When the color group exceeds 8 colors, manufacturing difficulty and cost will increase significantly. The majority of gravure printers are 8 to 11 colors. Adding color groups is almost unlimited, and adding color groups does not result in a significant increase in cost. Therefore, the gravure printing machine has greater flexibility in adapting to the multicolorization direction.
Flexographic technology largely depends on the availability of inks and media. There are well-known manufacturers in the United States and Europe, so there are many favorable conditions for promoting this technology. About 90% of flexographic printing plates in China are currently imported, which will affect the promotion of flexographic printing technology to a considerable extent.
4. The quality of flexo printing is rapidly improving, but the quality of gravure printing still leads.
The printing quality is mainly determined by the following indicators: the number of screens, the amount of ink, the accuracy of overprinting, and control factors for printing quality. Gravure printing can reach 70 lines/cm (175 lines/inch), while general flexo printing can only reach 48 lines/cm, high-quality level flexographic printing can reach 52-60 lines/cm; in normal printing, concave The amount of ink on the soft, offset, and offset printing is: gravure: 4-8 g/m 2, flexo: 3-5 g/m 2, or 0.8-2 g/m 2 (UV); offset 1-2 g/m 2. . Therefore, the gravure printing product can obtain the maximum brightness; like the gravure printing machine of the unit type, the satellite type flexo printing machine can obtain the high overprinting precision, but the group type flexographic printing machine generally difficult to obtain such precision; With the flexographic printing Compared with gravure printing, gravure printing is a relatively simple process with less variable factors. Therefore, quality control is simple and repeatability is high. For the printing of fine products, gravure printing increasingly uses electrostatic assisted ink removal systems (ESA), but flexography cannot currently use similar technologies.
5. Flexo continues to maintain its advantages in terms of investment and costs, but the cost of gravure is also falling.
One of the major advantages of flexographic printing is its low investment and low cost. However, it must be pointed out that at present, many articles in China consider that flexo equipment is 1/4 to 1/3 of the price of gravure printing equipment. This is not practical. Although in some cases flexo and gravure printing equipment prices can be compared, but in more cases, the comparison between the two is meaningless. Even if flexo presses are not necessarily comparable, for example, the price for importing narrow flexo presses from different manufacturers in China may differ by 60-100%. The main reason is that manufacturers are different, configuration and technical specifications are different. In addition, there will be a certain gap between the prices of equipment manufactured in different periods. Therefore, a reasonable and reliable comparison is that technical specifications, manufacturers, and manufacturing periods are the same, that is, the same quality and efficiency.
The improvement of the flexo press also pays a corresponding price or cost. According to research data from internationally renowned manufacturers: Previously, the cost of a flexo press was only 50% of a gravure printer. However, gravure and flexo printing have been changing since the 1980s, and the gap between them has been continuously narrowing. The fact is that, under comparable conditions, the price of the unit gravure press is 20-25% higher than that of the satellite flexo press; the price difference between the unit gravure press and the unit type flexo press is less than this ratio.
In terms of platemaking cycle and cost, flexo occupies the most obvious advantage. Flexo can respond more quickly to the market than gravure; gravure can cost up to twice as much as flexo, and it also requires investing in the required site for the plate cylinder. Compared to gravure printing, flexo belts have shorter lengths and drive power consumption can be reduced by up to 50%. In addition, the amount of hot air required for drying is less, which means that flexographic printing presses also have less running costs than gravure printing.
However, the problem of gravure and flexographic costs can only be answered with reasonableness when combined with print pattern requirements and lot sizes. In flexo printing, the cost of various batches does not change much. Compared with the gravure printing, the flexographic printing cost has a greater advantage in small batches, and there is not much difference in the medium batch, while in the long live printing, the intaglio printing has advantages.
6. The environmental advantages of flexo printing are obvious. Gravure is working hard to improve.
The environmental protection of printing technology is mainly determined by the following factors: environmental pollution, health requirements and resource consumption. Flexo is more environmentally friendly than gravure because water-based inks are basically used and they use less energy. However, the use of solvents is not inherent in the difference between gravure and flexo. When we promote flexo printing, we also need to correct a common mistake: the difference between gravure and flexo is equivalent to the difference between solvent ink and water-based ink. In fact, both gravure and flexo can use either solvent or water or other inks. The real difference between them is the proportion of water-based inks used. At present, the development and promotion of gravure printing inks are accelerating.
7. The market and technical conditions are more conducive to the development of gravure printing, and the full development conditions of flexo printing must be created.
The most important market and technological factors that affect the development of gravure printing and flexo printing are: appreciation and consumption habits, technical support systems, market environment, and scale. Among all the influencing factors, appreciation and consumption habits are the most easily overlooked but fundamental factors. At present, there are basically two international models: the American model, Europe, and Asian model. A country that values ​​fashion culture tends to pursue high-end and specialty packaging, and therefore prefers gravure printing. Obviously, China is closer to the European and Asian (Japan-Korea) model.
The degree and scale of the market have a major impact on the promotion of flexographic printing technology. Whether a market is normative determines the confidence to promote the use of flexographic printing. People generally believe that gravure printing has better security performance. The average batch size of the product also directly affects the choice of gravure or flexo. The larger the average batch size, the more likely it is to use gravure printing. The population is an important factor in determining the average volume of products and is therefore an important factor in determining the ratio of gravure and flexo printing. From these factors, the promotion of gravure printing in China has more advantages.
Flexo and gravure are mainly coexistence and complementarity in areas that can be compared or compete, rather than the "who replaces who" relationship. Flexo and gravure are constantly improving technology to overcome their own deficiencies. The market share of flexo and gravure varies from country to country, and the core force that drives its development is the specific market and technical conditions. Both gravure and flexo have good development prospects in our country, but we cannot copy the development model of other countries and regions.
