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Flexo Principles & Practices 940 Page
Flexo Principles & Practices 940 Page
VOLUME
1
Flexography: Principles And Practices
Fifth Edition
Notice of Liability:
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other-
wise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Notice of Liability:
The information in this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, neither the authors
nor the publisher shall have any liability to any person or entity with respects to any loss,
liability or damage caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the informa-
tion presented in this book.
Published by the
Foundation of Flexographic Technical Association, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
VOLUME 1
The Sheetfed Flexo Press .....................................................26
The Basic Flexo Print Unit ...................................................26
Fountain Roll....................................................................26
Ink Metering and Anilox Rolls.......................................28
Plate Cylinders and Sleeves ...........................................30
Impression Cylinder ........................................................31
Repeat Lengths and Gears..............................................32
Station Control.................................................................32
Variations on the Flexographic Process .............................33
The Impression Bar (Tympan Bar) ...............................33
The Flexographic Press as a Coating Station..............33
GLOSSARY
A to F .......................................................................................39
G to L .......................................................................................65
M to R.......................................................................................76
S to Z ........................................................................................93
ORGANIZATIONS
A list of environmental, governmental and
trade organizations mentioned in FP&P, 5th edition .....107
INDEX
Comprehensive index for Volumes 1 thru 6 .....................111
VOLUME 1
Preface
he fifth edition of Flexography: section. However, several people played an
T
Principles & Practices repre- overall role with their work. Michael Wiest,
sents the efforts and contribu- technical manager of the FTA/FFTA, was the
tions of many people in the flex- leader of the project, coordinating the input
ographic printing industry. In from many sources, as well as editing each
fact, we can thank all those con- chapter. Michael also authored select chap-
tributors that date back to the publication of ters or parts of chapters. Involved with sev-
the first edition in 1962. The text book has eral of the other chapters was George
served the industry well as a reference work Cusdin, president of Flexographic Printing
on all aspects of flexographic printing. Our Services, Smyrna, GA, a respected consul-
belief is that this publication will continue to tant, who created manuscripts from the
be highly valued as we enter the next millen- beginning, or modified and updated those
nium. areas from the Fourth Edition where appro-
This fifth edition introduces a new format. priate.
Six volumes contain the various chapters on Coordinating the layout, imposition, and
specific topics of flexography. The motiva- graphics was Kelley Callery, director of mar-
tion for this change was twofold: First, the keting and creative services for the
text has continued to expand with each edi- FTA/FFTA, and handling the production and
tion and has outgrown a convenient size for design was freelance publication graphic
one volume. The second and perhaps a more designer, Sonja Huie, of H+A Productions.
important motivation was the desire to be Illustrations were done by Shane Kelley of
able to update the material in more manage- Kelley Graphics in Maryland.
able pieces. In the future, select topics, par- The editorial staff of Flexo® magazine,
ticularly some of the more rapidly changing Glenn Koch, the former editor, Ed Rogers,
areas of our industry, can be updated in spe- associate editor, and Bob Moran, publisher,
cific volumes. This will make the process read and edited each manuscript to generate
more timely and also will not necessitate the consistent readability from one chapter to
purchase of the entire six volume set at each another, as well as to ensure language and
update. word appropriateness. Kim Berk, marketing
Another major change in format will be coordinator for the FTA/FFTA also assisted
immediately apparent by inspecting any of with the proofreading.
the books – all of the illustrations are now in Due to the enormity of the effort to pro-
color. We have standardized the use of illus- duce “FP&P”, we want to acknowledge the
trations in order to give the work a unified history and people who have brought us to
and easy to understand appearance. We this point. The fourth edition of Flexo-
hope you enjoy the new format! graphy: Principles & Practices was an
As each volume and its chapters are exceptional effort, as it was also not intend-
reviewed, please notice the credit list of peo- ed to be merely a revised copy of the third
ple who authored or edited that particular edition, but rather a completely-new general
INTRODUCTION 5
resource book. Frank Siconolfi of Matthews John, Mel Kester, David Killary, Franklin
International Corporation dedicated an Moss, Frank Murphy, Christopher Shepherd,
enormous amount of time, as did his com- Douglas E.Tuttle and Robert Zuckerman.
mittee of industry volunteers (*committee All of the above-named individuals are rec-
listed below). ognized for their exceptional dedication and
In 1980, the third edition was published forethought in preparing the respective edi-
with Joe W. Cotton as chairman. Members of tions. It is through their laying of the ground-
this revision committee were: Don Vanden work that a project of this size and scope
Branden, Robert Demetrician, Don Donelan, can be undertaken. At this point, we should
James K. Ely, Gerald J. Gartner, Charles also acknowledge the pioneering efforts of
R.Heurich, Vernon R Johnson, Joseph B. Frank E. Boughton whose book entitled
Lankford, Wallace D. Nard, Henry F. Flexographic Printing was published in
Salmaggi, Fred Shapiro, Howard K. Sheldon 1958. To our knowledge, this was the first
Douglas E. Tuttle, Bruce Weaver and George book to be dedicated solely to flexography.
Wilfling. George Parisi, former president of the
The second edition was released in 1970 FTA/FFTA, who maintained a spirit of con-
under the chairmanship of Howard K. tinuation, updating, and energy to foster the
Sheldon. Committee members included: educational mission of the organization,
George H. Anthony, E. Howard Grupe, Jack directed previous issues. To all our contribu-
Kemerling, John M. Miller, Ned E. Mitchell, tors, past and present, we extend thanks and
Frederick K. Moss, George J. Parisi, Daniel appreciation for the work and effort that has
A. White and Robert Zuckerman. resulted in a most significant product.
The first edition of Flexography: Prin-
ciples & Practices was printed in 1962 under
the overall leadership of Norman H. Abrams
and F. Henry Wittel as co-chairmen. Members William C. Dowdell
serving on this first committee were: Calvin President
Balcom, James J. Deeney, Peter M. Foundation of Flexographic
Fahrendorf, Jr., Richard E. Jansing, Heinz P. Technical Association
Introduction
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Author/Editor: George Cusdin, Flexographic Printing Services
F
rotary printing, similar to letter- b print station, configured
as a two-roll inking
press, that uses resilient relief- Printing system with doctor
Plate Impression
image plates of rubber or pho- Cylinder
blade.
Cylinder
topolymer material. The plates
Anilox
are affixed to plate cylinders and Doctor Blade Roll
are inked by a cell-structured, ink-metering
Rubber
“anilox” roll carrying a fast-drying fluid ink Ink-Fountain
to plates that print onto virtually any sub- Roll
INTRODUCTION 3
flowing, liquid, such as light oil or a light • caliper – the total thickness of the plate;
syrup. In the early 1990s, pigmented, UV-cur- • floor – the nonprintable area of the
able flexo inks became commercially avail- plate;
able from a number of suppliers. Since that • relief – the distance from the floor to
time, UV-flexo printing has grown rapidly the top of the image area;
among narrow-web converters. • shoulder – the support for the printable
Flexographic printing plates can be made area; the edge of the image area;.
of either vulcanized rubber or a variety of • plate backing – the material on the back
ultraviolet-sensitive, curable-polymer resins. of the plate to provide stability.
The plates have a base-relief (raised image)
and print directly to the substrate with a Unlike the hard metal plates that are used
very light impression. in letterpress work, flexo plates are resilient
The key component of the plate is, of and displaceable. The plates are attached to
course, the raised image area, which carries the plate cylinders with double-sided adhe-
the image to be printed. Figure c illustrates sive tape called “stickyback” which may be
the additional components of the printing solid vinyl or cushion type.
plate, and are summarized as follows:
• image area – the printable surface;
ADVANTAGES OF FLEXOGRAPHY
Flexographic printing is an efficient, cost-
effective and versatile printing method. By
c
the end of the 1990’s, approximately one
quarter of all printing is flexographic; in the
Floor Image Area
packaging segment of the printing industry,
flexo enjoys a market share of over 65%.
Growth throughout the 1990s has been
Caliper
steady, estimating an increase of 6% to 8% for
the final year of the decade. Table 1 summa-
rizes the positive points of using flexography.
Shoulder Plate Backing Relief
FLEXOGRAPHIC PRINTING
APPLICATIONS
Figure d shows the variety of products
d
printed and vivid colors produced by flexog-
raphy. For any manufacturer, flexography is
a logical and economical choice.
c This diagram of a
flexographic relief Consumers, of course, are usually unaware
printing plate shows of the process used to reproduce the graph-
the components of the
ics on products they use every day. Ordi-
plate: image area, floor,
caliper, shoulder, plate narily, the product is opened, the contents
backing and relief. used and the packaging discarded.
As new products are manufactured, addi-
d A wide variety of tional package printing requirements are
packaging is produced
using the flexographic generated. This has a lot to do with the
printing process. steady growth of flexography. In fact, flexo-
■ Prints using resilient rubber or photopolymer image carriers – millions of impressions can be printed.
■ Allows continuous pattern printing (giftwrap, wallpaper, floor coverings) because of its near-total vari-
able-repeat-length system.
■ Can achieve press speeds of 2,000 feet per minute or more (certain segments of the industry).
■ Eliminates back-trap contamination, setoff and trapping problems by allowing wet ink to print over dry
ink.
■ Can deliver a predetermined amount of ink with minimum on-press adjustments with its inking system.
■ Allows printing-plate cylinders to be taken out of the press to enable printing plates to be mounted
and proofed as a prepress operation.
■ Can perform coating and in-line operations such as laminating and diecutting as a continuous opera-
tion.
■ Can produce the complete package, such as folding cartons, displays, multiwall bags, labels, in-line.
graphy is now the fastest growing printing For example, the process color images
process in the world. depicted on frozen food packages must look
Successful packaging catches the cus- real, appear appetizing. If the color looks arti-
tomer’s eye. Manufacturers know that estab- ficial because of poor printing, sales could
lished brands need consistent color match- suffer. It is evident that flexographers and
ing and print quality to attract attention on manufacturers will continue to be partners,
store shelves and to help assure customer especially in the printing of plastic bags for
loyalty. food packaging.
To boost sales, manufacturers are relying Until recently, flexography was rarely
heavily on full process-color printing. Full involved in the printing of publications, but
process-color printing is a system of repro- the process is now making inroads in this
ducing a variety of colors by printing three area. Flexographically printed comics and
standard-color inks in various combinations inserts are being produced with excellent
and proportions, usually with black added. results. Water-based inks that produce a no-
INTRODUCTION 5
rub-off image on thinner newsprint have Letterpress
been well received. Interest in flexography is Letterpress was the first printing method,
now global. The 1990s have seen major and its name pretty much describes how it
improvements in flexo print quality. works. The relief printing surface of the type
New products and new packaging contin- is inked with a paste ink and literally pressed
ue to evolve. It is a challenge for flexography onto the paper. The main characteristics of
to keep pace. Makers of presses and related letterpress are clear, crisp impressions and
equipment are designing with state-of-the-art strong, vibrant colors.
advances in mind. Vendors and supplies also It made its first mark in history, when
are obliged to keep abreast of new technolo- Johann Gutenberg, in the 15th century, pro-
gy as standards for print quality get tougher. duced a two-volume Bible. Ironically, this
In the corrugated area, many companies venture bankrupted him, but the printing
are preprinting linerboard, roll-to-roll, using process continued its growth.
process colors with great success. The During the 1700s, America’s independence
preprinted rolls are then combined with tra- was owed in part to the use of letterpress, as
ditional corrugated medium and die cut, Ben Franklin and Peter Zenger were printing
folded and glued, either in-line, or later, off- materials that supported our freedom.
line. The finished carton has enhanced eye Until the late 1800s, letterpress was the
appeal and excellent print quality. only printing method around. Offset, gravure
Traditionally, corrugated printers used and screen printing did not appear until after
sheetfed letterpress presses when working the turn of the century. In the 1950s, offset
with combined board. It has always been dif- printing got started and eventually became
ficult to achieve decent print quality and the major printing process of our time. In the
image sharpness without crushing the flutes, 1980s, letterpress’ share of the market
which reduced the strength of the case. But declined, and web-offset replaced it at most
flexo, using water-based inks to print direct- newspapers and magazines. In general,
ly onto combined board, has been on the rise. small jobs could be done on high-speed off-
The quality of corrugated postprint using set duplicators or electrostatic copiers.
flexography is limited only by the initial Letterpress is now limited mainly to spe-
quality of the combined board. The quality of cialty work, such as numbering, embossing,
graphics printed on combined corrugated hot stamping and hot-wax carbonizing (spot-
board, using state-of-the-art presses, is rival- carbon printing). It is also used for die cut-
ing that of offset preprinted labels. ting, perforating, slitting and scoring.
Flexography can expand in many different Since the introduction of photo-composi-
directions. It has grown into a sophisticated, tioned type, hard photopolymer or rubber
high-quality process of choice. plates took the place of the old hot-metal
linotype casting machines. Most letterpress
type forms were replaced by one-piece alu-
OTHER PRINTING METHODS minum or steel backed photopolymer mate-
Flexography is the predominant method rials. Today, very few printers use handset
of printing in the packaging industry and is foundry or hot-metal type.
expanding in other printing segments. This In the press, lead- and trail-sheet lockup
section provides a short overview of other systems, magnetic bases or magnetic cylin-
major printing methods, including some ders are used to hold plates in place. Most
hybrid ones, such as those that combine dif- letterpress printers are using photopolymer
ferent printing methods on one print station. or rubber plates instead of the original hard
INTRODUCTION 7
ted the stone and inked the reversed greasy In some cases for short-run jobs, plastic-
image. When he pressed paper to the stone, coated-paper printing plates covered with a
the image it produced was the first readable, photo emulsion are used.
direct stone lithographic print ever. The image is positive-reading on the plate
For generations, a special Bavarian lime- surface. Both the inked image and nonprint-
stone was used for the image-carrying ing areas are on the same plane, hence the
“plate” from which the process got its name, name planography. The plates are attached
taken from the Greek words “litho” (stone) to the plate cylinder by clamping the plate’s
and “graphein” (to write). leading and trailing edges, leaving a gap
Today, stone lithography is very rare and is between the clamps, which makes continu-
only being utilized by a small group of pro- ous-design patterns impossible to print with
fessional artists who produce limited edition this process. Only flexography and gravure
prints. At one time, zinc coated with a photo- use an uninterrupted cylinder surface that
emulsion was widely used. The images were allows continuous patterns to be printed.
rubbed off the zinc plate with abrasives, As the plate cylinder turns, it is dampened
dried, recoated with emulsions and reused. with a water-wetted roller and immediately
Most modern lithographs are made from inked (Figure g). The plate cylinder then
thin aluminum plates. comes in contact with a rubber-blanketed
Printers buy presensitized aluminum cylinder. The positive printing plate image is
plates that they expose through negatives, transferred or “offset” to the blanket surface
using vacuum contact, under bright light. in reverse. The blanket in turn transfers the
After exposure, the latent image is devel- image to the substrate against an impression
oped with a greasy developer and dried. On cylinder in positive, readable copy. Offset
press, the aluminum plate is dampened with presses can be either sheetfed or web-fed.
a water fountain solution and inked by rub- Historically, offset presses have been
ber form rollers. Faithful to the process, only sheetfed. Web-fed offset presses first
the ink is attracted to the image, since the appeared in the 1960s. Out of a need for high-
water repels it from the nonprinting areas. er press speeds, most publication worktoday
The thin-gauge aluminum plates are relative- is being done with web-offset. Lithography
ly inexpensive and are not reuseable but has been a favored process because it can
may be recycled for the aluminum content. reproduce soft tonal values on coated sub-
strates. Another highly-prized feature of lith-
ography is its ability to print 300-line screen
images with excellent fidelity.
g
Inking
Train Rotogravure
Plate
Cylinder True intaglio or steel-die process prints
Ink Tray from sunken lines or grooves are connected
and cross each other. Ink is then applied to
Water the engraved areas and doctored or wiped
Pan
g A typical offset litho- Rubber off the smooth nonimage areas. The result-
graphy print station. Blanket
Cylinder ing inked image is then impressed onto the
The print station
includes the inking Web or Sheet
substrate to be printed. Our paper currency
train and water rollers, Impression is printed from steel dies capable of repro-
the plate, rubber blanket Cylinder
ducing very fine lines that no other process
and impression
cylinders. can duplicate. Rotogravure is a form of
INTRODUCTION 9
i For a typical screen rigid frame, a finely meshed screen, a semi-
print station, the ink i Ink rigid squeegee, stencil materials and heavy,
station includes a
screen in a frame and viscous ink (Figure i). The process
squeegee to force ink Squeegee involves using a squeegee made of wood or
through the screen
Stencil
rubber to force ink through a porous, screen
onto the substrate.
Open Frame stencil to a substrate beneath.
Screen
In the beginning, screen stencils were
Finished hand-cut from a special, lacquered film
Stock
material, but the process was slow and inef-
ficient. Today, there is a choice of using
Printing
Stock either computer-aided, mechanically pro-
duced stencils or the more popular direct
photo-emulsion variety. In the latter process,
the screen is strectched tightly over the
frame, and a photo-emulsion is applied to it.
the print cylinder, and the streaking men- Film with a positive image is put into vacu-
tioned above would certainly shorten a cylin- um contact with the screen’s dry emulsion
der’s life. and exposed to white light. After exposure,
Ideal substrates for gravure are smooth- the image is washed out with a water spray.
finish, clay-coated papers, super-calendered The unexposed areas are insoluble and wash
papers, rigid films and foils. Since effective out cleanly; while the exposed areas are
ink transfer depends on thorough cell con- painted with a block-out solution to prevent
tact with the substrate, irregular or “toothy” ink from bleeding through the screen. The
rough surfaces are generally not printed screen is attached to a table on one side by
gravure. Stretchable substrates also present clamps or hinges, or installed in an automat-
problems with registration and print quality, ic press location. The screen becomes the
while thick or rigid films print quite well. image carrier. Printers currently use durable,
Gravure is used for packaging, magazines, ultra-fine stainless-steel mesh screens that
newspapers, and other specialty printing are capable of reproducing remarkable read-
applications. It has been an outstanding able 6 pt. type, along with intricate designs.
choice for printing process color for mass- The substrate is positioned under the
circulation magazines and newspapers. screen and frame. Register tabs are located
Gravure-printed postage stamps are another on the table, or press guides are set in place
example of the fine print results of on the feed table of the press to register each
rotogravure. Many plants have blended flex- sheet for printing. The screen is lowered and
ography with gravure to produce exception- ink is deposited at one end. Then, the
al print results on packaging materials. squeegee is pressed down and across the
length of the screen, forcing the ink through
Screen Printing (Serigraphy) and printing the image.
Screen printing or screen process printing, The ink-film thickness on the substrate is
originally known as silk screen printing, first approximately equal to the thickness of the
appeared in ancient China, where silk was screen’s fabric filaments. For fine-line
abundant. Today, man-made fabrics and process color work, fine threads or filaments
stainless steel are used for the mesh screens, are used, and multiple colors can be printed.
so the word “silk” has been dropped. The photo stencils can be removed with sol-
The basic equipment includes a table, a vent sprays after use and the screens reused.
INTRODUCTION 11
1! The typical flexo offset Flexo Offset base coating and tapered drinking cups can
print station requires the also be printed this way. There are still many
flexo plate to transfer In this process, a flexographic printing
ink to the offset blanket. plate is used in place of the gravure cylinder. untapped applications for flexo offset.
The flexo plate, with a positive image, prints
to the offset blanket, which reverses it and
prints a positive image to the substrate, as
shown in Figure 1!.
1!
Round, plastic containers are printed this Offset Impression
way. Some special presses have three- or Blanket Cylinder
T
events, inventions and other fac- presses that produced paper bags in one
tors that influenced the evolu- continuous operation.Its popular bag-mak-
tion of flexography. What fol- ing machine, introduced in 1914, was called
lows reflects some of the known the “Matador.”
milestones in the development Also in the late 1800s, Francis X. Hooper
of flexographic printing. designed and built a press for stamping ink
identification marks onto the wooden
planks of shipping crates, using metal type
ANILINE PRINTING known as “printing dies.” Hooper’s presses
Aniline printing, as flexography was were very much like the more modern print-
known until 1952, evolved out of rotary let- er-slotter. Around the turn of the century, the
terpress. Its name was taken from the ani- George W. Swift Company developed aniline
line dyes in the inks that were used at the presses that could print on fiberboard.
time. By 1900, combined corrugated board was
Early forms of the aniline press were in being considered as a shipping box material.
use in Europe as far back as 1860, and histo- In 1914, the Interstate Commerce Commis-
rians trace the first modern style of aniline sion decided to allow the use of corrugated
press to 1890, when Bibby Baron and Sons boxes for interstate commerce, thus inaugu-
of Liverpool, England, built what resembled rating a huge industry in the United States.
a central-impression cylinder press, with Presses soon appeared that could die cut
printing units around the drum. after printing and add slots and creases to
The first patented aniline press was pro- the corrugated box. Previously, dried, print-
duced by C.A. Holweg of Alsace-Lorraine, ed corrugated boxes were folded without an
who was granted British patent #16519 on overlap on the corner and automatic taping
November 7, 1908. Holweg built the stack- machines were marketed during the 1920s
type press in 1905 as a tail-end printer unit, and 1930s.
in-line with a bag-making machine. Since the The early corrugated printers saw the
alcohol dyestuff ink dried so quickly, it was need for flexible, displaceable plates that
possible to produce bags in a continuous would not crush the fluted material. Presses
operation after printing. Another key player had to be built to handle the various calipers
during the infancy of aniline printing was of fluted board and 0.250" thick printing
Strachan and Henshaw in Great Britain, pro- plates which were nailed or tacked in place
ducing central-impression presses. on the wooden print cylinders. For many
Windmoeller & Hoelscher GmbH of years, only letterpress paste inks were used.
Germany sold presses for printing bags. Ink drying was slow, causing die-cutting and
INTRODUCTION 13
finishing delays. The need for a faster-drying inks appeared. Metallic inks also arrived, in
ink system became apparent. addition to colors such as red, green, blue
Ink metering for early aniline printing was and black. By 1938, water-type opaque inks
achieved using two rubber rolls; one to draw were developed for printing on paper, paper-
the ink from the ink fountain, the second to board and combined corrugated board. Until
doctor the ink film and transfer the ink film the 1950s, only dyestuff, alcohol, water-solu-
to the printing plate. At this time, printing ble and some pigmented inks were available
plates were either wooden or metal, similar to the aniline or flexographic printer.
to those used in letterpress or hand- By the 1940s, aniline presses were print-
engraved designs, drawn or traced on sheets ing about 150 feet per minute. Within 10
of prepared vulcanized rubber compounds. years, press speeds increased, forcing ink-
drying speeds to increase through new ink
technology.
EARLY DEVELOPMENT
The early development of aniline printing
ran head-on into the “do-it-yourself” age. INTRODUCTION OF THE
Many converters designed and built their ANILOX ROLL
own equipment using local machine shops to In 1939, a mechanically engraved, chrome-
fabricate their designs. Most presses were plated, ink-metering roll was introduced in
simple and followed the design for stack the aniline industry. Similar to rotogravure
presses. Many made their own rubber plates print cylinders, anilox rolls were produced
and dyestuff inks. These homemade presses by mechanically engraving the surface of
were of light construction, with the printing copper-coated rolls with a controlled pattern
stations consisting of an ink pan, a rubber of ink-carrying cells. Chromium was then
fountain roller, rubber ink-transfer roller and electroplated over the copper layer to pre-
a plate cylinder with an impression cylinder. vent corrosion and increase wear resistance.
Ink metering was crude and uncontrolled. The name anilox roll was derived from the
Two rubber rollers, or an aluminum together aniline process.
with a rubber roller, were used to ink the Then, as now, the anilox roll is the heart of
plates. Ink-film thickness on the plates varied the flexographic printing system. Its intro-
and was unpredictable. An increase in press duction was a milestone in the development
speed caused more hydraulic force between of an accurate inking system, and the older
the rollers and over-inking, resulting in crude rubber-roll-to-rubber-roll system began to
and fuzzy printed images. disappear.
In the 1920s, aniline ink was made from
water-soluble, coal-tar dyestuffs. The dyes
were dissolved in alcohol, with tannic and IMPACT OF MAN-MADE PLASTICS
acetic acids added, to make them smear- The introduction of polyethylene to the
proof. They had very poor light-fastness and a packaging industry as an alternative to cello-
short shelf life; they also bled into the surface phane marked another milestone in the
of paper substrates and migrated with industry. New substrates affected press
uncoated cellophane. Even after drying on design. Once polyethylene came along in the
the substrate, they had a very unpleasant 1940s, presses had to be refined to work with
residual odor which could contaminate food. this stretchable material. It caused radical
In the early 1930s, titanium-dioxide-white- changes in web-tensioning devices, unwind
pigmented ink, pigmented yellow and orange and rewind controls, edge-guiding equip-
INTRODUCTION 15
PLATE MOUNTING ACCURATE MULTICOLOR
More aggressive adhesives were necessary REGISTRATION
to keep the polyester plate backings from Among the first corporations to develop
pulling free. In 1975, stickyback was devel- modern registration systems were the
oped to attach photopolymers to plate cylin- Harley Company, which came out with a
ders. Several companies came out with mechanical mounter and an optical mounter
cushion-foam stickyback at that time. These and proofing machine, and Mosstype, which
add more cushioning under the plates and introduced an optical mounter-proofer
help improve on-press impression. machine in the 1960s. These optical moun-
ters created a reflected image from a proof-
ing cylinder onto the cylinder. The center-
INK AND DRYING SYSTEM lines reflected on the cylinder made plate
Before 1940, dryers in general were a mounting more accurate. Tighter registra-
problem, and gas-flame dryers were danger- tion was made possible and, in turn, better
ous. By the early 1950s, safer, more adequate results were obtained.
dryers appeared. The 1960s saw the overall design refine-
One major contribution to productivity ment of aniline press into the flexographic
was the introduction of hot-air circulating press seen today. Several European press
systems for presses. While these initial dryer manufacturers continued their development
designs were crude compared to our modern of the central-impression press design,
drying systems, they set the pace for today’s which evolved in the early 1940s and was
units and allowed the use of highly pigment- used in the United States and Canada. It was
ed inks that dried at higher press speeds. not until the 1950s, when polyethylene and
Stack presses had greater distances between polypropylene began to replace cellophane,
stations, allowing space for inter-station dry- that demand really took off. The central-
ers. The new dryers allowed press speeds to impression press enabled more control over
be increased substantially. stretchable substrates than the stack press
In the 1950s, the main resin in many inks with its unsupported web between print sta-
was shellac. However, shellac is a natural tions.
resin that can vary in quality and character- Early narrow-web label presses were built
istics, and therefore a substitute had to be using the three main types of flexo press
found. Polyamide resins were developed designs: stack, central impression and in-line.
and inks based on them appeared in 1955. Label-press web widths of 4" to 6" dominated
Polyamides give superior gloss and adhere the market for many years. During the 1970s,
well to polyethylene. An alcohol-ester sol- though, label printers wanted wider web
vent added to the resins kept the ink stable widths so they could print larger labels and
and fast-drying on the press, and made wide- more of them across and around cylinders,
web speeds up to 750 feet per minute possi- and more color stations. Manufacturers
ble. Polyamides are still called the “all pur- responded to this demand.
pose ink” because they print well on most Today’s narrow-web, in-line label presses
substrates, absorbent or nonabsorbent. vary in web width capacity from 4" to 20" and
In the corrugated arena, flexographic six- to eight-color stations are very common.
printing with water-reducible inks began in By the 1980s, most label presses were of the
1957. The first flexo press was shipped to in-line type and currently, they continue to
Columbus, Ohio. dominate this market.
INTRODUCTION 17
Plate Mounting Sleeves are also used in computer-to-
In the 1980s, pin-register systems for pho- sleeve (CTS) systems. In these systems, the
topolymer plates came along, and many sleeve is coated with uncured photopolymer.
firms introduced accurate register systems In one method, the photopolymer is exposed
for both narrow- and wide-web press cylin- on the sleeve using a film negative. In a sec-
ders. The following is just a sampling of the ond method, the photopolymer is masked
different solutions available. and a laser ablates the mask similar to a
• pin register with drilled holes in nega- computer-to-plate (CTP) system.
tives and plates ;
• microscopically controlled, one-piece
plate mounter; Inks and Dryers
• macro-lens video camera system with Growing concern about the environment
plate-hole puncher.; has focused national attention on the indus-
• macro-lens video camera system with try’s impact, and flexo printers have had to
micro-dot register. keep a close eye on air emissions from
plants. The Clean Air Act of 1980 mandated
Today, we see new and improved systems a 35% cutback in these emissions and the
for mounting individual small plates across current Environmental Protection Agency
and around cylinders with pin-register speed controls are even more stringent.
and efficiency. Currently, one-piece plate Catalytic incineration has been introduced
mounting is only limited by the sizes of pre- to cut down on emissions; a heat exchanger
pared photopolymer sheets provided by sup- allows the hot air from the incinerator to
pliers. Wide-web presses may require more heat incoming air. This double use of the hot
than one plate to be mounted accurately and air slashes energy costs. Another way to cut
quickly. Prepress plate-registration systems back on emissions is to use water-soluble
have been perfected and introduced. inks or to reduce solvent content of the inks.
Mounting plates on sleeves continues to Ink chemists have developed a means of pro-
grow in popularity. Sleeves come in a variety viding water-soluble inks that work well on
of materials, such as metal or composites, nonabsorbent substrates. Scuff resistance
and different constructions, such as varying and good adhesion to nonabsorbent sub-
wall thickness or cushioned sleeves. Some strates using water-based ink can still be a
advantages of using sleeves are: problem. On-press corona discharge units
• quick, on-press plate remounting when are used after the in-feed web guide to treat
a job is rerun; the web immediately before printing,
• flexibility of different repeat length with increasing the adhesion of water-soluble
the same gearing; and inks. Many converters are reverse-side print-
• the ability to change to a thinner plate ing on transparent films, in which in-line
using the same undercut plate cylinder. lamination seals the ink between the lamina-
tions where it can not be scratched.
T
the flexographic process. The 1@ printed piece results
from a team effort that
process starts with the design Team works within the para-
Graphic Designer meters of design con-
itself, which must take into Print Buyer
Structural Engineer
siderations and printing
account the particulars of flexo processes.
Printer
printing in order to assure a
smooth, trouble-free work flow all the way Design 1# The concept proof is
to the final conversion of the printed piece. Considerations used to indicate align-
Typography Printing Methods ment of graphic ele-
Color Usage Line
ments in the package
Negative/Positive Space Screen
Process layout, while the con-
Product Image
tract proof is used to
BASIC ELEMENTS OF Brand Identity
show accuracy in color.
FLEXOGRAPHY
Starting with the design to be reproduced,
each flexographer involved in the process
must understand the techniques of handling
1#
the different elements of flexo printing as Butter Butter
Choice Choice
they relate to a commercially acceptable job America’s America’s
INTRODUCTION 19
1$ Flat images tend to requirements. Properly prepared designs,
elongate or distort 1$ appropriate electronic prepress adjust-
when printed, caused by
the curvature created by ments, image gain allowances, calibrated
the flexible plate. and consistent negatives and plates all make
high quality flexo printing possible. Never-
Normal Image theless, it should always be kept in mind that
the final print result can be no better than
Distorted Image
the original copy.
Inks
Flexography uses low-viscosity inks which
dry very quickly between the print stations of
a press. Solvent-based, water-based and
ultraviolet-curable inks are used in flexo for
a wide variety of requirements. The viscosity,
product, a contract proof is generated which or thickness of the ink is like that of a free-
accurately shows the colors in the final flowing liquid such as light oil or a light
printed piece (Figure 1#). syrup. Paste inks have been tried in the
To do a competent job, the designer and anilox system where quick drying was not so
production artist must be thoroughly famil- important, but a doctor blade was found to
iar with the requirements of the flexograph- be a necessity.
ic printing process, especially in the way it Solvent- and water-based printing inks are
differs from other printing processes. Most composed of a colorant and a liquid vehicle.
of these differences relate to: The colorant, whether pigment or dye, pro-
• choice of printing plate (molded or pho- vides the visual sensation of color, and
topolymer, thick or thin, hard or soft, hence appearance, readability and aesthetic
digital or conventional); value. A flexographic ink vehicle, consisting
• distortion characteristics of the plate of resin, solvent and additives, does several
material (Figure 1$); jobs: One is to carry color from the ink foun-
• shrinkage in molded-rubber plates; tain to the substrate; others include setting
• choice of line screens for halftone and viscosity, drying speed, pigment strength,
process color (below 65 lpi to 150 lpi tack and surface tension. It also binds the
and above); colorant to the printed surface in a phenom-
• print-element growth (dot and bar code enon known as adhesion.
gain, minimum highlight dot, maximum Pigments are small particles that are insol-
shadow dot); uble in the ink vehicle. They are usually more
• press design (narrow or wide web, opaque than dyes, which are soluble.
sheet or roll fed, stack, central impres- Pigments also have better lightfastness than
sion or in-line); dyes and are more resistance to materials
• two-roll or doctor-blade inking system; likely to come in contact with printed matter.
and Many different resins are used, either
• type of substrate (i.e. film, foil, paper, alone or in combinations, to give adhesion to
paperboard, corrugated, newsprint). different substrates and the ability to with-
stand specific processing and end-use
Each industry segment (wide web, narrow requirements, such as heat resistance, rub
web and corrugated postprint) has different resistance, etc. Types of inks for different
INTRODUCTION 21
photopolymer resins, are generally made photopolymer. The image is transferred to
from flexible, elastomeric materials. The ink the plate material by exposing to ultraviolet
is carried by the raised portion of the plate radiation. The portions of the raw material
and transferred to the substrate. The raised that receive light through the clear areas of
image is obtained by removing and lowering the negatives or mask are rendered “set” or
the nonprinting areas through cutting, mold- hardened, or, more properly, polymerized.
ing, etching, dissolving or laser engraving. The areas protected from the UV light by the
Molded Printing Plates. Using a mold, opaque portions of the negative remain
uncured plate gum is vulcanized under heat uncured and are brushed or washed away by
and pressure. This mold or matrix is made either a water- or solvent-based solution,
by vulcanizing an uncured phenolic-coated leaving the hardened, raised printing areas.
board with a magnesium etching or other The photopolymer plate becomes the final
suitable original. Numerous duplicate plates printing plate, eliminating the need for an
can be made from a cured mold. original and mold of any sort. Each pho-
The molded printing plate must evolve topolymer plate is a faithful copy of the
through several stages that include camera- image on the negative film and is therefore
ready art, photographic negative, a master an original plate, thus reducing any loss of
engraving, mold and finally, printing plate. image fidelity.
The many steps involved in the manufacture Photopolymer resins are made specifically
of molded plates may substantially reduce for use with alcohol, water, oil or glycol inks,
the image quality. The increased use of com- or combinations of these. Because of their
puterized electronic prepress and high defin- good print performance and ink-transfer
ition photopolymer plates has made the qualities, photopolymer plates are quite pop-
molded-rubber plate almost obsolete. ular for halftone and process color jobs.
The Photopolymer Printing Plate. Unlike rub-
ber printing plates, photopolymer plates are Design Rolls
not molded. The light-reactive polymer resin Design rolls are mainly used to produce
is exposed to ultraviolet light to selectively continuous-repeat designs. The procedure
cure the resin to a solid and processed using involves vulcanizing rubber to a bare cylinder
either an aqueous or solvent-based solution. and grinding the rubber to a desired diameter
The term photopolymer refers to a range for the exact print repeat length needed, then
of polymers that react to ultraviolet light hand-cutting the face of the rubber to remove
energy. These come in precast sheets of the nonprinting areas. A far more popular
varying size and thickness, or in liquid form method laser engraves the image into a
for custom sizing and gauging. Photo- ground rubber roll directly from the comput-
polymer materials are available in varying er generated art work. Seamless imaged pho-
levels of durometer. Ordinarily, the printing topolymer rolls are also available.
plates are backed with a dimensionally sta-
ble polyester support sheet that helps con- Mounting and Proofing Devices
trol plate distortions during processing, Usually, rubber or photopolymer printing
plate-mounting operations and repeated use. plates are mounted to double-sided sticky-
In making the relief-printing plates, film back that comes in a variety of adhesive
negatives of the art are positioned in contact strengths and are up to 18" wide. Some are
with the plate material. In the case of digital suitable for photopolymer plates, while oth-
plates, the image is created by laser ablation ers work better with rubber.
of an opaque mask on the surface of the Off-press plate mounting and proofing
1%
B K
C J
I
H
H
F
G
G
E
1% A typical six-color
central impression
A In Feed Guide E Hydraulic Vertical Lock I Metering Roll press supports all of
B Nip Roll F Hydraulic Horizontal Lock J Anilox Roll
its color print stations
C Central Impression Cylinder G Fine Impression Adjustment K Plate Cylinder
D Inter Station Dryer H Impression Indicators around a single, large
impression cylinder.
INTRODUCTION 23
1^ A typical six-color wide-
web stack press, where 1^ To Main Dryer
individual color print A
stations are stacked one
over the other on one or
both sides of a main
press frame.
G
F
1&
E E
B
C C C C F G
D D D
A
H H H H G
Slotter
Creaser Print Units Sheet Feeder
One to four individual print stations can be slack and wrinkles. If web tension is too
mounted on both sides of a vertical frame. great, stretching and breakage could occur.
The in-line press has its print stations posi- An effective unwind and infeed system
tioned in tandem (a straight row). Six to nine may include some or all of the following:
colors are possible with this type of press. • multiple unwind positions;
• rotating turrets to make reloading
Parts of a Web Press easier;
Flexographic web-fed presses generally • semi-automatic chucking;
consist of four parts: • precision bearings;
• unwind and in-feed section; • automatic side-guide control;
• printing section; • automatic tension control with tension-
• drying section; and sensing devices;
• out-feed and rewind section (or subse- • driven in-feed rolls; and
quent in-line operation) • automatic (flying) roll splicing.
Unwind and In-feed Section. The roll stock to
be printed must be held under control, so the Printing Section. A single-color station con-
web can unwind into the press with proper sisting of a fountain roll (or wipe roll), anilox
alignment and sufficient tension to prevent roll, printing plate roll and impression roll
INTRODUCTION 25
are sufficient to constitute a flexo printing Combined corrugated sheets are rigid
unit. But most presses are multicolor, with enough to be pushed into the printing station
two to eight stations in the printing section. and to remain horizontal from in-feed to fin-
Drying Section. The drying section usually ished stacking. The sheets can be fed into a
includes between-color drying capacity to pair of feed rolls at speeds as high as 400
print color-on-color. An after-dryer is added sheets or “kicks” per minute without dis-
to remove any remaining liquid vehicle rupting register. The machines are adjust-
before winding the substrate into a roll. The able and can run many different sheet sizes.
most common method of drying is by high- Each press has a plate cylinder with a set
velocity heated air, although other methods, size and therefore a repeat cycle that cannot
such as infrared heating, may be used. be changed.
