Effect of Laser Technology on Flexo Ink Transfer Quality

Laser technology is mainly used in two aspects of flexo printing: laser engraving ceramic anilox and laser direct plate making. The application of laser technology in the flexographic field has greatly improved and improved the flexographic printing quality. In the quality assessment of the FTA of the United States this year, some of the exhibition's print cable has reached 200 lines/inch. In addition, according to data provided by LASERLIFE of Australia, they use the latest HERCULES laser engraving equipment, which can engrave 2000 lines/inch anilox roller, and 1% of the 200 line/inch plate is also available. Can engrave. In addition to the high quality of the printing quality achieved by flexographic printing, laser technology uses a seamless engraving sleeve technology that is laser-engraved, which also allows flexographic printing to be used in a wider range of applications. The application of laser technology in flexographic printing has brought the quality of flexographic printing closer to offset and gravure printing, laying the foundation for the ultimate position of flexographic printing in the packaging and printing industry.

The laser technology was first applied in the production process of ceramic anilox rollers. The laser technology realized the production of high-line anilox rollers, and improved the quality of the anilox roller's ink transmission and greatly extended its service life. Domestic and foreign flexographic presses are equipped with ceramic anilox rollers on the machine to improve the machine grade and printing effect. Even for corrugated printing, most people have realized the importance of applying ceramic anilox rollers to improve the printing quality. As an important part of the flexo press, the ceramic anilox roll has a huge impact on the overall flexographic printing.

The production process of ceramic anilox roll is quite complex, and the most important two parameters are the number of mesh lines and the amount of mesh loading ink. The number of network lines is generally determined according to the printed network cable. According to the special proportion of printing screen and anilox roller number, the number of lines of the anilox roller can be determined. The current use of advanced laser engraving equipment can engrave up to 2000 lines/inch, but this high-line cable will not be applied to practical flexo printing in the short term. Even 200 lines/inch prints do not have more than 1400 lines/inch. Due to the small mesh opening of the anilox roller of the ultra-high net line, the net wall is too thin, wear resistance is poor, and the service life is also reduced. In addition, the anilox roller of the super high net line will also increase the difficulty of cleaning the anilox roller. In combination with various factors, we recommend that printers reduce the number of lines selected for anilox rollers as much as possible under the conditions of print permission. At present, we have provided thousands of high quality anilox rollers for domestic flexographic printer manufacturers and printers, and at the same time provided them with flexographic related products and technical services.

Another important parameter of the anilox roll production is the amount of ink transferred. The unit BCM of the ink transfer amount is obtained by the advanced WYKO computer interferometer through tomography and integration, and is the standard unit of measurement for the mesh volume. As a quantitative transfer roller, the ink transfer volume of the anilox roller is determined by the number of screen lines and the volume of the mesh. The higher the cable, the higher the requirement for the volume of the mesh. High-network cable is used for printing in a hierarchical format. If the amount of ink transferred is inaccurate, the effect on the printing effect is very obvious. For anilox roller manufacturers, there is an obligation to choose the best amount of ink for the user and it should not be misleading. In the past, a high-net-line anilox roll used by a foreign company in a certain factory in the country had problems due to the high ink transfer amount, which was enough to explain the importance of the mesh volume to the anilox roll production.

In general, every anilox roller manufacturer has a certain reference standard for the selection of the mesh volume. These standards are basically the same. For the special mesh volume required by the user, each manufacturer can also sculpt. We provide a set of mesh volume data to the user before the user makes the anilox roll. This data is based on our many years of production experience, and the user's use is also very successful. The more scientific method for selecting the network cable and mesh volume is to use anilox roller testing technology. With this test technology, the best index of the number of screen lines and mesh volume can be selected, and the actual printing effect can be seen before printing to avoid unnecessary. loss. Once a data error occurs, the resulting loss is difficult to make up for.