substrate, and finally, the printing process is completed by the drying surface.

Flexo printing is a type of letterpress printing. In flexography, the printing plate is generally a photopolymer plate with a thickness of 1-5 mm. And the ink is water-based ink, alcohol-soluble ink, and UV ink. The printing material can be coated paper, cardboard, copy paper, kraft paper, self-adhesive, non-woven fabric, BOPP, PET plastic film, etc.

The flexo printing machine is mainly composed of the controlling part, unwinding part, printing part, drying part, and winding part. It is often used for large-scale printing of text and images on a variety of materials. Widely used in label, cotton paper printing, plastic film, paper cup, paper box, paper bags, food packaging, medical packaging, wrapping paper, and other printing fields.

Flexo printing machines are known for their high-quality prints and eco-friendly ink used, and are often used for jobs requiring a lot of detail and more environmental protection. If you’re looking for a machine that can produce beautiful, high-quality prints, then a flexo printer may be the right choice for you! 

Types of the flexo printing machine on the market

The most important part of the flexo printing machine must be the printing part, and the different structures of the printing part directly affect the operational performance of the machine, the quality of the printed products, the printing speed, and the scope of application of the printing. According to the structure of the machine, it can be classified into stack flexo printing machine, unit flexo printing machine, and CI flexo Printing machine

Stack Flexo Printing Machine means that its printing units are stacked on top and bottom, arranged at one or both ends of the main wall plate of the press, or on the frame of the machine. Each printing unit is rotated by a gear mounted on the main wall plate.

Stack flexo printing machine usually has 1 to 8 color groups, but 6 color group is most common. This machine can be used to print trademarks, packaging boxes, paper rolls, and other small prints with higher accuracy.

Its main advantages are.

1. Easy to achieve single color printing, multiple colors printing, and double-sided printing
2. Strong after-printing processing capability, printing units, and other processing functions can be flexibly configured according to the needs of users
3. Suitable for short-run printing. It has advantages for special printing products with small quantity, urgent delivery time and many working stations.
4. Convenient for multi-color overprinting, and has good overprinting quality.

Unit Flexo Printing Machine means its printing units consisted of 4-8 printing groups which arranged independently and horizontally from each other and driven by a common power shaft. A unit flexo printing machine supports only one printing unit per pair of additional plates, so it can be designed to accommodate different drum surfaces.

This machine is usually controlled by a servo motor or two servo motors, with better stability, overprint accuracy, printing effect, etc. It is widely used for printing outside packaging material, such as coated paper, duplex board, cardboard, non-woven fabric, kraft paper, paper-plastic composite material, etc.

Its main advantages are.

1. Stable Printing, fast change of cylinders, accurate registering, high-quality printing effect.
2. Easy to add a new printing unit or combine another machine unit, and the after-printing process is easy.
3. Suitable for short-run printing.
4. Easy to realize a double-sided printing by the guide roller to change the running route of the material

CI Flexo Printing Machine means that it has a central drum, also known as common shared cylinder flexographic presses. The printing units are mounted between two wall plates around a common impression cylinder. The substrate is printed in register around the impression cylinder. Because of the direct gearing, it is possible to overprint accurately on paper or film without special controls, and the printing process is stable, so it is often used to print colorful products.

This machine is mainly used in the following aspects in the field of printing, including carton pre-printing, flexible packaging printing, plastic film printing, label printing, and newspaper printing.

Its main advantages are.

1. Higher overprint accuracy, because the material belt is tightly wrapped on the central embossing drum.
2. Stable the tension, can not use the automatic registration control system.
3. Simple structure, short distance between imprint points, easy to register.
4. Machine structure rigidity is good, the use performance is more stable
5. Apply to a wider range of materials, including kraft paper, plastic film, PVC, non-woven, PP woven, and so on.