Out-feed and Rewind Section. In many ways, The corrugated postprint press is also a
this is identical to the unwind section, but tandem press and generally has its units
with one important difference: The unwind close coupled, in-line, on roll-away tracks
shaft is braked to apply the necessary ten- for plate mounting and servicing. Some mod-
sion to the web, while the rewind shaft must ern corrugated presses have permanently
be driven. As always, the web tension must spaced units that allow constant access to
be controlled and limited to the minimum the print stations.
amount necessary to keep the substrate Sheetfed presses can be “bottom printers”
level, unwrinkled and taut – not necessarily (printing is done on the underside of the
tight – as it winds on the finished roll. A sheet) or “top printers” (printing on the top-
rewind section may include: side of the sheet). In bottom printing, a nor-
• multiple rewind positions; mal ink fountain is used. With top printing,
• rotating turrets to facilitate unloading; the ink fountain is actually a puddle of ink
• semi-automatic chucking; kept between the wipe and anilox rolls by
• anti-friction bearings; one or more applicators that supply a con-
• web-tension sensing devices; stant flow to the nip. The overflow runs off
• tension controls (often programmed to at the ends of the rolls into a container and
reduce web tension as the roll diameter recycles through the system.
increases);
• driven out-feed rolls;
• chill roll(s); THE BASIC FLEXO PRINT UNIT
• automatic transfer; In its simplest and most common form, the
• side guides; flexographic printing system consists of four
• slitting devices; basic parts:
• static eliminators; and • fountain roll;
• moving web-inspection devices that • ink-metering (anilox) roll;
“freeze” the image for close examina- • plate cylinder; and
tion. • impression cylinder.
Fountain Roll
THE SHEETFED FLEXO PRESS The fountain roll is generally covered with
Combined corrugated board is supplied in natural or synthetic rubber. It is positioned
sheet form. It requires a sheetfed press, which to rotate in a reservoir of flexo ink, and its
is generally attached to an in-line die cutting purpose is to pick up and deliver a relatively
or slotting and gluing converting section. heavy flow from the reservoir or “fountain”
INTRODUCTION 27
2@ An enlarged section of
anilox roll shows the 2@ Land Area Cell Opening
The width of the top of the cell, measured
cells and the cell para- The non-ink area between the cells.
This is where a metering blade in microns. As the number of cells per
meters of land area, cell would contact the roll if one is used. linear inch is increased, this opening
opening, cell depth, cell narrows to make room for more cells.
volume.
Cell Depth
How deep the cell is Cell Volume
beneath the surface of the A measurement of how much
anilox roll. This depth is ink an anilox cell is capable of
measured in microns. delivering to the surface of the
printing plate.
Ink Metering and Anilox Rolls anilox with 400 cells per linear inch would
The purpose of the anilox roll is to transfer have 400 x 400, or 160,000 cells per square
a measured amount of ink to the surface of inch. As cell counts vary, so do the ink vol-
the printing plate. umes delivered and this affects the color
The surface of the anilox roll is covered printed.
with tiny engraved cells spaced anywhere Special attention must be given to the
from 80 to 1,200 per linear inch. The amount selection (screen count and cell volume) and
of ink delivered to the plates is metered by quality of the anilox rolls. For any given use,
the screen size of the cells. The coarser the the substrate on which the printing is done,
cell count, the larger and deeper the cells are the type of work (solids, type, halftones,
engraved into the roll. Conversely, the high- etc.) and type of ink will be factors in the
er the screen count, the smaller the cells. selection of the engraved transfer roll.
The volume of ink contained in the cells is Choosing the correct anilox roll for a partic-
measured in billion cubic microns (BCM) ular application may be the most difficult
per square inch of surface area. task faced by the flexographic press opera-
For example; a 200-line screen anilox with tor (Figure 2@).
200 cells per linear inch, has 200 x 200, or Control over the anilox-to-printing-plate-
40,000 cells per square inch. Similarly, an transfer is very important. A light contact
INTRODUCTION 29
2$ This chambered doctor- to rotate the anilox roll must be separated
blade shows the 2$ from the plate cylinder. Otherwise, the
reverse-angle metering
blade and the trailing anilox roll will wear the plate along the line
containment blade. of contact with the stationary printing plate.
In addition, it is essential to separate the
plate cylinder from the web when in the stop
mode. If not, the ink from the plate will dry
on the web, and when the press is restarted,
the web will stick to the plate and may break.
If ink has been applied to the plates before
Metering
Blade the press is stopped, it may be necessary to
Containment
Blade
clean the dried ink from the plates before
restarting the press again. After the plates
have been cleaned, the press can be restarted
and the impression-control sequence com-
reverse-angle metering blade and the second menced; the anilox roll comes in contact with
a trailing containment blade (Figure 2$). the plate cylinder and the plate cylinder in
The reverse-angle metering blade is typically contact with the web, and printing resumes.
made of steel and the trailing containment
blade is often plastic. These blades are set Plate Cylinders and Sleeves
about 2" apart, but this may vary between The plate cylinder is usually steel and is
manufacturers. The blades are connected in installed between the ink-metering roll and
a box-like enclosure with flexible sealing the impression cylinder. Printing plates are
material at both ends. This is then fit snugly mounted to the plate cylinder with sticky-
against the sides of the anilox rolls. Ink is back. The raised impression areas on the
usually pumped into the system at the mid- printing plate pick up ink from the ink-meter-
dle of the ink pan, but can be pumped in sev- ing roll and transfer it to the substrate. Other
eral locations on wider presses. A pan is gen- kinds of printing plates include ferrous (con-
erally placed beneath the anilox roll for taining iron), metal-backed plates mounted
cleanup purposes. The advantage of this to a magnetic cylinder, and magnetic-backed
method: The entire inking system from ink plates mounted to a steel cylinder.
kit to anilox roll is never exposed to the air The total plate-cylinder diameter, includ-
and, the volume of ink flowing through the ing stickyback and printing plate, has to
pumped system is reduced. This makes tight equal the pitch diameter of the driving gear
viscosity control possible. The system is (Figure 2%). Therefore, for a given print-
quite popular on high-speed, wide-web and repeat length, the bare cylinder diameter of
corrugated postprint presses. the plate cylinder must be reduced or
Continuous Inking. Since most flexographic “undercut” to accommodate the combined
inks are fast-drying, with the exception of thickness of the stickyback and printing
UV-curable inks, the anilox roll in the ink dis- plate. A trend toward thinner printing plates,
tribution system must continue rotating designed to reduce distortion and cupping,
when the press is in a non-printing mode. If requires the correct plate cylinder diameter
not, the inks will dry in the cells, and con- to accommodate the change.
trolled transfer will no longer be smooth. Printing plates are mounted on the print-
Therefore, when the press is idling, if the ing-plate cylinder. There are four types of
fountain roll and anilox roll are to continue plate cylinders: integral, demountable, mag-
Integral Cylinder
netic and sleeved. The following is a brief Sleeves. Sleeves slide onto specially bored
description of each. cylinders by allowing high-pressure air to
Integral. The cylinder body or face, end-caps enter through the side and exit through
and shaft are all one unit. Most cylinder bod- holes in the face of the cylinder (Figure 2&).
ies are tubular, with end-caps shrunk-fit into The introduction of air slightly expands the
the tube ends. Small cylinders (less than 3” resilient sleeve and permits it to float into
in diameter) are generally made from one position.
solid piece of steel (Figure 2^).
Demountable. The cylinder face (or core) is Impression Cylinder
made (without the shaft) to any desired The impression cylinder is smooth, highly
diameter, but to fit a prescribed shaft or polished and supports the substrate when it
mandrel. Mounting or demounting of the contacts the printing plate. On most stack
cylinder core on shafts can be done in dif- and in-line presses the impression cylinder is
ferent ways (Figure 2^). a plain steel roller that supports the web or
Magnetic. This integral cylinder is built to substrate within each print station. On a cen-
generate a magnetic field to receive and hold tral impression (CI) press the impression
printing plates made with steel backing. This cylinder is a single large drum with an
eliminates stickyback. arrangement of satellite print stations. In
INTRODUCTION 31
2* The repeat length is gear must be identical to the outer
determined by the plate 2* diameter of the anilox roll.
cylinder diameter; Repeat
Length • The pitch diameter of the impression-
the smaller the cylinder Repeat
diameter, the shorter the Length roll gear must be equal to the impres-
repeat length.
sion roll diameter plus twice the thick-
ness of the substrate to be printed. In
most applications, the substrate thick-
ness may vary and therefore a compro-
mise is made.
Repeat Lengths and Gears When using metric gears, the following
In any printing process, it is necessary to
holds true:
print cleanly at each color station, with each
station registering properly with one anoth- Module Metric Pitch Diameter (mm)
er. To prevent smearing, the surface speed of Number of Teeth
the plate cylinder, anilox roll and impression
cylinder must be identical; therefore, the
three rolls are geared together to create Station Control
equal surface speeds. Keep in mind, the fol- The setting of the impressions of the
lowing are necessary for good results: anilox roll to the plate cylinder and plate
• The pitch diameter of the plate cylinder contact with the web requires a certain
gear must be equal to the diameter of amount of “feel” from the operator. To help
the top of the printing plate mounted to the operator, most press manufacturers
the plate cylinder (see Figure 2%) design the adjustment to work through very
• The plate cylinder will have a diameter finely threaded screws.
that is governed by the repeat length of With a fine-thread adjustment, it’s easier to
the image. (Figure 2*) set impression for tone work. Also, the com-
• The pitch diameter of the anilox roll bination of fine threads, and, very often, gear
Fountain
Roll Impression
VARIATIONS ON THE Cylinder
FLEXOGRAPHIC PROCESS
There are many variations on the basic Web
INTRODUCTION 33
Index
A M
aniline, 13-15 molded-rubber plates, 15, 22
anilox roll, 3, 14, 17, 25, 26, 27, 28-29, 30, 32 O
cell structure, 23 offset gravure, 11
ceramic-coated, 16, 29
P
selection, 28
photopolymer plates, 15, 22
C pigments, 9, 14, 20
Clean Air Act, 16
pin register, 15
corrugated container, 13
plate cylinders, 3, 16, 21, 27, 29, 30-31, 32, 33
corrugated postprint, 3, 6, 17, 30
plates
D distortion, 20, 22
design rolls, 22 molded-rubber, 15, 22
mounting, 18, 22-23
doctor blade, 20, 29 photopolymer, 15, 22
dryers, 16, 18, 25 proofing, 15, 16, 22-23
INTRODUCTION 35
CHAPTER 2
Glossary
Glossary
This glossary shows a key symbol for each term. Many Acceptance Sampling
terms have specific meaning depending on the context See Acceptance Inspection.
or subject in which they are used. For terms with a spe-
cific context, the key is used to identify the relevant sub- Accumulate
ject chapter. Terms which span more than one category To temporarily store hazardous waste at a place of
or subject will have the “general” icon. business for a limited amount of time. The time
allowed for storage depends on the amount of haz-
GLOSSARY 39
Activated Carbon Air Brush
A highly absorbent form of carbon used to 1. A colorant sprayer, operating on compressed
remove odors and toxic substances from liquid or air, capable of producing subtle gradations of
gaseous emissions. tone. It is used in rendering various types of art-
work, in retouching photographs and for smooth
Activator backgrounds. 2. A method of creating continuous
A chemical solution used on exposed photograph- tone artwork using an airbrush.
ic paper or film emulsion to develop the image.
Air Quality Standards
Acute Effect
The level of selected pollutants set by law that
An adverse effect on any living organism in which may not be exceeded in outside air. Used to
severe symptoms develop rapidly and often sub-
determine the amount of pollutants that may be
side after exposure stops; a health exposure that
emitted by industry.
is evident at time exposure takes place, i.e., irrita-
tion, rash, burn. Air Stripping
A treatment system that removes volatile organic
Additive Primaries
compounds from contaminated ground water or
The colors red, green, blue. When the lights of
surface water by forcing an airstream through the
these colors are added together in equal propor-
water and causing the compounds to evaporate.
tion, they produce the sensation of white light.
Air Toxics
Additives
Air pollutants for which a National Ambient Air
Ink components used during formulation and at
Quality Standard (NAAQS) does not exist that
press-side to manipulate chemical ink balance
and performance properties. may be reasonably anticipated to cause cancer,
developmental effects, reproductive dysfunctions,
Add-on Control Device neurological disorders, heritable gene mutations,
An air-pollution control device such as an oxidiz- or other serious or irreversible chronic or acute
er, solvent recovery or carbon absorption system health effects in humans.
that reduces the pollution in an exhaust gas.
Alcohol
Addressable Output Resolution A family of volatile organic solvents, commonly
The maximum number of images positioned used in flexographic inks, containing the grouping
along a 1" straight line, that can be addressed by C-OH. The most common members of this group
a bar code designer. This resolution would are methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, propyl and iso-
exclude further resolution-enhancing techniques propyl alcohols.
performed by the imaging device or software that
are beyond the control of the designer. Aliphatic Hydrocarbons
Solvents obtained by fractionation of crude petrole-
Adhesive um oil. Examples are textile spirits, VMP Naphtha,
Any material which is applied to one or both sur- gasoline and kerosene. Frequently used as part of
faces to form a bond between the two. the solvent mixture in co-solvent and polyamide-
type flexo inks, in conjunction with Buna-N plate.
Administrative Order
A legal document signed by a government agency Alkali
directing an individual, business or other entity to Any chemical that undergoes dissociation in water
take corrective action or refrain from an activity. with the formation of hydroxyl ions. Alkalis have a
pH greater than 7.0—a higher number indicates
Adsorption
greater alkalinity. Alkalai properties include caus-
The accumulation of a material with which it has
ticness, bitter taste and turning litmus paper blue.
contact (typically gas-solid or liquid-solid), such
See also pH.
as the adsorption of organic compounds onto
activated carbon. Alkali Resistance
Afterburner The relative ability to withstand the action of alkalis;
to be distinguished from soap resistance.
In incinerator technology, a burner located so that
the combustion gases are made to pass though Alkali Test
its flame in order to remove smoke and odors. A test to evaluate resistance of printed packages,
After-tack labels, etc. to alkali.
The condition of an ink, whereby after it has been Alkalinity
left to dry naturally or from a heat-drying opera- In testing paper for alkalinity, the specimen is
tion, develops a stickiness. extracted with water at a definite temperature,
Agglomerate and the extract is tested to determine its pH
A cluster of undispersed particles of ink pigment. value. The condition that results in an alkaline
solution when paper is extracted with water.
Aggregate
A series of clusters of undispersed ink pigment. Alumina Hydrate
Also known as hydrate, it is a white, inorganic
Agitation pigment used as an extender in inks and noted
A stirring action; violent or irregular in motion. for its transparency.
GLOSSARY 41
AST Azeotropic Mixture
Above Ground Storage Tank. A liquid mixture of two or more substances that
See also UST (Underground Storage Tank).
behaves like a single substance, in that, the vapor
ATSDR produced by partial evaporation of the liquid has
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease the same composition as the liquid. This means
Registry.
the mixture cannot be separated by distillation.
Axis An example is ethyl and methyl alcohol.
The line about which a rotating body such as a
roll or cylinder rotates.
GLOSSARY 43
Best Available Control Technology BACT of an ink or toner, usually by mixing a small por-
An emission limitation based on the maximum tion of ink or toner with a large amount of white
degree of emission reduction (considering ener- base, and then evaluating its tinctorial strength
gy, environmental and economic impacts) achiev- vs. a control standard.
able through application of production processes Bleed
and available methods, systems and techniques. To print beyond the cut edge or score so that the
BACT does not permit emissions in excess of design is either cut off or folded under, resulting
those allowed under any applicable Clean Air Act in a printed area that extends to the edge.
provision. Use of the BACT concept is allowable
on a case-by-case basis for new or modified Bleed
emission sources in attainment areas, and applies In certain substrates, when the ink is partially dis-
to each regulated pollutant. solved by the liquid or solvent plasticizers, it
causes the ink to run or migrate into unwanted
Best Management Practices BMP areas adjacent to the printed area. It can also
Procedures or controls other than emission or describe the condition resulting from insufficient
effluent limitations to prevent or reduce pollution, drying of the preceding printed color, causing the
e.g., ink management, inventory control and pur- trapping color to lose its color value – such as
chasing or clean-up procedures. red printing over a wet white, resulting in pink.
Binary Block Test
A coding or counting system with only two sym- A test to measure the tendency of surface-to-sur-
bols or conditions, such as on/off or zero/one. It face sticking.
is the format for storing data in computers.
Blocking
Binder 1. An undesired adhesion between touching lay-
The adhesive components of an ink, normally ers of material caused by moderate pressure
supplied by the resin formulation. and/or temperature change. 2. The extent to
Binder which damage to at least one surface is visible
upon their separation.
In paper, an adhesive component used to bond
inert filler, such as clay, to the sheet, or to affix Bloom
short fibers firmly (securely) to paper or board A term describing the condition when solid mate-
stock. rials migrate to the film’s surface. See also
Biochemical Oxygen Demand BOD Exudation.
A measure of oxygen required to break down Blueline
organic materials in water. Proofs that are blue image photoprints made from
Biodegradability film negatives or positives. They are used to check
the position of image elements and to show color
The ability of a substance to be broken down
breaks (by varying exposure time to produce light
physically and/or chemically by microorganisms.
and dark blue images) but not process color.
Bit
Blushing
A binary digit, the smallest information entity. It is
A milky, foggy or flat appearance in an ink or
expressed as 1 or 0, meaning on or off, yes or
coating caused by excessive moisture condensa-
no, positive or negative, something or nothing.
tion or incompatibility of one of the ingredients.
Bit map
BMP
A computerized image consisting of dots. Images
See Best Management Practices.
are “mapped” directly from corresponding bits in
memory, whereby each dot is represented by a BMR
binary digit (bit) that is “on” (1) or “off” (0). Also See Baseline Monitoring Report.
referred to as a paint format.
Board
Black A heavy-weight, thick sheet of paper or other
See Process Black. fiber substance, usually 0.012" in thickness or
more. The distinction between board and paper is
Black Body
not definite.
A term describing a well-defined, theoretical light
source used to specify the spectral composition BOD
of light. See Biochemical Oxygen Demand.
Black Heat BOD5
See Infrared Light. Five Day BOD.
Blanking Body
The process where each individual image or prod- Refers to the viscosity or flow characteristics of
uct is cut out of the press sheet before forming is an ink or vehicle.
done.
Bodying Agent
Bleach A susbstance added to an ink to increase its vis-
The method of measuring the tinctorial strength cosity.
GLOSSARY 45
C Capture Device
A drying system, hood, enclosed room, floor
sweep or other method of collecting solvent or
C (°C)
other pollutants into a duct. The pollutant can
Degrees Centigrade; °C = 5/9 x (°F – 32)
then be directed to a pollution control device such
CAAA as an incinerator or carbon absorber, or to
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. atmosphere.
Cellosolve Character
Union Carbide Corp.’s trade name for ethylene Each individual letter, symbol or punctuation
glycol mono-ethyl ether, a retarding solvent in mark that makes up a full typeface.
flexographic inks. Character Count
Cellulose Acetate The number of characters included in a block of
A clear, thermoplastic material, usually in film text. In graphic arts, spaces are counted but other
form, made from cellulose and acetic acid. nonprinting characters are not. In information
processing, both printing and nonprinting charac-
Cellulose Acetate Butyrate ters are usually included.
A clear, thermoplastic material made from cellu-
Character Set
lose, reacted with both acetic and butyic acid. It is
The entire set of characters that can be either
used as a packaging film and in coatings, such as
shown on a monitor or used to code computer
lamination.
instructions. In a digital printer, it is the entire set
Cellulose Fiber of characters that the printer is capable of printing.
In paper-making, the fibrous material remaining
Characteristic Waste
after the nonfibrous components of wood have
Wastes that are defined as hazardous because
been removed by the pulping and bleaching opera-
they exhibit one or more of the following general
tions.
qualities: ignitable, oxidizing, corrosive, reactive,
CEMS lethal and toxic.
See Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems. Charged Couple Device CCD
Center Photosensitive CCD's are used in scanners, digi-
To establish an equal amount of space on both tal cameras, video cameras. The CCD basically
reads the image by storing a group of charges KEY:
sides of the type copy or image.
based on the image that it is exposed to. These Barcode
Center Line charges are analog charges, as opposed to sim-
A line added to indicate the center of an object. ple digital on/off charges. Thus, you can grab Design
degrees of light and color to transfer a visual Environment
Centipoise image into a group of electrical charges, and then
A measure of viscosity, conveniently and approxi- to your computer screen, video tape or printer. General
mately defined, relative to the viscosity of water at
room temperature, which is 1.0. Higher values Chattering Ink
indicate a “thicker“ liquid. Horizontal lines or bands in printed solids or Mounting/ Proofing
screens of varying color intensity.
Central Impression (CI) Cylinder Press Plates
A type of printing press. The web being printed is Check Digit
Built into bar codes, an algorithm which verifies Prepress
in continuous contact with a single large diameter
impression cylinder and the color stations are the valid combination of characters. Press
arranged around the circumference of the central
Checking Process Color
impression cylinder.
The short, shallow cracks on the surface of a rub-
ber product caused by exposure to extreme envi- Quality
CEPA
See Canadian Environmental Protection Act. ronmental conditions, such as exposure to ozone. Substrate
GLOSSARY 47
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) CI Press
The measure or capacity of oxygen consumption See Central Impression Press.
in inorganic and organic matter present in water.
CIE
Chemical Substance See Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage.
Any inorganic or organic substance of a particular
CIELab
molecular identity; any element of uncombined
radical. Adopted by CIE, it is a standard, objective color
measurement system, widely used for quantita-
Chill Roll tive color measurement and control. “L repre-
A metal roll or drum cooled internally with a solu- sents the “lightness” of the sheet and varies from
tion, such as water or brine; these rolls are nor- 100 for a perfect white to 0 for absolute black;
mally used after the press dryer to cool the print- “+a” indicates redness; “–a” indicates greenness;
ed web prior to rewinding. “+b” indicates yellowness; and “–b” indicates
blueness.
China Clay
A natural, white, mineral pigment used for coat- CIE’94
ing paper and extending ink. One of several methods for calculating color dif-
ferences in CIELab Color Space.
Chipboard
A low-quality nontest paperboard made of waste CIE Standard Illuminant
paper used when specified strength or quality are Common lighting conditions used to evaluate
not necessary. color as defined by the CIE in terms of relative
spectral power distributions, or color tempera-
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) ture; lower numbers are warmer/redder, higher
A family of chemicals used in air conditioners and numbers are colder/bluer.
refrigerators as coolants, and also as solvents
and aerosol propellants. They drift into the upper CIE Standard Observer
atmosphere where their chlorine components A hypothetical, average human observer who sees
destroy the ozone layer. color at a 2° viewing angle as defined in a 1931
CIE study. A supplementary observer for a larger
Choke Roll viewing angle of 10° was adopted in 1964. The 2°
The printing roll carrying the background or over- standard observer should be assumed if not other-
all pattern. See also Design Roll. wise specified. If the field of view is larger than 4°,
the 10° standard observer should be used.
Choke Trap
The intentional overlap of a lighter background Circumferential Register Control
onto a darker object needed to ensure that a See Running Register.
slight misalignnment or movement of separations C1S
on press will not affect the final appearance of the See Coated One Side.
job, i.e., color or white fringes or borders around
image detail. Called trapping in digital imagng CIU
systems. See trapping. See Categorical Industrial User.
Chroma Clamp Marks
See Lch Value. Marks produced by clamps holding the stock in
position for guillotine trimming.
Chromatic Scale
The colors of the spectrum; red, orange, yellow, Class I Area
green, blue and violet. Under the Clean Air Act, a Class I area is one in
which visibility is protected more stringently than
Chrome Green under the NAAQS; includes national parks, wilder-
A fairly light-resistant, opaque-green pigment ness areas, monuments and other areas of spe-
made by mixing freshly precipitated iron blue and cial natural and cultural significance.
chrome yellow.
Clay-coated Board
Chrome Yellow A high quality paperboard whose surface is coat-
A light-resistant opaque yellow pigment com- ed with pigment or pigment-like solids and
posed essentially of lead chromate. appropriate binders.
Chromium Plate Clay-coated News CCN
A thin covering of chromium, usually electroplat- Paperboard made from recycled newsprint-based
ed, over a copper or nickel base to increase the fiber with a clay-coated surface to improve print-
surface-wear properties. ability.
Chronic Effect Clean Air Act
An adverse effect on a human or animal in which The original Clean Air Act was passed in 1963,
symptoms recur frequently or develop slowly but the United States air pollution control pro-
over a long period of time, i.e., medical condi- gram is actually based on the 1970 version of the
tions stemming from the ingestion of lead, nico- law. The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments are the
tine and solvents. most far-reaching revisions of the 1970 law.
GLOSSARY 49
Color Comprehensive and-white drawing on which each additional color
Design work, which illustrates in detail: size, lay- is indicated as a guide for reproduction. A term
out, color, copy, copy positioning, type style, etc. sometimes used at press-side referring to the
of the proposed finished reproduction. number of colors that overprint each other.
GLOSSARY 51
and in the correct position. It is used to evaluate a product will look like before the design goes on
design before final type and artwork are produced. press, and has been made according to FIRST
specifications.
Compression Set
The extent to which the rubber becomes distorted Contract Proof
permanently, after subjecting a test sample to a A proof output to FIRST specifications, using a
known load, for a specified time. It is expressed press profile, and is representative of what the
as percentage of the original thickness. copy will look like when reproduced on press. For
images, it does not have to be a dot-for-dot
Computer-to-Plate CTP reproduction, but instead, must be an overall
See Direct-to-Plate. simulation of the expected print results. The sub-
Computer-to-Sleeve CTS sets of a contract proof are defined: contract ana-
A system where the plate is mounted on a sleeve log, contract digital and profiled contract.
and imaged in the round directly from a computer Contrast
system using laser ablation. The difference between extreme highlight and
Concentricity shadow areas of continuous tone original or
A circle or sphere, one within another, having a halftone reproduction. Image contrast is usually
common center. For example: When the outside compressed to bring an original’s density range
diameter (O.D.) of a roll or cylinder and the diam- to that can be reproduced on a printing press.
eters of journals, bearing steps, bore, etc., have a Control Chart
common rotational axis. A visual record of quality performance in a statis-
Concept Proof tical process, produced by plotting the value of
A proof that is not profiled and is not used for each sample drawn from the process in graph
matching color. It is used to show the design lay- form with the number of observations along the
out and type, but not the expected color. horizontal axis and the value of the observation
along the vertical axis.
Condensed Type
Proportionally narrow or slender typefaces. Control Target
The standard set of graphic elements placed out-
Conditionally Exempt Generators side the live area of each of the pieces of film, used
Small-quantity facilities that produce fewer than to monitor makeready, and if possible, the entire
220 pounds of hazardous waste per month that production run. When printed, they superimpose
are not considered acute hazardous wastes. to form a colored bar in various densities that
enables the platemaker and printer to to check by
Consent Decree eye or instrument the nature of each ink film, the
A legal document submitted by the Department of strength and eveness of ink and the registration of
Justice on behalf of USEPA for approval by a fed- color. It is specifically defined in FIRST and avail-
eral judge to settle a case. able from the FTA. See also Run Target.
Consistency Control Technique Guideline CTG
The general body characteristics of an ink, (e.g., USEPA documents designed to assist states in
viscosity, uniformity) used to describe the rheolog- defining reasonable available control technology
ical property of an ink – i.e., thick, thin or buttery. for sources of VOCs. The CTG for flexography is
Contaminant “Control of Organic Emissions from Existing
Any physical, chemical, biological or radiological Stationary Sources Volume VIII: Graphic Arts –
substance or matter that has an effect on air, Rotogravure and Flexography”.
water or soil. Converter
Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems CEMS A manufacturer who takes raw materials – such as
Machines that measure, on a continuous basis, resin, polymer, paper pulp – to produce the final
pollutants released by a source. package (box, pouch, bag, envelope). Printing may
or may not be included in the process.
Continuous Tone CT
Copolymer
An image which has not been screened and con-
tains a range of light to dark color tones, but must A polymer produced from a combination of two
be converted to halftone dots in order to be print- or more dissimilar monomers. See also Polymer.
ed. Copy
Contract Analog Proof Manuscript, type, transparency, artwork or com-
A proof that is made to manufacturer’s recom- puter disk from which a printed piece is to be
mendations for exposing and processing by a prepared. The term is also used to refer to the
specific analog proofing system, representative final printed result.
of what the finished product will look like before Copy Boards
the design goes on press, and has been profiled The part of a process camera where the original
according to FIRST specifications. artwork is placed on to be reproduced onto photo-
Contract Digital Proof graphic paper or film.
A proof that is profiled to a specific digital proof- Copy Range
ing system, representative of what the finished See Dynamic Range.
GLOSSARY 53
Crushed Board Curl
A condition where corrugated board is crushed Distortion of an unrestrained sheet due to differ-
on the edges. ences in structure from one side of the sheet to
the other. The curl side is the concave side of the
CSI sheet. It may occur in substrates and printing
See Common Sense Initiative. plates.
CT Curve Direction
See Continuous Tone. The direction of web travel on a flexo press.
CTG Cut
See Control Technique Guideline. An expression commonly used to designate an
CT Merge engraving.
The function of combining two CT files in such a Cut
manner that they apperar to vignette together To dilute or thin an ink, lacquer, varnish, etc. with
smoothly without noticeable break between solvents or with clear base.
images.
Cut-back Curve
CTP Data which indicates the halftone dot areas need
See Computer to Plate. to be compensated for normal dot gain through-
CTS out the entire tone scale during the printing
See Computer to Sleeve. process. The data is specific to particular materi-
als and process conditions.
Cumulative Impact
The combined effects of all chemical exposures CWA
on human health and the environment over time. See Clean Water Act.
Cure Cyan
The process of hardening a heat-set or photo- See Process Cyan.
reactive material. For example hardening pho-
topolymers requires exposing the photoinitiator
to UV light.
D65 Densitometer
A standard light source used by the textile, paint A photoelectric instrument that measures the
and ink industries, whose color temperature is optical density of images or colors. A reflection
6,500° K. densitometer measures the amount of incident
light reflecting from the surface of a substrate,
D-max such as ink on paper or film. A transmission den-
The highest measured density on a sample. This sitometer measures the amount of light transmit-
is not to be confused with the maximum density ted through film from a measured light source.
achievable by the material.
Densitometer Response
D-min The aim spectral response as contained in ISO 5-
The lowest measured density on the clear/non- 3: 1995, Photography Density Measurements –
image area of a sample. This is not to be con- Part 3: Spectral Conditions. The status responses
fused with the minimum density achievable by pertaining to the graphic arts are Status E, Status
the material. I and Status T. See also Spectral Response.
Damper Density
Usually a pivoted gate or valve used to control the A measure of the amount of light reflected from
flow of air or other gases, as in the dryer. the printed sheet or transmitted through a plate-
making film.
Dancer Roll
A web-tensioning device in the form of a roller Density
that uses weights or springs which monitors web The mass per unit volume of a substance, com-
tension by controlling the unwind brake or rewind monly measured in g/cc.
tension.
Density, Absolute
DCS The optical density referenced to a perfect reflecting
See Desktop Color Separation. diffuser through calibration procedures. Typically
referred to as “density with paper/film included.”
DDCP
See Direct Digital Color Proofs. Density, Reflection
The light-absorbing property of a material,
DDES expressed as the logarithm of the reciprocal of the
See Digital Data Exchange Standards. reflectance. A higher density indicates more light
is absorbed or a darker surface. Also referred to
Deep-relief Powder Molding DRPM
as print density.
The rubber plate-making process where the fin-
ished plate relief is more than 0.125". Density, Relative
The absolute (optical) density of a sample minus
Deflection
the absolute (optical) density of the substrate.
Deviation from a straight line under load, e.g., Typically referred to as “density minus paper.”
fountain-roll pressure against the anilox roll, caus-
es both to bend or bow slightly. Excessive bend- Density, Transmission
ing of both or either one will result in uneven ink The light-absorbing property of a material, KEY:
metering and subsequent nonuniform printing. expressed as the logarithm of the reciprocal of
the transmittance. Barcode
Delamination
The partial or complete separation of the layers in Density Range Design
a laminate. See Dynamic Range. Environment
Deliquescence Dermal Toxicity General
The property of a material to absorb moisture Adverse effects resulting from skin exposure to a
from the air and to become a liquid. A best substance. Ink
known example is calcium chloride. Mounting/ Proofing
Desiccant
Delist 1. A dehydrating agent – absorbs moisture by Plates
Use of the petition process to have a facility’s physical or chemical means. 2. A drying agent.
toxic designation rescinded, or a particular waste Prepress
stream declared nonhazardous for disposal. Design for the Environment DFE
Press
A cooperative effort between USEPA and industry
Delta (∆) E to incorporate environmental consideration into Process Color
The calculated color difference between the high- the design and redesign of products, processes
Quality
lights and shadows of an image. It is also the and technical and management systems for the
tonal, density and copy range. purpose of promoting pollution prevention. Substrate
GLOSSARY 55
Design Motif the digital information developed and used in print-
1. A distinctive feature, shape or figure or other ing, design and production.
thematic element in a work of art. A dominant Digitizing
idea or central theme. 2. A single or repeated The process of converting graphic representa-
design element or color. tions (images, line drawings, etc.) into digital data
Design Roll that can be processed by a computer system.
A printing cylinder with an elastomeric material Dilatent
affixed in position and engraved with a design. Having the property of an increase in viscosity
Used for seamless printing.
with increase in shear. Dilatent liquids are solid or
Desktop Color Separation DCS highly viscous when stirred, and fluid when
A preseparated digital EPS file consisting of five undisturbed. The condition can occur in flexo inks
files: one is the originally named file that is the but is normally considered highly undesirable and
PICT preview to be imported into page layout pro- one to be avoided through formulation.
grams; the other four end with .C, .M, .Y and .K
Diluent
respectively. In OPI settings, the PICT image is
A liquid with no solvent action, used to dilute or
replaced with the high resolution file during the
RIPping process. thin an ink or lacquer.
GLOSSARY 57
DRE Dummy
See Destruction Removal Efficiency. A preliminary mock-up showing the color, size,
shape, general form, positioning of text and art-
Drift work on preparation and production of a printed
1. The continued deformation of rubber under piece.
strain; 2. The change in a given durometer read-
ing after a specified period of time. Duotones
Two-color halftones.
Drift
A gradual out-of-register movement. Duplicate Transparency
A copy of an original transparency prepared from
Driving Side a special color film.
That side of a flexographic press on which the
main gear train(s) are located; also gear side; Durometer
opposite of operating side. A measure of hardness, by using a durometer
gauge, either Shore A (for soft rubber) or Shore
Dropped Dots D (for harder, less resillient materials).
The condition of missing print, related to missing
dots. See also Skipout. Dwell
The time interval during which elements remain
Dropout in contact or in a static position; pause.
A halftone in which the extreme highlights have
been eliminated (dropped out) to produce more Dyes
contrast, as in a specular highlight. The coloring material which is soluble in an ink
vehicle. See alsoPigment.
DRPM
See Deep-relief Powder Molding. Dynamic Balance
The state when rotating masses are in equilibri-
Drum Scanner um.
See Scanner.
Dynamic Range
Dry Color The density difference between highlights and
A pigment in dry or powder form. shadows of an image, also known as tonal, densi-
Dry Ink Film ty or copy range.
The thickness or weight per unit area of dry ink or Dyne
coating on a substrate. The unit of force in the centimeter-gram-second
Dryer system equal to the force that would give a free
That auxiliary unit of a flexographic printing press mass of one gram an acceleration of one cen-
through which the printed web travels and is timeter per second per second. In printing, a unit
dried prior to rewinding. Drying units are placed of measure concerning surface tension.
as required between color stations.
GLOSSARY 59
Emission Reduction Credit (ERC) Environmental Impact Statement EIS
Certified reductions of air emissions that are over A document prepared by or for USEPA that identi-
and above the amount required by regulatory fies and analyzes, in detail, environmental impacts
standards. The amount of reduction that is in of a proposed action.
excess is credit. While the concept is part of the
CAAA of 1990, each state passed its own Environmental Indicator
enabling legislation. A measurement, statistic or value that provides a
proximate gauge or evidence of the effects of
Emission Trading environmental management programs or of the
The transfer of ERCs between facilities or indus- state or condition of the environment.
tries that require the offsets to establish new
Environmental Justice
sources of air transmissions.
A government policy that provides for the fair
EMS treatment to all people with respect to the devel-
See Environmental Management System. opment and enforcement of environmental laws,
regulations and policies.
Emulsifying Agent
A material which is added to hold two or more Environmental Management System EMS
immissable materials in suspension, forming an A management approach, through policy and pro-
emulsion. cedure, that serves to reduce exposures to liabili-
ty, manage environmental affairs with the elimina-
Emulsion tion of duplicative efforts, improve employee and
A type of mixture wherein two or more immisci- community relations, partner with regulatory
ble (or unmixable) materials are held together in a staff, and offers the very real possibility of bot-
homogenous mixture by the action of a third, the tom-line savings.
emulsifying agent. Differs from a solution in
which one material is dissolved in another. EPA
See USEPA.
Encapsulated PostScript EPS
A file format that carries both a description of an EPA I.D.
image in the PostScript page-description language See Identification Code.
and an optional bitmap equivalent for screen dis- EPCRA
play. EPS is commonly used for image interchange
See Emergency Planning and Community Right-
on the Macintosh.
to-Know Act.
Endprinter
Epoxy Resins
Printing section(s) added to an in-line process.
Plastic or resinous materials used for strong,
See also In-line Press. fast-setting adhesives, as heat-resistant coatings
End Product and binders, etc.
The final package or printed piece, after all blank- EPS
ing, folding, gluing or heat sealing is done, ready See Encapsulated PostScript.
for customer use.
Equalizer Rod
Enforcement Response Plan ERP
See Meyer Rod.
A USEPA-mandated plan, developed by the local
control authority, that details the procedures a Equivalent Method
POTW will use to investigate and respond to Any method of sampling and analyzing for an air
industrial user non-compliance. pollutant that has been demonstrated to the
administrator’s satisfaction to have a consistent
English Finish and quantitatively known relationship to the refer-
A paper finish that falls between machine and ence method under specific conditions.
supercalendered finish by degree of smoothness.
Equivalent Weights
Engraved Roll Indicates weights of papers of different dimen-
A roll having a mechanically or laser engraved sional sizes and different ream weights of identical
surface. See also Anilox Roll, Design Roll. basis or substance weights, e.g., 25 x 38@50/R is
Engraving equivalent in substance to 32 x 44@74/R.
A general term normally applied to any pattern ERC
which has been cut in or incised in a surface by See Emission Reduction Credit.
hand, mechanical, laser or chemical etching
processes. ERP
See Enforcement Response Plan.
Environmental Accounting
An approach to the financial analysis of business Ester
decisions which recognizes that many environ- A group of solvents made by reacting an acid
mental costs are often overlooked. with an alcohol, e.g., ethyl acetate, isopropyl
acetate; acetate solvents.
Environmental Audit
An independent assessment of a facility’s compli- Etch
ance policies, practices and controls. To dissolve the nonprinting areas of a metal plate
Evaporation Extrusion
The changing from the liquid to the gaseous or Continuous sheet or film (or other shapes not
vapor stage, as when the solvent leaves the print- connected with flexography) produced by forcing
ed ink film. thermoplastic material through a die or orifice.
Expose Exudation
To subject (a sensitive film, plate, etc.) to light. When solid material migrates to the film’s sur-
face. See also Bloom.
Exposure
The state of being open and vulnerable to a haz- Eye Mark or Eye Spot
ardous chemical by inhalation, ingestion, skin A small, rectangular printed area usually located
contact, absorption or any other course; includes near the edge of a web or design, to activate an
potential (accidental or possible) exposure. automatic electronic position regulator for con-
trolling register of the printed design with subse-
Extenders
quent equipment or operations.
Any material added to an ink to reduce its color
strength and/or viscosity.
