The charm, vitality and stress of offset printing

charm

The position of the 100-year offset printing in the printing market today cannot be shaken by other printing methods. In every place where we live and work, we have branded the traces and shadows of offset printing, packaging cartons, labels, stationery, and clothing hangtags. It is the charm of offset printing that makes this world brighter.

The vividness of the image reproduction and the delicate tone are the charm of offset printing. Liu Yongqiang, chairman of Yonghong Printing, believes that “Compared with gravure printing, the color gamut that can be reproduced before offset printing is small, but after adopting a color management system, the color of offset printing products has improved a lot. In addition, FM screening technology can make Image layers and color reproduction are more abundant.” With the help of color management technology and direct plate-making technology, offset printing has helped Yonghong to make the business more and more prosperous. Today, Yonghong has already made its business globally. Its customers are mainly The world's largest professional retailers and other customers.

Liu said, “Offset printing adopts color management technology. The revision is more convenient than gravure printing. After printing, 90% of the products meet the requirements of customers.” Now, Yonghong's offset printing business involves industrial packaging (color box) and clothing. Accessories (tags, clothing labels) are two major categories, in addition to color cards (cards).

With regard to the charm of offset printing, Mr. Liu has deep feelings. “It is the color management technology and the modern plate-making technology that allow offset printing in the printing market.”

A few years ago, when hybrid ink offset technology was unveiled, it was once considered a flash in the pan. Nowadays, with the development of UV offset printing technology, hybrid ink offset printing technology coupled with on-line UV high-speed glazing has become increasingly popular in the market. More respected, because it achieves offset high speed UV coating on the press, it can leave a silky luster on the print, creating a new texture. For example, Williamson Printing Co., located in Dallas, USA, printed an album entitled “Beyond the Eye” produced by the Heidelberg American company, and showed many of them using mixed ink printing, on-line coating, and UV coating. Colorful effect. Williamson Printing Company has thus won the "Bennnie" award for the printing industry in the United States because they used offset printing technology to create "print effects that others think will never be possible."

Now, UV offset printing technology has shown unprecedented prosperity in the global printing market. In China, UV offset printing was mainly used in high-end packaging such as cigarette packs and wine bags. With the advancement of UV offset printing technology, UV offset printing is quietly infiltrating into other printing markets. Smart printers have targeted some special markets.

In the printing circle in the north of China, Beijing Colorful Printing Co., Ltd. is well-known. They are using the offset color reproduction capability and UV offset printing technology to develop commercial printing and packaging printing markets. 3D printing, in-mold label printing, synthetic paper printing, and plastic sheet printing are all highly value-added products developed in various ways. Plastic folder printing is a typical product. Previously used plastic folders were products without any printed color. Now using UV offset printing technology and UV polishing technology, the company's logo and slogan are printed on the plastic folder, giving the once unremarkable plastic folder. Brilliant colors and new values. It is the charm of UV offset printing that allows colorful and unique ways to help colorfully develop differentiated and value-added products.

SCA (Suzhou) Commodity Packaging Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the internationally renowned SCA Group. From the packaging structure design, decoration design, printing to packaging, logistics, etc., for the world-renowned companies to provide the overall packaging program (TPS) and services.

With the Group's global design resources, SCA fully exploits the delicate features of offset printing to reproduce color images and directly offsets on miniature corrugated cardboard, creating a visually powerful packaging box and POP display stand. Nowadays, large POP display racks printed by SCA have been exported to U.S. supermarkets, and internationally renowned manufacturers such as Siemens and Unilever are also SCA partners.

General Manager Feng Sheng of SCA (Suzhou) Commodity Packing Co., Ltd. rejoiced in saying, “We use KBA Rapida 142 five colors plus this large-format sheetfed offset press to print miniature corrugated cardboard, mainly to make some large-scale color boxes. In the packaging market, the use of miniature corrugated boxes instead of cardboard boxes is a trend, as traditional cassettes use high-volume paperboards and poor compressive performance, while miniature corrugated cartons use low-volume paper to make corrugated cardboard. Offset direct printing, the product is very beautiful, this is a trend."

Offset printing now plays an important role in SCA's overall packaging solution, because the wonderful offset printing testifies that “good packaging is half of sales” and offset printing has become an important means of packaging value-added packaging.

vitality

Although offset printing has gone through a hundred years and entered a mature period of development, innovation has always been a source of vitality for offset printing and has become the driving force for the continued development of offset printing. The four-year drupa has become the stage for the exhibition of offset printing innovations. Many offset printing innovations start from here and go to the world.

First of all, from the point of view of printing colors, the number of offset printing groups is increasing, and the configuration is getting higher and higher. It is no surprise that an offset printing press with an optical unit has reached 11 units, for example, KBA's longest off-grid offset printing Machine, configured to reach 14 units for high-quality double-sided printing plus light.

In packaging and printing, the light on the line has become increasingly popular and has become a kind of packaging and printing fashion. The high configuration of the equipment gives flexible and value-added elements to the offset printing, which makes a major breakthrough in the printing effect. For example, partial gloss, reverse light, gold (silver) gloss, pearl gloss, waterborne gloss, protective gloss, and wiping, foaming, or scented glossing can all be achieved.

