The Brave New World of Flexo Platemaking: How Digital Is Driving Demand

Today’s fiercely competitive retail market is fueling demand for flexographic printing like never before. 

In fact, research firm Technavio predicts that the market for package printing will top $575 billion globally by 2020—with flexography well positioned as the number one platform of choice. The firm’s 2016 study, Global Printing Market for Packaging 2016—2020, estimates the market for flexography at around $150 billion today and growing.

According to Dr. John Anderson, director of worldwide business development for Kodak’s flexographic packaging division, the flexo printing industry is not only growing, but is also transforming —dynamics driven in part by advances in platemaking technology. 

“Consumer demands and the highly competitive environment that major consumer goods companies find themselves in have driven a need for higher quality, reduced costs, shorter run lengths, and faster time to market,” he said. “Flexo, as the most widely used process in package printing, needed to respond.”

And, it has, says Rory Marsoun, vice president of business development for Esko. “Flexo continues to evolve,” he said. “The quality we achieve today was unimaginable a few years back. One of the biggest trends we see right now is a simplification of the platemaking workflow, due to new materials and technologies.”

Where flexo shines

Marsoun notes that the rise of flexo is very closely tied to the platform’s expansive substrate support – from corrugated materials to foils, films, and both uncoated and coated papers. “Direct print corrugated is a huge industry,” he said. “There are also thousands of label printers across the country, and almost of that business is flexo.”

Anderson adds, “Brands are choosing flexo for the widest range of product packaging needs—from labels, bags, pouches, product wraps, and shrink sleeves to cartons, paper bags, and corrugated boxes.”

The digital age of platemaking

While flexography’s substrate versatility alone makes it a home run for labeling and packaging applications, advances in platemaking technology have make the platform even more precise and efficient as well.

“Right now in the industry, it has been established that for flexographic printing a flat-top dot is optimal,” said Marsoun. “Over the past few years, we have developed different ways of achieving this.” One of those methods, he adds, leverages innovations like Esko’s CDI Crystal XPS LED technology.

“LED is more consistent than conventional exposure technology,” he said. “It also enables us to hold a finer detail on the plate—and do the back and main exposure simultaneously, within seconds. LED will be the future of flexo platemaking.”

LED diodes also last up to 10,000 hours or more—versus 500 to 800 hours for conventional exposure systems, says Marsoun—with no degradation of the diode, which further ensures print quality.

According to Anderson, new digital technologies allow plate makers to optimize ink transfer and laydown, expand tonal range reproduction, increase print contrast, produce finer reverse type and lines, and increase color vibrancy across a breadth of flexo print applications.

“Patented Kodak imaging technology controls ink flow at the edge of objects,” he said. “The ink release properties, combined with a plate that has the appropriate flat-top dot structure, allow for lighter impression pressure. This yields finer highlights and enables press operators to stop and clean the plates less often, reducing substrate waste and extending plate life.”

Robotics and automation

To truly automate the platemaking process, though, says Marsoun, there is no substitute for robotics. 

“Today, CDI can image the plate and then automatically eject it,” he said. “We have a client site in Italy that then uses a robot to feed the plate into the plate processor which exposes it and washes it out—a finished plate comes out at the end. This entire process used to be done manually.”

All of these advancements, affirms Anderson, are making flexo printing viable for jobs that have historically been handled by gravure presses. “The most advanced flexo printers are now matching the print quality of roto-gravure, offset and digital print—and winning on cost effectiveness and turnaround time,” he said. 

Marsoun adds, “The quality of the plates – with six or seven colors to extend the gamut – allows you to print Pantone colors precisely without having to wash the press and all the other tasks that might have been involved,” he said. “And, image quality continues to improve because of all the technology coming into the industry.”

Going green

As with many industries today, the future of flexo is a greener one. “As an industry we must be ready to respond and deliver all the capabilities we enable today, and do it with environmental stewardship,” said Anderson. “Legislation will ultimately force the issue, and the packaging supply chain needs to be ready with solutions. This is not a simple task, and it will not happen quickly. It requires innovation and collaboration across the entire print ecosystem. Flexography, as a print process, is well positioned to lead the charge. With its ink and substrate versatility, it is a natural candidate for the development of more sustainable printing solutions.”

He continued, “Flexo printing is an exciting industry to be in right now. As a print process, flexo inherently meets so many of the increasing demands from brands: substrate, ink, and run length versatility, good color saturation, and relatively low cost. Brands no longer have to choose between quality and time to market.”