KEY:
Barcode
Design
Environment
General
Ink
Mounting/ Proofing
Plates
Prepress
Press
Process Color
Quality
Substrate
GLOSSARY 61
F
coarse felt or the warp of a felt, leaving a textured
impression in the surface.
F (°F) Felt Side
Degrees Fahrenheit; °F = (9/5 x °C) + 32. That side of the paper web which has been in
contact with the felt during manufacture. It is the
Face Printing top side of the sheet.
Printing on the outer surface of a transparent
film, contrary to printing on the back (reverse) of Fiberboard
the film. 1. Fibered sheets produced or laminated a certain
thickness, providing stiffness. Fiberboard used for
Face Stock container production may be corrugated board, or
In label printing, it is the part of the substrate solid board of 0.060", 0.080", 0.100", 0.0120", or
which is printed opposed to the disposable release 0.140". 2. A generic name applied to many prod-
liner that carries the facestock through the press. ucts made of fiberboard.
Facility Fibreboard, Solid
All buildings, equipment, structures, and other sta- A heavy, solid board, usually 3 or 4 ply, com-
tionary items located on a single, contiguous or prised of two liners and a chipboard filler, used in
adjacent site and which are owned or operated by shipping containers.
the same person (or by any person who controls,
is controlled by, or is under common control with File Server
such person). A facility shall include man-made A computer on network with special software so
structures, as well as natural structures, in which that all the network users can access the applica-
chemicals are purposefully placed or removed by tions and documents stored on it.
human means, such that it functions as a contain-
ment structure for human use. For purposes of Filler
emergency release notification, the term includes An inert substance in a composition to increase
motor vehicles, rolling stock and aircraft. bulk, strength and/or lower cost, etc.
Fade Fill-in
See Vignette. Generally used to refer to the open portions of
small type and half-tones filled by ink.
Fadeometer
An instrument that measures light fastness or Film
resistance to fading. Unsupported, basically organic, nonfibrous, thin,
flexible material, 0.010" thick (maximum), is usu-
Fading ally called sheeting. A variety of special designa-
The change in hue from exposure to light, heat or tion, such as gussetted film, J film, U film, W
other influences. film, etc. refer to film wound with a single or dou-
ble fold or gusset on one or both sides; the des-
False Body ignations describing the shape of a cross-section.
See Thixotropic.
Film Former
Fast Solvent A type of resin with qualities of forming a tough
A solvent that has a low boiling point, allowing continuous film. Usually refers to such plastics as
rapid evaporation; a fast-drying solvent. nitrocellulose, vinyl, etc.
Fastness Film Gauge
A term denoting the stability or resistance of stock 1. A number indicative of the thickness of films.
or colorants to influences such as light, alkali, etc. 2. A micrometer for measuring film thickness.
Feathering Film Treatment
Irregular edges around a print, often undesirable. The surface oxidation of film to increase ink
Feathering on Trailing Edges adhesion.
Marks made on the image’s trailing edges, gener- Film, Cast
ally caused by excessive ink buildup. Generally refers to films made by coating, or cast-
Federal Register FR ing, a solution of a film former on an endless belt,
A publication of proposed U.S. regulations. The drying the solvents, stripping the film from the belt
final regulations are then codified in the Code of and winding it up. Polyethylene cast film refers to
Federal Regulations. the film made by extruding the molten polyethylene.
GLOSSARY 63
on the printed sheet, caused by excessive ink Fountain Roll
applied to the substrate. The roll that picks up the ink or coating material
Floppy Disks from the fountain and applies it to the transfer roll.
See Disk. For Position Only
Flow An image that will be replaced in production,
1. The property of an ink causing it to level out as (usually on the film imagesetter) with the high-
would a true liquid. Inks of poor flow are classified resolution image.
short in body, while inks of good flow are said to Four-Color Process
be long. 2. The rheological properties of an ink. Printing with yellow, magenta, and cyan color
Flow Chart inks plus black by using screens to create all
A graphical diagram used to show the key steps other colors. See Process Black, Process Cyan,
in a process. Special symbols are used to show Process Magenta, Process Yellow.
inputs, outputs, decisions and process steps. Fourdrinier Wire
Fluidity The wire belt on which a web of paper is initially
The ease in which an ink flows. Opposite of viscos- formed from the liquid fiber pulp (furnish) on the
ity, the greater the viscosity the less the fluidity. paper machine.
Fluorocarbons FPM
Organic compounds in which fluorine atoms are See Feet Per Minute.
bonded to carbon atoms. FPO
Flying See For Position Only.
Ink thrown off the press by the inking rollers, FR
causing splashing. See Federal Register.
FM Screening Freuqency Modulated Screening
See Stochastic Screening. See Stochastic Screening.
Foil Fugitive
An unsupported, thin metal membrane, less than Refers to a dye or pigment having very poor per-
0.006" thick. Above 0.006" thick, it is called a sheet. manence, and is likely to deteriorate, change or
Folder fade.
A unit that creases and scores the substrate to Fugitive Emissions
preset specifications. See also Buckle Folder, Air pollutants released to the air other than those
Combination Folder, Knife Folder. from stacks or vents; typically released from open
Font containers and ink fountains, as well as small
A complete set of characters in one design, size, releases from leaks in plant equipment.
and style. In traditional typography usage, a font Full-scale Black
may be restricted to a particular size and style or Printing with black in all tonal areas of the repro-
may comprise multiple sizes, or multiple sizes duction from highlight to shadow. See also Gray
and styles, of a typeface design. Component Replacement.
Form Roll Furnish
The obsolete reference to an inking roller. See The ingredients that make up a particular paper.
also Transfer Roll, Anilox Roll.
Fusible
Formation Capable of being melted or liquefied by action of
An arrangement of the fibers in a sheet of paper. heat.
Irregular arrangement is wild, while uniform for-
mation is close. Fuzz
Fibrous projections on the surface of a sheet of
Fountain paper. Lint appears in much the same manner but
A pan, trough or other ink-supply system on a is not attached to the surface.
flexographic press in which the fountain roll
revolves. Sometimes loosely applied to the entire
printing station.
GLOSSARY 65
Graphic Arts Grayness
The technology and practice of converting ideas See Hue Error.
and originals (i.e., photographs, drawings, com-
puter-generated images and designs) into visual Grayscale
form. Not restricted to, but often associated with, A tonal scale, printed in steps of no-color through
printing in its various forms. to black, used for quality control in both black-
and-white and photographic processing.
Graphic Interchange Format GIF
A widely used bitmap-image format that originat- Grease Proofness
ed on the CompuServe network and supports A material’s resistance to grease.
black, white and color. Groundwater
Gravure Subsurface sources of water that comprise a
A printing process in which the image area is large percentage of the water supply.
etched below the surface of the printing plate. The Groundwood Papers
ink is carried below the printing surface in small A general term applied to a variety of papers
wells or lines etched or scribed into a metal plate. made of mechanical wood pulp.
The surface of the plate is wiped clean so nonim-
age areas carry no ink and the image is trans- Guard Bars
ferred directly to the paper by means of pressure. The start-and-stop pattern in bar codes, particu-
larly UPC-A, EAN-13 and EAN-8 versions of the
Gravurescope EAN/UPC symbol family. Formed by twin narow
A type of microscope designed for inspecting and elements at the beginning, center and end of the
measuring the engraved cells on an anilox roll or symbol, they divide the symbol into left and right
a gravure cylinder. Measures both vertically for decodable segments that are then combined by
depth and horizontally for width. the scanner into a single symbol.
Gray Balance Guillotine
The proper combination of cyan, magenta and A cutting machine in which the cut is made by a
yellow ink dot area, hue/density, trap, transparen- long knife that descends vertically on the material
cy and register on a specific substrate under nor- to be cut.
mal printing conditions which reproduce as a
neutral gray. Gum
1. A water-soluble, amorphous substance exuded
Gray Component Replacement GCR by or prepared from plants, which is sticky when
1. The replacement of an unwanted color (i.e., moist but hardens upon exposure to air; 2. Any
cyan in reds, magenta in greens, yellow in blues) material having the above properties, natural or
in whole or in part by black; 2. The system to synthetic, regardless of source. Loosely used in
reduce overprinted halftone dot sizes of C, M or Y reference to unvulcanized rubber.
when it acts as a graying component by increas-
ing the appropriate black halftone dot sizes to Gusset
achieve a color parity with less process ink and The bellows fold or tuck on the side or bottom of
improved printing conditions. a bag. The bag’s capacity is measured with the
gusset unfolded.
GLOSSARY 67
Hickey Hot Type
A common printing defect, visible as a spot sur- When a casting method of melted metal is used
rounded by a blank halo, caused by a speck of dirt to set type copy instead of using the original type
pushing the paper away from the printing plate. characters or a photographic process.
High Bulking Groundwood HPA
This term refers to low cost printing papers made See Hazardous Products Act (Canada).
primarily from mechanical pulps, characterized by
relatively high bulk-to-weight ratios, high opacity, Hue
and high speed printability. See L*C*h*.
Homogeneous Hysteresis
Of the same uniform composition or construction A loss of energy due to successive deformations
throughout. and relaxation.
Homopolymer Polypropylene
Pure polypropylene.
Quality
Impression Bar Ink Film
A small diameter rod or bar, supported by a back- The wet layer of ink on the anilox, printing plate Substrate
GLOSSARY 69
or substrate surface; its weight or volume per 2. A multicolor press in which the color stations
unit area; as opposed to dry ink film. are mounted horizontally in a line.
Ink Fountain In-Line Printing
The ink pan or trough or other ink supply system Printing, as part of a continuous process of pro-
on a printing press. ducing a finished product.
Ink Jet In-Line Processing
A printing technology which utilizes liquid ink A continuous process of producing a finished
which is sprayed through miniature nozzles onto product from basic materials.
the substrate in dot matrix patterns, forming text
and graphics. For color printing, several nozzles Intaglio
connected to containers of colored inks are used. An engraved or etched design which is below the
surface as cells in an anilox roll or gravure cylinder.
Ink Kickout
The condition where some of the ink’s ingredients Intensity
go out of suspension, causing loss of ink proper- See Saturation.
ties, such as color, fluidity, printability. Some
Interleave
causes: high pH, introducing additives without
To insert separate sheets of paper, etc., between
agitation.
foil, printed paper or other stacked sheet material
Ink Laydown to facilitate handling or to prevent blocking or
The visual appearance of the ink on the substrate smudging.
surface.
Interleaved 2-of-5 ITF
Ink-metering Roll Commonly encountered as the bar code specified
A roll that allows the amount of ink (or coating) for UCC/EAN products when they are packaged
to be applied to the plate in a thin, even layer. about the unit level in corrugated case, each sym-
bol character contains five data elements (bars or
Ink Rotation spaces) two of which are wide (2-of-5). The
The sequence in which inks are printed. For “interleaved” reference comes from the way the
process colors, it is commonly Y, M, C, K. symbology takes digit pairs and interleaves them
Ink Souring into its symbol characters, one in the bars and
See Ink Kickout. one in the spaces. It is widely used in the airline
industry.
Ink Starvation
A print defect characterized by large vertical or Interpolation
irregular lines in what should be the solid print The term describing the technique of recreating
area. It can be caused by poor anilox cell rewet- the color values of pixels in bitmapped images
ting, trapped air in chambered doctor-blade sys- which have been modified (i.e., dimenion, resolu-
tems, and/or poor ink balance. tion, orientation).
KEY:
Barcode
Design
Environment
General
Ink
Mounting/ Proofing
Plates
Prepress
Press
Process Color
Quality
Substrate
GLOSSARY 71
K Key Plate
The plate of a set of color plates which carries the
major area of detail and to which the other plates
K (°K)
Degrees Kelvin; the absolute temperature scale. are registered.
Absolute zero is –273.13° C. Kilobyte
K Film Equilvalent to 1,024 bytes.
The tradename of polymer-coated cellophanes Kiss Impression
manufactured by DuPont. The lightest possible impression which will trans-
kb fer a film of ink from the anilox roll to the entire
See Kilobyte. print surface of the printing plate, or from the
entire print surface of the printing plate to the
K.B. Value material being printed.
See Kauri-Butanol Value.
Kiss Register
Kaolin See Butt Register.
See China Clay.
Knife Folder
Kauri-Butanol Value A folding unit with moving tapes or belts that feed
A measurement of the solvent strength of a a sheet along a flat plane until it is stopped by a
hydrocarbon solvent. gauge and positioned against a side-guide. A
metal knife presses at a right angle to the sheet,
Kelvin forcing it between two rollers to create a fold.
See K (°K).
Knock-Out
Kerning See Reverse.
Modifying the normal space between letters dur-
ing typesetting to achieve more readable and eye- Knurled Roll
pleasing word forms. Traditionally, this meant See Engraved Roll.
reducing the space between only selected charac-
Kraft
ters, such as the “L” and “Y” in “only”; 2. Adding
or subtracting a small amount of space between 1. A chemical-based wood pulp made by the sul-
each letter or character to adjust (justify) the phate process; 2. Paper or paperboard made
length of a line of copy. See Tracking. from such pulp.
Lake Leafing
A depression or dishing in the surface of a rubber The process whereby the metal flakes contained
plate. in metallic inks float to the surface of the ink,
causing metallic luster.
Laminant
An adhesive to combine and bond a combination LEL
of films, foils, plastics, papers or other material in See Lower Explosive Limit.
sheet or web form. LFL
Laminate See Lower Flammable Limit.
1. A product made by bonding together two or LEPC
more layers of material or materials;
See Local Emergency Planning Committee.
2.To unite layers of materials with adhesives.
Letterpress
Land Disposal Restrictions LDR
A method of printing that uses hard-relief plates
A set of regulations that prohibit the land disposal
as an image carrier. The image area of the plate,
of untreated hazardous wastes.
raised above the nonprinting area, receives the ink
Landfill and is then transferred directly to the substrate.
Disposal facilities where waste is placed in or on
Lettering Spacing
land. Properly designed and operated landfills are
See Kerning.
lined to prevent leakage.
Life Cycle Analysis LCA
Lap
The analysis of all energy resources and emis-
The portion of a material which covers or over-
sions used and produced in any and all of the
laps another portion, at which the two thickness-
processes of manufacturing, using, distributing
es of material are bonded together.
and ultimately disposing of a product.
Large Commercial-imaging Facility
Light Fastness
A facility that produces, on average, more than 20
gallons per day of silver-rich solution. That property which renders a material resistant to
change in color. Depending upon its use, it may
Large-quantity Generator LQG be required to show good resistance (fastness) to KEY:
Person or facility that generates more than 2,200 change in color after exposure to destructive influ- Design
pounds of hazardous waste per month. ences such as light, acids and alkalines.
Environment
Layer Lightness
In some applications, a level to which you can See L*C*h° Value. General
consign an element of the design you are working Ink
on. Light Stability
A measure of the ability of a pigment, dye or Plates
Layout other colorant to retain its original color and
The preliminary arrangement of an artwork show- physical properties, either alone or when incorpo- Prepress
ing position, sizes, color and other details for the rated into plastics, paints, inks and other colored Press
final design. surfaces, upon exposure to sun or other light.
Process Color
LCA Linear Blend
Substrate
See Life Cycle Analysis. See Gradient.
GLOSSARY 73
Linear Low Density Polyethylene LLDPE Lithography
A film having the same features as LDPE but is A method of printing from a plane surface (as
stronger, with better hot-tack strength. The film smooth stone or metal plate) on which the image
resins a re more expensive than LDPE, and extru- to be printed is ink-receptive and the non-printing
sion coating grades are even more so. area ink repellent. See also Planography.
Linear Medium Density Polyethylene LMDPE Live
A film similar to LLDPE, but provides improved Indicates a scan or illustration in an electronic
stiffness, gloss and reduced flavor adsorption. document that is ready for production of the
platemaking-film negative.
Line Art
See Line Copy. Livering
An irreversible increase in the body of inks as a
Line Color result of gelation or chemical change during stor-
Any color that is not part of the process-color age. See also Jelling.
image, printed on a separate print station. Often, it
is a special ink formulation, but it can be a second LLDPE
print station using process inks, especially black. See Linear Low Density Polyethylene.
Line Copy LMDPE
Copy made up of solids and lines in contrast to See Linear Medium Density Polyethylene.
halftones or shadings made up of a series of dots.
Load
Line Cut 1. The total weight supported by the journals of a
An engraving made from line copy. roll; 2. The force exerted by one roll on another
usually expressed in pounds per linear inch (PLI).
Line Drawing
See Line Copy. Local Emergency Planning Committee LEPC
A committee appointed by the State Emergency
Line Films Response Commission, as required by SARA Title
Photographic film that converts all tones of gray III, to formulate a comprehensive emergency plan
to just black or white granular solids. for its jurisdiction.
Line Growth Local Limits
The growth of a printed line as a result of pres- Discharge limits developed by the local control
sure between the printing plate and the substrate. authority for non-domestic indirect dischargers
Liner designed to prevent interference with or pass
One of the outer, smooth members of corrugated through of the POTW.
board. Logo
Linerboard A mark or symbol designed for an individual,
company or product that translates the the
Paperboard used for the flat facings in corrugated
impression of of the body it is representing into a
board.
graphic image.
Linear Medium Density Polyethylene LMDPE
Logo Color
Paperboard used for the flat facings in corrugated
Colors that signify a brand name or corporate
board.
identity. To ensure its consistency from package to
Lines per Inch LPI package, press run to press run, logo colors
The number of dots per linear inch in a halftone. should be treated as a line color.
Dot size varies from very small highlight dots to
Logotype
large shadow dots. More lines per inch increases
An alphabetical configuration designed to identify
resolution detail and dot gain. Lines per centime-
by name an individual, company or product. Also
ter are specified outside the U.S.A.
trademark.
Linetone
Loose Color Proof
A form of halftone composed of lines instead of
A process-color proof with no line copy or special
dots.
(custom) ink colors.
Line Work
Loupe
See Line Copy.
A small, hand-held magnifying device used to
Liquid Photopolymer check the dot structure and line thickness of the
See Photopolymer Plate. film and printed piece.
KEY:
Barcode
Design
Environment
General
Ink
Mounting/ Proofing
Plates
Prepress
Press
Process Color
Quality
Substrate
GLOSSARY 75
M Makeready
All preparatory operations preceding production
on press.
M2P2
See Multimedia Pollution Prevention. Mandrel
Machine Direction MD A shaft upon which cylinders, or other devices,
The flow or movement of material through a are mounted or affixed.
machine. Cellulose paper fibers are oriented Manifest
somewhat parallel to the direction of flow through A multicopy shipping form used to identify the
a papermaking machine. See also Cross Direction. type and quantity of waste, the generator, the
Machine Finish transporter and the TSDF to which the waste is
A dry or wet finish obtained on a paper machine. being shipped. The manifest includes copies for
It can be achieved as the sheet leaves the last all participants in the waste shipment chain and is
dryer or the calendar stack. often obtained
Media Mezzotint
Specific environments – air, water, soil – that are An irregular, random dot halftone.
the subject of regulatory concern and activities. mg/kg
Median Milligrams per kilogram.
The value of the variable in a statistical sampling mg/L
which exceeds half of the observations and is Milligrams per liter; equivalent to ppm.
exceeded by half.
MIBK
Medium See Methyl isobutyl ketone.
The corrugated or fluted portion of combined cor-
rugated board, supporting the outer linerboard. Micro Dot
Typically used in video-mounting devices, they are
Medium Commercial Imaging Facility 0.010" diameter dots placed on the left and right
A facility that produces, on average, more than side of the printed material, and in the center of the
two but less than 20 gallons per day of silver-rich web direction. When printed, the dots will overprint
solution, and uses less than 10,000 gallons per each other and appear to be an almost perfect dot.
day of process wash water.
Micrometer
Medium Density Polyethylene An instrument (caliper) for measurement in terms
A film that provides better barrier and chemical of small dimensions, usually in 0.001" and 0.0001".
resistance than LDPE.
Mil
Medium-density Tape 1. Military specifications; 2. 1/1000 of an inch;
A foam mounting-tape, more firm and resillient 0.001".
than the standard double-sided tape.
Mileage
Megabyte Mb The usage factor of any ink, referring to the KEY:
A unit of measure equivalent to 1,024 kilobytes or amount of ink used to cover a certain area of
1,048,576 bytes, commonly used to specify the printed surface. Barcode
capacity of computer memory.
Mill Roll Design
Metallic Inks A roll of paper, film or foil as received by the con- Environment
Inks composed of aluminum or bronze powder in verter from the mill.
varnish to produce gold or silver color effects. General
Min/Max Rule
Metallic Replacement Ink
The minimum and maximum type or line width a
A method of recovering silver from silver-rich press is capable of reproducing, usually deter- Mounting/ Proofing
solutions by an oxidation-reduction reaction with mined by press characterization data.
elemental iron and silver thiosulfate to produce Plates
ferrous iron and metallic silver. Mineral Spirits
Prepress
Hydrocarbon petroleum distillates having a boil-
Metamerism ing range of approximately 300° F to 350° F. Press
When two colors match under one source of illu-
mination but not under another. Minimum Dot Process Color
The smallest dot size a press is capable of repro-
Quality
Method 24 ducing, usually determined by press characteriza-
See Test Method 24. tion data. Substrate
GLOSSARY 77
Misregister capable of being incorporated (polymerized) into
A condition where printing is out of or not in reg- polymers.
ister. See Register. Mottle
Misting A nonuniform ink lay resulting in a speckled or
A mist or fog of tiny ink droplets thrown off the indistinctly spotted appearance, also known as
press by the rollers. See also Flying. orange peel, flocculation, striations.
GLOSSARY 79
Nonpoint Source Notice of Violation NOV
Any source of pollution not associated with a dis- A formal notification by a government agency to
tinct discharge point. an emission source indicating violation of a regu-
lation.
Nonscratch
Inks which have high abrasion and mar-resis- NOV
tance when dry. See Notice of Violation.
Nonspecific Source Wastes Environment NOx
This list identifies wastes from common manu- See Oxides of Nitrogen.
facturing and industrial processes. These include
solvents that have been used in cleaning or NPDES
degreasing operations. See National Pollutation Discharge Elimination
System.
Nonvolatile
That portion of a material which does not evapo- NSR
rate at ordinary temperatures. See New Source Review.
GLOSSARY 81
tive) materials with sensitivities between 350 nm to Oxides of Nitrogen (Nox)
520 nm, with a peak at approximately 435 nm. A criteria air pollutant that is produced from burn-
OSH Act ing fuels.
See Occupational Safety and Health Act. Ozone
OTR The three oxygen molecule compound (O3) found
See Ozone Transport Region. in two layers of the earth’s atmosphere. One layer,
beneficial ozone, occurs seven to 18 miles above
Out-of-Gamut the surface and shields the earth from UV light.
The condition where the gamut of one device is Ozone also concentrates at the surface as a result
less than that of another device. For example, of reactions between volatile organic compounds,
many colors that are displayed on a monitor can oxides of nitrogen and UV light.
not be reproduced on a press using C, M, Y, K
process color inks. Ozone Depleter
A type of air pollutant regulated by the Clean Air
Overlay Act that includes the emissions of substances
The transparent sheet attached to copy used to that deplete the upper (stratospheric) ozone layer.
indicate changes, color separation, etc.
Ozone Transport Region OTR
Overprint Encompasses the east coast of the United States,
The printing of one ink impression over another. including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New
Overtone Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and the
Modifying the hue or tone of a color. District of Columbia. All existing sources in the
Overwrap ozone transport region with potential emissions
A wrapper applied over a product, package, car- greater than 50 TPY have to adopt RACT even if
ton, box, etc. they are located in a less severely polluted area.
Oxidation
The use of heat to burn VOCs in a solvent-laden
gas stream.
PCE pH
Mounting/ Proofing
See Perchloroethylene. The measure of acidity or alkalinity of an aqueous Plates
PDF solution; 7 on the scale is neutral; less than 7 is
Prepress
See Portable Document Format. acidic and greater than 7 is alkaline. Strong acids
have a pH of 1–3; weak acids about 6. Strong Press
PE bases have a pH of 12–13, weak bases about 8.
See Polyethylene. Process Color
Phenolic
PEL Quality
The generic name for phenol-formaldehyde plas-
See Permissible Exposure Limit. tic. Substrate
GLOSSARY 83
Photo Composition Pigment
The process of setting type copy photographical- An insoluble coloring material dispersed in a liq-
ly, as opposed to using the method of inking and uid vehicle to impart color to inks, paints and
proofing lead-type characters. plastics. See also dyes.
Photoengraving Pigment Load
A metal plate prepared photochemically, from The amount of pigment in an ink formulation as a
which the matrix or rubber mold is reproduced. percentage of the total liquid volume.
Photoinitiator Pigments, Inorganic
A substance which, by absorbing light, becomes A class of pigments consisting of various metallic
energized into forming free radicals which pro- compounds, e.g, titanium oxide, iron blue.
mote radical reactions and polymerization.
Pigments, Organic
Photomultiplier Tube PMT A class of pigments which are manufactured from
A light-detection device traditionally used in high- coal tar and its derivatives. These pigments are
end drum scanners. PMTs are highly light sensi- generally stronger, brighter and more transparent
tive, and are physically larger in size compared to than inorganic pigments.
CCDs. See also CCD. Piling
Photopolymer Plate The buildup of ink on a roller, plate or blanket.
A flexible, relief-printing plate, used in flexography, Pinholing
made of either precast sheet or liquid light-sensi- When a printed ink fails to form a complete, con-
tive polymers. Photopolymer plates require expo- tinuous coverage, evident by the random forma-
sure to UV light during the platemaking process. tion of small holes in the printed area.
Photopolymers Pin-on Temperature
The generic name for a mixture of materials which The temperature when an ink adheres to the sub-
are sensitive to UV or visible light exposure. With strate.
image-wise exposure, they are used extensively in
off-press proofing materials and printing plates. Pitch Diameter
The measurement of a gear, determined by divid-
Photostat ing the tooth pitch line circumference by pi (π).
See Stat.
Pitch Line
Physical Hazard An imaginary circle on the gear at the point of
A chemical for which there is scientifically valid true mesh with the mating gear. The circumfer-
evidence that it is a combustible liquid, a com- ence of the pitch line determines the repeat of the
pressed gas, explosive, flammable, an organic gear on the print cylinder.
peroxide, an oxidizer, pyrophoric, unstable or
water-reactive. Pixel
The abbreviation for picture element. It is the
pi () smallest unit (cell, dot, square) on a color moni-
The ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diame- tor display screen grid that can be displayed,
ter. The value, rounded to four decimal places, is stored or addressed. An image is typically com-
equal to 3.1416. posed of a rectangular array of pixels.
Pica PPI
A unit of type measure equivalent to 1/6". One See Pixels per Inch.
pica equals 12 points.
Planography
Picket Fence Orientation See Lithography.
The positioning the UPC symbol, so that the bars
in the artwork are printed running in the machine Plasticizers
direction. See also Ladder Orientation. Materials, usually liquid but sometimes solid, that
impart flexibility to an ink or lacquer.
Pick Resistance
Plastisol
The ability of the paper’s surface, i.e., the coating,
film or fibers, to resist lifting from the surface Particle suspension of in an organic liquid, similar
when struck during printing. to an organosol, but containing no solvents.
Point Polymerization
A unit of type measurement, equivalent to A chemical reaction in which the molecules of a
0.0139". There are 12 points to a pica and 72 monomer are linked together to form large mole-
points to the inch. cules whose weight is a multiple of that of the
original substance.
Point
A unit of measure to specify paperboard thickness, Polypropylene PP
equivalent to mils or 0.001"; i.e., 20 pt equals 0.20". A class of plastics which includes a wide variety
of packaging, such as yogurt containers, sham-
Point Source poo bottles, margarine tubs, cereal box liners,
A stationary location or fixed facility (such as an rope and strapping, combs and battery cases.
industry or municipality) that discharges pollu-
tants into the air or water surface through pipes, Polystyrene
ditches, lagoons, wells or stacks. A class of plastics which includes Styrofoam®
coffee cups, food trays and “clamshell” packag-
Points ing, as well as some yogurt tubs, clear carry-out KEY:
Meaurement of caliper; 0.001". containers and plastic cutlery. Foam applications
are sometimes called Expanded Polystyrene Barcode
Pollution (EPS). Some recycling of polystyrene is taking
Any substance in water, soil or air that degrades Design
place, but is limited by its low weight-to-volume
the natural quality of the environment, offends the ratio and value as a commodity. Environment
senses of sight, taste or smell or causes a health
hazard. Polyvinylidene Chloride PVDC General
A film that has excellent water, oxygen and flavor Ink
Pollution Prevention P2 barriers. In emulsion form, it can be used as a
Actively identifying equipment, processes and barrier coating. Mounting/ Proofing
activities that generate excessive wastes or use
toxic chemicals, and then making substitutions, Pop Test Plates
alterations or product improvements. The slang term for the bursting test, originating Prepress
from the popping sound when the paper bursts.
Pollution Prevention Act PPA See also Mullen Tester. Press
A law enacted in 1990 which establishes a U.S.
national policy that pollution should be prevented Population Process Color
or reduced at the source whenever feasible. In statistics, the total of all possible observations Quality
Pollution that cannot be prevented should be of the same kind from which the statistical sam-
recycled in an environmentally safe manner. ple is drawn. Substrate
GLOSSARY 85
Porosity An insoluble substance that forms in a solution.
A property of paper that allows the permeation of Premakeready
air, an important factor in ink penetration. Varying the surface height of printing plates
Portable Document Format PDF before going to press in order to achieve better
A file format invented by Adobe Systems as a solu- printability.
tion to transporting digital files cross-platform. Preseparated Art
PDFs are independent of the original application Artwork in which the basic layout, register marks
software, hardware, and operating system used to and major color is prepared on illustration board
create those documents, capturing all the elements and each additional color plate is drawn on a sep-
of a printed document as an electronic image arate sheet or film overlay.
which can then be forwarded, viewed, navigated
and printed. PDFs are also device-independent, Press Characterization
resolution independent and page independent. The procedure to quantify and document the
Manipulation and page routing can occur, which printing process and use the data to adjust
characterize the editable component of the PDF file. upstream systems and provide data to monitor
Files in this format are based on the same imaging the printing process for consistency.
model as PostScript, but are optimized and com-
pressed for transport and delivery (portability). Press Direction
The direction of paper parallel to its forward
POS movement on the press. The direction at right
Point of Sale. angles to this is called the cross press direction.
Positive Press Proofs
A photographic image on paper, film or glass Printed sections of substrate material made on a
which exactly corresponds to the original subject press to allow for approval or final corrections
in all details. before the production printing run is made.
PostScript Pretreatment
A computer language created by Adobe® Systems, Methods used by industry and other non-house-
Inc., which allows a programmer to create com- hold sources of waste water to remove, reduce or
plex pages using a series of commands. Text and alter the pollutants in a waste water before dis-
graphics can be controlled with mathematical pre- charge to a POTW.
cision and image output to laser printers and high-
resolution imagesetters. Preucil
See Ink Trap Percent.
Potential to Emit PTE
The maximum capacity of an air contamination Prevention of Significant Deterioration PSD
source to emit any air contaminant under its USEPA program in which state and/or federal per-
physical and operational design, operating every mits are required to restrict emissions from new
hour of the year. or modified sources in places where air quality
already meets or exceeds primary and secondary
POTW air quality standards.
See Publicly Owned Treatment Works.
Primary Colors
Powdering Those from which all other colors may be derived,
See Chalking. but which cannot be produced from each other.
The additive primaries (light) are blue, green and
PP red. The subtractive primaries (colorant) are cyan,
See Polypropylene. magenta and yellow.
PPA Primary Standards
See Pollution Prevention Act. To set limits to protect public health, including the
ppb health of people sensitive to air pollution, such as
Parts per billion. young children, the elderly and those with asthma.
ppm Printability
Parts per million. The collective term used to describe the substrate
properties required for acceptable print-image
PPO quality.
See Pollution Prevention Officer.
Print Contrast
Preflight A ratio of the difference between the printed solid
A process of determining the completeness and area density and a printed shadow tint area (tradi-
correctness of an electronic design file prior to tionally 75% as measured on the platemaking file
commencement of production. or film negative for offset lithography; 70% for
flexography) to the density of the solid, expressed
Precipitate as a percentage. This indicates the printing sys-
GLOSSARY 87
PTE
See Potential to Emit and Permanent Total
Enclosure.
Q
Quality
Publicly Owned Treatment Works POTW Those characteristics of a product that allow
A municipal or public service district sewage manufacture at a given cost-price relationship;
treatment system. uniformity to meet parameters of customer speci-
fications; and caliber of competitive performance.
Pulldown Ink
See Drawdown. Quality Control
The systematic planning, measurement and con-
PVDC trol of the combination of personnel, materials
See Polyvinylidene Chloride. and machines with the objective of producing a
product which will satisfy the quality and prof-
Pyroxylin itability of the enterprise.
The name given to the more soluble types of cel-
lulose nitrate and confined roughly to those con- Quiet Zone
taining less than 12.4% nitrogen. Also called Print-free zones or areas in a bar code that are
nitrocellulose. used to separate the bars and spaces from any
surrounding graphics or text; used to help the
scanner locate the symbol.
GLOSSARY 89
Reflective Art Release
Art which must be photographed by the light Any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting,
reflected from its surface. emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leach-
ing, dumping or disposing into the environment of
Reflective Copy a hazardous or toxic chemical or extremely haz-
An opaque original that is photographed with ardous substance.
reflected light.
Releases to Air
Reflective Process Camera (Point and Fugitive Air Emissions)
A camera that is capable of reproducing an origi- Includes all air emissions from industry activity.
nal image that has been prepared on an opaque Point emissions occur through confined
substrate. airstreams as found in stacks, ducts or pipes.
Refractive Index Fugitive emissions include losses from equipment
The relative measure of the speed of light in a leaks or evaporative losses from impoundments,
medium (air’s refractive index is equal to one). spills or leaks.
The change in refractive index from one matrial to Releases to Land
another causes light to change direction at the Includes disposal of toxic chemicals in waste to
material interface. This property enables a glass on-site landfills, land treatment or incorporation
prism (refractive index of about 1.5) to separate into soil, surface impoundments, spills, leaks or
white light into its constituent colors. waste piles. These activities must occur within the
Refractory Ceramic Fibers RCF facility’s boundaries.
Manmade fibers produced from melting and Releases to Water (Surface Water Discharges)
blowing or spinning of kaolin clay or alumina and Encompasses any releases going directly into
silica. They are used primarily for high tempera- streams, rivers, lakes, oceans or other bodies of
ture industrial insulation applications, most fre- water. Any estimates for stormwater runoff and
quently as lining in high temperature furnaces, non-point losses must also be included.
heaters and kilns.
Remedial Action
Regenerated Cellulose The actual construction or clean-up phase of a
The basic ingredient used in the manufacture of Superfund site cleanup.
cellophane.
Rendering
Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer RTO Producing or the finished production of a design
An air pollution control device that destroys drawing, painting, etc. by hand using any of vari-
organics by thermal oxidation. Heat from the oxi- ous tools, i.e., pencils, pens, knives, brushes, air
dation process is captured and reused to heat the brushes, etc.
influent vapor stream.
Repeat
Register The printing length (circumference of the printing
In printing, the alignment of two or more images surface) of a plate cylinder, determined by one
when printed sequentially on top of each other. revolution of the plate cylinder gear. The pitch cir-
Regular Slotted Container cle circumference of the plate cylinder gear.
A container usually made from a single piece of Reportable Quantity RQ
corrugated board and shipped flat. All flaps are Amount of a hazardous or extremely hazardous
the same length and the outer flaps meet at the substance that, if released into the environment,
center of the box. RSC’s are used more than any must be reported under EPCRA.
other style because they are more economical to
manufacture and use. Resins
Generic name for photopolymers.
Regulatory Agency
Federal, state/provincial or local agencies respon- Resins
sible for implementing, monitoring and enforcing Natural or synthetic complex organic substances
regulations. with no sharp melting point which, in a solvent
solution, form the binder portion of flexo inks.
Related Colors
Neighboring colors in the spectrum. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act RCRA
Environmental law in the U.S aimed at controlling
Relative Density the generation, treating, storage, transportation
The density measurement where the densitometer and disposal of hazardous wastes.
is calibrated on a clear film substrate for trans-
mission and on an unprinted substrate for reflec- Release Agents
tion. See also absolute density. Solutions and sprays applied to the back of pho-
topolymer and rubber plates to facilitate their
Relative Humidity removal from the stickyback. These should only
The ratio of actual humidity to the maximum be used with great care by experience personnel.
humidity which air can retain without precipitation
at a given temperature and pressure. See also Release Liner
Absolute Humidity. In printing labels, the part of the substrate which
GLOSSARY 91
RRED Run Chart
See Right-Reading, Emulsion-Side Down A chart showing successive values of a measured
variable. The horizontal axis represents succes-
RREU sive measurements, usually but not always at
See Right-Reading, Emulsion-Side Up equal time intervals.The vertical axis represents
RSC the value of the measurement.
See Regular Slotted Container. Run Target
RTO The minimal set of graphic elements placed, if
See Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer. possible, in the live image area, used to monitor
the production run process. It is a specific target
Rub Test as specified by FIRST, available from the FTA. See
See Abrasion Test. also Control Target.
Rubber Running Register
An elastomer material capable of recovering from That control on a flexographic press which accu-
large deformations quickly and forcibly. rately positions the printing of each color station
in the direction of the web travel. Also called cir-
Rubylith cumferential register and longitudinal register.
A hand-cut , red or orange, masking film.
Runout
See Total Indicated Runout.
GLOSSARY 93
Semichemical Medium Shadows
A corrugated medium made from a furnish which The darkest area of a reproduction.
is 75% or more of virgin wood pulp produced by
a semichemical process. Sharpen
1.To decrease in color strength, as when halftone
SEP dots are made smaller; opposite of dot gain; 2. To
See Supplemental Environmental Project. bring out the detail in an image by enhancing the
edges.
Separations
A set of three or four continuous tone or halftone Shear
photographic films made photographically or The relative movement of adjacent layers in a liq-
electronically from an original subject. Each film uid or plastic during flow.
represents one of the printer colors abstracted
and are used to make printing plates in color Shear Thickening
process printing. See Dilatent.
Serif Shear Thinning
The short crossline or spiral-like terminals at the See Thixotropic.
ends of the stroke of a Roman-style type face.
Sheeter
Serigraph 1. A unit on press that converts forms into small-
A color print made by the silk screen process – er sheets; 2. A specific web press delivery unit
especially when printed by the artist. that cuts the printed web into individual sheets;
3. A separate device used in screen printing to
Serious cut cloth or other substrates into sheets.
A category of nonattainment where sources of
NOx or VOCs of 50 tons per year or more are Shelf Life
affected. The length of time that a container, or a material
in a container, will remain in an acceptable condi-
Set tion under specified conditions of storage.
The strain remaining after complete release of a
load, producing the deformation in rubber. Shelf-talkers
Small signs affixed to the display shelf edge.
Set Off
An unintended transfer of an ink or a coating Shell Cup
from the surface of one sheet to the back of A device to measure viscosity. See also Efflux Cup.
another sheet.
Shellac
Setup An alcohol-soluble, natural resin widely used in
The process or processes that take place when flexo inks.
the printer changes from one production order to
the next. Often includes the changing of ink, Shore A
printing plates, metering system, and substrate, The A-type gauge, on a scale from zero (softest)
as well as any in-line finishing equipment. to 100 (hardest), used to measure durometer of
photopolymer plates. Shore D is used for harder
Severe products.