Second, the printing format tends to be large-format, satisfying the demand for large-format printing of commercial prints, large-format posters, POP display stands, and miniature corrugated boxes. For example, KBA Rapide 205 offset press has a maximum printing area of ​​1510mm x 2050mm, which satisfies the printing needs of very large packaging.

With the rise of offset press processing technology, offset printing is vivid.

The connection cutting device is a major highlight of the offset press. The Heidelberg XL105 and the Roland 700 Roland 700 sheet offset press can be equipped with a wire cutting device, so that a sheet-fed offset press can also use a web, reducing the cost of raw materials. 20%. The connection cutting technology is also found in KBA's large format sheetfed offset presses Rapida 205 and Rapida 185. They are equipped with a cutting device on the impression cylinder of the last unit, which can be used to connect prints. Line cut.

The hot stamping is to add a cold stamping device after the offset printing unit. The hot stamping foil is wound on the rubber roller. Through the pressure of the rubber roller and the impression roller, the graphic and the stamping foil coated with the adhesive are bonded. The hot stamping unit can also be used as an ordinary unit. This technology has been applied to the Roland 700 manroland and is the most suitable for packaging printing.

The die-cutting and indentation plate is assembled on the last machine of the offset printing machine, which can be used for post-press molding. There are many machines equipped with online punch holes, on-line numbering devices, and even installed corona processing units to facilitate the printing of surface adhesion is not high plastic, film, bumpy film and other materials.

The connection detection is to install a camera on the last color group of the printing press to perform video detection on the printed products. It can detect the quality of each printed sheet at the high speed of the offset printing machine, and at the same time can detect the size of the printed sheet. It can also detect the printing color density, overprinting, etc. This connection detection device reduces the print rejection rate.

Digital technology has infiltrated the printing technology, making the dream of offset printing networking a reality. With the help of JDF, offset printing technology has entered a new era.

pressure

The market environment we are in today is changing the printing industry. It also opens up new markets for sheetfed offset printing.

One of the pressures: Fast delivery Global communications are becoming faster and faster, communication facilities are ubiquitous, making the pace of business faster, delivery pressures and printing services required to be completed in a short time, and therefore higher preparation for offset printing The request.

Globalization has enabled more customers to be in touch with printers all over the world, thus increasing the opportunity for customers to select printers, and at the same time putting pressure on printing companies because they need to deliver goods at a predetermined time.

The second pressure: the printing price is fiercely competitive

The competition for offset printing prices is extremely fierce because web offset printing has been able to print high quality products. At the same time, the investment threshold for offset printing is no longer high, and low-cost competition has become a means for some printing companies to survive. To a certain extent, printing companies have entered the vicious circle of low-price competition.

The third pressure: the profit space is compressed

The price of paper materials continues to rise, which to some extent engulfed the profits of offset printing. Global oil prices have continued to hit new highs, and the rise in the price of ink raw materials has become inevitable, eventually leading to continued rise in ink costs. The profit margin of offset printing is further squeezed under the influence of the macro economy.

Stress 4: Customers' demanding quality requirements

There is no limit to the printing customer's pursuit of the color of the printed matter, and some printing customers require the durability of the finishing surface of the printed matter for several decades. This trend will continue to be strengthened in the next few years.

Stress 5: Short version

We live in an age of individuality and diversification. Short-run printing has become a product of this era. A considerable number of offset printing jobs tend to be reduced in print volume, and it is not surprising that digital printing and shunting short-run offset printing jobs will continue.

Sixth Pressure: Pressure from Flexo Printing and Gravure Printing

In the label printing market, narrow-format flexographic printing is eroding some of the label offset printing business; while gravure printing is still the strongest opponent of offset printing in the long-run live packaging printing market. In both sides of flexographic and gravure printing, the pressure on offset printing cannot be ignored.

Seven of pressure: pressure from the ecological environment

The voice of environmental protection is rising loudly, and VOC emissions from offset printing production are being limited. Heavy metals in offset printing inks are somewhat out of step with green printing. In the future, it is destined that green offset printing will become the main theme of development.

Taken together, the above factors constitute the pressure of sheet-fed offset printing. In the next 10 years, these pressures will profoundly change the profile of offset printing, and to a certain extent, the development direction of offset printing.

postscript

Due to technological advancement, the fiercely competitive market needs the differentiation of printed products, so Value-Added Print will become the development trend of offset printing in the future.

From a printing point of view, there are many ways to increase value. First of all, the delivery is quick; secondly, the most appropriate process is selected according to the characteristics of the prints.

The continuous introduction of innovative technologies has allowed printing companies to choose more widely. Surface finishing techniques that improve graphic printing and durability of prints, as well as printing on a wider range of material surfaces, are also important value-added tools. Printing companies need to add value, in other words, differentiation.

Value-added printing requires more than just a machine, but also machine configuration and process innovation for a particular printing market.

In order to be invincible in the future market competition, printing companies are thinking about a problem and how to provide high value-added print products for printing customers. Specifically, a printing company needs to know the capabilities of its equipment and employees. At the same time, it needs to understand the needs of its customers now and in the future, so that they can know each other and keep abreast of each other.