Meanwhile, flexo printing machines are now widely used in various industries due to their environmentally friendly and convenient use. Different industries will have different requirements or characteristics for the operating performance and other aspects such as the structure of the machine. According to the different types of products to which the machine is applicable, it can be classified into labeling flexo printing machine, plastic film flexo printing machine, kraft paper flexo printing machine, etc.

Usually, unit type flexo printing machine is more used for kraft paper printing, CI type flexo printing machine is used for plastic film, non-woven cloth, and PP woven cloth printing, however, it is not absolute. The printing accuracy and speed of these two types of models will be better, the price will be more expensive.

How does a flexo printing machine work

To know how the flexo printing machine work, first of all, we have to know the structure of the machine itself, usually, the flexo printing machine is composed of the control part, feeding part, printing part, drying part, and winding part. Although different flexo printing machines have different shapes and structures, the components are inseparable from these units.

Its work principle is that the ink in the ink bucket, under the action of the roller, makes the roller mesh hole and roller surface with printing ink. The ink on the surface of the roller is scraped off by doctor blade so that the ink only exists in the mesh hole. 

Then the ink in the roller mesh hole is transferred to the flexible plate under the action of pressure.

Finally, under the action of printing pressure, the ink on the plate is transferred to the substrate to realize the printing of patterns or words.

The benefits of using a flexo printing machine 

The benefits of flexo printing are many, including:

1. Environmentally-friendly process. Because the flexo printing machine adopts water-based inks or solvent ink, non-toxic, and pollution-free.
2. Lower production cost and more benefit. The flexo printing machine can quickly change the print designs. Printing plate cycle is short, plate cost is low, low energy consumption, less ink consumption, small footprint, low comprehensive cost.
3. More fast printing speed, and a low reject rate. Flexo printing machine max speed can reach more than 200 meters per minute, and the rejection rate is low.
4. Easy adjustment of the repeat length of the printed pattern
5. Speed up of the production process which, once the initial setup is completed, is fully automated
6. Low maintenance requirements, with parts that tend to have a long operating life.
7. The structure is simple, easy to operate, and maintenance works.
8. Strong inline processing ability after printing, short production cycle, and high work efficiency.  
9. wide range of materials, strong adaptability to all kinds of materials, such as cartons, paper, transparent film, etc.
10. Good printing quality, the printing accuracy can reach ±0.1mm, and the printing layer is rich, bright color, and good visual effect, especially suitable for packaging printing requirements.

Things to consider when purchasing a flexo printing machine

1. Printing substance. It is a must to know the printed substance. For example, material, grammage, and width. Different printing materials may require different types of flexo printing machines, and different grammage or width of the material may apply to different models of machines.
2. Printing colors. Before purchasing a flexo printing machine need to know the configuration of color groups, whether the need for double-sided printing, if needed, and how many colors for the front and back respectively required.
3. Type of printed product and quality requirements. Requirements for high precision, high quality, multi-color, fast printing can be considered high-end models, such as unit-type flexo printing machines. For different types of printed products, the applicable flexo printing machine will be different, for example, only do labels can be considered with specialized labels flexo printing machine; if it is to do paper cups or paper bags printing, available with the unit type of flexo printing machine.
4. Printing speed requirements. Different printing speeds are required, and the type of flexo printing machine or machine configuration will be different.
5. Budget for purchasing a flexo printing machine. Usually, unit type and CI type flexo printing machine price will be higher, stack type flexo printing machine is relatively economical.
6. Do some comparison. There will be different models of the machine that can be chosen for printing the same product. Compare the different models of machines before you choose one. What suits your needs best? Consider all options to make the best choice for you. Meanwhile, different suppliers can be chosen. Doing some comparisons can make be better.

A flexo printing machine is a versatile piece of equipment that can be used for a variety of applications. If you are in the market for a new flexo printing machine, it’s important to consider all of your options and what you need the machine to do. We hope this article has helped provide some information about flexo printing machines and how they work. As always, if you have any questions or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.