A category of non-attainment where sources of
NOx or VOCs of 25 tons per year or more are Shore D
affected. The D-type gauge, on a scale from zero (softest)
to 100 (hardest), used to measure durometer of
Sewer photopolymer plates. Shore A is used for soft,
A channel or conduit that carries waste and storm resilient compounds.
waters to a treatment plant for receiving water.
Short-term Exposure Limit STEL
Sewer Use Ordinance SUO The concentration to which workers can be
The local control authority document that sets exposed continously for a short period of time
forth the conditions under which domestic and without suffering from irritation, chronic or irre-
nondomestic users may discharge to a POTW. versible tissue damage or narcosis of sufficient
SG degree, to increase the likelihood of accidental
See Specific Gravity. injury, impair self-rescue or materially reduce
work efficiency.
Shade
1. A color produced by adding black to a pigment Show-through
or dye, therefore darkening it; opposite of tint; The undesirable condition where the print on the
2. In ink manufacture, a commonly used syn- reverse side of a sheet can be seen through the
onym for hue. sheet under normal lighting conditions.
Sigma Slit
See Standard Deviation. To cut rolls of stock to specified widths. Either
rotary or stationary knives or blades are used with
Significant Industrial User SIU mechanical unwinding and rewinding devices.
A nondomestic indirect discharger to a POTW,
which is either a CIU, who discharges more than Slitter
25,000 gallons per day, contributes more than A machine to cut roll stock in the long direction.
5% of the POTW’s hydropic or organic load, or Three types are widely used: razor blade slitter,
has the potential to adversely affect the POTW. shear slitter and score cutter.
GLOSSARY 95
Small Quantity Generator SQG Souring
Persons or facilities that produce 220 to 2,200 See Ink Souring.
pounds per month of hazardous waste.
SOx
Smog See Sulfur Dioxide.
A mixture of pollutants, principally ground-level
ozone, produced by chemical reactions in the air SPC
involving smog-forming chemicals exposed to See Statistical Process Control.
sunlight. Smog formers include VOCs and NOx. Specific Gravity SG
SNC The ratio of the weight of a body to the weight of
See Significant Noncompliance. an equal volume of water at the same specified
temperature.
Soap Resistance
The relative ability of an ink to withstand the Specifications for Web Offset Publications
action of detergent agents in soap, to be distin- A set of production specifications developed for
guished from alkali resistance. those involved in heatset, web-offset litho maga-
zine publication printing, available from SWOP
Softening Point Incorporated.
The temperature at which plastic material will
start to deform without an externally applied load. Spectral Curve
A graphic plot indicating the amount of light ener-
Softwood gy reflected, emitted or transmitted by an object
Wood from coniferous trees. for each wavelength in the visible spectrum.
Solid Bleached Sulfate SBS Spectral Data
Paperboard made from bleached wood pulp, usu- The data used to plot the spectral curve.
ally clay-coated, on one or both sides, to improve
printability. Spectral Response
In an instrument such as densitometer, it is the
Solid Waste measure of its signal during exposure to radiation
As defined under RCRA, any solid, semi-solid, liq- of a constant power level and varying wavelength.
uid or contained gaseous materials discarded See also Densitometer Response.
from industrial, commercial, mining or agricultur-
al operations and from community activities. Spectrophotometer
A photoelectric device for measuring the relative
Solid Waste Management System intensity of wavelengths in the visible spectrum.
Any disposal or resource recovery system; any Usually the intensity is measured in 10 or 20 nm
system, program or facility for resource conserva- increments from 380 to 740 nm.
tion; any facility for the treatment of solid waste.
Spectrophotometric Curve
Solids Content See Spectral Curve.
The percentage of nonvolatile matter of which a
compound or mixture is composed, based on Spectrum
weight of the entire mixture. The series of color bands diffracted and arranged
in the order of their respective wavelengths by
Solvent passing white light through a diffracting medium,
A substance that is liquid at standard conditions shading continuously from red (the longest wave-
and is used to dissolve or dilute another sub- length visible) to violet (the shortest wavelength
stance. This term includes, but is not limited to, visible).
organic materials used as dissolvers, viscosity
reducers, degreasers or cleaning agents. Water is Specular Highlight
considered the universal solvent. A small, clear area in a tone field indicative of
high-gloss reflection or sparkle.
Solvent Coating
A tthin layer or covering, applied in liquid form, Spent Material
which dries by evaporation. Any material that has been used and, as a result of
contamination, can no longer serve the purpose for
Source Reduction which it was produced without first processing it.
The design, manufacture, purchase or use of
materials (i.e., products and packaging) to reduce Splashing
the amount or toxicity of garbage generated. When ink is thrown off the press by the inking
rollers.
Source Separation
Separating waste materials such as paper, metal Splice
and glass by type at the point of discard so that The joining of the ends of rolled material to form
they can be recycled. a continuous web.
GLOSSARY 97
elongation of a design in an elastomeric relief- cooked by this process.
printing plate when mounted around a cylinder.
SUO
Stretch/Shrink Factors See Sewer Use Ordinance.
Calculations of dimensional change, which occur
in rubber-plate molding and in all plate mounting, Supercalendared Finish
when a flat plate is applied to the curve of the A finish obtained by passing paper between the
plate cylinder. rolls of a supercalendar under pressure.
Supercalendars used for uncoated paper are usu-
Striations ally composed of alternating chilled, cast iron and
A printing defect characterized by light and dark paper rolls. For coated paper, the rolls are usually
streaks parallel to the direction through the press. chilled cast iron and cotton. Papers supercalen-
dared to a very high gloss are sometimes referred
Strike-Through to as “plate finished”.
The penetration of ink through the substrate visi-
ble from the reverse side. Superfund
The program operated under the legislative
Stringiness authority of CERCLA and SARA that funds and
The property of an ink to draw into filaments or carries out USEPA solid waste emergency and
threads. long-term removal and remedial activities. These
Stripping activities include establishing the National
Priorities List, investigating sites for inclusion on
Job assembly, where all the elements for the job
the list, determining their priority and conducting
are brought together to produce the final output
and/or supervising the cleanup and other remedi-
files. The term is derived from the traditional
al actions.
process, where separate film negatives were
manually assembled onto a carrier sheet. Supplemental Environmental Project SEP
A voluntary environmental project performed in
Stylus
lieu of monetary penalty for noncompliance that
A hard, pointed pen-shaped instrument used in will benefit the industry and community at large.
marking, writing, incising, tracing, etc.
Surface Energy
Sublimable Dyes
A force existing at various solid, liquid and gas
Dyes that exhibit sublimation. interfaces which tends to bring the contained vol-
Sublimation ume into a form having the least superficial area.
The process in chemistry whereby a solid is Surface energy units are expressed in dynes/cm.
volatilized by heat and then converted back into a Surface Impoundment
solid without passing through a liquid phase. Double-lined, natural or fabricated, depressions
Substance or diked areas that can be used to treat, store or
The weight in pounds of a ream (either 480 or dispose of hazardous waste. Surface impound-
500 sheets) of paper cut to a given size. ments may be any shape and any size and are
sometimes referred to as pits, ponds, lagoons
Substrate and basins.
The material which is printed upon, i.e., film,
paper, paperboard. Surface Print
Conventional flexo printing resulting with a right-
Subtractive Primaries reading image on the top surface of the web. See
The colors yellow, magenta, cyan. These colors are reverse print.
the result of substracting one of the additive pri-
maries (red, green, blue) from white light. Yellow Surface Tension
subtracts blue, magenta subtracts green, cyan See Surface Energy.
subtracts red. Combining all three in a subtractive Swatch
process, such as ink on paper, yields black. A small piece of material cut for a sample.
Sulfate SWOP
See Sulphate. See Specifications for Web Offset Publications.
Sulfite SWPPP
See Sulphite. See Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan.
Sulfur Dioxide SO2 Synthetic Minor
A criteria air pollutant that is a gas produced from Source with limited potential to emit below major
burning coal. source thresholds by having federally enforceable
Sulphate (Sulfate) limitations that are approved by a regulatory
agency.
An alkaline process of cooking pulp. It is often
referred to as Kraft process; pulp cooked by this
process.
Sulphite (Sulfite)
An acid process of cooking pulp. Also the pulp
GLOSSARY 99
Threshold Level TLV
Time-weighted average pollutant concentration See Threshold Limit Value.
values, exposure beyond which is likely to
adversely affect human health. Tonal Range
See Dynamic Range.
Threshold Limit Value TLV
As defined by the American Conference of Tone
Governmental Industrial Hygienists, it refers to 1. A color quality or value; 2. A tint or shade of
the recommended maximum airborne concentra- color; 3. A predominant hue in a nearly neutral
tions of substances under which it is believed that value.
nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed to Tone Reproduction
without experiencing adverse health effects. The relative density of every reproduced tone to
Threshold Planning Quantity the corresponding original density.
The amount of a listed EHS present at a facility Toner
that triggers Section 302, 311 and 312 reporting A dispersion of highly concentrated pigment or
requirements. dye, used to manufacture, strengthen or modify
Throwing the color of an ink.
See Flying. Tone Value
Thumbnail See Dot Area.
A rough, pencil drawing of a concept for a fin- Total Enclosed Treatment Facility
ished piece of artwork, to convey the positioning A facility for the treatment of hazardous waste
of relevant elements. that is directly connected to an industrial produc-
Tier I Form tion process that is constructed and operated to
prevent the release of hazardous waste into the
A chemical inventory form established under
environment during treatment. An example is a
Section 312 that groups chemicals into five haz-
pipe in which waste is neutralized.
ardous categories.
Total Indicated Runout TIR
Tier II Form
A measure of the out-of-trueness of a cylindrical
A chemical inventory form established under
surface.
Section 312 that provides specific chemical infor-
mation and is preferred by most states. Total Suspended Solids TSS
TIFF A measure of the turbidity of water.
See Tagged Image File Format. Toxic
Capable of causing severe illness, poisoning, birth
Time Weighted Average
defects, disease or death when ingested, inhaled
The airborne concentration of a material to which
or absorbed by a living organism.
a person is exposed, averaged over the total
exposure time (generally, the total workday). Toxic Release Inventory TRI
A database of annual toxics released from certain
Tinctorial Strength
manufacturers compiled from EPCRA Section
See Color Strength.
313 reports.
Tint
Toxic Release Inventory Facilities
A means of making a given color appear lighter in
Manufacturing facilities that have 10 or more full-
value by printing it in a dot or line pattern of less
time employees and are above established chemi-
than 100% coverage in any given area. cal throughput thresholds. Facilities must submit
Tint estimates for all chemicals that are on the
Colors of a lighter value obtained by adding white USEPA’s defined list and are above throughput
to the basic color; opposite of shade. thresholds.
GLOSSARY 101
TSS Two-roll System
See Total Suspended Solids. The inking system commonly employed in flexo-
graphic presses, consisting of a fountain roll run-
TTE ning in an ink pan and contacting the engraved
See Temporary Total Enclosure. anilox roll; the two as a unit, meter the ink being
transferred to the printing plates.
Tunnel
The compartment through which the web passes Type
for final drying after printing. See Typeface.
General
Ink
Mounting/ Proofing
Plates
Prepress
Press
Process Color
Quality
Substrate
GLOSSARY 103
V Vertical Process Camera
A large, vertical camera used for making enlarge-
ments or reductions on photographic film or
Vacuum Back
The top or back of a process camera with a vacu- paper.
um system used to hold the photographic paper Vignette
or film in place during exposure. A halftone image in which the background gradu-
Vacuum Forming ally fades away until it blends into the unprinted
The process of heating a plastic until it is soft, substrate or a solid print. Also called “fade”. The
placing it over a mold and then creating the form term is occasionally used to indicate a conven-
by means of a vacuum. tional halftone.
Variance Voids
Government permission for a delay or exemption The undesirable absence of ink or presence of dirt
in the application of a given law, ordinance or within a bar of a bar code symbol.
regulation. Volatile
Varnish Easily passing from a liquid into a gaseous state.
The binder component of an ink. Also resin. Subject to rapid evaporation. Having a high
vapor-pressure at room temperature.
Vector
Volcanoes
A line between two points. Vectors are created
and displayed on the screen with drawing soft- See Pock Marks.
ware. Vector drawings can be processed as a Volatile Corrosion Inhibitor
series of points and connections that are compact A chemical which slowly gives off a vapor that
for a computer to store and manipulate. reduces or inhibits corrosion. It is uusually
Vector Display applied to paper.
A cathode-ray tube (CRT) that moves the electron Volatile Organic Compound VOC
beam randomly to trace figures on the color Any organic compound that evaporates readily
monitor screen, as compared with raster display. into the atmosphere. Examples include isopropyl
Vehicles alcohol and toluene.
The liquid components of a printing ink. Vulcanization
Vellum A curing process to change the physical proper-
High quality translucent paper used for tracing. ties of a rubber.
GLOSSARY 105
heat. It is the method used by laser printing sys- Yield Strength
tems to create an image onto document media. The value at which permanent deformation takes
Also called electrophotography. place in an elastic material under stress.
YMC
Yellow Yellow, Magenta, Cyan.
See Process Yellow.
Yule-Neilsen (Y-N) Factor
Yield Used to calculate the physical dot area or actual
The amount of substrate that can be covered with dot size, usually for analytical purposes. It elimi-
a given volume of liquid ink. nates the optical dot gain with an “n” factor.
Yield
The number of square inches of film per pound
or product per mil. Zahn Cup
A device for measuring viscosity. See Efflux Cup.
ANSI CPSC
See American National Standards Institute. See Consumer Products Safety Commission.
KEY:
Association of Independent DOT
See United States Department of Transportation. Barcode
Corrugated Converters AICC
An international trade association whose purpose Design
Environment Canada EC
is to protect and represent the business interests
Federal environmental regulatory agency in Environment
of the independent sector of the corrugated pack-
Canada.
aging industry. General
ASTM EPA
Ink
See American Society for Testing and Materials. See United States Environmental Protection
Agency. Mounting/ Proofing
Canadian Council of Ministers
of the Environment CCME FBA Plates
Works to promote cooperation on and coordina- See Fibre Box Association. Prepress
tion of interjurisdictional issues such as waste FDA Press
management, air pollution and toxic chemicals. See United States Food and Drug Administration.
Its members propose nationally consistent envi- Process Color
ronmental standards and objectives so as to Fibre Box Association FBA
achieve a high level of environmental quality A nonprofit organization representing and serving Quality
across Canada. the corrugated industry. Substrate
ORGANIZATIONS 107
Flexographic Technical Association FTA ies from some 100 countries. Their mission is to
A technical society incorporated in 1958, whose promote the development of standardization and
membership is composed of flexographic printers related activities in the world, with a view toward
and companies furnishing equipment and supplies facilitating the international exchange of goods
to flexographic printers. FTA promotes, develops and services, and to developing cooperation in
and maintains the advancement of flexography; the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technologi-
works cooperatively with the industry; assists with cal and economic activity.
the development and maintenance of quality stan- International Prepress Association IPA
dards; works to improve flexography by fostering
A trade association consisting of over 300 of the
research, technical development and training; pro-
world's leading graphic communications compa-
vides a forum for information and discussion, and
acts in the best interest of the flexographic industry. nies and 60 graphic arts suppliers. Members take
advantage of IPA resources to make well-informed
FlexSys™ decisions for a productive and profitable future.
The FlexSys™ training corporation is a “for profit”
business subsidiary of Foundation of FTA. IPA
See International Prepress Association.
Foundation of Flexographic
Technical Association FFTA National Institute for Occupational
Incorporated in 1974, the FFTA conducts educa- Safety and Health NIOSH
tional meetings; publishes educational materials; A federal agency that tests and certifies respirato-
participates in or initiates research, and provides ry protective devices and air-sampling detector
scholarships to students. tubes, recommends occupational exposure limits
for various substances and assists in occupation-
GAA al safety and health investigations and research.
See Gravure Association of America.
National Institute of Standards and Technology
GATF Established by Congress to assist industry in the
See Graphic Arts Technical Foundation. development of technology needed to improve
Glass Packaging Institute GPI product quality, to modernize manufacturing
GPI serves as the voice for the glass container process, to ensure product reliability and to facili-
industry in Washington, D.C. and across the tate rapid commercialization of products based on
country. It serves its member companies through scientific discovery.
legislative, public relations, promotional and tech- National Response Center
nical activities. The federal operations center that receives notifi-
GPI cation of all releases of oil and hazardous sub-
See Glass Packaging Institute. stances into the environment. The phone number
is 1-800-424-8802.
Graphic Arts Technical Foundation GATF
A nonprofit technical and education organization NESCAUM
serving the graphic communications industries. See Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use
GATF is consolidated with PIA. Management.
Gravure Association of America GAA NIOSH
An association which promotes the use of gravure See National Institute for Occupational Safety and
printing for publication, package and product Health.
printing.
NIST
IARC See National Institute of Standards and
See International Agency for Research on Cancer. Technology.
International Agency for Northeast States for Coordinated
Research on Cancer IARC Air Use Management
Part of the World Health Organization, IARC’s mis- An interstate association of air quality control
sion is to coordinate and conduct research on the divisions in the northeast United States.
causes of human cancer, the methods of carcino-
gens and to develop scientific strategies for can- Occupational Safety and
cer control. Health Administration OSHA
US Department of Labor agency that sets health
International Color Consortium ICC and safety regulations.
The International Color Consortium was estab-
lished in 1993 by eight industry vendors for the OSHA
purpose of creating, promoting and encouraging See Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
the standardization and evolution of an open, ven-
dor-neutral, cross-platform color management PIA
system architecture and components. See Printing Industries of America.
KEY:
Barcode
Design
Environment
General
Ink
Mounting/ Proofing
Plates
Prepress
Press
Process Color
Quality
Substrate
ORGANIZATIONS 109
CHAPTER 3
Index
Index for Volumes 1 thru 6
A magnification factor, III: 64
additive color, II: 114 orientation, II: 43, 86; III: 66, 67
resolution, III: 68, 69
air chucks, VI: 60-61 size, III: 64-65
airflow substrate, III: 66, 70
reduction of, III: 9 “X” dimension, III: 60, 68-69
error checking, III: 62
air shafts, VI: 58-61 function characters, III: 58
human-readable text, III: 61
analog proofs
quality of,
laminate, II: 96
ANSI symbol grade, III: 70-71
overlay, II: 96
ANSI/UCC5, III: 61, 63, 70-71, 73
single-color, II: 96
ANSI/UCC6, III: 58, 68
aniline, I: 13-15 bar-width reduction, III: 64-65
film masters, III: 67-68
anilox roll, I: 3, 14, 17, 25, 26, 27, 28-29, 30, press characterization, III: 64
32; II: 38; IV: 73-80; VI: 21, 93, 100, 102, 109- Printability Gauge, III: 64-65
110, 114, 118-119, 123-124, 126, 127, 132, quiet zones, III: 61
135, 149, 224, 225, 226, 230 scan profile grade, III: 71-72
banded, IV: 79 scan reflectance profile, III: 71, 72
cell structure, I: 23; IV: 5, 43-74, 78 types of,
ceramic-coated, I: 16, 29; IV: 74 Code 128, III: 58, 63
corrugated press, VI: 221 Code 3-of-9 (Code 39), III: 57, 58, 63
laser engraving, IV: 74 EAN-8, III: 61
maintenance, IV: 79-80 EAN-13, III: 61
mechanical engraving, IV: 73 EAN/UPC, III: 56-57, 60, 61, 63, 64,
narrow-web press, VI: 177, 178, 181, 184 68-69
selection, I: 28; IV: 77-79 Interleaved 2-of-5. See ITF.
volumetric carrying capacity, IV: 75 ITF, III: 57-58, 61, 62, 63, 66, 68, 72
wide-web press, VI: 194-197, 203, 204, 205
SCC-14, III: 59
ANSI, III: 64, 71, 72, 73, 119 UPC-A, III: 61
UCC/EAN, III: 56, 61, 63
anvil rolls, VI: 25 UCC/EAN-14, III: 59
UCC/EAN-128, III: 58-59, 68
azeotropes, III: 7
verification, III: 73
B printing, III: 79
bag-folds, IV: 83
bare cylinder, VI: 137
bar code
application identifiers, III: 59, 62, 63 bearers, IV: 13, 14-15, 17, 18, 19, 55, 56, 57
Calibrated Conformance Standard Test bearings
Card for EAN/ UPC Symbol Verifiers, needle, VI: 143
III: 73 plain-sleeve, VI: 141-142
data identifiers, III: 59 rolling, VI: 142-143, 148
design considerations
aspect ratios, III: 64 best available control technology, III: 12
bar-width ratio (BWR), II: 43: III: 60-61,
68, 74 bitmap image
color, II: 43; III: 65-66, 74 converting, II: 35
digital bar code, III: 68-69 defined, II: 35
guard bars, III: 61 resolution of, II: 35, 68
location, III: 66, 67 rotating before importing, II: 37
INDEX 113
blends, II: 31-32, 45-46, 47, 77, 99 spectra, II: 113
systems for managing, II: 127-129
brand identification, II: 11
color management, II: 56, 128; IV: 50-51
C
catalysts, III: 8-9 color matching system, II: 132
life span, III: 9
color measurement, IV: 52-53
catalytic oxidation, III: 8-9 colorimeter, IV: 56
color matching, II: 137; IV: 56-59
central impression press, I: 13, 14, 16, 23; II: L*a*b, IV: 53-55
28, 29; IV: 67, 101; VI: 7-10 L*C*h°, IV: 53-55
central tendency, III: 121 spectrophotometer, IV: 56
chambered doctor blade, IV: 72-73, 74 color model, see CMY, RGB, process color
(CMYK)
chill drums, VI: 96-97
color proofs, II: 49, 127
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), III: 15
color rendering index, II: 100, 118
chroma, II: 120, 122; IV: 22, 53, 54, 65
color separations
CIE, II: 118, 119 flexo vs. offset, II: 69
CIE’94, II: 121, 145 color space, II: 119-121
CI press drives, VI: 139-140 color theory, IV: 51
digital-servo, VI: 140 color matching theory, IV: 56-57
direct, VI: 139 color tolerancing, IV: 54-55
line-shaft, VI: 140 metamerism, IV: 52
quadrant, VI: 140
combination screening, II: 40
Clean Air Act, I: 16; III: 5-15
amendments of 1990, III: 5 composite proof, IV: 82
National Ambient Air Quality Standards Comprehensive Environmental
(NAAQS), III: 5, 6 Response, Compensation and Liability
New Source Review, III: 11-13 Act, III: 23-24
Title V Permitting Program, III: 10-11 reporting chemicals, III: 23
reporting requirements, III: 24
cleanup procedures Superfund, III: 23
corrugated press, VI: 217-221 toxic release inventory, III: 24
narrow-web press, VI: 198-200
wide-web press, VI: 203-206 comprehensive roughs, II: 22
INDEX 115
dot gain, II: 36, 39, 70, 87, 88, 100, 127, 133- flexo folder-gluer, VI: 102, 110, 112-113, 116-
135, 142 117, 118, 120, 121, 134-139
dot shape, II: 90, 91, 99, 102 flexography
advantages, I: 4
down-folder, VI: 100, 106 applications, I: 4-5
dryers, I: 16, 18, 25; VI: 80-82 definition, I: 3
air flow, VI: 80 early development, I: 13-14
air temperature, VI: 81 variations, I: 33
air velocity, VI: 81 flexo offset, I: 12
air volume, VI: 81
interstation dryers, VI: 80-81 flexo rolls
maintenance, VI: 150 balancing, VI: 128, 129
main tunnel dryer, VI: 80-81 deflection, VI: 131
time, VI: 81 forces on bearings, VI: 129-130
modulus of elasticity, VI: 131-132
dry offset, see letterset total indicated runout (TIR), VI: 131
DTP, see direct-to-plate folding-carton press, VI: 10
dual-gear systems, VI: 139 fonts, II: 27, 29-30, 58, 60, 61, 78
durometer, IV: 24-25, 32, 46 Postcript, II: 29
dual, IV: 25, 37 TrueType, II: 29
measuring, IV: 46-47 former-guide marks, IV: 83
dyes, I: 20; IV: 5, 23, 27, 87 fountain roll, I: 3, 25, 26-27, 30; IV: 13, 64, 68-
E 71
EB varnishing, VI: 95 freestanding off-line press, VI: 124
emergency equipment, VI: 171 G
emergency stops, VI: 171 gamut, color, see color gamut
INDEX 117
solvent-based, I: 20-21; IV: 5, 6, 36, 39, 40, laminating, VI: 92-95
42, 43, 148, 154, 157 solid adhesive laminating, VI: 94
UV, I: 21; IV: 41-42, 146, 149
water-based, I: 5, 16, 18, 20-21; IV: 5,6, 37- laser ablation, IV: 37-38, 43
39, 130, 154, 157
L*C*h°, II: 119, 120, 122, 125
ink station, VI: 105, 122, 173, 175, 178, 215,
letterpress, I: 6-7
220
letterset, I: 11
ink test
acid/alkalai resistance, IV: 17 lightness, II: 119, 120, 122; IV: 22, 53, 54, 61,
block resistance, IV: 14 65
boiling water resistance, IV: 17
coefficient of friction, IV: 19 light source
color measurement, IV: 18 A, II: 118
crinkle adhesion, IV: 14 D50, II: 118
fade resistance, IV: 19 D65, II: 118
gloss, IV: 19 standard, II: 118
heat resistance, IV: 15
line screen, see screen ruling
ice-water crinkle test, IV: 16
image detail, IV: 19 line shaft-driven press, VI: 120-121
lamination adhesion, IV: 14
moisture bleed, IV: 16 lithography, I: 7-8
moisture vapor transmission resistance,
IV: 16 lockout switch, VI: 171
odor, IV: 20 lockout/tagout, III: 33-34
oil resistance, IV: 17
opacity/contrast ratio, IV: 19 M
plasticizer bleed resistance, IV: 18 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award,
print density, IV: 18 III: 113-115, 119
rub resistance, IV: 15 criteria for, III: 114-115
scratch resistance, IV: 14
soap and detergent resistance, IV: 17 Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), III: 31,
substrate adhesion, IV: 13 42, 50
tone quality, IV: 19 matrix, IV: 13, 19, 20
transfer resistance, IV: 16 making the matrix, IV: 14-16
ink trap, II: 124, 125, 131, 133, 137, 141 mold, IV: 4, 10, 13
deep-relief, IV: 14, 16
in-line press, II: 29; IV: 67, 81; in-line press, shallow-relief, IV: 13, 16
VI: 10 molding (vulcanizer) press, IV: 12-13, 16,
14, 18, 19, 24, 47
ISO 9000 System, III: 108-112 temperature, IV: 15, 16, 17
benefits of, III: 110 vulcanizing, IV: 13, 15, 16, 26, 32, 39
implementation of, III: 110 molding the matrix, IV: 16-17
ISO registration, III: 110 troubleshooting, IV: 55
process control, III: 111
requirements, III: 109 maximum achievable control technology,
standard operating procedures, III: 110- III: 13
111
metal masters, IV: 10-12
J
job assembly, II: 65, 79, 80, 84-88 micro dots, II: 91; IV: 3, 2694
job jacket (job history sheet), VI: 178, 194 military standard (MIL-STD-105E), III: 98,
99
K
K factor, II: 87; IV: 51-52 moiré, II: 36, 90, 91, 99
L N
L*a*b*, II: 119-120, 125, 128, 129, 131, 133, narrow-web presses, I: 16, 21; II: 27, 28, 43;
137-138, 139, 141 VI: 12-33, 177-192
advantages, VI: 4
laminates, IV: 147-151 air shafts, VI: 59
INDEX 119
matte coated, IV: 136 demountable, VI: 11
supercalendared, IV: 136 wrapping, IV: 82
manufacture, IV: 125-128
properties plate distortion calculation, IV: 52
basis weight, IV: 129 plate distortion factor; see K factor
bulk, IV: 129
burst, IV: 130 plate drill, IV: 86, 93
caliper, IV: 130
curl, IV: 130 plate layout, IV: 71
density, IV: 130 corrugated postprint, IV: 73
dimensional stability, IV: 130 plate mounting, I: 18, 22-23; VI: 107, 127,
folding endurance, IV: 130 136, 138, 181, 228; IV: 48, 66, 68, 70-74, 91-
formation, IV: 130 92, 94-95, 97, 98, 100
grain direction, IV: 130
internal bond, IV: 131 plate mounting tools, IV: 69, 105-106
porosity, IV: 131
stiffness, IV: 131 platen die cutting, VI: 102, 103, 108, 112, 115
stretch, IV: 131 plate punch, IV: 88, 90
tear, IV: 131
tensile energy absorption, IV: 131 plates
tensile strength, IV: 131 bevelling, IV: 4, 47, 74
roll length, IV: 135, 150 capped, IV: 25, 32, 37
roll quality, IV: 135 cleaning, IV: 48, 73
storage/handling, IV: 135 direct-imaged, IV: 8
surface appearance distortion, I: 20, 22; II: 86-87; IV: 3, 6, 18,
brightness, IV: 131 51
coefficient of friction, IV: 132 dividing head, IV: 70,73
color, IV: 132 durometer, IV: 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, 24, 25,
gloss, IV: 132 30, 37, 46, 146-147
opacity, IV: 132 framing, IV: 75
smoothness, IV: 132 laser-engraved, IV: 8
uncoated, IV: 136 liquid photopolymer, IV: 6, 7, 25, 86
capping, IV: 32
paperboard, IV: 128-129, 130, 135, 136, 137- casting, IV: 30
138 equipment, IV: 30
paths exposure, IV: 30-32
simplifying in illustrations, II: 34 image-positioned plates, IV: 32-33
laser ablation, IV: 37-38, 43
PDF (portable document format), II: 79-80 light finishing, IV: 32
makeready, IV: 32
permanent-mesh coupling, VI: 108-109, 118 platemaking. IV: 6, 29, 30-32, 33
Personal Protection Equipment, III: 32-33 reclaim, IV: 31
washout, IV: 30, 32
photopolymer masters, IV: 6, 10, 12, 13, 14 molded-rubber, I: 15, 22; IV: 5, 6, 7, 10
compounds, IV: 19-21
pigments, I: 9, 14, 20; IV: 23-29 defects, IV: 12
fluorescent, IV: 27 determining plate thickness, IV: 18
inorganic, IV: 25-27 etching, IV: 11
metallic, IV: 27 gauge, IV: 20, 21, 23, 34, 37, 48
organic, IV: 25 grinding, IV: 16, 20
pearlescent, IV: 29 hand-engraved, IV: 5, 63
thermochromatic, IV: 29 inspection and finishing, IV: 20
pin register system, I: 15; IV: 85, 88, 91, 92 laser-engraved, IV: 8, 37
accuracy, IV: 88, 93 metal-backed, IV: 22
metal masters, IV: 10-12
plate cylinders, I: 3, 16, 21, 27, 29, 30-31, 32, molding, IV: 13, 14, 17-18, 19-20
33; IV: 20, 25, 41, 63, 64, 66-67, 68, 73, 96, photopolymer master, IV: 10, 14
102 plain-backed, IV: 22
cleaning, IV: 73 process plates, IV: 22
narrow-web press, VI: 13, 21-23 release agents/sheets, IV: 19
wide-web press, VI: 8, 10-12 shoulder formation, IV: 11
INDEX 121
auxiliary equipment, VI: 150 checklist for, III: 82
brakes and clutches, VI: 148 commitment to, III: 83
dryer, VI: 150 middle management, III: 83
electrical systems, VI: 149 operating personnel, III: 84
fountain rolls, VI: 149 top management, III: 83
hydraulic cylinders and lines, VI: 149 costs, III: 90-91
lubrication, VI: 146 definition of, III: 79-80
preventative maintenance, VI: 145 densitometry, III: 107
press optimization, II: 130 design checklist, III: 88
flexo process, III: 106-107
press proofs, II: 96, 138, 140 improvement strategies, III: 88
pressroom safety, VI: 175-176 instrument calibration, III: 87
emergency stops, VI: 171 measurement of, III: 86, 88, 95, 96, 106
lockout switch, VI: 171 100% inspection and sampling, III: 97
proper attire, VI: 169 benchmarking, III: 94
proper lifting, VI: 169 central tendency, III: 121
safety signage, VI: 170 arithmetic mean, III: 121
tag-out, VI: 173 median, III: 121
mode, III: 121
pressure-sensitive labels, IV: 149 control charts, III: 123
release liner, IV: 149-150 military standard (MIL-STD-105E), III:
prevention of significant deterioration 98, 99
(PSD), III: 11 run chart, III: 87
statistical inspection and sampling, III:
print card, VI: 113 97
statistical process control, III: 97, 100
printer/die cutter, VI: 102, 112 output measures, III: 86
printer-slotter, VI: 112 responsibility for, III: 80, 85-89
spectrophotometry, III: 107
printing diameter, VI: 136-137, 138, 139
UPC verifiers, III: 107
printing plates, VI: 100, 101, 102, 108, 114,
R
117, 118, 120, 122
Reasonably Available Control Technology
thickness of, VI: 123
(RACT), III: 6-10
process color
recuperative oxidizers, III: 8
defined, II: 111
gamut, II: 121 regenerative thermal systems, III: 8
printing, II: 39, 91, 111, 141
specifying, II: 76 registration, see also trapping, I: 16; II: 28-
working with, II: 18, 43, 74, 82, 123, 133 29, 31, 39, 86, 91, 99; III: 106; VI: 102, 107,
110, 118-119, 120, 134, 139, 177, 181, 185,
process color printing, IV: 10, 103-104, 105- 188, 193, 198, 210
107
registration bar, IV: 86, 87
process inks, IV: 9, 10, 104
release agents, IV: 19, 74, 103
process printing plates, IV: 3, 7, 10, 13, 22-
23, 31, 35 rendering, II: 22
proofing system see digital proofs, analog Resource Conservation and Recovery Act,
proofs, press proofs III: 17-22
proofs characteristic wastes, III: 18
concept, I: 19 generator status, III: 18-19
contract, I: 20 listed wastes, III: 17-18
shop towels, III: 20
pull bands, VI: 107-108, 110-111 spills, III: 20
Superfund Amendment and
pull-rolls, VI: 109, 110-111, 114, 116, 118 Reauthorization Act, III: 19
Q transportation, III: 19
quality control underground tanks, III: 20
characteristics of, III: 81-82 waste disposal, III: 21-22
run target, II: 142; III: 106, 107 solvency power, IV: 27, 31
screen angle, II: 41, 43, 90, 91, 99, 102 spot color
converting to process, II: 46, 75-76
screen characterization, II: 132 proofing, II: 93
screening specifying, II: 46, 75
AM, see conventional screening working with, II: 28, 46-48, 53, 76, 132
combination, II: 91 stack press, I: 3, 16, 17, 21, 31; II: 28; IV: 67;
FM, see stochastic screening VI: 5-6
screen printing, I: 10-11 static electricity, VI: 80, 85-87, 173, 226, 228
screen ruling, II: 36, 44, 68, 90, 102 causes, VI: 83-84
and scanning resolution, II: 44, 68-69 controlling static, VI: 86-87
grounding, VI: 86-88
selecting colors, II: 33 static eliminators, VI: 87, 125
static neutralization, VI: 87
serigraphy, see screen printing
statistical process control, III: 97-107, 111
servo-drive press, VI: 121-122, 124 cause and effect analysis, III: 100-101
sheet cleaners, VI: 125-126 checksheets and checklists, III: 103
brushes, VI: 125 fishbone diagram, III: 100, 102
flow charts, III: 101
sheet feeders histograms, III: 104
kicker feeder, VI: 103 Pareto Analysis, III: 103
lead-edge feeder, VI: 104 process mapping, III: 103
belt type, VI: 105 run and control charts, III: 104
cam roller feeder, VI: 105 scatter diagrams, III: 105
INDEX 123
steering guides, VI: 67 dancer, VI: 40-41, 48-50, 55
entry spans, VI: 69, 70 in-feed, VI: 47, 49
rewind tension, VI: 52, 53, 71
stickyback, IV: 49, 73, 74-75, 76-77, 79, 80, automatic system, VI: 39, 47, 50
82, 84-85, 87, 88, 91, 92-93, 94, 95, 98, 101, dancer-roll system, VI: 40-41
102, 103
“draw” control system, VI: 39
stochastic screening, II: 40, 68, 91; IV: 42 manual system, VI: 38-39, 47
semiautomatic system, VI: 45-46
storm-water permits, III: 26-27 tension transducer system, VI: 41-43
stripping, see job assembly splicing, VI: 45-47
taper tension (see also rewind
subtractive color, II: 114 equipment), VI: 38
taper torque, VI: 38
substrate, VI: 48, 54, 98, 99, 102, 109, 110, torque, VI: 36-37, 38-40, 42-43, 52, 54-57,
123, 125, 126, 177, 179, 181, 189, 203, 213, 58-60
216, 221, 222, 226, 229, 230, 231, 232 unwind tension, VI: 47-49
cleaning, VI: 85, 89, 97
ionic, VI: 89 tension drives, VI: 35-37
corona field, VI: 89-90 brakes/clutches, VI: 36-37
wind, VI: 193-194 motors, VI: 35-36
dryers
warm air, VI: 124 tension transducer, VI: 41-43
infrared, VI: 124
tension zones
substrates, I: 3, 12, 14-16, 18, 21,; II: 20 intermediate, VI: 35-37, 39, 42
cellophane, IV: 160, 166-167 rewind, VI: 35, 50
corrugated board, I: 6, 26; IV: 137-138, unwind, VI: 34-36, 49
140
envelope paper, IV: 138 thumbnail sketches, II: 22
facestocks, IV: 147, 150-151 tints, II: 77
films, IV: 155-167
polyester, IV: 155-158 total quality management, III: 92-96
polyethylene, I: 16; IV: 162-166
polypropylene, I: 16; IV: 158-161 Toxic Substances Control Act, III: 16
polyvinyl chloride (pvc), IV: 155
transportation, III: 19
pressure-sensitive, IV: 150
foils, IV: 138, 150, 152-154 trapping, II: 19, 26, 29, 47, 76, 86, 96, 100
glassine, IV: 139
label stock, IV: 134, 136, 138, 148 U
metals, IV: 154 UCR, (undercolor removal), II: 41, 53, 70
multiwall bags, IV: 138
paper and paperboard, IV: 122, 128, 132, ultraviolet light, IV: 26
136 underground storage tank, III: 20
pressure-sensitive, IV: 149
release liner, IV: 149-150 Uniform Code Council, Inc. (UCC), III: 56
tissue, IV: 140
United States Environmental Protection
Superfund. See CERLA Agency, III: 5-6, 14
regional offices, III: 38
Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization
Act (SARA), III: 19, 23-24 telephone numbers, III: 39
INDEX 125
FLEXOGRAPHY:
Principles & Practices
5th Edition
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- A E A i
SECTION 1
Design
SECTION 2
Prepress
SECTION 3
Process
Color
Flexography: Principles And Practices
Fifth Edition
Notice of Liability:
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other-
wise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Notice of Liability:
The information in this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, neither the authors
nor the publisher shall have any liability to any person or entity with respects to any loss,
liability or damage caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the informa-
tion presented in this book.