Flexographic technology largely depends on the availability of inks and media. There are well-known manufacturers in the United States and Europe, so there are many favorable conditions for promoting this technology. About 90% of flexographic printing plates in China are currently imported, which will affect the promotion of flexographic printing technology to a considerable extent.
4. The quality of flexo printing is rapidly improving, but the quality of gravure printing still leads.
The printing quality is mainly determined by the following indicators: the number of screens, the amount of ink, the accuracy of overprinting, and control factors for printing quality. Gravure printing can reach 70 lines/cm (175 lines/inch), while general flexo printing can only reach 48 lines/cm, high-quality level flexographic printing can reach 52-60 lines/cm; in normal printing, concave The amount of ink on the soft, offset, and offset printing is: gravure: 4-8 g/m 2, flexo: 3-5 g/m 2, or 0.8-2 g/m 2 (UV); offset 1-2 g/m 2. . Therefore, the gravure printing product can obtain the maximum brightness; like the gravure printing machine of the unit type, the satellite type flexo printing machine can obtain the high overprinting precision, but the group type flexographic printing machine generally difficult to obtain such precision; With the flexographic printing Compared with gravure printing, gravure printing is a relatively simple process with less variable factors. Therefore, quality control is simple and repeatability is high. For the printing of fine products, gravure printing increasingly uses electrostatic assisted ink removal systems (ESA), but flexography cannot currently use similar technologies.
5. Flexo continues to maintain its advantages in terms of investment and costs, but the cost of gravure is also falling.
One of the major advantages of flexographic printing is its low investment and low cost. However, it must be pointed out that at present, many articles in China consider that flexo equipment is 1/4 to 1/3 of the price of gravure printing equipment. This is not practical. Although in some cases flexo and gravure printing equipment prices can be compared, but in more cases, the comparison between the two is meaningless. Even if flexo presses are not necessarily comparable, for example, the price for importing narrow flexo presses from different manufacturers in China may differ by 60-100%. The main reason is that manufacturers are different, configuration and technical specifications are different. In addition, there will be a certain gap between the prices of equipment manufactured in different periods. Therefore, a reasonable and reliable comparison is that technical specifications, manufacturers, and manufacturing periods are the same, that is, the same quality and efficiency.
The improvement of the flexo press also pays a corresponding price or cost. According to research data from internationally renowned manufacturers: Previously, the cost of a flexo press was only 50% of a gravure printer. However, gravure and flexo printing have been changing since the 1980s, and the gap between them has been continuously narrowing. The fact is that, under comparable conditions, the price of the unit gravure press is 20-25% higher than that of the satellite flexo press; the price difference between the unit gravure press and the unit type flexo press is less than this ratio.
In terms of platemaking cycle and cost, flexo occupies the most obvious advantage. Flexo can respond more quickly to the market than gravure; gravure can cost up to twice as much as flexo, and it also requires investing in the required site for the plate cylinder. Compared to gravure printing, flexo belts have shorter lengths and drive power consumption can be reduced by up to 50%. In addition, the amount of hot air required for drying is less, which means that flexographic printing presses also have less running costs than gravure printing.
However, the problem of gravure and flexographic costs can only be answered with reasonableness when combined with print pattern requirements and lot sizes. In flexo printing, the cost of various batches does not change much. Compared with the gravure printing, the flexographic printing cost has a greater advantage in small batches, and there is not much difference in the medium batch, while in the long live printing, the intaglio printing has advantages.
6. The environmental advantages of flexo printing are obvious. Gravure is working hard to improve.
The environmental protection of printing technology is mainly determined by the following factors: environmental pollution, health requirements and resource consumption. Flexo is more environmentally friendly than gravure because water-based inks are basically used and they use less energy. However, the use of solvents is not inherent in the difference between gravure and flexo. When we promote flexo printing, we also need to correct a common mistake: the difference between gravure and flexo is equivalent to the difference between solvent ink and water-based ink. In fact, both gravure and flexo can use either solvent or water or other inks. The real difference between them is the proportion of water-based inks used. At present, the development and promotion of gravure printing inks are accelerating.
7. The market and technical conditions are more conducive to the development of gravure printing, and the full development conditions of flexo printing must be created.
The most important market and technological factors that affect the development of gravure printing and flexo printing are: appreciation and consumption habits, technical support systems, market environment, and scale. Among all the influencing factors, appreciation and consumption habits are the most easily overlooked but fundamental factors. At present, there are basically two international models: the American model, Europe, and Asian model. A country that values ​​fashion culture tends to pursue high-end and specialty packaging, and therefore prefers gravure printing. Obviously, China is closer to the European and Asian (Japan-Korea) model.
The degree and scale of the market have a major impact on the promotion of flexographic printing technology. Whether a market is normative determines the confidence to promote the use of flexographic printing. People generally believe that gravure printing has better security performance. The average batch size of the product also directly affects the choice of gravure or flexo. The larger the average batch size, the more likely it is to use gravure printing. The population is an important factor in determining the average volume of products and is therefore an important factor in determining the ratio of gravure and flexo printing. From these factors, the promotion of gravure printing in China has more advantages.
Flexo and gravure are mainly coexistence and complementarity in areas that can be compared or compete, rather than the "who replaces who" relationship. Flexo and gravure are constantly improving technology to overcome their own deficiencies. The market share of flexo and gravure varies from country to country, and the core force that drives its development is the specific market and technical conditions. Both gravure and flexo have good development prospects in our country, but we cannot copy the development model of other countries and regions.
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