Flexographic printing is one of the most widely used printing techniques for packaging, labels, and numerous product decorations. As a digital printing solution capable of producing millions of copies at high speeds with customizable designs, flexography enables just-in-time production runs that meet the varied demands of today’s packaging markets.
If you want to know more, let’s discuss the common flexographic printing applications across industries such as food and beverage, healthcare, and electronics. We’ll also dive into its benefits and limitations. Learn how flexography can effectively deliver high-quality, customized designs for product packaging and labels cost-efficiently here.
What are the Common Flexographic Printing Applications?
Flexographic printing is emerging as one of the most efficient printing technologies, making it a top choice for numerous demanding industries. Due to its versatility and exceptional printing quality, it can be found in countless applications. Some of these include the following:
- Food packaging: Food safety is a huge issue due to the toxic inks used by traditional printing methods, mainly due to these inks not drying quickly before use. Fortunately, flexography utilizes a quick-drying ink that’s not harmful to food products. Therefore, it’s used in many types of food packaging, such as containers and milk cartons.
- Flexible materials: Other printing methods can only be used on rigid materials, so flexible packaging often needs to be included. However, flexography is perfect for printing on flexible materials such as plastic films and bags, making it a suitable option for snack bags, pouches, and other flexible packages.
- Medical packaging: Flexography is a popular choice for printing on medical packaging, the same reason it’s used in food packaging, due to its quick drying ink. In addition, flexography allows for high-quality printing on different materials used for packaging medical-related products.
- Printed media: Newspapers, magazines, books, and flyers can be printed quickly using flex printers. Other printed media, such as wallpapers and envelopes, can also be printed using flexographic technology.
- Labels: Flexography is widely used in label printing, especially self-adhesive labels. It can print on many label materials, such as paper, film, and foil, making it a versatile choice for product labeling and marking.
- Electronics: Flexographic printing is also utilized to produce electronic devices, such as printed circuit boards and touchscreen displays. It allows for precise, high-quality printing on delicate materials used in electronics.
Pros and Cons of Flexographic Printing
From medium to long print runs, the advantages of flexographic printing outweigh its disadvantages. Its speed made it a popular printing option, especially for business owners. However, it has limitations. Here are the pros and cons of flexographic printing:
Advantages of flexographic printing:
- It can accommodate diverse ink types, making it ideal for almost any application.
- Perfect for volume production with fast turnaround requirements.
- Employs low-cost consumables that don’t add to its overall production cost.
- Champions a quick production process, making it ideal for meeting tight deadlines.
- It’s a long-term investment due to its robust design, so it doesn’t require constant parts replacement.
Disadvantages of flexographic printing:
- Need routine maintenance due to the complex parts and components within the flexographic system.
- Printing plates can be expensive if the project requires several colors since each color needs a separate printing plate.
- Can’t replicate highly defined and complicated designs compared to other printing methods.
- Setup time may take longer than some digital printing options.
Choosing Flexographic Printing for Your Next Project
Flexographic printing is an essential method for producing quality prints on a broad range of materials, especially in applications where speed, safety, and volume are critical. When exploring options for your next printing project, take a moment to consider Techprint’s flexographic printing and understand why it’s the most appropriate choice for your project.
Contact us today to learn more about our printing capabilities. You may also request a quote so that we can kickstart your project today!