Published by the
Foundation of Flexographic Technical Association, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
DEFINITION OF DESIGN 3
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 6
Design Performance ................................................................8
Psychology .........................................................................8
Aesthetics ...........................................................................8
Functional Characteristics ...............................................8
Design Purpose ........................................................................9
Decoration ..........................................................................9
Visual Impact......................................................................9
Identification ......................................................................9
Information.......................................................................10
Product Information........................................................10
Brand Identification ........................................................11
Merchandising Considerations ......................................11
Research ...........................................................................12
The Intended Buyer ...............................................................14
Needs and Preferences ...................................................14
Buying Habits...................................................................14
Motivations.......................................................................15
Economic Situations .......................................................15
The Act of Buying............................................................15
End-use Conditions/Applications ..................................15
Advertising Recall............................................................16
Repeat Purchases ............................................................16
The Designer...........................................................................16
Visual Communications Specialist ................................16
Problem Solver ................................................................17
Graphically Proficient.....................................................17
Client Oriented.................................................................17
Knowledge About the Consumer ..................................17
Design Development..............................................................17
Preproduction Meeing ....................................................17
Press Characterization....................................................18
Substrates and Materials ................................................20
The Point of Purchase ....................................................20
The Consumer..................................................................20
Branded Products............................................................20
Graphic Objectives ..........................................................21
VOLUME 2
MECHANICS OF DESIGN PREPARATION 22
Thumbnail Sketches ..............................................................22
Comprehensive Roughs ........................................................22
Rendering (Finished Comp) .................................................22
Presentation............................................................................23
Electronic Imaging and Computer Graphics......................23
The Work Flow Process..................................................23
Experimentation ..............................................................23
Presentation and Approval.............................................24
PRODUCTION ART 26
Design Elements ....................................................................26
Typography .......................................................................26
Overprints.........................................................................30
Trapping ............................................................................31
Die Lines ...........................................................................32
Illustrations ......................................................................32
Object-oriented Artwork ................................................33
Bitmapped Graphics........................................................35
Line Drawings and Clip Art............................................35
Photography .....................................................................36
Halftone Images...............................................................37
Duotones...........................................................................39
Alternative Screens .........................................................40
High-fidelity Color Printing ............................................41
Scanning ...........................................................................41
Bar Codes .........................................................................42
Color Reproduction and Line Count.............................43
Color..................................................................................47
FINAL APPROVAL 49
Color Proofing ........................................................................49
PREPRESS
INTRODUCTION 65
IMAGE CAPTURE 67
Scanners ..................................................................................67
Scanning Images ....................................................................68
DESKTOP/PREFLIGHT 79
“Reading” Files .......................................................................79
Preflight Responsibilities ......................................................80
Software Versions............................................................80
Low-resolution Placed Images.......................................80
Live Images.......................................................................81
Imported EPS Files .........................................................82
Fonts..................................................................................82
Line Weights/Font Sizes..................................................82
Tints and Screen Builds..................................................82
Vignettes and Gradations ...............................................82
Equipment and Software ................................................83
JOB ASSEMBLY/LAYOUT 84
Hardware and Software ........................................................84
Technical Responsibilities ....................................................85
Using Layers.....................................................................85
Placing High-resolution Images.....................................85
Silhouetting of Images ....................................................85
Assignment of Screen/Tint Values
and Color Information ..................................................85
Trapping (Spreads and Chokes) ....................................86
Bar Code Creation/Placement .......................................86
Application of Distortions ..............................................86
Dot-gain Compensation ..................................................87
FILM OUTPUT/IMAGESETTING 89
Film Properties.......................................................................90
Emulsion...........................................................................90
Orientation........................................................................90
Film Thickness.................................................................90
Finish.................................................................................90
VOLUME 2
Image Properties ....................................................................90
Screen Ruling and Screen Angles..................................90
Dot Shape .........................................................................91
Combination Screening ..................................................91
Registration and Mounting Marks.................................91
PROOFING 93
Types of Proofs.......................................................................93
Concept Proof ..................................................................93
Color Target Proof...........................................................93
Contract Proof .................................................................94
Proofing Systems ...................................................................96
Analog Proofs...................................................................96
Press Proofs .....................................................................96
Digital Proofs ...................................................................97
APPENDIX 107
A: FIRST Specifications in Preflight ................................107
B: Preflight Checklist.........................................................108
PROCESS COLOR
INTRODUCTION 111
APPENDIX 143
A: Reference Resources ....................................................143
B: Density-based Measurements ......................................144
C: Colorimetric Calculations ............................................145
INDEX 147
VOLUME 2
CHAPTER 1
Design
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Author/Editor: Kelley Callery, Flexographic Technical Association
Pantone and PMS is a registered trademarks of Pantone, Inc. Apple, Macintosh are registered trademarks, and
TrueType is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Adobe, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Dimensions, Adobe Distiller, Adobe
Illustrator, Adobe Pagemaker, Adobe Photoshop and PostScript are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated or its
subsidiaries and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. QuarkXpress is a registered trademark of Quark, Inc.
FreeHand is a trademark of Macromedia, Inc. DOS and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
All trademarks have been used in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement.
G
the process of translating the Design is an orderly combination of formal
image that the customer has in elements that produces a composition. In
mind into a finished package. flexography and other printing processes,
In order to accomplish this design is the visual plan of line, mass and
task successfully, a designer color, selected and assembled to accomplish
requires a great deal of information before a designated goal. That goal may be to con-
and during the entire design process. vey beauty, or simply to provide information
To accomplish its many objectives, flexo- by the arrangement of copy on a label. Often,
graphic design has to play a number of roles. the goal is to sell a product. In that case, the
This chapter talks about how fabrics, paper design has to have impact and it must pro-
products, packaging, shipping cases, labels vide identification and information about the
and any other flexo-printed product can be item. Sometimes the design goal involves the
designed most effectively. printed product itself, as with giftwraps, tex-
Over the past 20 years, the graphics arts tiles, cups and containers.
industry has seen fundamental changes in A designer’s job is to translate the client’s
the way color is reproduced. Every aspect of ideas into a finished product that will satisfy
color reproduction has undergone a com- consumer preferences. In the case of label-
plete transformation as the industry has ing, packaging and shipping containers,
moved from traditional mechanical prepress design is often the only means that identifies
to digitally-based methods of production. the product, the brand and the manufacturer
The work involved in preparing color art- or packer. In addition, many products
work for printing has transitioned from dedi- depend heavily on package design to estab-
cated high-end equipment at specialized lish their image for merchandising, advertis-
trade shops to standard desktop computers ing and promotion (Figure c).
used by the designer. The roles once filled by
typesetters, camera personnel, strippers and
color separators have dramatically changed,
c
and in some cases even disappeared with the
advent of electronic prepress (Figure b).
b (Following pages)
When a designer develops packaging The package printing
graphics, many considerations relating to the process from start to
finish.
type of package printing must be reviewed
and applied in order to achieve success and
c Most products depend
meet the customer’s marketing needs. A suc- on package designs to
cessful design is eye catching and stands out. identify the product and
It is achieved within the proposed budget, to establish their image
for merchandising,
and the final printed piece must look as good advertising and
as the approved contract proof. promotion.
DESIGN 3
b
Design
BOB’S
Scanning
Imagesetting
S
B’
S BO
B’
Off-Press BO
Proofing
S
B’
BO
S
B’
BO
Stripping and Imposition
Printing
Shipping
’S
B
O
B
Folding, Binding,
’S
B
O
B
and Finishing
DESIGN 5
Design Considerations
he printer or separator must include: the use of many colors, including
T
supply the designer with specif- metallic and fluorescent inks, a wide variety
ic information about print para- of substrates with unique characteristics
meters. This is usually part of (Figure e), and many special finishing
the press characterization infor- effects like embossing, foil stamping, holo-
mation, and is best furnished grams, varnishing and UV coating.
very early in the design process. The design- In addition to meeting with the printer, the
er’s understanding of the flexo criteria designer must also work closely with the con-
should be used creatively to maximize the sumer product company to meet its market-
many benefits of the flexographic print ing objectives, requirements and goals. For
process (Figure d). Advantages of flexo the consumer product company and the
’S
BOB
d Successful design
creatively utilizes the
many unique features
of the flexographic print
process.
f Combination printing
makes use of offset,
flexography and gravure
to maximize the benefits
of each process.
Offset
f
designer, meeting marketing objectives is the
highest priority. Print parameters are taken
into account only after a comprehensive
proof of a design is approved and the market-
ing objectives are met. Most marketing goals
Easy Learn-At-Home
are oriented toward making the package Method with Computer
and Audio CD Set
more appealing than competing products. Learn...
At your own pace
Marketing objectives can also take the While driving
While relaxing
Playing exciting games
form of helping a consumer product com- Flexography
DESIGN 7
g The label or tag on a vide instructions. In all their versatility,
product provides the g designs are geared to spur a response in peo-
visual essence of its
character and end-use. ple by the message that they convey.
Aesthetics
Pleasing aesthetic quality and superior
print quality is a winning combination. There
is, however, little value to creating a fantas-
tic design that is stunning on the proofs but
is economically and mechanically impossi-
ble to recreate in print format. The goal is to
design within the window of opportunity.
This window is continually growing and
changing and therefore, so are the designer’s
challenges and opportunities. The customer
graphics for each different print type simul- wants the designer to push that creativity
taneously so the designer can be sure that window and explore. It is also the obligation
the graphics can be reproduced using all of the printer to push the limits of produc-
required print types. tion and work with the designer to meet the
challenges (requirements) of the consumer
product company.
DESIGN PERFORMANCE Aesthetically, whether a design is bold or
There are three main elements in develop- delicate, it should be developed in good taste
ing a design that works: and with a proper balance of line, mass and
• psychology, color. Each element of design, such as the
• aesthetics and color scheme, typography or subject matter
• functional characteristics. (in photographic or illustrative form) is part
of the layout and should relate to the others
Psychology in overall theme.
Psychologically, the printed design reflects Creating a design has often been com-
the personality of the product and the phi- pared to writing music for the organ. There
losophy and taste of the firm that made it. are many tonal combinations that can be
With textiles and many paper products, produced using stops, keys and controls.
design sets the mood or complements the The composer combines talent and under-
decorative scheme. With gift wraps and standing of these components to blend them
party accessories, it augments the occasion into a satisfying and effective musical com-
with complementary subject matter to rein- position. Likewise, the graphic designer does
force the event’s importance. In packaging the same with visual elements and design
and labeling, it provides the visual essence tools to produce an aesthetic composition.
of the product’s character and end-use
(Figure g). Functional Characteristics
Printed designs can evoke feelings of com- Functionally, the design should meet cer-
fort, joy, good taste, excitement, etc. They tain criteria. Whatever form it takes, the
can be solutions to household or commer- design has important objectives – whether in
cial problems. Designs grab attention and areas of pure decoration or in the precise
provoke interest, and they identify and pro- details of a small printed label. The function
DESIGN 9
i The illustration or advertisement because the package is as
photograph used on i much a part of the product as the product
a label identifies the
product and provides itself. Another sought-after advantage of
information or charac- strong identification is association, in which
teristics and end-use.
confidence already established in one prod-
uct carries over to another with the same
j An important part of brand identification. This can happen readi-
the design of a package,
is it’s ability to quickly ly in a family of products with closely relat-
and clearly convey ed designs. This is especially helpful when a
information relevant to
the consumer. new item joins an established product line.
Information
An additional design purpose is to provide
information about the product. This is espe-
j cially true of designs whose purpose is not
strictly decorative. With correct and helpful
information on how the product can be
used, the design’s purpose is fulfilled. Does
the package design show and tell color,
style, size and count? Does it indicate if the
contents have to be assembled? If so, are
assembly instructions clear and complete?
Ingredients, weight, size, price and legal data
all comprise needed information for the pur-
chaser, while exact instructions help ensure
a satisfactory experience. (Figure j)
Learn all about the customer and his prod-
uct: What is it? What does it do? How is it
tional programs? If there is an illustration, is made? Where will it sell? What are the mar-
it a true representation of the contents? keting plans? If the client is presenting a new
(Figure i) line of flexo-printed merchandise, where is it
Depending on the product and its merchan- expected to sell? In stores, on the internet
dising slant, the identification emphasizes or by catalog sales? What is the price range?
product name, brand name and manufactur- What are the competitive conditions in the
er. How these and less tangible identifying intended market? What promotional and
elements are organized depend on the design- advertising programs are planned? Who is
er’s purpose. Established graphically in a visu- the intended customer?
al priority, the viewer’s eye should be carried Before designing a package, data has to be
from a particular identifying element and con- assembled. This includes:
tinue around the design in a proper sequence • product information,
of dwell spots. In doing so, the viewer takes in • brand identification,
the information of most interest. • merchandising considerations, and
Strong identification of a product, package • research.
or label is the basis of advertising programs
in which recall is essential. Often, a properly Product Information
identified package design becomes the best To encourage sales, information about
DESIGN 11
• Can the product, package size and use of pallets and other mechanical and
design be produced to compete for this marking devices?
display level? • Does the shipping case contain an
• How can the graphic design contribute inventory-related product code?
to large-mass displays, to shelf-talkers • Will the product be advertised? If so,
and other promotional material? will it appear in print, on television or
• Is the package designed for mass-mer- on the internet, or perhaps all three?
chandising chains, or is it designed for • Will color-value contrasts allow the
bulk-selling through discount outlets, message to come across in the desired
and if so does it have pallet impact? medium?
• Is it designed and “sized” to fit standard
store counter bins and mass-merchan- The more information you gather about
disers’ fixtures? merchandising considerations, the more
• Will this product only be sold through effective your designs will be (Figure 1!).
catalogs or on the internet?
• What type of bar code will the package Research
carry? Thorough research can only increase the
• Are shipping cases designed to facilitate odds of creating exceptional designs while
1!
1! Merchandising consid-
erations play a very
important role in how a
package is designed.
A package’s design may
be changed significantly
based on whether it is
to be sold in a store, on
television, in a catalog
or on the internet.
DESIGN 13
elements or adding display-and-sell copy to • end-use conditions/applications;
the part of the shipping container that • advertising recall; and
remains with the products can help. • repeat purchases.
If a product does not have promotional
helpers, it has only its package to help make Needs and Preferences
the sale. For packaged clothing items that In shopping centers, basic products are
compete at the purchase point with a com- considered staples: food, beverages, cloth-
petitor’s brand item, differences in the quali- ing, hardware, condiments and many others.
ty of the package design can influence the Packaging for such items should stress prod-
position they get on the display counter. uct identification. But because even pota-
Research information about merchandising toes, toys and children’s socks compete for
systems can contribute significantly to the store space and consumer attention, the
designer’s success rate. package’s graphics should feature prominent
Industry and Trade Customs. An ongoing sys- brand identification. If the first try results in
tem of research into industry and trade cus- a satisfying experience, the consumer will
toms requires little explanation. The designer probably pick the same brand the next time.
should establish sources from recognized Even more important, a preference has
industry groups to become sufficiently taken root in the buyer’s mind. Although sales
knowledgeable about the packages and statistics confirm this, it’s still important for a
packing materials used for different prod- retailer to know which products should be
ucts. Legal sources might also be consulted stocked and the amount in the inventory. And
for current information on acceptable type don’t forget that prominent brand name iden-
sizes, correct location of bar codes and other tity promotes sales to retailers, too.
legal questions. It is important that the brand identification
of staple products look contemporary. A
product that has been around for generations
THE INTENDED BUYER must not look out of date in its packaging. In
Just as a product is created to fill a buyer’s the consumer’s mind, antiquated package
need or satisfy a desire, the package and its design can translate as old inventory. This is
graphic message must be designed to attract not to say that a package can’t have the look
that particular buyer. Because the package of a particular period: Victorian, Nouveau,
helps communicate the product’s image and 1950s. These periods of graphic design are
essence, visual communication should be in well established and effective in commercial
terms people can understand, and such that art and can be a product’s single most impor-
the message will prompt a purchase. tant identifying feature. Changes in package
It is important for the designer to visualize design of established product lines have been
the assignment from the consumer’s point of more successful if they are evolutionary
view and to develop early concepts based on rather than revolutionary.
the intended buyer’s needs, desires and
impressions. Constant research into this Buying Habits
area includes a number of considerations: Studied and recorded, buying habits vary
• needs and preferences; from store to store and from one geographic
• buying habits; or economic situation to another. Age, family
• motivations; size, dwelling location and income bracket
• economic situations; govern the planned buys of the shopping trip.
• the act of buying; By studying the range of buying behavior at
DESIGN 15
the package will hold the product before it’s package alter the brand’s personality? Does
used, and the design should continue its mis- the brand name have enough visual impact
sion in its new environment. to cause the observer to silently repeat it in
The “hard-sell” that’s been built into a his or her mind? Or is it too dependent on
product’s package for displaying in the super- sound? Because it appeals only visually in
market often becomes offensive in the home. the marketplace, brand and product recall
Consider a giant carton of detergent that are generated through graphic design.
dominates the laundry room, or the coffee
can on the kitchen counter. Many homemak- Repeat Purchases
ers invest in careful color-coordination for Package design recall helps spur repeat
work areas, but will condone the brash com- purchases. If the product has been satisfac-
mercialism of a package design there. Most tory, these pleasant experiences are recalled
packages are stored in cabinets anyway. But during the next shopping trip. A well-planned
because others are mainly designed for coun- package design succeeds in presenting the
tertops, they are used more often and natu- product or brand. With all the distractions in
rally tend to create higher repeat sales. today’s marketplace, identification impact is
Graphic designs that function well after necessary to generate repeat sales.
purchase tend to be compromises between
hard sell and soft sell. This should be given
considerable thought in the early stages of THE DESIGNER
the design process. There’s an additional, To organize and successfully implement
and quite useful, psychological factor in these design factors, the designer must be a
graphic design: What can be incorporated problem solver as well as a skilled artist. He
into the design to make consumers pause or she must have a command of graphics,
during the moment of decision to imagine typography and a good sense of form and
the benefits of the product? Can they visual- color. A good designer must also be aware
ize the package and the product helping to of the client’s concerns, in addition to being
make their life easier? curious and knowledgeable about potential
This is where the value of product photog- buyers. Reviewing a designer’s qualifica-
raphy or illustrations comes into play. From tions and portfolio of previous projects is
color photography or simple illustration the first step toward picking the right
techniques that show the product helping designer for the project.
someone, the buyer’s thoughts can flash
from the initial purchase to final use. These Visual Communications Specialist
images can be exciting visions of any pleas- The graphic designer is essentially in the
ant experience. visual communications business. The es-
sence of graphic design is the translation of
Advertising Recall ideas into visual form and the creation of
Research into planning an advertising order from unorganized information. The
campaign also provides insight for design story the designer has to tell cannot be heard;
planning. Will the graphics be readable when it must be translated into visual elements,
reduced in size or if reproduced in black & which must be seen to be understood. The
white? Is there sufficient image-strength to message should be presented so that it regis-
survive different methods of media repro- ters quickly and indelibly. At all times, it
duction? Scale is also important. Does should be truthful, informative, exciting and
changing the balance and the elements of a interesting. Also, a package’s design controls,
DESIGN 17
The data provides a snapshot of the print
PREPRODUCTION MEETING capabilities of the press utilizing those spe-
cific materials (Figure 1#).
The consumer product company’s representa-
Once all the input has been evaluated, and
tive usually calls this meeting but the design
firm, prepress provider(s), or the printer(s) can before the first line is drawn, the designer
also intitiate it. The meeting agenda should must remember that the extent of the
include these items for discussion.
design’s creative limits are governed by pro-
■ Design consideration duction and equipment capabilities. Some of
■ Design review these are:
■ Specifications, dimensions • Print stations available on the flexo
■ Number of colors
press, which dictate the maximum num-
■ Film assembly
ber of colors needed to reproduce the
■ Trapping
design.
■ Print control targets
• Effect of special printing procedures
■ Contract proof requirements
■ Timetable such as web-reversal limits printing to
■ On-press approvals three-colors face and three-colors back
on a six-color printing press.
Table 2 • Color sequence, especially when the
usual light-to-dark color progression is
page layout software be used? changed for some reason.
If process color is used, ink and color- • Hold-to-register tolerances that suit the
matching methods should be discussed to type of press to be used (CI, stack or
avoid problems during the press run. Ask for inline).
suggestions from the printer/converter’s art • Placement of large solid areas and fine
and press personnel. Will there be color over- details such as small type, tints, fine fil-
prints? If tints and/or halftones are involved, igree or halftones in the same color
what screen count is the printer able to han- which should be avoided.
dle and is his/her equipment outfitted prop- • Consideration of color-trap tolerances to
erly? If tight color-to-color registration is minimize color-to-color misregistration.
involved, can the printing presses hold it? • If tight-registration is unavoidable, it
How many print stations and printing plate should be confined to a limited print
cylinders are available (Table 2). area whenever possible.
• Consideration of ink fill-in and distribu-
Press Characterization tion problems inherent in reverse print-
Press characterization data encompasses ing (copy reversed in a solid field).
the process capabilities and requirements for • Use diagonal lines, curves, wavy and
a specific press using certain materials and irregular leading edges to minimize
settings. This information usually comes press vibration and bounce, instead of
from the printer or separator and varies from straight, hard-edged solids placed hori-
press to press. A press characterization tar- zontally across the web.
get can be used to generate this information.
Many times a printer will utilize several
different combinations of materials (e.g. dif- Packaging Specifications
ferent plates, inks or substrates) on one Given their influence on the final result,
press and new press characterization data is some other factors have to be taken into
required each time the materials are varied. account. These must meet exact specifica-
FIRST characterization
3
Flexographic Technical
5
Y
Association.
6
7
K
8
9
42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
0 2 4 6 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100 0 2 4 6 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100
tions, preferably in a flat layout showing the • Product-fill height and/or contours
following design details: whenever they are essential to form;
• Location and size of package face, back, • Color-matching names or numbers
gussets and/or any other surface to be and/or color swatches related to color
printed; preference or standards where they
• Size and extent of folds, diecuts, slots, exist;
perforations, seams and other impor- • Accurate package mock-up or complete
tant features where they exist; prototype; and
• Exact print areas; • Exact specifications on the size and
DESIGN 19
location of all design units specified by consumer products sold at the retail level. A
Federal Packaging and Labeling Acts valuable exercise for a designer, is a trip to a
wherever they apply. display and sales area, which can provide
helpful insights. For example, notice the
Substrates and Materials type of retail outlet, location, the probable
Whether or not the design is to be pre- shelf position and its height, lighting condi-
pared on the actual substrate to be printed, a tions, store traffic and competitive practices.
sample of the material should be obtained so In addition, the designer should sense the
colors and techniques can be evaluated store’s atmosphere, the shoppers’ tempo and
against the substrate. Since flexo printing is available time, and the benefit of advertising
done on paper, board, film, textiles, foil and recall in the area. This is where packaging
many other materials, the comprehensive impact, identification and information are
roughs can often be prepared on these sur- measured.
faces, although they may require different If the package is meant for an industrial
rendering techniques and art materials. item instead, such as 25- or 50-pound bags to
As far as substrates are concerned, the be packaged palletized and stockpiled in a
designer must be alert to possible printing warehouse, the designer will benefit by visit-
problems. Some common substrate con- ing the premises and personally checking
cerns are listed in Table 3. equipment and methods. The designer then
The designer familiar with the entire man- can determine whether product identifica-
ufacturing cycle will be able to use all of the tion through the use of names, color or sym-
special features available only with flexo- bol coding should be placed in a conspicu-
graphic printing. ous location on the package so that items
can be more easily located. It also allows the
The Point of Purchase designer to visualize his or her proposed
Many flexographic applications are for design at work and will allow consideration
of intangibles that could give the design sub-
tle advantages.
PACKAGING SUBSTRATE
CONSIDERATIONS
The Consumer
■ Images printed on thermoplastics should Who will buy this product? What are the
usually be kept away from heat-seal areas.
buyer’s needs and preferences? Clients who
■ Packages for certain food items frequently
have already targeted a product for a particu-
require special inks; consider this in the
lar market can provide some of this informa-
early stages.
tion. But sometimes the designer may want to
■ Most plastics have a nonabsorbent surface
and may not readily accept and retain
go deeper. A natural curiosity about behav-
printing ink. ioral patterns, buying habits and case histo-
■ Foil substrates present ink problems simi- ries from other projects often provides first-
lar to those that occur when printing on hand information. Designers also can add
plastics. value to the design by projecting motivation
■ Fine details should overprint solids (usual- to the buyer.
ly white) rather than on the bare plastic
surface. This leads to cleaner and crisper Branded Products
print results and tends to minimize ink Products are often part of a family of prod-
problems such as fill-in and webbing.
ucts or brands. If the intended design is sup-
Table 3 posed to complement other items in the line,
DESIGN 21
Mechanics of
Design Preparation
ntil now, planning for the RENDERING (FINISHED COMP)
U
design has been the main con- Designs and comps should be prepared
cern. Obviously, the degree and with inks and color separations in mind and
depth of planning is different a concern for line, tints and/or halftone
from one flexo application to areas. The converter’s equipment limitation-
another. Some projects may sre also has to be considered. If these ele-
require less, while others may require more ments are incorporated early in design plan-
intense and varied research before the ning, valuable time is saved in interpretation.
design concept is decided. The actual steps
in the preparation and presentation of the
design to the client are discussed below.
1$
THUMBNAIL SKETCHES
The designer may start with some simple
thumbnail sketches, either drawn by hand or
done on the computer (Figure 1$). For the
first time, the design ideas are in visual form.
Revisions and refinements are easily done at
this stage to meet any change in design
requirements. The designer will choose sev-
eral of these thumbnail sketches to work up
into comprehensive roughs (comps).
1%
1$ The designer’s first step
after the planning stage COMPREHENSIVE ROUGHS
is to do a number of Initial graphics can be roughed-in at low
thumbnail sketches.
The design concept is resolution on the substrate or some similar
finally in a visual form. material. The roughs are reworked and
refined, until one layout plan emerges that
1% A finished comprehen- can be reviewed against the list of design
sive rendering of the
package is presented requirements. As this work continues, many
to the client for graphic decisions are made along with those
approval. It is only regarding colors and techniques. The graph-
after this approval that
the production stage ic plan is finally checked against specifica-
can start. tions and other technical aspects.
DESIGN 23
1^ The Package Publishing Process
time-consuming ordeal consisting of camera move freely and quickly. Essentially, the
work, typesetting and art is now quick and designer assumes the role of typesetter, illus-
cost-effective. Computer graphics provide trator and cameraperson, but without a dis-
almost immediate and limitless variety. By jointed sense of separate elements in the
using the computer monitor as an electronic process. Computers enable the designer to
canvas and the mouse as a paintbrush, the maintain and refine the concept without the
designer can scale, crop or combine the high cost of yesterday’s technology.
images and backgrounds in any combina-
tion. Red roses can be made yellow, a moun- Presentation and Approval
tain scene can be placed behind them or When it’s time for the presentation, the
they can be made to float among the clouds. computer allows the client to see the affect
At every stage, a new view can be saved for of his/her input quickly and clearly, without
comparison. Images and type matter can be sending the artist back to the drawing board.
twisted, stretched, turned and otherwise The client can decide then and there that
modified in minutes, compared with hours, pink roses would add the necessary impact
perhaps days, using traditional methods. to the label. Since the designer can make
With the increased control of the design, on-the-spot changes, there’s no need for
the designer’s imagination is now allowed to another meeting.
If the client would like to see the new from an imagesetter to be delivered to the
design on the bottle and on the shelf next to printer. This branch of the computer system
competitors, a trip to the local market to usually is at a printing facility. It does all the
shoot slides of the wine section is all that is color separations, which require only a final
needed. The slides are scanned into the com- review by the art director.
puter and the new label is electronically The growth of this technology has been
wrapped around one of the bottles by using incredible and is sure to continue. It’s impor-
a three-dimensional imaging program. tant to remember that, while these tools
If the client wants to show the designs to the spur the creative process and boost produc-
board of directors for final approval, all the tivity, they can’t replace the human element.
designer has to do is generate 35mm or 4" x 5" Indeed, people will always be the crucial
transparencies from the computer or full-color investment for any design studio that wants
paper proofs from either a laser printer or to stay competitive.
ink-jet printer of each composition. The
images can also be transferred to videotape.
In the case of our wine label, the client’s
approval simply tells the designer to print
out a final high-resolution set of negatives
DESIGN 25
Production Art
y establishing a dialogue with included in all designs, including typogra-
B
production artists who turn con- phy, contrasting color values, shapes, illus-
cepts into electronic art files, the trations, photographs, brand names and
designer can learn about the descriptive subject matter. The overall
flexo tolerances within which design should have the assurance that the
the design must function during parts are in proper visual order and relate to
production. This can save time between the each other under a priority system.
initial concept, the final digital file and the Elements should not compete with one
film from which printing plates will be made. another for top billing. An easy test of visual
Interruptions for clarification or revisions priority is to put yourself in the buyer’s posi-
can be costly. To avoid printing problems, tion and imagine what information you most
the designer should have a reasonable work- want to see. Of course, these priorities will
ing knowledge of flexography’s production differ with each project.
art requirements. Communication with the
plant or production manager regarding the Typography
limitations of the manufacturing equipment The length of a line of type is measured in
will help the designer develop designs pica units and there are 12 points to a pica,
specifically geared to the situation. and 6 picas to an inch. The type character, or
Guidance from the production artist, the face height, is measured in point units. A
prepress shop and the printer is important. point size is equal to the distance from the
Methods of producing the finished artwork, top of the lower-case ascenders to the bot-
color separation, prepress proofing devices tom of the descenders.
(digital proofs, color keys, matchprints, The vertical spacing between lines of type
etc.), and any other art preparation data also is measured in points, but is referred to
must be considered. as leading, or a given number of lead points.
The production artist’s job is to take the cus- Multiple lines of copy are expressed as a
tomer’s design and turn it into the final art file combination of the actual point size of the
from which printing plates can be made. The type and the lead point height. For many
finished artwork must, of course, fit the final texts, common settings are 9-point type on
package, container or product, with all type 11-point leading, or 10-point type on 12-point
and illustrations properly positioned. The leading and is said to be “9 on 11” (9/11) or
copy and other design elements must be capa- “10 on 12” (10 / 12) . Type set without leading
ble of clean, crisp reproduction on the sub- is described as being set “solid.” Although
strate being printed. In addition, it must main- type is generally designed to provide mini-
tain registration. mum vertical line spacing when set solid,
there is a chance vertical alignment of low-
ercase ascenders and descenders may
DESIGN ELEMENTS touch. Lateral spacing of type that creates
There are many similar elements that are lines of equal length is called justification.
DESIGN 27
1* Even if film is prepared • the design intricacy;
correctly, there are 1* Misregistration • the substrate;
often problems with
holding exact registra- • the number of colors;
tion due to the substrate • the printability, flow, colors, and
stretching or shifting
• the opacity of the inks.
during printing. Even
minute shifts can cause No Trap Trap
visible problems. A central impression press may hold regis-
Good Registration ter better than an in-line or stack press, espe-
cially on flexible webs and may need less
trap. A fine-line, six-color illustration on
coated stock might take a 0.030" trap, while
No Trap Trap three or more times as much may be needed
in a poster-style illustration printed on kraft
stock. When printing related colors, a more
DOES THE ARTWORK
generous overlap may be acceptable than
REQUIRE TRAPPING
when printing complementary colors.
NO: YES: Trapping complementary colors is likely to
No colors Colors that do
touch, or col- not share a cause an objectionable third color.
ors that do common ele- When transparent colors are overprinted
touch have a ment (C, M, Y
common color or K) touch to produce second and third colors, butt reg-
element (C, each other in
M, Y or K). this file
ister is often necessary. In such cases, take
great care in handling color register. It’s
QUESTIONS TO ASK:
Which colors should spread often wise to use outlines where the over-
and which should choke? printed colors touch to prevent the appear-
Where do traps go? ance of misregister.
How much trap is needed?
Origin of Fonts. There are thousands of type
DO-IT YOURSELF PREPRESS OPTIONS: fonts available in both TrueType and
OPTIONS: ■ Manual trapping: PostScript formats. Though TrueType fonts
■ Manual trapping: For a fee, the pre-
Common controls press provider will are prevalent in the desktop industry, they
within graphic pro- prepare the traps
grams provide do-it-
do not always RIP (raster image process)
using the controls in
yourself trapping, the graphics soft- correctly, so they are generally not support-
once you’ve mas- ware.
tered trapping con- ed and should be avoided. Type 1 PostScript
cepts. ■ Automatic trapping
software: Many fonts are recognized as the industry stan-
■ Automatic trapping:
Some programs prepress providers dard and contain both an outline font (print-
include automatic use sophisticted
trapping features that trapping software er font) and screen font (bitmap font). When
will make trapping that can automati-
cally trap artwork, using PostScript fonts, both files must be
decisions for you.
While such programs including imported installed on the output system. To ensure
are sophisticated, graphics.
successful use of ■ Automatic trapping that the fonts will output correctly, it is nec-
these automatic fea- during imageset- essary to include both the outline and screen
tures requires some ting: Some RIPS
knowledge of trap- automatically trap font with the file. If a design requires a
ping concepts and
files as they are out- unique font, the designer should convert the
familiarity with the
methods used by the put, resulting in little
program. Also, they extra time or cost. type to an outline. This is only recommend-
cannot create traps in ed if it is a large type size and a minimal
art that has been
imported from anoth- amount of type (Figure 2!).
er application.
Text Wrap. When automatic type wrap
Table 4 options are on, text will reflow every time an
100C 100M
Paper 8C 60M 100C 100M
100K
2) None
0.001 in.
.1 pt.
0.003 in.
.24 pt.
0.006 in.
.5 pt.
0.009 in.
.75 pt
0.012 in.
1.0 pt.
image is placed or replaced. If the image is an match the original design. Most software pro-
FPO (for position only) and the separator grams allow the user to create polygons for
replaces it with the high-resolution image, the text to wrap around instead of the actual
the text might reflow differently and the sep- image. When polygons are used, the text
arator must then manually flow the text to does not reflow if the image is replaced.
DESIGN 29
2! Font icons identify the
type of file (screen or 2! 2@
printer), the maker of
the font (foundry) and
whether it is TrueType
or PostScript.
PostScript Type 1 or 3
TrueType
Outline or Stroked Type. Thin outlines around faces. When attributes are used on a font, it
a tint should be in the same color as the tint will appear on the screen as a modified face,
(Figure 2@). If a trap outline is being creat- and may even print to your proofing system
ed, the line weight must be at least twice the correctly, but it is not guaranteed that the
specified trap allowance because both the selected style will be applied to the typeface
background color and text color have to trap upon output. It is always best to use the
to this outline. After the stroke has been actual fonts available in the software pro-
applied, it is important to verify that the gram (Figure 2#).
“counters” (holes in letters such as a, b, D Special Kerning Specifications. Any modified
and R) or serif areas have not closed up. It is kerning, tracking tables or suitcases must be
best to not stroke large amounts of text as it supplied to the separator with the final
does make the file larger and slows down graphic file. Failure to do so will cause all of
the processing time. the modified information to be ommited
It is recommended that when an artwork from the final separated graphics.
file has an embedded EPS file containing
type, the text should be converted to paths Overprints
or outlines to avoid RIP conflicts. But con- An overprint is when one solid color prints
verting type to an outline is not recommend- on top of another solid color. Overprinting
ed to resolve standard font conflicts. When a graphic elements might seem like the perfect
typeface is converted to paths, the copy is no solution for eliminating undesirable traps.
longer editable and the conversion process This is especially true when the designer
can degrade the quality of the text, especial- wants to use small graphics that are sur-
ly small type sizes. If possible, it is better to rounded by another color. The designer
include all fonts (even those that reside in an should be aware of some overprint limita-
embedded EPS file) with the artwork file to tions. Dark-colored graphics overprinting a
be output. light color can work very well. On the other
Attributes or Styles. The typefaces in a file hand, overprinting light colors on top of
should never have an attribute or style darker colors can change the look and color
applied to them. Attributes and styles are of the overprint to something undesirable –
convenient tools available in most desktop think of a yellow printing on top of a cyan vs.
applications that can be used to modify type- green overprinting cyan (Figure 2$). When
C
an attribute or style
%
60
50% M
60% C
applied to them which
will modify the face
Y
%
80
and could create prob-
lems upon output.
2$ Overprinting objects
80% Y without common ink
Design
C
colors, combines the
%
60
20% Y ink values where the
60% C
objects overlap.
Y
%
80
Y
Overprinting objects
%
20
that share inks show
only the overprinted
color where the objects
overlap.
you overprint colors with shared inks, com- press to press. Each press has a set of toler-
mon ink values will not combine. Illustrator ances and operating parameters. The trap
has a filter called “trap hard” and trap soft”. radius is one of the tolerances that a flexo-
These filters can be used by the designer to graphic press should be characterized or fin-
view a simulation of what an overprint will gerprinted for and then applied to all art-
look like when printed. work that will be printed on that press.
Trapping is a necessary stage in the prepress
Trapping process that compensates for the registra-
Trapping is a major concern in the flexo- tion tolerance of a printing press.
graphic industry because of the unique reg- Trapping can change the appearance of art-
istration tolerances on a flexographic press. work. Some colors create dark lines where
Trapping is used to compensate for any pos- they overprint another color (Figure 2%).
sible registration problems. The trapping This dark line, the trap, then becomes a visi-
requirements used for flexography are often ble element in the overall design and in some
larger than those used for an offset press. cases can be distracting to the artwork’s
Most designers are not required to build overall appearance. Sometimes the trap can
traps into an artwork file and therefore are be modified to make it less obvious, but it
unfamiliar with requirements for trapping. cannot be removed. It is in the basic design
However, it is important to be aware of how of the artwork that trapping problems can be
much trap will be applied to the graphics so avoided.
that good design decisions can be made in Vignettes and gradient fills can be difficult
creating the graphics. Desktop application to trap because of the gradual change of the
software has tools or special features that tint values that occur in a gradient fill. If the
allow a designer to trap the artwork, but it is vignette is trapping to an element that is a
usually the job of the separator to build trap- 100% solid color, the trap is easier to hide.
ping into an artwork file. But if a design has a vignette abutting a sec-
Trapping is simply enlarging a print ele- ond vignette, the trapping can become much
ment so that the edges that come into con- more difficult and visually unappealing. With
tact with other elements overlap (overprint) some prepress systems, trapping vignettes
by a specified amount. The amount of trap- can even be impossible to do.
ping required for an artwork file varies from Drop shadows in a design are also difficult
DESIGN 31
2% The trap line must be a
wider thickness and 2% 2&
overprint the original Page Designed
to Avoid Trapping
object. Butter
Choice
2^ Drop shadows are often America’s
difficult to trap and can
create unusual looking
results on the final
package.
America’s
Choice
2& Die lines provided by Butter
the die maker will
ensure accurate America’s Choice Butter
positioning of all
Page Which Will
graphics to the cutting Require Trapping
and folding lines.
2^
cations for the positioning of graphics in
relation to the location of die-cut scores,
folds and cut line, will vary depending on the
press width and press type, and must be
adhered to by the designer.
Die lines can be requested from the die
maker’s CAD (computer-aided design) sys-
tem, usually as an EPS or Adobe Illustrator
file. The die lines from a CAD system will
accurately show all cuts, perforations and
score lines being made on the final project
from the die maker’s perspective. Die lines
require exact dimensional accuracy (for
to trap and tend to create some unusual example: 2.000, not 1.998 or 2.003 for a 2"
looking results on the final printed piece. An dimension).
example of unusual trapping would be a
bold typeface, colored in a pale green and Illustrations
sitting on top of a 50% black drop shadow, Many tools available for a designer to cre-
with the entire image on a background of a ate illustrations. Many formats used to build
pale yellow (Figure 2^). The typeface would illustrations prove difficult to separate and
be lighter than the drop shadow and would then print on press. Some of these difficul-
have to spread into the shadow. The back- ties relate to the way the illustration was cre-
ground yellow would have to spread into ated and some to the actual makeup of the
both the shadow and the green type. illustration. Thin lines, strokes, trapping,
gradations, pattern fills and other elements
Die Lines can cause difficulty when trying to maintain
Most packaging graphics have to be the integrity of the illustration on the flexo
placed according to die-cut scores, cuts and press.
folds (Figure 2&). Therefore, the final pack- When selecting color for an illustration,
age must incorporate print-to-print and there is no limit. But a smart designer will
print-to-cut (or fold) registration. Specifi- use one plate or a spot color to define the
2*
2* Object-oriented images
are made up of drawn
objects such as circles,
squares, lines and
complex curves called
paths. Object-oriented
images are defined by
points which are used to
manipulate the image.
DESIGN 33
2( To avoid problems control points along the illustration’s paths.
during the prepress 2( Artists should also try to avoid long, continu-
processing of electronic
files, the production ous paths. Paths that are complex with many
artist should simplify points can cause problems during the pre-
paths.
press processing of the electronic file. The
cleanest lines are the lines created with the
3) Fills are great looking,
fun to use and create fewest points (Figure 2().
impressive results, Pattern Fill. A further consideration to be
but they can cause
taken into account when coloring an illus-
processing problems in
interpreting the pattern tration is pattern fill (Figure 3)). Fills are
data at the RIP. great looking, fun to work with, create
impressive results and are easy to use – truly
a designer’s dream come true! But, they can
be a production artist’s nightmare. Pattern
3) fills modify an electronic file’s integrity in
Pattern
Fill ways that are not evident to a designer. Still,
pattern fills make electronic files difficult, if
not impossible for many prepress systems to
process. Pattern fills should be avoided, or
before using, test the output of the pattern on
the output device. One of the processing
problems with pattern fills is that the RIP can
have difficulty interpreting the pattern data.
Sizing. At times, an illustration is reduced in
size after being created. For instance, an
illustration might be reduced to fit onto a
side panel of a package. This reduction can
cause problems with the printability of the
Auto-trace and vector graphics. Should a illustration. Line weights, type size and trap
designer decide to create a design the “old- areas may become smaller than the mini-
fashioned” way by hand drawing with a pen mum specifications.
and ink or pencil, the illustration must be Complexity. Some illustrations can be very
scanned into the desktop environment. Once complex, containing many graphic elements
scanned, the design is converted to line work like patterns, gradations, colors, varying line
using a vector conversion application such as weights, text and more. When a separator is
Adobe Streamline or an autotracing feature working on this type of illustration, the lay-
available in Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia ering of the elements can change, making it
FreeHand. Autotracing and vector conver- very difficult for the separator to get all ele-
sions are not very accurate in recreating the ments back into the correct layering order.
original image because additional points can The illustrator should try to group “like”
be added to a path. These additional points objects together or elements within one
can alter the shape of the original line, add object together, to avoid this problem.
more data than is necessary and slow down
processing. It is crucial that settings are cor- Bitmapped Graphics
rectly used or the traced illustration may be A bitmapped image is defined pixel-by-
reproduced with an excessive amount of pixel and has a fixed resolution. (A pixel,
DESIGN 35
3@ Typical line-weight Be sure to consider the web direction and
scale from a press 3@ linear direction of dots in tints, monotones
characterization target
used to determine and duotones as they are applied to the art.
minimum capabilities. The cells of the anilox ink metering roll usu-
ally run 45° to the web direction. Therefore,
3# Examples of a moiré the direction of the dots in the screen should
pattern which occurs
when the angle of the be angled off those of the anilox roll to avoid
anilox roll is not taken possible moiré patterns. A moiré pattern can
into consideration occur when two or more screen angles that
before choosing
screen angles . are too close to each other are used. When
screen angles conflict, they create a variety
of objectionable patterns instead of the tone
values you want (Figure 3#).
DESIGN 37
when the designer does not preview the what is going to come off the press. To avoid
image in CMYK. The file should be sent to this type of problem, a designer should be
the separator in the original RGB format. aware that all presses are different and refer
The separator will then convert to CMYK to the specific press characterization data
using the correct dot-gain compensation. from the printer or separator.
RGB channels are a color mode used for pro- Each press has a set of tolerances or lim-
jecting color onto the monitor. It is also the its. For example, some presses are unable to
color mode that many desktop scanners sup- print very small dots. These limits occur for
port. But presses do not print in RGB and if a variety of reasons. T he substrate that a job
a press will not support a color mode, is being printed on, the plate material or the
chances are excellent that a prepress system ink being used can cause limitations. Even
or RIP will not support it either. Some pre- the pressman running the press can have an
press systems will not process an artwork effect on the print appearance of a particular
file if an RGB image is detected. Converting project. Looking back to the example of a
files into printable color modes is done very graduated highlight area consisting of 15%
simply inside an application such as Adobe black through 0%, imagine that the press
PhotoShop. It can be very useful for the running this particular project is unable to
designer to know what file formats and color print any dots that are 5% or lower. The
modes are supported by the prepress system result will be graduated areas of the image
or RIP that will process the artwork files. that fall within the 0% to 5% range will not be
Trap. Trapping a halftone to another halftone printed. When this occurs in a highlight area,
can be tricky because different halftones what will appear on the printed copy is a
contain common colors. The designer may gradual reduction of the black area and then
not want a trap to occur, while the prepress an abrupt stop at 5%. This abrupt stop leaves
software may automatically apply a trap. It is what is known as a “break”, or if we com-
best to consult with the prepress provider to pare it to printing with a rubber stamp, a
find out what will happen when these files bald spot where the ink didn’t print.
are sent to the RIP. It is up to the designer A designer can modify the highlight areas
and separator to decide whether or not the so this “break” will not occur if he/she
halftones should be trapped to each other. knows which press the project will run on.
Trapping a halftone to a solid color or out- Using the example of a highlight area that
line is fairly simple. If the halftone is trap- graduates from 15% to 0% with a break at the
ping to a dark color, the trap probably will 5% area, a designer can modify the highlight
not show. But if part of the halftone is dark area so that it graduates from 15% to 6%. This
and part light, a dark line color will show in modified gradient will provide enough dot
the light area of the halftone. coverage to prevent a break or bald spot
Shadow, Highlight. Shadow and highlight from occurring.
areas (the darkest and lightest areas of an A similar phenomenon can occur at the
image) can have a positive or negative impact opposite end of the tonal range. Shadow
on the overall design appearance, depending areas in an image may “close up”, become
on these areas print. When an image has a “muddy” or “disappear”. The primary cause
highlight area that graduates from 15% black of shadow areas “closing up” is a problem
to 0%, it may look good on the computer known as dot gain. Dot gain on a press is cre-
screen and may even print out beautifully on ated when the surface of the plate (which is
the laser proof. There is no guarantee, how- loaded with ink) comes into contact with the
ever, that what is seen prior to printing is substrate and impresses (prints) the image
Film Negative
Halftone Dot
onto the substrate. A variety of reasons may used for particular print situations. For
cause the image to become slightly enlarged. example, when the registration tolerances
When an area of the artwork is tinted or are not very tight a halftone made up of four
screened, the dots that create this screen colors instead of two could look quiet blurry.
can become enlarged during the printing Duotones can also be used just for the inter-
process (Figure 3%). esting graphic effect of a two-color halftone.
There are ways of applying creative solu- Duotones are handled by both the designer
tions to manipulate halftones and accentu- and separator the same way halftones are
ate the look of the graphics while hiding pos- handled, except for color breaks. It is impor-
sible print defects. In Figure 3^, the black in tant to proof a duotone so everyone can see
the text is the same process black that is in and approve or reject the two-color look.
the image of the apple. Many times black The settings and color separations need to
requires more impression or a higher vol- be adjusted and proofed until a desirable
ume anilox to get good, solid coverage. This outcome is achieved. Duotones can be fun to
approach, however, will make the process work with and look better than halftones in
black in the apple print heavier and there- many cases.
fore, they will look dirty. If there are enough
print units, the black in the text can print on Alternative Screens
a separate unit from the one used for the Traditional halftone screening uses the size
black in the halftone image. Impression on of the dot to convey shading. The larger the
the black in the apples can remain light, giv- dot the darker the shading, while smaller dots
ing it a crisp, clean look. provides lighter shades. Alternative screens
can be visually appealing options for the
Duotones designer. These screens look different than
A duotone is a halftone consisting of two conventional halftone screens and can be
colors (Figure 3&). One color is usually used more forgiving to print than conventional
for the highlight and shadow areas and the screens. Alternative screens come in the form
other color for the midtone areas. Not only of mezzotints, random or FM (Figure 3*),
do duotones offer a fresh look for conven- pixelization, noise and others. Much atten-
tional halftones, they also offer print advan- tion has been given to FM (Frequency
tages over some halftones. Duotones can be Modulated), also known as stochastic,
DESIGN 39
3& Duotones are usually
printed in black and a 3& 3( RGB Pantone
custom color. In an Color Gamut Color Gamut
image-processing pro-
gram it is very easy to
see how a duotone will
look on-screen before
the image is finalized.
and UCR are applications used to make the 2700 5400 8100 10800 13500 16200 18900 21600
10 3430 6870 10300 13700 17200 20600 24000 27500
black longer in the shadow areas. In other
words, instead of trying to create shadows 2700 Digital file size image scanned at 266 ppi/133 lpi
or neutrals with a combination of C, M and 3430 Digital file size image scanned at 300 ppi/150 lpi
DESIGN 41
4) An FPO label denotes become a necessary evil, they also have a
that the bar code shown
very strict set of tolerances that must be fol- 4)
is only intended to indi-
cate orientation, size, lowed by the designer and separator.
color, etc.; it is not to be If designers decide to generate the bar
printed.
code themselves, there are many utilities and
applications available in the desktop envi-
ronment that will create bar codes and UPC
symbols. A word of caution: if a designer
chooses to generate the bar codes to be used
in the final printed piece, then he/she also
accepts all of the legal responsibility for guar-
anteeing that the bar code will print accu-
rately. Should the designer decide that this is
a responsibility he/she does not wish to
incur, he/she can provide an FPO. The FPO
(Figure 4)) represents where the bar code is such as brown, blue and green; with back-
to be placed in the design and the separator grounds in yellow, orange, pink, peach and
creates a correct, final bar code. When pro- red generally scan successfully. Bar codes
viding an FPO for the final placement of a bar should be created with one color to create
code, the designer should be aware of the tol- sharp edges and avoid any register issues.
erances necessary for accurately printing a Placement. Certain types of packaging may
bar code, so that the placement, dimensions, require specific symbol placement. The posi-
quiet zone and color of the FPO are correct tioning depends on the symbol used and the
for the final printed symbol. The ultimate packaging of the product. It is strongly rec-
goal by everyone involved is to create a sym- ommended that the symbols be printed in
bol that, when scanned, is within ANSI stan- the web direction, also known as through the
dards of acceptance. press or picket fence (Figure 4!). The
Compensation. Compensation is achieved by widths of each bar and background space
undercutting the bar width, so that when are what the scanner detects and must be
printed with the expected amount of gain, printed as accurately as possible. When the
the bar code grows back to the original size. symbol prints through the press, the bars
Color and Symbol Contrast. When selecting a might be longer because of press slur, but
color for the UPC symbol or bar code, it is the width will not be affected. If there is no
imperative to choose a color combination other choice but to print in the across the
that will provide sufficient contrast between press direction (Ladder) the printer must
the scan bars and spaces. Black bars with provide specifications.
white spaces provide the highest symbol con- Size. Symbol sizes are specified according to
trast (SC) for accurate scan reading. The the symbol and the use. UPC codes that are
amount of required SC varies based on the scanned by point-of-sale scanners have a
symbol and where it will be used. The light fixed relationship between height and width.
sources used in bar code scanners generally The specified magnification range is 80 -
use red light. Therefore bar codes should not 200% of nominal size. Most symbols have
be colored in reds or oranges, as they will not minimum requirements for the quiet zone,
read when scanned. These colors can be used the background area free of printing on the
for background colors. If the bars are printed left and right side of the bars. As symbols are
with a color other than black, dark colors reduced in size, so are the bars and back-
DESIGN 43
4@ The lower the screen are represented (Figure 4@).
ruling, the larger the 4@ High dpi Low dpi Printable Line Screen (lpi). Line screen print-
halftone cells; the high-
er the screen ruling, the
ability varies greatly depending on the print
smaller the halftone variables. These variables could be sub-
cells. strate, ink-metering system, ink formulation
and anilox configuration. The same graphic
4# Increasing the line can look very different depending on the
screen ruling creates
smaller halftone dots particular line screen (Figure 4#) used, and
which adds detail to the Printer Dot successful designs must look good in the
image, but it reduces (dpi)
the number of grays Halftone Dot line screen actually printed. Line screens
available. can vary from 45 to 175 lpi.
To calculate the levels of gray available at
Halftone Cell a given screen ruling and output device, use
the following formula:
4#
1 shades of gray
2
output resolution
2400 2
72
1 1,112
levels of gray
screen ruling
4% Banding in a vignette
occurs when the length
of the area to be filled
exceeds the capability
of the number of tint
levels available.
0 2 4 6 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100 0 2 4 6 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100
4% No Banding Banding
DESIGN 45
to create a blend that varies from 1% to 100%. Blends which might appear banded on the
A gradient that blends from 1% through 50% computer screen, or even on a laser proof,
requires a minimum of 128 steps to blend may have been correctly created and may
without banding. Simply put, more steps not band in the final film. Computer screens
equal better blends. generally display at a resolution of 72 dpi.
Another cause of banding in vignettes The artwork will probably be output to film
occurs when blends run at a variety of differ- at a resolution of 1,200 dpi, or even higher.
ent angles on a design. Electronic artwork These higher resolutions of film imageset-
files must be converted to binary coding ters will help in decreasing the possibility of
when set to the RIP to be output on a film banding in a gradient fill.
imagesetter or platesetter. Binary coding uses Color Mixtures. When two elements are made
a coordinate system that is comparable to a of two different spot colors and then blend-
grid. Under the line screen grid is a secondary ed manually, the resultant blend might not
grid that is determined by the resolution of actually consist of the two spot colors.
the artwork file. The line screen grid can be Usually drawing programs will convert this
rotated on top of the underlying resolution type of blend automatically into a process-
grid. Because the line-screen grid can be color breakdown. The blend function is
rotated, but the resolution grid (which con- unable to separate the different percentages
tains the dots) cannot, banding can occur of both spot colors and hold the integrity of
when lines in the line-screen grid run in dif- those colors at all tint values. It is easier for
ferent directions than those on the resolution the application to convert the entire blend to
grid. This phenomenon can be compared to process colors. For example, if a blend
painting a wooden fence. The paint lies more needs to be created with a blue-spot gradient
evenly and fills in all of the cracks with a to a red-spot gradient, the designer will have
stroke that follows the grain of the wood, ver- to create two separate gradient blends. The
sus a stroke that runs across the wood. Paint blue should be placed on top of the red, with
strokes that run cross-grain can leave cracks the blue gradient set to overprint. This pro-
that are completely untouched by the paint. cedure is the only way to ensure the gradient
A good way to avoid banding in a vignette will separate into the two spot colors upon
is to create the gradient in Adobe PhotoShop film output. It is also important to consult
and use the “Add Noise” filter. The “Add the separator or printer because some col-
Noise” filter will shift the pixels in the gradi- ors, yellow or beige for example, can grade
ent blend so that different tint values will not to 2% but look like a fade to 0%.
align along a straight edge. This shift creates
a feathered effect that softens any hard Color
breaks where different tint values meet. The Creating a custom color palette before
difficulty in using this method to create beginning the actual design is a good practice
vignettes is that files generated from Adobe for designers. At this time, they should refer
PhotoShop are much larger than files creat- to the print color criteria of the project. The
ed in Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia’s print color refers to how many and what col-
FreeHand. The PhotoShop files must be ors will be printed. The designer should not
placed in a drawing application and can be use colors that the printer will not be using.
difficult to manipulate inside the drawing Usually the palette includes cyan, magenta
program. These files can also greatly ,yellow, black and any spot or special colors
increase the amount of disk space the art- specified for the project (Figure 4^).
work file requires for storage. Unfortunately, it is common for the designer
DESIGN 47
tain effects and colors can be achieved using have communicated and agreed upon this
available process and spot colors. When a action plan. The designer must specify the
special color is needed, the designer leaves an special color as “match color PMS 259” for
extra color in the design, so the separator can example, or whatever the match is supposed
determine how it should be created. This is to be.
only done when the designer and separator
W
completed, it’s ready for or even capable of reproducing a proof that
the platemaker. Now is will match the press result. Consumer prod-
the time, before the uct companies and designers are approving
expense of platemak- and expecting the final print to match this
ing, to get final approval proof, which doesn’t happen in many cases.
of all copy, positioning and color. Depending The most common issue with contract
on the specific printer, interdepartmental as proofs is that they are made to offset and not
well as customer approval may be required. flexo specifications. The proofing stage
Usually, you can save time if the original pro- needs to be set up for flexo specifications.
duction art is retained in-house and copies Although the designer does not usually pro-
forwarded for customer approval. For pur- duce the proof that is used in the approval
poses of approving the copy and positioning stages, he/she can take charge of providing
of line work, ink jet or laser copies are often the correct flexo information to those mak-
sufficient. ing the proof. The designer should work
closely with the flexo separator when deter-
mining how the contract proof should be
COLOR PROOFING made. Some guidelines to follow when using
Color proofs, better known as contract an analog or digital proofing system are:
proofs, are used for customer approval • Use flexo target densities.
throughout the entire design, prepress and • Make sure the correct color of the sub-
print process. The proof is used to represent strate is compensated for or simulated.
what the graphics will look like when print- • Use the correct flexo tonal values for
ed. A proof is a very useful and inexpensive minimum highlight and maximum
way to determine if any changes should be shadow dots.
made to graphic color, placement, text, trap, • Do whatever else the separator or print-
dot-gain compensation and much more. er suggests.
Unfortunately, many contract proofs are
DESIGN 49
.
T
the printability of the design, Regardless of which application the
and at the same time, create files designer chooses to create artwork, the
that can be edited. With all of the application is a tool that the designer must
software bells and whistles skillfully use so that the completed project
available today, it is very easy to can be effectively separated. Artwork files
create graphics that are difficult for the sep- that are successfully separated are usually
arator to pull apart and separate, and to very simple files. That is not to say that the
make compensations for dot gain and trap. artwork design is simplistic or unsophisti-
Computer programs or applications are cated. Simple files are files that are built or
the tools that designers use to create elec- created in an uncomplicated manner.
tronic artwork, the way a carpenter uses
saws, hammers and awls to create furniture
or cabinetry. And like a good carpenter, a LAYERS
good designer will be familiar with many of The layer function is available in most
the tools available for creating artwork in desktop applications. Layers are a useful
the desktop environment. He/she will be tool for organizing elements in an artwork
aware what each application offers in fea- file (Figure 4&). Some graphics are simple
tures and options to accomplish a specific with very few elements and do not justify the
project. A carpenter can’t create every piece time it takes to create layers for varying ele-
of woodwork with just a hammer and a ments. Other graphics can be quite complex
designer shouldn’t try to create every design by incorporating many different graphic ele-
with just one application. While many pro- ments, such as a variety of flavors or special
grams available today are similar, all offer banner information. These graphics can eas-
unique features or options that set them ily cause confusion, and if not organized
apart from other programs. Some programs accurately, they can result in the wrong
are specifically developed to handle page graphic elements appearing on the separa-
layout with graphics. Some are more applic- tor’s proof. With complex graphics, layering
able for packaging graphics and some are can be very useful. Layers used in creating
ideal for working on scanned graphics. an artwork file can make editing or out-
Packaging graphics are usually created and putting the correct color separations or fla-
completed in a drawing program. vor separations very efficient.
The designer must use software programs Separate layers can be created to organize
that allow for easy and efficient graphics cre- an artwork file in the following manner:
ation. These programs also must allow the • Die line. This layer indicates the overall
separator to easily separate and compensate shape and layout of the packaging
for flexo variables. Choosing software that design, and should be created in a
works for both processes should not be an color called “die line”.
issue if the designer and separator have good • Graphics. This layer contains the main
4&
Barcode
Here
DESIGN 51
4* Drawing programs uti- The designer should find out what format
lize vectors, i.e., points 4* the separator prefers for placing or import-
that define how the lines
between them should ing graphics into a drawing program. If using
act – as straight lines, Adobe Illustrator, for example, it is recom-
arcs or Bezier curves.
mended to use only placed EPSs, especially
when working with process color graphics.
When a file has an embedded TIFF file,
instead of a placed EPS, the separator may
have to re-raster the image in PhotoShop to
color correct it. The edited file is then placed
back into Illustrator as an EPS. This lengthy
procedure increases time expended on cor-
recting the file and increases prepress costs.
When designing with a placed EPS, verify
that the clipping path is included in the
DRAWING PROGRAMS Illustrator document, especially if the image
Drawing programs utilize vectors (mathe- has to trap to a background or gradient. This
matical information of a point and line in procedure enables the separator to quickly
space, defined by its magnitude and direc- trap the Illustrator file and can be done as
tion). Vector-based or object-oriented art- follows :
work consists of points that defines how the 1. Export the clipping path to Illustrator
lines between them should act – as straight from within PhotoShop.
lines, arcs or Bezier curves. The shapes 2. Save the graphic as an EPS.
defined by the lines can then be filled with or 3. Open the Illustrator file with the
without color (Figure 4*). exported path, which opens it with
Several drawing programs are available crop marks and indicates the docu-
for the desktop publisher – the two most ment boundary.
popular applications are Adobe Illustrator 4. View the image in the artwork mode
and Macromedia FreeHand. Vector-based showing the rulers and choose any
programs create object-oriented art with the corner.
following qualities: 5. Line up two guides – one vertical and
• Objects are perpetually editable. one horizontal. Make sure the general
• Objects print at the highest possible res- preference is set to “snap to point”.
olution. 6. Place the EPS by selecting and drag-
• Objects maintain their quality and don’t ging from one corner; the graphic will
degrade like bitmapped images. snap and line up exactly with the path.
• Objects are infinitely scaleable.
• Graphics are very small compared to
bitmapped graphics. PAGE LAYOUT PROGRAMS
• Die lines can be created in vector-based As with the drawing programs, there are
software that can then be forwarded to several applications available in the desktop
the diemaker. environment designated as page layout pro-
grams. Two major applications for page lay-
Other features of these drawing programs out are QuarkXpress and Adobe Pagemaker.
include the ability to create blends or As the title suggests, page layout programs
vignettes and edit raster images. are designed for laying out documents that
DESIGN 53
5) Image manipulation
progams offer a variety Original Image
of filters to achieve
interesting effects in
addition to photo
retouching and color
correction.
Crosshatch Cutout
DESIGN 55
5! Applications of color
management technology 5!
can range from CMYK-
to-CMYK conversions
Monitor Monitor
which match four output ICC
devices, such as a Profiles
proofer to a press, all Thermal Thermal
the way to the full-scale Transfer Transfer
integration of the tech-
nology to implement
what is known as Color Color
Laser ORIGINAL
device-independent Laser
color.
CPU CPU
Imagesetter Imagesetter
and more simple a file is built, the fewer of the technology to implement what is
problems it will have during the prepress known as device-independent color. The lat-
processing and the more likely it is to suc- ter term refers to color that is measured and
cessfully print. managed from an absolute measurement
point of view. In the CIELab color space or
color description, any color has a unique
COLOR MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS value given by three numbers. If that partic-
With the advent of reasonably priced ular color is to be reproduced, the charac-
instrumentation, it has become possible to teristics of the output device must be
measure and control color using CIELab known. These characteristics are called the
color space. Basically this means measuring profile, or more specifically, the ICC profile
color in the same way that people perceive of that device. If all input and output devices
color. Instead of a set of CMYK values, a are characterized in this way, color can be
color is described in terms of the three char- specified and reproduced in terms of these
acteristics that people distinguish in color: “absolute” values.
hue (red, green, blue, etc), chroma (the satu- By the late 1990’s, color management has
ration or purity of the color, where gray has received a lot of attention and is becoming
zero or no chroma), and lightness (the more widely used. It is by no means as
brightness of a color, where black is at one prevalent as some of the more mature tech-
end of the scale and white at the other). nologies, such as Postscript, for example.
Color management programs are tools Many different “workflows” still exist and
that apply this technology to the workflow will likely continue to exist as the technolo-
(Figure 5!). Applications can range from gy matures and becomes the accepted way
CMYK-to-CMYK conversions which match of working with color from creation to ink
two output devices, such as a proofer to a on substrate.
press, all the way to the full-scale integration
A
used by a designer to create images are commonly used for transporting
artwork. It is common to cre- or displaying scanned images across the
ate different elements of the World Wide Web. CMYK, RGB and grayscale
completed design in a variety channels are supported by the JPEG format,
of applications and then make but JPEG files are automatically com-
a composite file of these elements in one pressed when saved to create smaller file
program. The secret to creating an artwork sizes. To accomplish this compression,
file that will successfully process during the image data is discarded resulting in a lower
prepress stage is knowing which file types quality image. JPEG files are excellent for
can be combined to create the final compos- displaying on a computer screen, but are a
ite artwork file. There are as many file types poor choice for printing artwork files.
as there are applications to create them and GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is anoth-
each one has its own unique features to offer er commonly used file format for transport-
(Table 7). A description of some of the more ing or displaying scanned images across the
commonly used file types follows: World Wide Web. This format supports
PICT file format is a common file type used bitmap, grayscale or indexed color channels.
most frequently for graphics that are only Index color is a limited color palette using
used for monitor display. PICT file support up to 256 colors. These limitations on the
RGB channels, which make it a poor choice supported color channels result in a much
for saving images. RGB channels are gener- smaller and more compressed file. The
ally not supported by RIPs and can cause the smaller file size transfers quickly across
artwork file to fail or crash during the Internet lines, which makes it an excellent
RIPping process. PICT files should not be choice for use on the World Wide Web.
used in finished artwork files that are ready These same color limitations make GIF files
to be processed for film or plate output. a poor choice for artwork that will print on a
TIFF (Tagged-Image File Format) files are the press; therefore, GIF files should never be
most commonly used and most widely sup- used in composite artwork files designed for
ported file formats available in the desktop printing.
environment. TIFF files support RGB, CMYK PDF (Portable Document Format) files are
and grayscale channels, which make this file self-contained files that can be created by
format an excellent choice for saving most desktop applications. These files con-
scanned images. Some prepress systems tain both line work and raster images and
may have difficulty processing TIFF files. A are an excellent choice to send graphics to a
designer should check with the output customer to soft proof. The customer cannot
provider’s ability to support this format. edit the file but he/she can view it on a com-
DESIGN 57
FILE FORMATS SUPPORTED BY COMMON DESKTOP APPLICATIONS
Adobe Illustrator
2
Canvas
2
CorelDraw
2
Macromedia FreeHand
2
Adobe Photoshop
2
Painter
Adobe PageMaker 3
Legend: 2
Vector-based art
QuarkXpress 3
Scalable/rotable bitmap
2
Editable bitmap
Allowable
DESIGN 59
5@ Convert the embedded range. The artist should very carefully
text into an outline so review the items being used in an embedded 5@
the font is not required
for RIPping. file to avoid hidden problems that usually
are not found until after film has been output
or sent to the RIP. Simply put, it is best to
avoid using embedded files or graphics for
trouble-free prepress and separation appli-
cations.
W
taken into considera- and list the name of fonts used.
tion prior to the art- 2. Load the fonts to make sure all correct
work file being handed fonts are present.
to a service bureau or 3. Print the file to a laser printer at 100%,
prepress department, using tiling if necessary. This type of
the final file has a much better chance of proof has limitations but is usually the
successfully navigating through production best available at this stage.
and processing accurately and efficiently. All 4. Compare these laser proofs to
graphic elements must be within FIRST approved comps or anything that indi-
compliance and in accordance with press- cates the graphics, text and other ele-
characterization data. ments required on the packaging.
The final design may seem very simple to 5. Make a PostScript file of the document
the designer, but it can be difficult to deci- and output this to any laser printer. This
pher by another user at a different stage of precaution gives the designer the
the production process. Fortunately, most opportunity to work on correcting the
programs have the option of creating com- graphic file before sending it to the sep-
ment layers or report features that can be arator.
used to provide detailed information about
the file and design elements. These report Media. The software, hardware and media
features can be used to provide much of the used for the final graphics must be compati-
documentation required by FIRST and the ble with the separator’s hardware and soft-
separator. ware. The designer does not have to alter his
Preflight Guidelines. All files should be pre- hardware or software but the designer and
flighted before they are given to any other separator must communicate in advance
user. Preflighting can be done manually or and devise a plan for compatibility.
using automated preflight software. A disk Many final graphic files are very large and
should be preflighted on a different comput- are more easily handled when they are com-
er than the one that the graphics were creat- pressed. The major consideration with com-
ed on. In the Mac system, all fonts must be pressed graphics is verifying the receiver has
turned off except the standard 35. The the ability to decompress files. In case the
designer should take the following steps for receiver does not have the same utility soft-
a manual preflight or simply follow the ware that the designer is using, create the
directions on the preflight software. Any files with a .sea extension (self extracting
errors or problems encountered during this archives). Some software allows a file to be
process should be documented and then segmented onto different disks instead of
corrected. After corrections, the entire pre- being compressed. But again, it is necessary
flight is performed a second time. to make sure the receiver can open these
1. Open the final graphic file to identify types of files.
DESIGN 61
Proprietary Settings. Some programs like
QuarkXpress offer the option for a user to DOCUMENTATION CHECKLIST
create custom settings, such as kerning.
TASK
When the graphic file is sent to the separa-
■ List and include key files and FPO files
tor, the designer must send any of these pro-
within the key files.
prietary settings as well. ■ List fonts used and correct names
Documentation. The required documentation (include if necessary).
must be in hard-copy format. If any report ■ List software used and version number.
files or comment layers are used, they must ■ List names of nested files.
be listed on the hard-copy documentation. It ■ Identify final graphic file name(s).
may be more efficient to create a form that is It is recommended to put all other support
filled out for the required documentation. files in a separate folder.1
The checklist (Table 8) should be used and ■ List all layers that are common.
NOTE:
1 When more than one design file is sent, a
folder should be created with the design
file in it and another folder in it that con-
tains all of the support files.
Table 8
Prepress
e
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Author/Editor: Hassan Shareef, Imaging International Inc.
Pantone and PMS is a registered trademarks of Pantone, Inc. Apple, Macintosh are registered trademarks, and
TrueType is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Adobe, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Dimensions, Adobe Distiller, Adobe
Illustrator, Adobe Pagemaker, Adobe Photoshop and PostScript are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated or
its subsidiaries and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. QuarkXpress is a registered trademark of Quark, Inc.
FreeHand is a trademark of Macromedia, Inc. DOS and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
All trademarks have been used in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement.
I
press has become an industry unto tions. Preflight, in conjunction with pre-
itself. This is especially true in the flex- flight quality control seeks to screen out
ographic reproduction process. While potential production problems before the
there are many designers and printers/ actual production process is started.
converters with prepress capabilities, Job Assembly/Layout. This process, when
this chapter will center on prepress as a sep- done manually, is known as stripping. In
arate entity. Prepress facilities in all convert- today’s environment, it is where the elec-
ing operations will generally follow the same tronic files are assembled and trapped for
workflows and procedures. output of plate-ready films or direct-to-
Prepress involves several job functions, plate systems. This is the start of the actu-
each requiring its own skill set, software and al production process.
hardware: Film Output/Imagesetting. This normally
Image Capture. The process of converting entails the addition of distortions or com-
reflective or transparent artwork into a pensations and generation of plate-ready
digital image. With today’s digital cameras, films required for flexographic reproduc-
it can also mean the direct capture of the tion. These films are output on high-reso-
real-world image. lution imagesetters. Plate output would
Preflight Quality Control. This function is sim- fall into this category when a direct-to-
ilar to the preflight function in that all plate system is being utilized.
incoming materials are reviewed to ensure Proofing. This process involves creating a
a smooth workflow in production. The dif- representation of the assembled file prior
ference is that at this point, the customer- to plate-ready film output or digital
supplied low resolution proofs are used to platemaking.
check various aspects of the job. This Back-end Quality Control. In this process,
function is done before viewing the elec- materials (usually proofs and films) are
tronic files themselves. inspected before release to the platemak-
Desktop/Preflight. This function involves er, converter or customer.
reviewing incoming electronic files, Customer Service. This function acts as the
checking the elements of the file in order liaison between the designer or generator
to process those files before creating of the job and the printer/converter.
some type of postscript output which
PREPRESS 65
Image Capture
mage capture is the process of convert-
I
ner’s ability to capture a broad dynamic
ing original photographic artwork into a range (variations in light and shadow), as
digital file. This process takes the con- well as the resolution (number of samples
tinuous-tone reflective or transparent per inch) of the scan and the scanner’s pixel
artwork and “separates” it into its RGB depth, which controls the number of colors
(red, green and blue) or CMYK (cyan, it can capture. The scanner’s optical
magenta, yellow and black) components. mechanics or “optics” dictate the resolution,
“Real world” images can be captured digital- the light-detection device and electronics
ly. By using a digital camera, the live image is and color information.
captured without first going through the Scanners come in two primary configura-
stage of a photograph or other artwork. tions: drum and flatbed (Figure 5#). Drum
scanners require that the original artwork be
wrapped or mounted onto a clear acrylic
SCANNERS cylinder. The cylinder is rotated at high
Scanners record the data in red, green, speeds as the light source exposes and the
blue channels by measuring or sampling the optics and electronics of the scanner record
image and assigning the information in the the color information for each pixel. Flatbed
form of a single picture element or “pixel.” scanners have the same function, except
Each pixel has either a red, green or blue- that the artwork is laid flat and the light
color value associated to it. Some scanners source passes over the image and records
may also convert the original RGB image the pixel information. With transparent art-
and preset that as CMYK data. work, a scanning light passes through the
The quality of a scanner is affected by its transparency, while with reflective art, the
optical mechanism, which controls the scan- light reflects off the artwork.
5#
Digital Camera
• Stuido Digital Camera Back 5# Typical flatbed and
• 35mm SLR Digital Camera Back drum scanners. These
Scanner • Point-and-Shoot
• Flatbed are used to capture
• Drum original artwork and
convert it into digital
form.
PREPRESS 67
Drum as well as flatbed scanners filter the image with a FM dot that is close to the mini-
light through red, green and blue filters and mum size the printing press can print consis-
then use an electronic detector to convert tently is considered ideal.
the light into the separate electronic RGB If traditional halftone screening for color
channels. Drum scanners use a photomulti- and grayscale bitmap images is used, the res-
plier tube (PMT) to convert the light. This olution required is usually dependent upon
technique allows for capturing a wide range the screen ruling and the final printed size.
of color. It also makes the equipment more At actual reproduction size, it is recom-
expensive when compared to flatbed scan- mended that the resolution be at least 1.5
ners. Flatbed scanner optics utilize CCDs times the screen ruling. For instance, an
(charged coupled devices) to detect the light, image printing at 120-line screen should
one scan line at a time. CCD technology is have at least 180 (120 x 1.5) ppi for high qual-
less expensive, but it generally provides a ity reproduction.
lower range of reproduction. Recent During the process of enlarging or reduc-
advances in CCD technology have greatly ing the size of an image, the “effective” reso-
leveled the playing field. lution is changed. Resolution is changed in
Another difference between the two types direct proportion to the percentage of
of high-end scanners is the ability to provide enlargement or reduction. If, for example,
an image compatible with high-resolution the 180 ppi scan were enlarged to 200%, the
output devices. Resolution outputs of most effective resolution is reduced in half to 90
high-end devices range from 2,400 to 4,000 ppi. This scan would now only support qual-
dpi (dots per inch) for commercial work. ity reproduction at 60-line screen. This is
Both drum and desktop high-end devices why scanning should always be done with
easily meet these requirements. However, for the final printed size in mind. If a scan will be
especially high-resolution output, the drum used for more than one size, or the size is not
scanner far surpasses the desktop models. known precisely at the time of scan, it is best
Drum scanners can go up to 10,000 dpi, while to scan at the highest resolution. A scan with
desktop models max out at 5,000 dpi. too much resolution can be safely down-
sized, but a scan with too little resolution
can not be upsized (resampled). The missing
SCANNING IMAGES data simply can’t be created (interpolated)
A good scan is as important as a good orig- to still maintain the quality for printing. With
inal to successful reproduction of an image. a resolution of more than twice the line
Digital retouching, either by resampling or screen, however, there is no appreciable
interpolation, or high-quality output can not improvement in the quality. The following is
make up for an inadequate scan. The quality the formula to calculate the scanning resolu-
of a scan is highly dependent on the number tion required:
of pixels per inch (ppi) a scanner can cap-
Scan Quality Screen
Resolution Factor Ruling Magnification
ture. This is called its resolution.
Before scanning an image, it is important to
know how that bitmap image will be repro- Where
duced, its printed size and which screening Quality Factor = 2.0 is the rule of thumb; 1.5
technology – either stochastic (FM) or con- minimum recommended.
ventional (AM) – will be used. The resolution Screen Ruling = Screen ruling which will
to use when reproducing images via FM be used to print the image,
screening depends on the FM screen used. An such as 120 lpi.
PREPRESS 69
Highlight/Shadow Treatments the shape and shadow detail in those three
Highlights and shadows are treated differ- colors.
ently in flexo than in offset. The smallest re- TAC is the total of the dot percentages of
producible dot on a flexo printing plate is the four process colors on the final film in
about a 2% dot. Dots that are 1% do not carry the darkest shadows. Knowing and compen-
the same amount of support on the plate, sating for the TAC is important during the
and in some cases, do not print at all. In conversion stage. Typical maximum TAC for
other cases, ink builds up on the dots and is flexo runs from 280% to 320%.
released onto the substrate in blobs. This is GCR is more easily defined by saying that
known as “dirty print.” A scan, then, should an unwanted color (cyan in reds or magenta
not have anything less than a 2% dot. in greens) can be replaced entirely or par-
A current technique addressing minimum tially with black. Under normal conditions in
dot size is frequency modulated (FM) dots in the flexo process, it is recommended that
the highlights. Printed samples have shown GCR be restricted to a single unwanted
that it is possible to fade to a 0% dot. This color. The use of GCR in flexo separations
technique not only allows for the reproduc- allows printers more latitude on press and
tion of cleaner, brighter highlights, but also prevents printed images from looking gray
results in cleaner or more saturated colors. and dirty.
Shadows also require a different printing GCR should not be used when the printer is
approach. Flexographic presses generally forced to print line black on the same station
record the highest density value at 93% to as the process black. It is better to have a
98% screens, not on a solid. Solids, especially short (skeleton) black for the separation, so
when printing in combination with screens, there is more latitude in setting the impres-
tend to produce picking. This is when the ink sion. The use of GCR also allows items of sig-
does not fully adhere to the substrate, leaving nificant color variations to be printed side by
tiny holes. Screen values of 93% to 98% not side (Figure 5%). For example, printers tradi-
only adhere better to the substrate, but also tionally stay away from printing an item like
gain on press to a solid. Due to these factors, carrots next to a bowl of peas. The results are
separations for flexo should not be made usually poor because in an effort to get more
where the shadows go to 100%. red into the carrots, the increased magenta
makes the peas dirty. The use of GCR
Separation Techniques: removes the magenta from the peas (and
GCR/UCR/TAC cyan from the carrots). This allows the print-
GCR (Gray Component Replacement), er to increase the magenta as needed without
UCR (Under Color Removal) and TAC (Total the peas being affected. In conjunction, the
Area Coverage) are separation techniques cyan in the peas can be manipulated without
which are used differently in flexo than they affecting the color of the carrots. Figure 5^
are used in offset. shows a separation with and without GCR.
UCR is the balanced reduction of cyan,
magenta and yellow in shadow areas, with Cutback Curves/ICC Profiles
an increase of the black to maintain the dark Cutback curves and ICC profiles are two
and near neutral shadows. This technique is methods of compensating for the particular
not always best suited for flexographic print- print characteristics, mostly the dot gain, on
ing. The ideal use of this technique will be a flexo press. The methods will be discussed
where one can reduce the amount of color in elsewhere in detail, but depending on the
yellow, magenta and cyan while maintaining particular workflow, some, or all of these
C
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Digital photography is still in its infancy
when it comes to the flexographic print
process. It is important to recognize the cur-
rent uses and workflows in which digital
M
photography is utilized and then compare
them to how things should work in today’s
flexo prepress environment.
Digital photography has been an enor-
mous benefit to the offset-print market. This
Y process captures and saves the image as dig-
ital data during the actual photography
stage. Where traditionally an image is pho-
tographed, a color negative developed and
then a color transparency or print is gener-
K ated that can then be scanned; a digital
photo bypasses almost all of those steps.
Once the image is photographed it is trans-
ferred to computers for immediate editing
measures, can be built in right at the scan- and output. Generally, the images do not
ning stage. When working with ICC profiles, require separation from an RGB color space
for example, the profile of the scanning to the CMYK printing color space. The cost
device can be generated and used with the of separating the image is eliminated as is
scan. Ultimately, using ICC profiles, each the time to do so.
input and output device is characterized and The RGB digital capture is easily converted
PREPRESS 71
by the photograhper to CMYK through color CMYK vs. RGB Proofing
conversion tables. Digital proofing devices, One of the biggest reasons why digital pho-
available to the photographer, allow the tography has not benefited flexo the way it
image to be proofed and submitted to the cus- has the offset market is because of the digital
tomer for review. If any color changes are proofing dilemma. The proofing devices use
needed, the photography studio can easily an RGB-to-CMYK color conversion table that
execute the changes and resubmit the image. is completely different than the one used to
This process works well for offset printing create the color separation for printing. This
because the conversion tables and proofing is an important fact to consider. The digital
systems have been optimized for that file output by the separator is completely dif-
process. It does not, however, meet the needs ferent from the proof supplied by the cus-
associated with flexographic reproduction tomer as a color target. The separator, then,
for the same reasons that a scan specifically has to manipulate the file to match the cus-
created for offset will not print well in flexo. tomer’s or the photographer’s proof.
The following are some of the reasons. These issues can effectively eliminate the
cost and time savings associated with digital
Minimum/Maximum photography. In short, the file received by
Dot Requirements the flexo separator can not be used as is. It
As mentioned previously in the scanning must still require minimum and maximum
section, flexo requires a minimum of a 2% dot percentages and GCR applied, and must
dot and a maximum of 95% to 98% dot. The be color corrected to match the customer-
RGB-to-CMYK color conversion tables avail- supplied proof. Digital photography is a
able to the photographer do not traditionally valid means of capturing an image, but the
allow for these settings. However, new soft- customer has to realize that, because of the
ware and more sophisticated color conver- unique properties of the flexo print process,
sion programs are quickly closing the gap. the digital file must be treated as if it were an
original transparency or reflective art.
Use of 100% GCR
Today’s flexo separators are using a full
GCR (gray component reduction) approach SCANNING DEPARTMENT SETUP
more than ever before. This means that sepa- The quality and variety of equipment
rations are done predominately with full found in a scanning department in a pre-
range (0% to 100%) in yellow, magenta and press house varies from supplier to supplier
black and a short range (60% or greater) for (Figure 5&). Generally, components include:
cyan. This “short” cyan is used when a green • Scanners – drum, flatbed, transparency, for
color is reproduced and to add weight to very translating hard-copy originals into elec-
dark shadows. Color conversion tables that tronic files that can be manipulated by
go from RGB to CMYK have been set up to electronic prepress systems. Software
produce an opposite separation. Those sepa- bundled with some high-end scanners
rations are done with a long yellow, magenta allow sophisticated image manipulation,
and cyan, and a short black. This requires or produce separated files in PostScript,
extensive retouching to make the adjustment or proprietary formats, which can be out-
from long cyan to short cyan. New software put on an imagesetter. As high-resolution
entering the market will address this issue images tend to be large and difficult to
and offer acceptable alternatives. work with on a desktop computer (see
Table 9 for file sizes of CMYK scans),
Tape Drives/
Optical Drives Proofing Device
many prepress services provide a low-res- • Monitors. High-resolution models are capa-
olution of the image to the customer for ble of 24-bit color display. Larger screens
use during layout and design, storing the usually require a video card to accelerate
high-resolution version until the pages are the display.
output. (See the section on low-resolution • Software. Programs include those to oper-
placed images for more detail) ate the scanner, color management soft-
ware, and image processing/color correc-
tion/retouching applications.
• Short-term Storage Devices. Transportable or
FILE SIZES OF SCANNED IMAGES
removeable media include Zip, Jaz or opti-
cal disks and CD-ROM.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
• Long-term Storage Devices. Hard disks, or an
277 553 830 1080 1350 1620 1890 2160
1 352 704 1030 1370 1720 2060 2400 2750 array of hard disks, CD-ROMs and/or mag-
553 1080 1620 2160 2700 3240 3780 4320 netic tape are needed to handle and archive
2 704 1370 2060 2750 3430 4120 4810 5490
the many gigabytes images require.
830 1620 2430 3420 4050 4860 5670 6480
3 1030 2060 3090 4120 5150 6180 7210 8240 • Computers. Workstations with a fast CPU
1080 2160 3240 4320 5400 6840 7560 8640 and sufficient RAM are required to run the
4 1370 2750 4120 5490 6870 8240 9610 11000 software and handle the large files.
1350 2700 4050 5400 6750 8100 9450 10800
5 1720 3430 5150 6870 8580 10300 12000 13700
• Proofing Devices. Contract-quality and digi-
1620 3240 4860 6480 8100 9720 11300 13000 tal proofing systems are essential to proof
6 2060 4120 6180 8240 10300 12400 14400 16500 the image prior to the output of film.
1890 3780 5670 7560 9450 11300 13200 15100
7 These proofing devices, when set up to
2400 4810 7210 9610 12000 14400 16800 19200
2160 4320 6480 8640 10800 1300 15100 17300 conform to actual press characteristics,
8 2750 5490 8240 11000 13700 16500 19200 22000 are extremely useful tools to the prepress
2430 4860 7290 9720 12200 14600 17000 19400 company as well as the end-user.
9 3090 6180 8270 12400 15500 18500 21600 24700
2700 5400 8100 10800 13500 16200 18900 21600
10 3430 6870 10300 13700 17200 20600 24000 27500
Table9
PREPRESS 73
Preflight Quality Control
uality Control (QC) reviews
Q
are conducted prior to manu- A JOB ENGINEER’S CHECKLIST
facturing and the release of
materials to a converter, print- ■ Size and dimension
is responsible for reviewing each project for ■ Spot colors or process match
tion. This is done soon after the arrival of the ■ Tint builds
The job engineer looks for issues that could ■ Vignettes, gradations and blends
SIZE/DIMENSIONS
One of the initial checkpoints is the actual INKS REQUESTED VS.
size of the job. A low-resolution or laser INKS REQUIRED
proof supplied to the prepress provider The inks requested by the customer could
should either be at full (100%) size or, if at a be different than the inks actually required
reduced or enlarged size, it should be clear- for optimum flexographic reproduction. The
ly indicated. The dimensions can be checked job engineer has to take into consideration
with a ruler to confirm their accuracy. many factors when trying to decide what
PREPRESS 75
swatch book and the real desire is to match the desired color. Then the software, using
that particular color in the swatch book. The data stored for the particular printing
problem is that the tint values given in the process, calculates the closest match possi-
swatch book for that particular swatch are ble using process tints. Using this tech-
not guaranteed to produce the given color nique, any color can be specified with
when printed flexographically. As a matter process colors. The software program gives
of fact, it is almost certain that the printed the degree of match possible in terms of the
color will be a poor match to the swatch. above mentioned ∆E value.
Swatch books that show process-match
builds are printed using offset specifica-
tions. For example, the specifications for INK ROTATION AND TRAPPING
PMS 485 red is 100% yellow and 100% magen- Ink rotation can determine how a job is
ta. For offset, this means that a process eventually constructed or trapped. For
match of PMS 485 red is printed with a solid instance, when a customer uses a very
ink density of approximately 1.40 for magen- opaque ink, such as a PMS 872 metallic gold,
ta and 1.00 for yellow. When the same 100% the job engineer must know what the exact
magenta and 100% yellow is printed in flexo, rotation will be. The ink rotation will be
the solid ink density for yellow is typically determined by the printer, taking into
also 1.00, but the magenta is less – around account the particular press and complexity
1.20. Because of this, the resulting color is of the job. In the case of the metallic gold, if
significantly more orange; the magenta con- there is solid-black type printing over the
tent has been reduced when compared to gold, the black can be set to overprint, if it
original yellow content. The knowledgeable prints after the gold. If the black prints
prepress facility will reduce the percent of before the gold, then a knockout must be
yellow to regain the balance between the applied to the gold to allow the black type to
yellow and the magenta found in the original show through (Figure 5*). This is because
offset PMS swatch. It is worth pointing out the opacity of the metallic gold is such that it
that typical flexo solid-ink densities will usu- will hide any color that it prints over. In all
ally result in a color that is a little “weak” cases, and with all colors, the relative opaci-
when compared to an offset swatch of the ty is one of the determining factors when
same process build. Of course, only the den- deciding how a job is to be trapped.
sity has been considered thus far. Besides The other key factor is the actual colors
the density, there is the issue of the hue of involved. With transparent inks, no matter
the inks used. what the rotation, proper trapping must be
In general, the hues of flexo inks are not applied or unwanted results can occur. In
identical to offset inks, leading to yet anoth- general, dark colors can be successfully
er cause of color difference. overprinted onto light colors, but the deci-
Note: It might be pointed out that even in sion of whether to overprint or knockout
offset printing, the process-match builds needs to be made by considering the partic-
specified in the swatch books often produce ular colors involved. Figure 5( shows an
unacceptable results and the builds need to example where the green type in the yellow
be modified. One solution to the problem, circle can overprint the yellow. However, in
which can be applied to flexo as well, is to the red square, the green type must be
use a spectrophotometer and special soft- knocked out. Any potential issues that may
ware to calculate the required process-tint arise when two colors require that they be
values. The spectrophotometer measures trapped to each other should be reviewed
TYPE OR TINTS
Any tint builds in a package should have
5( Darker green type is
set to overprint in the
no more than three colors. Print reproduc- yellow circle, but is
tion is better controlled using two colors; knocked out in the
darker color of the
however, this is not always practical. The job square.
engineer has to work with the desktop per-
son to determine if any colors that need four- 5(
color tints exist or if a three-color tint can be
reduced to two colors. For example, some-
times a three-color tint calls for a very small
dot percentage for one of the colors. In this
case, the customer might approve the slight-
ly cleaner color that results when that small
component is removed.
SCREENING REQUIREMENTS
It is common in flexo to print process work
(screens) separate from solid line copy. This
is due to the cell counts of anilox rolls being
used on press. Process printing, which is objectionable. If the customer is notified up
often at 100- to 133-line screen, requires front, it is possible to come up with an alter-
anilox rolls with a higher cell count. Typically native before the expense of films and proofs
these rolls have cell counts of 600–800. Line are made. The customer will usually opt to
decks usually carry solid-line copy – done convert the screened color of the line deck to
with rolls that have a cell count of 400–550. process printing, or use the coarse line
The job engineer must be aware of the par- screen on the line deck.
ticular screening requirements when a cus-
tomer requests that a screen be printed on a
line deck. When this request is made, the job VIGNETTES/GRADATION/BLENDS
engineer must inform the customer, that to The execution and handling of vignettes
get an optimum reproduction, it is best to (also called gradations or blends) warrant
print that screen in a coarse line screen. The detailed discussions during the job engineer-
line screen that is generally used to print ing stage. The way the vignette is created in
screens on a line anilox roll is 65 to 85. The the electronic file is not necessarily how the
customer must be aware of this, because customer expects it to print. Engineering of
depending on the screen used, there may be vignettes requires that the values of the
a dot pattern that the customer will find vignette meet the minimum/maximum dot
PREPRESS 77
6) A side-by-side compari- requirements of the printer. It is important
son of an acceptable 6) No Banding Banding
for the job engineer to understand what the
and unaceptable
vignette. Acceptable
customer expects and translate that expec-
vignettes contain no tation into a vignette that is visually appeal-
banding, while unac- ing and technically printable. The job engi-
ceptable vignettes
contain banding. neer must work with the desktop publisher
to determine how the vignette is created.
6! UPC codes should be With this information, the job engineer will,
placed in the picket in most shops with high-end proprietary sta-
fence position, in which
the bars run in the
tions, recreate the vignette to the customer’s
machine direction. requirements.
In instances where the vignette will be
stripped on a desktop PC/Mac workstation,
the vignette may still be recreated to pro-
6! duce the desired effect if the original
Picket Fence vignette is not satisfactory. A vignette is
deemed unsatisfactory if it either produces a
“banding” effect (Figure 6)) or is specified
below the minimum dot requirements for
flexo printing. Whether vignettes are created
on a desktop or a high-end station, it is a
good practice to output the vignette before
the final film. To output the vignette at the
same time the entire job is output, and to
find the vignette needs adjustments, is a
tremendous waste of resources. Also, when
vignettes will be compensated or cut back
during output, it is advisable to apply that
Ladder
compensation to the vignette when it is out-
put during the test.
UPC POSITIONING
For optimum reproduction, UPC codes
should run in the direction of the printing
unit. (Figure 6!). The job engineer should
question a UPC running in the transverse or
ladder direction, in the event that the cus-
tomer overlooked it.
D
press environment are com- Macintosh computer still is the dominant
monly called the Mac depart- operating system for graphics reproduction,
ment. These Mac departments IBMs and IBM-compatibles (collectively
grew as an extension of the called PCs) also have the ability to do the
Mac departments of the same job that the Mac can. Software pro-
designers. When designers created art board grams that were once only available on the
mechanicals, there was a need to convert Mac, are now available for the PC. In fact, the
that mechanical to a format that could be cross-platform capabilities on today’s com-
stripped. That meant making a line shot or puters have resulted in the desktop depart-
negative of the mechanical’s type elements ments consisting of both PCs and Macs.
and, through the use of goldenrod mask and
manually cutting/stripping in tints, creating
plate-ready negatives. Stripping was done on “READING” FILES
a light table and the various flat negatives To make an electronic stripping workflow
and masks were composed together to make possible, a common digital format was
a negative for each printing color. required. PostScript became that standard,
In the 1980s, designing and stripping pack- universal computer language all computer
age art shifted from being done by hand to makers adopted to allow for the exchange of
being done almost exclusively on comput- electronic documents between varied com-
ers. Designers began utilizing the Macintosh puters. PostScript files support composite
computer for designing while the prepress and separated workflows for vector and
houses began using various expensive pro- bitmap images, but require that all fonts be
prietary electronic stripping stations. For embedded. The prepress shop can easily
the first time a gap was created between the convert the electronic file created in any
designer and the prepress shop. The pre- software program such as QuarkXpress or
press shop had no way of taking the design- Adobe Illustrator to a PostScript file and
er’s file from the disk and getting that digital “read” that PostScript file on the stripping
information into its system. The solution station.
was that prepress companies went out and The latest development, spurred by the
purchased the same type of computers used growth of the Internet, is the Portable
by the designers, then used the customer’s Document Format (PDF), developed by
disk to create a file that could be recognized. Adobe Systems Incorporated. This format is
As the computing power available for designed as a solution to easily exchange
desktop publishing systems increases, the electronic documents between Mac and
job assembly and output functions, formerly other platforms. This is possible because
done by the proprietary systems, can now PDFs are independent of the original appli-
also be performed with Macs or PCs, albeit cation software, hardware, and operating
with less efficiency. system used to create those documents.
PLATES 79
PDFs have found a niche in desktop pub- specifications. Checking the files in the
lishing, with its positive ability to preserve desktop department, also allows the pre-
the original graphic appearance. This file for- press company to notify the customer of
mat embeds all fonts, as well as information required changes before costly film output
about whether the PDF is trapped or not it and proofs are made. The following ele-
also has the ability to represent bleed and ments should be reviewed during the pre-
trim, lossless compression and can insert flight process:
ICC profiles about the intended printing con- • software versions;
dition. Using special software, such as • low resolution placed images (FPOs);
Adobe Distiller‚ PostScript level 2 and 3 files • live images;
can be converted to PDF files. A new format, • imported EPS files;
PDF/X – the X stands for eXchange – is a • fonts;
proposed American National Standard • line weights;
Institute (ANSI) standard being developed • font sizes;
by the Committee for Graphic Arts • tints and screen builds;
Technologies Standards (CGATS), and most • vignettes and gradations; and
likely to become an International Standards • layers.
Organization (ISO) standard. It is a variant of
the PDF, intended for prepress production The elements listed above and described
and high-end printing, and can handle com- below also appear in Appendices A and B in
posite files containing both vector and raster a checklist format that can be used as a
objects. Two PDF/X specifications are being guide for preflighters.
developed. PDF/X1allows files to be output
directly; and PDF/X2, which allows modifi- Software Versions
cation required by the file, such as OPI It is important for the prepress house to
image replacement prior to output. have the correct software and version to
view and output the file. New versions and
updates of software are released, and the
PREFLIGHT RESPONSIBILITIES prepress house may not have upgraded to
Today’s desktop department has two pri- the latest version. Software versions should
mary responsibilities: creating files that can be verified early in the process, allowing suf-
be recognized by the stripping station and ficient time to either have the customer
preflighting of those incoming files. The resend the job, saved in a compatible ver-
ever-increasing power of today’s desktop sion, or for the prepress house to purchase
computers has caused, in some cases, the and install the new version without delaying
desktop department to be responsible for the project. Even in an environment where
the film assembly (stripping) of the package. design and prepress, or prepress and print-
Preflight is the process of reviewing all ing, are done under one roof, control of soft-
materials for adherence to known specifica- ware versions is important.
tions. In the flexo print process, those speci-
fications are entitled FIRST (Flexographic Low-resolution Placed Images
Image Reproduction Specifications and Low-resolution images placed in the lay-
Tolerances). The desktop publisher is out as a place holder for high-resolution
responsible for making sure that the ele- images are for position only, called FPO’s.
ments of the electronic file comply with The purpose is to make the layout easier to
either FIRST specs or the printer’s custom work with since FPO files are much smaller
Linked to
high resolution file
M
C
K
Y
96 100
96 100
• Color Correct
85
85
49
49
M
C
K
Y
17
17
96 100
96 100
96 100
96 100
85
85
85
85
• Edit
49
49
49
49
17
17
17
17
96 100
96 100
96 100
96 100
M
C
K
Y
85
85
85
85
49
49
49
49
17
17
17
17
IG-28
96 100
96 100
96 100
96 100
85
85
85
85
49
49
IG-28
49
49
17
17
17
17
96 100
96 100
85
85
49
49
IG-28
17
17
IG-28
and therefore easier to handle. All FPOs the artwork, keeps the high-resolution image
should be sent to the prepress provider. It is on file, and gives the designer a low-resolu-
not uncommon for a designer to forget to tion image to use in the design.
copy FPOs to the transfer disk going to the DCS, desktop color separation, files are
prepress house. Without these items, the job five-part EPS files. They utilize a low-resolu-
assembler will be unable to accurately dupli- tion display image for placement and high-
cate the size and placement required for any resolution separation files for cyan, magen-
high-resolution images to be used for film ta, yellow and black.
output.
OPI and DCS are methods of working with Live Images
low-resolution placed images. Any “live” images placed should be clearly
An OPI (Open Prepress Interface) work- indicated. They should also be checked for
flow (Figure 6@), the design utilizes low-res- proper resolution, color space – RGB or
olution placeholder images. The high-resolu- CMYK – and size before starting the assem-
tion image is stored on a file server and the bly of the job. It is also important to check
FPO is automatically replaced with the high- that the image is flexo-ready. Often, supplied
resolution image when the file is output to images are prepared for offset printing and if
film. Typically, the prepress provider scans they are not converted for the flexographic
PREPRESS 81
process, they will not produce a quality being reproduced during the platemaking
result. The preflight person should check for process. In addition, the relatively large
minimum and maximum dot values, as well traps required in flexo printing dictate that
as the use of GCR. If it is found that the “live” rules need to be of a certain weight to allow
image does not meet flexography specs, the them to be trapped. FIRST and/or the print-
image must be sent to the color department er specifies minimum type sizes and rule
to be adjusted. It is also best to notify and weights that the desktop person should ver-
alert the customer of any additional time and ify on the incoming electronic file. Any type
cost that will be incurred. or rules falling below the specification
should be brought to the attention of the
Imported EPS Files customer with the recommendation that
Imported EPS files should be checked for they be increased.
missing fonts as well as flexo readiness. Most
software programs only alert the operator to Tints and Screen Builds
missing fonts in an imported or placed EPS The electronic file should be checked to
file when it attempts to print it. The desktop make sure that any screen tints adhere to the
publisher should open up each placed image minimum or maximum dot values required
in its native program and check that the by either FIRST or the printer. Any screen
appropriate fonts are available, that the reso- builds assigned by the design firm should
lution is sufficient for the line screen at also be checked for use of GCR. If a color is
which it must be output and that the file is created with a “contaminating color” it
prepared for flexographic reproduction. should be changed. The customer usually is
not notified or required to authorize this
Fonts change because the resulting color is virtual-
The file must be checked to make sure all ly identical to what the designer originally
fonts are available. Fonts come in two dif- specified. It is also recommended that there
ferent types: TrueType and PostScript Type 1 be no color created with more than three
or 3. TrueType fonts utilize an outline font process colors, and two-color tints are high-
file for both screen viewing and printing. ly recommended when possible.
Type 1 and Type 3 are PostScript fonts creat-
ed by foundaries such as Adobe or Vignettes and Gradations
Bitstream. They consist of a separate screen The desktop production artist should indi-
and printer font. A screen font is needed to cate how vignettes are created in the elec-
correctly view the font on a monitor, while tronic file and check that they are done prop-
the printer font is required to be resident on erly. Vignettes have to adhere to the same
the computer to print the document proper- minimum and maximum dot requirements
ly. specified by the printer. Since it is common
TrueType fonts used in the electronic doc- to specify vignettes as going from 0% to 100%,
ument should be replaced with the appropri- it is not uncommon that there will have to be
ate Type 1 or 3 font. TrueType fonts have adjustments made to the electronic file. The
been found to be unstable and problematic desktop production artist will usually have to
when used in a PostScript environment. work with the design firm and the printer to
make the proper adjustments.
Line Weights/Font Sizes In most prepress shops, it is actually cus-
The nature of the flexographic printing tomary to replace the vignettes at the strip-
plate prevents very thin type or rules from ping stations. This is done because the strip-
Removable Drives
Zip, Syquest,
Optical, Tape
ping workstations have more control over drawing, image manipulation and word pro-
the vignette and more often than not are able cessing are common additions, while more
to eliminate any banding that may exist in the specialized products, specifically created for
electronic file. This is why it is important that the flexo packaging market, may reside on
the desktop production artist is able to deter- the workstations as well.
mine exactly how the vignette was prepared The workstations are normally connected
so that he/she can accurately communicate to a host of removable drives. The media for
those instructions to a stripper. these drives – Zip, Jaz, CD, DAT, floppy –
allows files to be copied to them from the
hard drive, and then removed for transport
EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE from one workstation to another. Each type
In addition to the equipment found in the of removable drive has its own unique
scanning department – scanners, long-term advantages in speed, durability or the num-
and short-term storage devices and work ber of megabytes it can hold. Those used by
stations – the desktop department in today’s the prepress company is usually dictated by
prepress facility also consists of telecommu- the drive used by its customers. For this rea-
nication devices, server(s) and some type of son, most prepress companies need to have
printer for proofing purposes (Figure 6#) several different removable drives available.
Prepress providers that handle a large vol- Printers used in the desktop department
ume of electronic files often have an elec- are usually color. They do not have to be
tronic bulletin board or mailboxes where accurate for color, but the most popular
customers can dial up to post their files by devices can provide an excellent representa-
modem. Such services enable clients to tion of color and be calibrated to reflect dif-
deliver files in a relatively quick amount of ferent print processes and substrates. Large
time and at a minimal cost. format ink jet, color laser, and thermal wax
Individual workstations, either Macintosh transfer are among the different types of
or PC systems, consisting of a hard drive, printers, all varying in size, color accuracy,
keyboard, mouse and monitor are net- cost and method of reproduction as well as
worked to a server and printer. Software resolutions. The right printer should fit with
programs for package design, page layout, the type of work to be reproduced.
PREPRESS 83
Job Assembly/Layout
ome prepress shops utilize the flexo’s unique strengths while minimizing its
S
desktop department as the film- limitations. One method to ensure that the
assembly department. Due to job is optimized for flexo is throgh the appli-
the nature of the work pro- cation of FIRST. By following these specifi-
duced and the sophistication of cations, and making a commitment to quali-
today’s desktop systems, it is ty, the job assembler can produce a consis-
possible to produce jobs that were once pos- tent product. This commitment to consistent
sible only on expensive “high-end” systems. print quality applies to the way graphic ele-
Job (or film) assembly or layout (also ments are trapped, separations are handled,
known as stripping) is the process of assem- logos appear; in short, every element on the
bling various elements into a file that can be package. If the graphics on the outside of the
used to generate plate-ready films or pho- package always looks the same, the con-
topolymer plates. The “electronic stripper” sumer can feel comfortable that the product
or job assembly person generally requires inside the package will always be the same.
the most technical set of skills in all depart-
ments within a prepress environment.
The primary responsibility of the film HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
assembler is to combine all elements in such Just a few years ago, stripping was exclu-
a way that it is consistent with the cus- sively completed on a light table with
tomer’s expectations. He or she must do this rubylith and goldenrod and composed on a
within the capabilities of the print segment vacuum frame to produce plate-ready nega-
in which the job will be printed. tives. Today most, if not all, stripping for
Familiarity with the flexographic process flexo packages is done on a computer work-
allows the stripper to take advantage of station Figure 6$. These workstations can
6$
Printers
Dye Sublimation,
Monitor File Server Workstation Thermal, Laser, Ink Jet
Removable Drives
Zip, Syquest,
6$ Typical equipment Optical, Tape
found in a job-assembly
work area.
PREPRESS 85
6% The drawing in circle A instance, a green box trapping to a red one
demonstrates the case 6% A
will result in a thin, dark line equal to the size
where the rule is thinner
than the trap allowance. of the trap where the two boxes meet. This
Consequently, the dark is because the yellow and cyan of the green
red shows through on
combine with the magenta of the red to
the inside of the rule.
The image in circle B make a three-color (black) rule. Sometimes
shows proper trapping this is unavoidable, depending on the colors
with the rule wide B
requested by the customer. In some cases,
enough for the trap
allowance. the printer may be willing to accept less of a
trap in that particular area, or the customer
6^ Photopolymer plates may allow a rule to be placed around the
stretch in the machine A: Rule thinner than trap allowance
B: Rule adequate for trap allowance boxes to “hide” the trap. Sometimes a
in the repeat direction,
producing a distorted designer will use a rule that will not support
image. This distortion the trap that the printer requires.
must be compensated 6^ For example, a printer requires a 0.004"
for in prepress.
trap allowance and a designer has a 0.003"
rule butting to a colored panel. To satisfy the
trap requirement, the assembler needs to
Normal Image spread the colored panel into the rule by
0.004". Of course, once this is done, the col-
Distorted Image ored panel will actually print inside the rule
(Figure 6%). The best solution in this case is
to have a rule that measures 0.008" and trap
to the center of the rule. This allows for mis-
registration in both directions.
INCHES CENTIMETERS
Table 11
be set to 99%, so that it stretches back to the be output at 95.05% of original size to print at
original 100% size. full size.
The distortion can be computed mathe- This formula is not used on a daily basis
matically from the repeat length and plate because distortion factors have been deter-
thickness, using the formula: mined for most common repeat, pitch and
% reduction K 100 plate sizes.
R In the case of rubber plates, two distor-
Where: tions are required. Rubber plates shrink in
K = a constant supplied by the plate mate- both directions during their manufacture. In
rial manufacturer addition to this shrinkage, there is also the
R = the printing circumference (repeat same wrap distortion as occurs for pho-
length) of a cylinder (in inches) topolymer plates when they are mounted on
the plate cylinder. In principle, distortion
Table 11 lists K factors for some common factors could be calculated for rubber plates
plate thicknesses. The values are given in also. In practice, the distortions are usually
inches and centimeters because the K factor determined empirically.
changes with units of measurement. As an
example: Dot-gain Compensation
What is the distortion needed in the film Flexo-printed jobs require that they be
negatives for a 0.067" plate with 0.004" compensated for flexo-specific dot gains on
backing and a repeat length of 8"? press. Dot-gain compensation is done in
From Table 11, the K factor for this exam- order to match the press and the contract
ple is 0.396. Putting this value and the repeat proof. There are generally two ways to
length into the formula gives a percent- accomplish this, depending on the particular
reduction of (0.396 8) 100 or 4.95%. This workflow a prepress company is using.
means the film used to make the plate must The traditional method is to apply a “cut-
PREPRESS 87
6& This typical single-color
step scale is used to 6&
measure dot gain and
calculate cutback
curves.
0 3 5 7 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 60 70 80 90 100
6*
times a special color is used on a line station
at a lower screen ruling. In this case, the cut-
back required is less than that used for high-
screen rulings. Details on how to evaluate
the correct cutback curve can be found in
the section on process color.
The second method used to compensate
for press gain is to use color management
techniques, such as the creation and use of
ICC profiles. Rather than using only single-
color step scales, as in the case of cutback
curves, a large number of overprints are
used (Figure 6*). Different color profiling
back” curve to the file, which is to be output software packages use different numbers of
to film for plate making. This basically patches, but using over 1,000 patches is com-
changes the values of the dot percentages so mon. The goal is still to modify the dot per-
that the dot percentage on the printed sheet centages in the output file for the plates, but
matches the dot percentage on the proof. this time the modification is generated from
Cutback curves are calculated for each color measurements of all the overprint
process color from single-color step scales patches. Color management techniques can
(Figure 6&). go one step further than simply matching a
Cutback curves can also be calculated for particular press and proof. Because it is
special colors, particularly those used often based on spectrophotometric measurement
and those used in screens opposed to only of color, it is possible to specify a color by
line work. It is usually not practical to gen- the numbers and match to that. This latter
erate a cutback curve for each special color, method, known as device-independent
in which case one of the process-color color, is receiving much attention but is not
curves can be used instead. Also, many yet a mature production method.
T
sents the actual end product The film output department consists of a
produced by the prepress com- film-plotting device or imagesetter and some
pany. While prepress charges for type of processor to develop the films or
all items that go into producing plates that come off the imagesetter. Film
the film, the film is what the cus- plotters are either flatbed or drum models
tomer is purchasing. A new type of plotting which vary by size, configuration and type of
device, known as the platesetter, entered the film supported (Figure 6(). A film plotter’s
market a few years ago. This device exposes size is measured by the size of the film that
a specially treated photopolymer plate, the film plotter can expose. Plotters range in
instead of film, thus eliminating the need for film size from 9"x 12", up to 47" x 96". Flatbed
6(
6( A typical imagesetter.
Drum plotters are
known for their speed
and are more effective
with larger sheets of
film.
PLATES 89
plotters are usually better for registration of ing copy when the emulsion of the film is up
one color to another. Drum plotters are (RREU) or facing the viewer, or right-read-
known for their speed and are more effec- ing copy when the emulsion of the film is
tive with larger sheets of film. down (RRED).
Film Thickness
FILM PROPERTIES Film thickness is measured by the clear
Plate-ready film has several important plastic base of the film in mils or thousandths
properties: of an inch (1 mil is 0.001"). Film comes in 4
• emulsion; and 7 mil thickness. Film that is 4 mil is used
• orientation; on smaller imagesetters, while 7 mil is the
• film thickness; dominant choice for both large format image-
• image properties; setters and photopolymer platemakers.
• screen ruling and screen angles;
• dot shape; Finish
• stochastic screening; and Film comes in either gloss, smooth, or
• registration and mounting marks. matte finish. Different platemaking process-
es call for different film finishes. For sheet
Emulsion photopolymer platemaking, matte finish is
Film is made of a clear plastic sheet coated usually required. For liquid photopolymer
with a light-sensitive silver-halide layer. The plates, clear is recommended. The particular
side of the sheet with the silver halide is finish required should be determined by con-
called the emulsion side. The other side is sultation with the plate supplier.
referred to as the base. The emulsion side
can be visually detected on an exposed and
processed sheet of film by its distinctive dull IMAGE PROPERTIES
look when compared to the base’s high-gloss Aside from the film itself, there are prop-
or shiny appearance. Another method to erties of the image on the film: the screen
identify the emulsion side from the base side ruling and screen angles, dot shape, image
is to scratch an area of exposed film (black distortion, registration and mounting marks.
areas as opposed to clear). The emulsion
side will scratch, exposing clear film. It goes Screen Ruling and Screen Angles
without saying that this destructive test Films that contain halftones are composed
should be performed on nonimage areas. of dots of varying sizes, based on a particular
screen ruling. The screen is determined by
Orientation the number of dots or lines per (linear) inch.
The film can be exposed as either a posi- Coarse screen rulings measure below 100 lpi,
tive or a negative. Positive film has all non- while fine screen rulings are 150-lpi and
printing areas in clear or no emulsion, while above. Line screens from 100 to 150 are the
negative film is the exact opposite. Non- most common screen rulings used in flexo
print elements are black (the color of printing. These same dots are also laid out in
exposed emulsion) with all printing ele- varying degrees or angles, which allow for
ments as clear. Film also has an orientation multiple colors. When printed on top of each
which is determined by how copy appears in other the screens should create a rosette pat-
conjunction with the emulsion of the film. tern, not a moiré pattern. Moiré patterns look
The film orientation can be either right-read- like crosshatches, or in some cases, rings or
PREPRESS 91
7! Combination screening
uses FM screening in 7! 7@ Correct
the highlight area and
then transitions to AM
screening for the bal-
ance of the tonal range.
7@ Proper placement of
registration marks in a
one-up and step-and-
repeat application are in
the center of the overall
dimension of the film.
The detail shows a
slight misregistration of
the cyan printer.
T
press company is often the most used with any proofing system, they are par-
overlooked. It is assumed that ticularly suited for use with digital systems.
all of the “real work” is in strip-
ping and film output. Proofing
should be viewed as one of the TYPES OF PROOFS
most important departments because the There are different types of proofs to satis-
proofs have two very important functions: fy different needs. The types fall into three
• to represent the printed product as categories: concept proof, color target proof
closely as possible and and contract proof. These types of proofs
• to be the last opportunity for the cus- have been formally defined in the second edi-
tomer to make any corrections before tion of FIRST and are summarized below and
final films, plates and printed samples in Table 13.
are made.
Concept Proof
Different types of proofs are made on This proof is used to show the graphic lay-
many different proofing systems. Even with out of the product, including the type and
the use of good process control and optimal sell copy. Images and bar codes can be rep-
systems, an exact match to the press will resented by FPOs.
likely not be achieved. Concept proofs are used to communicate
The degree of color difference can be design concepts and layout to others. Color
quantified but for the last analysis, it is visu- may be used, but it is not necessary to show
al judgement that is commercially accept- colors that will accurately match to the final
able. With conventional techniques, such as printed job. Low-cost color copies, laser
dot-gain control, achieved through cutback proofs, ink jets and small dye sublimation
curves, several issues prevent an “exact” proofs are common examples.
color match. First, the pigments and col-
orants used in proofing systems are different Color Target Proof
from the actual printing inks. Second, over- This proof has not necessarily been
printing of multiple inks or colorant layers, matched to the particular printing process,
creates a different reaction on the proof than nor the particular press. The color target
the printed package. Finally, the substrate of proof does, however, represent the cus-
the printed piece can be of a significantly dif- tomer’s desire or expectation for color. The
ferent material and color from the proof. “proof” may be a previous job printed on an
The use of CIELab color management tech- unspecified press and even a different print-
niques can overcome these issues. It will ing method. It may be the final version of a
enable better matches to be made because concept proof, output on a low-end proofing
the colors are matched by measuring them device. It may be a proof from a high-end
in the same manner as the human eye per- proofing device, optimized for another print-
PLATES 93
PROOFING OPTIONS
COLOR ACCURACY
PRICE
PAPER TYPE
RESOLUTION
film carries the image from one piece of separat- • all elements present
ed film. Distortion caused by loose registration • traps and overprints correct
and by refraction through the proofing film
makes color inaccurate. Can show color breaks.
proofs, these are created by exposing the film • color match correct
IG-28
As the name implies, press proofs are run on a All elements correct:
85
85
49
49
96 100 17
96 100 17
• copy correct
49
49
17
17
strate that will be used in the final print job. • fonts correct
IG-28
PREPRESS 95
dance to FIRST specifications. This type of Overlay Proofs. This process involves using
proof represents a final tweak or correction the film and exposing a photosensitive mate-
to the contract digital proof because it is rial, which will hold the cyan, magenta, yel-
press specific. This type of proof could be low or black colorant. These colorants are
done using an analog proofing system but, in then processed to remove the noncolored
most cases, a digital proofing system is used. areas and overlayed on top of each other.
These proofs are accurate for content, trap-
ping and to check the integrity of the film.
PROOFING SYSTEMS They are not accurate for color approval and
To produce a proof, whether a concept or they are relatively inexpensive.
a contract proof, different proofing systems Laminate Proofs. This process involves taking
are available. They fall into three categories: the film and exposing a photosensitive mate-
analog, press and digital. Proofing systems rial, which creates a carrier or “latent image”
that make contract proofs must meet two to which a liquid ink or toner powder can
broad requirements: repeatability and quali- adhere. This system allows toners to be
ty. Repeatability means that the proofing sys- mixed, thus producing a proof showing spot
tem must produce the exact same proof with colors. The color image created can then be
each print – proof after proof, day after day, laminated to some type of substrate. Some
month after month. This applies particularly systems allow freedom of choice for sub-
to the color output of the proof. Given con- strates, others require that specific ones be
sistent color output, there is potential for a used. Traditionally, these proofs are extreme-
color matching system to match the proofer ly accurate for color, trapping and verifying
characteristics to a printing press. If color the integrity of the negatives involved. The
output varies randomly, no color-matching systems are not very expensive, as the hard-
system can match the proof to the press. ware is often “given away” in exchange for a
guaranteed purchase of consumables, such
Analog Proofs as toners, inks, colorant sheets or substrates.
Analog proofs, the dominant format, can Single-Color Exposure Proofs. These proofs
be either: are also made by exposing a photosensitive
• “overlay” proofs, such as Color Keys or sheet. However, these proofs can produce
Cromacheck; only a single color. Dyluxes are bluish, hence
• “laminate” proofs, which include the term “blueline”, while bromides are
Cromalin, Matchprint and Fuji Color black and white. Exposure of a Dylux pro-
Art; or duces an image immediately, while bromides
• “single-color exposure” types, such as must be processed to reveal its latent image.
Dylux or Bromides.
Press Proofs
All of the above proofs are made from Press proofs are made on an actual print-
actual film negatives (or positives) through ing press from the final plate-ready films.
some type of exposing, registration and/or These proofs provide almost an exact dupli-
lamination process. Another type of analog cation of the actual production run. They
proof is often made when the plates are are, however, the most expensive proof to
mounted on the plate cylinder. These proofs make because they require a great deal of
are discussed in the mounting and proofing time and materials, including photopolymer
section and are part of the production plates and press time.
process after prepress.
PREPRESS 97
7^ A wax transfer proofing technologies into final product form.
system uses heated ele- 7^ Xerography also suffers from that “it just
ments to melt the wax
containing the colorant doesn’t look right” issue. This may be
onto the substrate in the because of the powdered toners and the fus-
image area.
ing process used to adhere the toner to the
paper. For whatever reason, many viewers
7& Dye sublimation works Signal
aren’t satisfied with the look of xerographic
by evaporation (subli-
mation) of the colorant output compared to ink on paper. Emerging
onto the substrate. liquid toner technologies change this objec-
These proofs are capa- Colorant
ble of producing higher tion. Today, however, these technologies
resolutions than the have not been refined and are far too expen-
Substrate
wax-transfer method.
sive for digital proofing.
Wax Transfer. Wax transfer is a technology in
which colorant is transferred from precoat-
7& ed wax ribbons onto a substrate through the
use of heat (Figure 7^). The print head con-
sists of an array of tiny heat elements. The
image signal is used to instruct the print
Signal
head elements to heat. These elements melt
the wax on the ribbon, which then transfers
to the substrate. For process printing, four-
Colorant colored ribbons are used: cyan, magenta,
yellow and black (CMYK). Imaging is
Substrate processed one color at a time.
Wax transfer is fairly economical for quick
one-out color applications. Its low resolu-
tion and appearance make it unsuitable for
color proofing applications where color
As a digital printing application, xerogra- judgment is required. Put simply, melted
phy works much the same way. The differ- wax on a special substrate doesn’t come
ence is that a laser is used to write onto the close to simulating ink on press
selenium drum, instead of light reflected Dye Sublimation. Dye sublimation is similar
through a lens. An office laser writer is an to wax transfer in concept (Figure 7&). The
example of digital xerography. difference is that the colorant is coated on
Numerous attempts have been made to use the ribbon. A more expensive compound,
xerography for color proofing. To date, suc- which does not melt, is used. It sublimes
cess has been limited. Xerography is avail- (evaporates) into the substrate. This can be
able in a wide range of price and quality lev- done at higher resolutions than wax, and
els. Low-cost technologies work well in black more closely simulates ink on paper.
and white and quick color applications, such Dye sublimation has been used increas-
as color laser copiers, but are not suitable for ingly in graphics applications, particularly
digital color proofing applications where at design stage of the process. Its main
color judgments are made from the repro- advantage is fairly high quality at a reason-
duction. Higher-end applications have been able price. An emerging workflow beginning
demonstrated, but none have taken to market to gain wide acceptance is to use dye subli-
– presumably because of the cost to bring the mation up front for proofing design and
PREPRESS 99
Back-End Quality Control
he quality control check is tradi- • dot gain;
T
tionally where “the rubber meets • solid-ink density;
the road.” Digital technology, has • ink hue/spectral data; and
made prepress more of a science • substrate.
and less of a craft. Almost every
step of the process can be mea-
sured, recorded and repeated and verifying Dot Gain
accuracy is as simple as utilizing a checklist Proofs should be proofed to manufactur-
showing all of the in- or out-of-tolerance spec- er’s requirements for dot gain. Most analog
ifications. The quality-control check should proofs are set up to reproduce a 50% dot as a
be done on all films, proofs or plates pro- 72% for a 22% gain. This is only to assure con-
duced by the prepress facility. sistency of the proof. Matching a proof to a
Densitometers and spectrophotometers, press by manipulating dot gain changes the
are used to inspect proofs and printed sheets size of the dot sent to the proofing engine.
while a transmission densitometer is best The inherent dot gain of the proofing system
suited to inspect film specifications. Addi- is not changed. The key to quality control is
tional tools for inspection may also include: to assure a consistent proof.
• machinist’s hundred scale;
• metal t-square; Solid-ink Density
• metal triangle; The solid-ink density of the contract proof
• 7-mil film-positive grid; should be the same as the density that will be
• 10x magnifying glass (loupe); reproduced on press. Proofs done at densities
• transparent yellow overlay; and that are not achievable on press will result in
• light table. a poor press match. Unfortunately, the printer
is usually blamed for not matching the proof.
It is also essential to examine films and In reality, the proofs should be made to match
proofs, using both a magnifier and the naked
eye. Color comparisons and evaluations
should be done in the proper environment. It
is highly recommended that color proofs be SOLID-INK DENSITY
examined in a viewing booth equipped with a
C M Y K
neutral gray surround – Munsell N8 or equiv-
■ WIDE WEB
alent – and a standard 5,000° K light with a
Paper Products 1.25 1.25 1.0 1.5
color rendering index (CRI) of 90 or higher.
Film Products 1.25 1.20 1.0 1.4
■ NARROW WEB
Paper Products 1.35 1.25 1.0 1.5
CHECKING PROOFS
Film Products 1.25 1.20 1.0 1.4
Once the proof is produced, the following
should be checked: Table 14
PREPRESS 101
7( This typical step scale is
used to check film from 7(
an imagesetter for sta-
bility; the illustration
shows negative film
output where a 0% dot
is black and a 100% dot
is clear film.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
tice to daily output a step scale on the image- negatives, one by one, is a difficult way to
setter and measure the values on a transmis- gauge trap. A simple, accurate method is by
sion densitometer. Figure 7( illustrates a placing a piece of transparent, yellow overlay
step scale for negative film; clear is 100% between the films (Figure 8!).
dot, solid black is 0% dot. With a linear cali-
bration on the imagesetter, the values should Distortion and Compensation
read the same as those in the digital file. Check the film to verify that the proper dis-
Typically, the steps go from 0 to 100 in incre- tortions and compensations have been
ments of 10. The scale can also be used to applied. Distortions are checked easily with a
check the film’s D-min and D-max. machinist’s hundred scale (ruler), a calculator
and the job instructions. What is not so easy
Screen Rulings and Angles is knowing an object’s dimension prior to dis-
Check for line screen and screen angles to tortion. Some prepress shops actually place a
be consistent with the printer’s specifica- 0.5 point rule of a specific length on the job
tions. A standard screen detector is a quick (outside the live area) and use that as a guide
and easy way to verify correct screen ruling to check distortion. For example, suppose a
and angle. Screen rulings can also be direct- 13” repeat job requires a 0.97 distortion fac-
ly measured with a high-power magnifier. tor. A 10" long, 0.5 point rule is placed. If the
correct distortion is applied, this 10" rule
Trap should measure 9.70" on the films. Com-
Check the film to make sure that all trap- pensations are checked by measuring areas
ping is done correctly and sufficiently meets on the platemaking film and comparing them
the printer’s specifications. The best way to to precompensated film. In cases where the
do this is to lay each film on top of the other prepress shop works without compensating
and look for the “spillover” – the area where the film for dot gain on the back end and
two colors meet. The technique is illustrated instead does all of the scanning and stripping
in Figure 8) and 8!. Figure 8) shows an with the compensations built in, then the film
image with and without trap. The top image must be checked to ensure the minimum and
is trapped poorly, evident by the gap between maximum dot values are adhered to.
the blue apple and red background. The bot-
tom image is trapped properly. Viewing the
Blue
Red Red
COLOR BREAKS
For analog proofs, nothing helps more
than a Dylux of the plate negative and a laser
proof of the original copy. A Dylux of each
color will allow the inspector to see a posi-
tive image of what each negative will pro-
duce. If the Dylux is laid on top of a negative
of another color, the relationship between Red
the two colors can be easily checked for fit
(negative-to-negative comparison is the
most accurate way of doing this), relation-
ship of register marks to each color and
color break (Figure 8!). This method is also
used to verify the relationship of common
negatives to each variable copy.
Table 16, on the following page, summa-
rizes what one should look for in contract
proof.
PREPRESS 103
2( Color breaks are
checked by overlaying a 2( Blue Blue Blue Blue Blue Blue
■ CHECK COLOR TINTS to make sure they are ■ IS THE TYPE SHARP? Use a loupe to look
accurate and do not look mottled. for broken or double lines.
■ CHECK COLORS to make sure they are even ■ ARE THE DENSITIES CONSISTENT? Check
and consistent throughout the proofs. for consistency from one end of the sheet to
■ CHECK CUSTOM COLORS selected from the other.
color-matching systems against printed ■ IS THE COLOR CORRECT? Compare the
swatches. press sheet to the contract proof.
■ EXAMINE COLOR BARS to determine if ■ IS THE SUBSTRATE CORRECT? Bring a
detail has been lost in the film because of sample to compare the printed substrate to
overexposure. the one specified.
■ CHECK TRIM MARKS to make sure that ■ ARE THE CROSSOVERS CORRECT? Fold
bleeds and crossovers extend the required the press page and chek the alignment and
amount beyond the marks. color match.
■ CHECK TYPE to make sure it is not too ■ ARE HALFTONE DOTS SHARP? Use a loupe
weak or breaking up due to overexposure. to make sure the details and highlights
match the contract proof.
Table 16
■ ARE SPOT COLORS CORRECT?
■ ARE THERE BLEMISHES OR MOTTLING OF
THE LAST LOOK COLOR? Check the entire sheet for spots
caused by problems with the press.
Final inspection of the job requires a
■ ARE ALL GRAPHIC ELEMENTS PRESENT?
check for accuracy. This means making sure
Compare the press sheet to the contract
that all elements are present prior to the
proof.
pressrun. Special care should be taken to
■ ARE SEPARATIONS IN REGISTER? Check to
check for missing marks such as “®”, “TM”;
make sure all separations align on the regis-
incorrect UPC code, missing copy, kinks,
ter marks. Under a loupe, four-color sub-
scratches or other miscellaneous film jects using conventional screening should
defects. Even in this day of electronic step show a rosette pattern, with no more than a
and repeat, it pays to check the film for single line of dots of single color visible at
squareness with a T-square and triangle. the edge of the image
Table 17 is a checklist of the review process
for press proofs. Table 17
T
tomer service representative When a customer demands changes be
(CSR) vary from company to made, the CSR should re-quote the job and
company. For our purposes submit a new quote. Initial and revised
here, we will discuss the abili- quotes should be faxed to and signed off by
ties of the customer service rep- the customer prior to manufacturing.
resentative who handles all facets of pro- It also is helpful to the customer if the CSR
duction prior to manufacturing. Even in a sends, as soon as possible, the final invoice
converting or in-house workflow, the same of the job, while it is still fresh in his/her
duties will apply. mind. An invoice received weeks after the
project is completed may seem “too high” to
the customer. Hhe/she may not remember
JOB ENGINEERING/PREFLIGHT authorizing a certain cost for retouching. If
A CSR with preflighting and some job the signed-off quote arrives with the final
engineering experience can be a valuable invoice, in most cases, there is no need for
asset to the company and the end-use cus- the customer to review the invoice. If the
tomer as well. When a CSR can detect pos- quote and the invoice match, it will facilitate
sible print problems or out-of-specification faster payment processing.
elements minutes or hours after receipt of
the order, it allows the customer to address
those elements early in the process and ORDER ENTRY
make changes. These changes can generally This involves entering job production
be done without the customer incurring any information. This information, when pre-
additional cost. sented in a clear, concise and easy-to-under-
stand format, is a great benefit to the manu-
facturing process as a whole.
ESTIMATING/QUOTING The CSR must be familiar with relevant
The best CSR is able to estimate incoming manufacturing terminology and be detail ori-
work and also has a process in place to sup- ented. The CSR should, whenever possible,
ply quotes to customers within a few hours spell out all relevant instructions and never
after the job arrives at the plant in order to assume that an operator knows what is
begin manufacturing. intended. A CSR has to prepare the instruc-
A distinction must be made between “esti- tions as though the operator has never
mates” and “quotes”. Estimates denote that worked on that particular job before. The
the cost of the job is subject to change, even more questions that can be answered in the
if the customer has not authorized any actu- job instructions, before the operator has
al changes. Quotes, on the other hand, are them, the better.
firm commitments to manufacture the job at
the stated price, regardless of any internal
PLATES 105
LIAISON BETWEEN matter what happens, that person will be
CUSTOMER AND PLANT there for him/her.
CSRs act as the “face” or “voice” of the
plant. While a customer knows that there are
many people actually producing the work, “LAST LINE OF DEFENSE”
the CSR is usually the recipient of the praise The CSR is usually the last person in a
as well as the blame. Customers expect the shop to be able to review the materials
CSR to look out for their projects and to be before they ship out of the plant. It is OK to
in their corner. A good CSR does this and make a mistake, internally, but it’s not OK to
balances it with the requirements of the let the customer see it. The CSR must be
company at the same time. It is important focused on every element of the job to make
that a CSR’s motto be: “Never let ‘em see you sure that the materials going out to the cus-
sweat.” A customer has to have confidence tomers or printers are right and exact.
in the person handling his/her project and no
Comments
2. TRANSPARENCIES COLOR:
Colors Required
Colors Available
5. PMS COLORS:
■ SPOT ■ SCREEN MIX ■ MATCH ON 4/C PROCESS ■ USE EXISTING SCREEN MIX
9. SCREENS:
PLATES
PREPRESS 107
Appendix B
PREFLIGHT CHECKLIST
1. CHECK FPOs
Comments
Comments
Comments
Comments
8. FONTS – MISSING
Screen Printer
Process Color
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Author/Editor: Michael Wiest, FFTA
Pantone and PMS is a registered trademarks of Pantone, Inc. Apple, Macintosh are registered trademarks, and
TrueType is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Adobe, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Dimensions, Adobe Distiller, Adobe
Illustrator, Adobe Pagemaker, Adobe Photoshop and PostScript are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated or
its subsidiaries and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. QuarkXpress is a registered trademark of Quark, Inc.
FreeHand is a trademark of Macromedia, Inc. DOS and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
All trademarks have been used in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement.
I
low-cost and low-quality printing ing these colors sequentially in register with
process. That image has changed with each other. This “three-color process” is fre-
advances in materials, equipment and quently converted to a “four-color process”
techniques. The simplicity, efficiency by using black to improve the contrast
and consistency of flexography’s ink- and/or tone balance of the reproduction. It is
metering system continues to improve. essentially the same for all printing meth-
Printing plates continue to see new advance- ods—flexography, offset lithography, or
ments, including digital output directly to gravure—but corrections are made for the
plates. Anilox rolls are available in higher different mechanics of a given method.
rulings and take advantage of high-strength Obviously, printing four colors in register
inks. Presses have better control as well as is more difficult than printing only one color
on-line inspection and feedback systems. and should be attempted only when the
The entire production process, from design printer has the equipment, materials and
to press, is being specified by FIRST. skills to achieve good-quality, single-color
These are a few of the trends which enable flexo printing.
flexo to achieve consistently high-quality To print process color successfully with
results. The ultimate test of a major printing flexography, it is important to understand
process is its ability to print consistent, high each step in the process and how to perform
quality process color. That it can be done is it. This includes a basic understanding of
demonstrated daily on the shelves of stores color theory; what it is and how it is mea-
and by the ever increasing quality of entries sured and controlled. The control of color
in flexo printing competitions worldwide. applies to the entire process, from the origi-
Still, process-color printing with flexography nal color object, to it’s conversion to process
remains a challenge for many printers. This colors, to the final printing on the press. The
section is intended to present material that press itself needs to be optimized, character-
is designed to facilitate better control of the ized and controlled, in order to achieve con-
process. sistent, quality process color.
“Process printing”, or “process-color print- More than anything else, successful
ing”, refers to the full-color reproduction of a process-color printing demands a dedicated
subject by recreating the original’s full, con- team effort between the color separator, ink
tinuous-tone color. Subjects can range from maker, platemaker, printer and print buyer.
paintings or color transparencies to full-color Clear communication among team members
photographic prints. In today’s environment, is essential.
the subject can also be the image captured
electronically by a digital camera.
Process printing is achieved by first con-
verting the continuous-tone copy to
halftones, separating the color into yellow,
C
8# Light 8# Elements that
perception of light that has been Source determine color: light
modified by an object.” This def- source, object and
human observer. All
inition actually refers to more are influenced by the
Surround
than color. It alludes to what surroundings.
determines color; a light source,
Human
an object and observer. These elements are Eye
10-4
Infrared
Ultraviolet
10-8
Wavelength (nm)
780
10-10 X-Rays
700
10-12
Gamma-Rays
10-14 600
Visible Light
Cosmic Rays
500
400
380
8%
Intensity
100
90 would be the spectrum of Figure 8%, that is
80 white. Of course adding together the spectra
70 is nothing more than combining or adding
60
the light itself. It is the same as shining three
50
beams of different colored light onto one
40
30 area. The primary colors of red, green and
20 blue combine as shown in Figure 8(.
10
subtractive primaries,
yellow, magenta, cyan. 9! 9$ Red Red Green Green Blue Blue
Intensity
100
9$ Printing is a subtractive 90
process where the inks
80 1. 1.
take away light.
70 2. 2.
60 3. 3.
50 Substrate
40 Start with white light and take light away. That is:
30 1. Cyan ink takes away red light
20 (leaving blue and green)
10 2. Magenta ink takes away green light
(leaving blue and red)
400 500 600 700
3. Yellow ink takes away blue light
Wavelength (nm) (leaving green and red)
9@
Intensity
100
means the cyan is not as pure a color as
90
the perfect cyan. It is contaminated with
80
70
some red.
60 2. The curves are different, as might be
50 expected for three different types of
40
cyan. The bigger the difference in spec-
30
tra, the bigger the difference in the
20
10
appearance or color of the ink. The off-
set and proof curves are closer together
400 500 600 700
than the flexo curve. This is evidence of
Wavelength (nm)
the fact that proofing systems have
been optimized for offset printing, not
for flexo. The proofing cyan is closer to
ink and a cyan from a digital proofing sys- the press cyan for offset than for flexo.
tem. Regarding these spectra: 3. The peak in the blue and green portion
1. The perfect cyan of Figure 9@, com- of the spectrum is not as high as in the
pared to the real cyan has some light in perfect cyan. This means the color is
the red portion of the spectrum. This less saturated.
Figure 9^ shows the same three cases for Figure 9& shows the spectra for the most
magenta. Notice how much lower the peak saturated yellow possible, that is a solid yel-
is in the blue part of the spectrum for all low patch. What happens when a yellow dot
three cases. The magenta ink takes away a is printed? Very simply, less yellow and more
lot of the blue light. Remember, magenta is white light, resulting in the spectra shown in
supposed to take away only green. This dra- Figure 9*. The numbers above the curves
matically demonstrates some of the limita- represent the dot percentages printed. The
tions of the printing process. It leads to zero-dot percentage, which is nothing more
gamut compression, which will be covered than the substrate, indicates that the sub-
in detail later. Again, the proof matches the strate itself is not a perfect white as was
offset curve much better than the flexo. shown in Figure 8%.
Figure 9& shows the case for yellow. In Finally, Figure 9( depicts the spectra of a
this case, the match of the proof is better to black and an overprint of an equal combina-
the flexo ink. Unfortunately, yellow is the tion of cyan, magenta and yellow. In the fig-
least visible and the mismatch in the cyan ure, the black line is the spectrum for the
and magenta means that for matching black ink and the brown line is the spectrum
process colors, the proof is a better match for the three-color overprint. As was the
for offset printing. case for the perfect neutral of Figure 8%, the
at about 4,000° K
D65
Table 18
D50
A
Light Sources
Different light sources emit light which
400 500 600 700
have different spectra. Table 18 lists CIE
Wavelength (nm)
standard light sources or illuminants, while
Figure shows the spectra of “A”, D50 and
black is nearly a horizontal line. It has equal D65. “A” is for a tungsten filament bulb (i.e.,
intensity at all wavelengths, which gives a an ordinary light bulb) at a color temperature
neutral gray or black. For the three-color of 2,850° K. D50 and D65 represent light at
overprint, there is more light intensity in the color temperatures of 5,000° K and 6,500° K
red end of the spectrum. If a more neutral respectively. Degrees Kelvin is a temperature
black is desired, more red light needs to be scale much like degrees Fahrenheit (° F) and
taken away. What takes away red? Cyan. This degrees Celsius (° C). The different tempera-
is the reason why the cyan dot needs to be tures mean that a well-defined material heat-
larger than the magenta and yellow to print a ed to that temperature will emit light of a
neutral using cyan, magenta and yellow. given spectral composition. This is called
black body radiation. In the graphic arts, D50
or 5,000° K light is standard for making color
QUANTITATIVE COLOR – evaluations. The light sources themselves are
CIELAB COLOR SPACE special types of fluorescent light bulbs.
In the last section, spectra were presented Note: As with any specification, nothing
without taking into account the other two is ever exact, there is always a tolerance.
elements of what determines color: the light For a D50 source, one measure of this tol-
source and the human eye. They too can be erance is called the color rendering index
described in terms of spectra. (CRI). The higher this number, the more
be arranged in a “color
(source, object, observer) has a specific
circle”. This “map” or
spectral response curve. These combine to color space provides
give the final response curve. Rather than the ability to specify
colors in numerical
specifying color in terms of this final spec-
terms (L, C, h), which
tral curve, it is more useful to combine them can be accurately
mathematically and create a three-dimen- measured using a
400 500 600 700 spectrophotometer.
sional color space called the CIE perceptual
Wavelength (nm)
color space (Figure ). In this space, a
color is uniquely specified by three numbers,
L=100
White making specification, tolerancing and com-
munication about color feasible. The system
+b
is not perfect however; a unique color in CIE
Yellow perceptual color space can be formed by
-a
Green more than one combination of source,
+a object, observer. This will be explained in
Red
more detail in the section on metamerism.
Hue
-b CIE perceptual color space is the basis of
Blue
quantitative color. There are different math-
ematical algorithms for combining the spec-
L=0 tra leading to different numbers, but all have
Black the general appearance of the model shown
in Figure . In 1976, the CIE standardized
on the model called L*a*b* and the model is
closely the source matches D50, with 100 commonly referred to as the CIELab color
being a perfect match. For color evaluation space. The additional descriptive term “per-
in a light booth, a rendering index higher ceptual” means that this color space is based
than 90 should be used. Not all D50 light on how the eye perceives color. This is in
tubes are created equal. contrast to name-based description of color
such as “warm red”.
Eye Response Every color an observer can see can be
The spectrum is divided into the red, green represented by its location in CIE perceptu-
and blue regions because this matches the al color space, which is commonly described
way the human eye sees color. The eye has as L*a*b* and L*C*h°2.
three sensors or receptors that detect the
three primary colors. All colors perceived L*a*b*
are a mixture of these primary colors. The L stands for lightness and is the vertical
spectral-response functions of the eye are dimension in color space. Every color has a
shown in Figure . They are based on lightness or L value. Unlike L, a and b do not
experiments conducted by the CIE and rep-
resent the standard observer. Because each 2 L, a, b without the (*) refers to another color model. Throughout this book,
the L*a*b* model is implied, even if, for clarity, in some of the equations and
person’s eyes are not the same, each person diagrams the (*) is omitted.
b=33
Location of the same -a a
-a a
red color of figure 21 at
the same value of L*
and located by a dis-
tance from the center
C* and an angle h.
L*C*h°
Referring to the same red color as in Color Difference
Figure , L*C*h° is simply a different way Once a color is described in terms of a
of navigating to that color (Figure ). This point in space, the concept of a color differ-
time, however, the color is reached by going ence follows naturally. It is the geometric
out 82 units (c) at a 24° angle (h). Geometri- distance between two colors (1 and 2 in
cally, the difference between L*a*b* and Figure ) and is called delta E (∆E).
L*C*h° is the difference between a cartesian Mathematically,
B
surements in detail, some gener- All specifications given in FIRST have a
al comments regarding metrolo- tolerance associated with them. They repre-
gy are in order. Every measure- sent achievable values and tolerances. The
ment consists of two parts: the actual values used for a particular process
value and the measurement and job needs to be agreed upon by all the
error associated with it. There is no such parties involved.
thing as “exactly” one inch. Measured with a
ruler, the error might be 0.063". Using a
machinist’s micrometer, the error might be DENSITOMETER
reduced to 0.001". Using even more sophisti- There are several types of densitometers
cated measurement techniques might (Figure ). A transmission densitometer
reduce the error to the micron level or even measures the amount of light that has been
less, but there will always be some error or passed through an object. This type of den-
uncertainty associated with the measure- sitometer is used to measure films. A reflec-
ment. tion densitometer is used to measure the
Because specifications are based on mea- amount of light reflected by an object, and is
surements, this means any specification has used to measure proofs and press sheets.
a tolerance. Beyond the mere impossibility The second category of densitometer
of measuring the “exact” value, a tolerance is addresses the difference between black-and-
needed for economical and practical rea- white instruments and “color” instruments.
sons. A 1" diameter curtain rod with a toler- The word color is in quotes because a color
ance of ±0.063" would be fine. The same densitometer doesn’t measure color as has
0.063" tolerance on a shaft for a piece of been defined in CIELab color space. It sim-
Typical examples of a
reflection densitometer
Reflection Densitometer Transmission Densitometer
and a transmission
densitometer.
Table 20
Intensity
100
ments are densities. The calculation uses the
90
relative densities of the overprint, first-down
80
ink and second-down ink. The measure- 70
ments are done using the appropriate filter 60
Hue Error/Grayness
These are calculations using combinations
of the densities applying all three filters. The like a prism which breaks up the light into its
metrics were developed to characterize the discrete wavelengths, and a detector of the
purity of process inks; how well they dispersed light (Figure ). The spec-
approach the “perfect” cyan, magenta and trophotometer can either display the spec-
yellow. With the advent of spectrophotome- trum, or it can send the spectrum to a com-
ters, the recommended metric is the actual puter. Physically, a reflection spectropho-
color (i.e., L*a*b* or L*C*h° values) of the tometer looks very similar to the reflection
ink. This is what is specified in FIRST. densitometer illustrated in Figure .
Recall that the L*a*b* or L*C*h° values are
a combination of the object and source spec-
SPECTROPHOTOMETER tra, taking into account the response of the
A spectrophotometer is used to measure standard observer. The optics head delivers
the entire visible spectrum of a sample. The the object spectrum and the standard
real color curves presented elsewhere in this observer is well defined and fixed. The effect
chapter, were all taken with a spectropho- of different light sources, such as D50 and
tometer. The key part of the spectropho- D65, can be calculated, and the spectropho-
tometer is an optics head that contains a tometer can display the resulting L*a*b* or
light source in a fixed geometry, an element L*C*h° values under these different sources.
C
lot of attention in recent years. Figures , and . The circle next to
It has become associated with the scanner, labeled “setup”, is part of the
CIELab measurement and con- scanning function. A scanner operator typi-
trol of color. In a real sense, cally sets highlights and shadows and
color has always been managed, adjusts tone curves for the original to be
it is just the tools and techniques which are scanned. On high-end scanners, the setup
changing. The particular method of how and will typically include color corrections or
where color is controlled and adjusted is manipulations. When scanning directly to a
CMYK file, the scanner operator must
determined by the particular workflow or
choose many of the parameters of the RGB-
specific procedures and programs used to
to-CMYK conversion. Setups for different
put the job on press.
types of originals come from experience,
Figure shows a highly simplified dia-
which is based on how the proof looks. If the
gram of the traditional workflow. A scanner
color of the proof is not right, there is a color
is the input device for the original art, which
correction cycle, either to the file or the orig-
is to be printed in process color. The box
inal can be scanned again with a different
labeled “computer” is the source of the rest
setup. In many flexo operations, in order for
of the design. Generally, process work is not the press to print what is shown on the
originated in a software program. The design proof, the process image needs to be modi-
and scanned images are assembled into a fied. This is done with a cutback curve. This
single job in the workstation. The electronic is because proofing systems have less dot
file is then output to film for proofing, or to gain and the films used to make proofs can
make plates for printing. not be used to make plates for the press.
The key to the management of color, are Figure a summarizes the color changes
ICC Workflow
ICC ICC
Scanner Film Proof
Profile Profile
Workstation Color
Computer (Assembled Correction
Job)
A simplified flowchart
of traditional color
management workflow.
ICC Workflow
ICC ICC
Scanner Film Proof
Profile Profile
Workstation Color
Computer (Assembled Correction
Job)
that occur during the process of reproducing set of corrections based on L*a*b* measure-
a photo as a printed piece. ments. This correction can be applied to
In order to discuss color management CMYK files and is a CMYK-to-CMYK conver-
using CIELab-based metrics, it is necessary sion. This means that the RGB-to-CMYK con-
to modify Figure as shown in Figure . version is not part of the correction process.
The biggest change as far as color manage- Any separator or scanner operator who has
invested years of learning how to make a
ment is concerned is the addition of a cor-
separation can still use that experience to
rection in the proofing path of the process.
make the separations. The aim of this work-
The dashed lines around film indicate that
flow is to match the proof to the press.
there may or may not be film produced at all.
The last case to consider is shown in
While digital platemaking is not yet as com-
Figure . This is what many people have
mon, digital proofing certainly is gaining in mind when they talk about color manage-
wide acceptance. Color is handled as before ment using ICC profiles. Notice that a digital
with one important difference. The correc- camera has been added as an input device.
tion in the proofing path modifies the proof In this workflow, every device is character-
to match the press. The correction is not a ized in terms of how it sees or outputs color.
simple cutback curve but rather a complex If those characteristics are known, it is pos-
M
C
K
Y
played first as photo-
96 100
96 100
M
C
K
Y
85
85
graphic data in the
49
49
96 100 17
96 100 17
M
C
K
Y
85
85
original image; second,
96 100
96 100
49
49
17
17
85
85
49
49
M
C
K
Y
96 100 17
96 100 17
96 100
96 100
as digital information in
85
85
IG-28
85
85
49
49
49
49
96 100 17
96 100 17
17
17
the scanned image file;
96 100
96 100
M
C
K
Y
85
85
85
85
49
49
49
49
17
17
96 100 17
96 100 17
IG-28
third, as pixels of red,
96 100
96 100
85
85
85
85
49
49
IG-28
49
49
17
17
blue and green light on
96 100 17
96 100 17
87% Magenta
85
85
84% Magenta
49
49
IG-28
screen; and finally as
17
17
printed dots of CMYK
IG-28
MONITOR 83% Magenta
on a substrate. Each of
ORIGINAL CMYK FILM NEGATIVES these steps introduces
color changes.
85% Magenta
87% Magenta
PRINTED PIECE
M
C
K
Y
M
C
K
Y
M
C
K
Y
96 100
96 100
85
85
49
49
M
C
K
Y
96 100 17
96 100 17
96 100
96 100
96 100
96 100
85
85
85
85
49
49
49
49
85
85
96 100 17
96 100 17
17
17
96 100
96 100
49
49
M
C
K
Y
96 100 17
96 100 17
85
85
85
85
49
49
49
49
17
17
96 100 17
96 100 17
IG-28
85
85
96 100
96 100
49
49
85
85
85
85
49
49
17
17
IG-28
49
49
17
17
96 100 17
96 100 17
85
85
49
49
IG-28
17
17
IG-28
IG-28
sible to associate a correction with each before being sent to the imagesetter for film
device. The image to be scanned or proofed output. Alternatively, it could happen when
or output is stored in terms of L*a*b* values; the film is output. Similarly, other corrections
that is, the color values in CIELab color can take place at different stages and in dif-
space. Each device then handles the color to ferent programs in the process. Color man-
the best of its capability. Implicit in this agement is a process or function that address-
workflow is the RGB-to-CMYK conversion. es the details and decisions associated with
That is, the color management system will where and when to make the corrections
have a RGB-to-CMYK conversion engine. In shown “logically” in Figures , , and .
actual practice, the image might be stored in The color-correction loop is present in all
“tagged RGB.” This means RGB values are the workflow diagrams. Even if the CIELab
stored along with the profile or characteriza- method were to give acceptable color match-
tion information for the input device that es the first time around, this loop would still
captured the image. be required. Many times color corrections
In all the workflows shown, the corrections are done not to achieve “match copy” but to
can take place at different stages of the satisfy personal editorial desires of the cus-
process. For example, the correction to the tomer. The truth will always still be in the eye
plate film could be made in the workstation of the beholder.
B
PRESS OPTIMIZATION
applied in process-color print- In order to optimize the press, tests need
ing, two tasks need to be accom- to be conducted. For example, a banded
plished. The first is press opti- anilox test is a good way to find the optimum
mization and the second is press anilox configuration for process printing.
characterization. Press opti- This is a test print with different anilox rul-
mization refers to finding the best or optimal ings and volumes engraved on the same roll.
values for the myriad of variables encoun- Some may choose to combine part of the
tered for a given printing process. It means optimization effort with characterization. It
printing to a consistent set of specifications is also called fingerprinting the press.
and tolerances. The most comprehensive set One of the major specifications for the
of specifications and tolerances for flexogra- printed sheet is the solid-ink density. The val-
phy are found in FIRST. ues are found in FIRST and reproduced in
Press characterization, to be covered in Table 21. Other variables to optimize include:
detail later, refers to measuring key print • film: screen angles, D-min, D-max and
variables once the variables which affect the screen ruling
print have been set. This means that the • plate: durometer, relief and caliper
printing process must be stable, repeatable • mounting material: density, thickness
and under control before it is characterized. • ink: pH, viscosity and density
The purpose of characterization is to quanti- • substrate: dyne level, tension
fy or document the printing process; the pur- • anilox roll: cell count, cell volume, cell
pose of optimization is to improve the print- angle
ing process. • press settings: impression, speed, dryer
temperature
Solid Solid
Ink Process Exposure Equivalent Slur
Trap Patches Guide Patches Patch
Patch
E K E K
RE R AC Y RE R AC Y
TH OLO BL ONL TH OLO BL ONL
C C
include a control target which will be used wedges used to calculate cutback curves.
during production to maintain control of the The patches are all combinations of six tint
press. Figure is the FIRST control target. values arranged in random order. This
arrangement serves to distribute any local
press variations throughout all color values.
PRESS CHARACTERIZATION Spectrophotometric (L*a*b*) measurements
Press characterization follows press opti- of these overprint patches provide the data
mization. It accomplishes two goals. One is for the CIELab-based corrections.
to document the values of key print vari- Additonal elements in the target, used for
ables such as dot gain, ink trap, minimum different types of characterization, include:
highlight dot and maximum shadow dot, • slur target;
L*a*b* values for selected patches (solid-ink • linear blends to determine minimum
patches, gray-balance patches and overprint and maximum dot;
patches). • positive and reverse lines; and
The second is to provide the data used to • microdots and register marks.
calculate the corrections necessary for
matching color. The procedure is to print a
characterization target using the optimized TYPES OF CHARACTERIZATION
conditions. The target is evaluated both visu- Characterization can be broken out into
ally and by measurements. The measure- different types: visual, line, screen and
ments are used to develop the corrections by process. Clearly, for process printing,
either conventional cutback curves or process characterization needs to be done.
CIELab-based corrections (ICC profiles). For completeness, the other types will be
mentioned and briefly described.3
Target
There are numerous targets available. Visual Characterization
Figure depicts the FIRST press charac- The main purpose of characterization is to
terization target. The largest number of target quantify the process. Nevertheless, visual
elements are the overprint patches arranged
in 42 rows by 32 columns for a total of 1,344
3 A good tutorial on the subject of press characterization is available on CD
patches. Included are single-color step from the FTA.
1
C
2
3
M
4
5
Y
6
7
K
8
9
42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
0 2 4 6 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100 0 2 4 6 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100
examination of the press sheet is always part which are best examined visually include:
of the characterization. It would be foolish • misregister;
to spend a great deal of time and effort quan- • sharpness;
tifying a press using a press sheet that • slur;
exhibits unacceptable slur, or is in misregis- • ink trap;
ter. Perhaps this is stressing the obvious, but • streaking;
before any quantitative analysis is done, the • ghosting;
press sheet needs to be carefully examined • solid coverage; and
to assure that no defects are present. Faults • clarity of the graphics.
A cutback correction
called “total cutback
curve” is applied in the
conventional workflow.
This correction is
applied to the electronic
file before outputting
to film for platemaking 0 3 5 7 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 60 70 80 90 100
or outputting direct-to-
plate.
Contract Contract
Proof Proof
Electronic
File
Intermediate
Total Steps for
Cutback Press Press
Printing Sheet
Curve Plates
flow path where the electronic file is modi- between the measured dot-percent values
fied by a cutback curve before output to between the proof and press sheet at a par-
films for platemaking. The correction step is ticular value of the electronic file dot per-
called “total cutback curve” because a cent. In Table 22, for example, at a value of
default cutback curve could have been used 20% in the electronic file, the proof has a 31%
originally when the press characterization, dot and the press a 43% dot (points A and B
or fingerprinting, was carried out. Example 1 in Figure ). This would give a correction
and Example 2 will show the details with of 12 and a cutback curve value of 8 (20
and without the use of a default cutback minus 12). This incorrect process for the
curve. In these examples, the press is entire curve is detailed in Table 22. The rea-
matched to the proof. son for showing the entire curve generated
Example 1: Table 22 shows the measured dot is to highlight the fact that this incorrect
percentages for the proof and press sheet. method yields negative dot-percent values
These are the dot-gain curves for the proof for the cutback curve.
and press sheet. The values are shown The key to the correct procedure is to ask
graphically in Figure . the following question:
It is a common mistake to calculate the For a given dot percent in the electronic
cutback required by taking the difference file, what dot percent must be sent to the
DOT-GAIN CURVE
PRESS DOT % zontal line is drawn at the 31% output value
FILM PROOF WITH WITHOUT
DOT% DOT% DEFAULT DEFAULT as shown in Figure with the line labeled
0 0 0 14 13-20. The press prints a 31% dot for an elec-
3 5 13 14 tronic dot-percent value of 13%. The 13% was
5 9 17 14 obtained by reading it from the graph in
7 12 21 14 Figure which shows the same procedure
10 17 26 20 for all dot-percent values in the electronic
15 24 34 27 file from 0 to 100 in steps of 10.
20 31 43 33 Put in a slightly different way, Figure
25 38 50 39 indicates that in order to print a 31% dot, a
30 44 56 43 20% dot needs to be sent to the proofing
35 49 62 48 device and a 13% dot needs to be sent to the
40 55 67 53 press. This implies a correction to the press
45 60 73 57 of 7% (20 minus 13). All values are listed in
50 65 78 62
Table 23.
60 75 86 71
Figure shows the values above 10%,
70 83 92 80
while Table 23 lists some of the values below
80 91 96 87
10%. This area needs some special consider-
90 96 99 94
ation, especially considering the minimum-
100 100 100 100
dot value that will be printed. Figure
Table 22 shows an enlarged part of the highlight area
of Figure . The dashed line shows the
press to get the same measured result as on line drawn in for the dot-gain curve while the
the proof? solid line signifies the actual curve, assum-
In Figure , the 20% dot prints as a 31% ing a minimum printing dot of 3%. Below 3%,
dot on the proof (Point A). The question is, the output is zero-dot percent or a drop out.
which dot-percent value in the electronic file Table 23 reflects this drop out and keeps the
also prints as a 31% dot on the press sheet? value at 3% for all electronic dot values of 3%
Examination of Table 22 reveals there is no or less.
measured dot-percent value of 31% in the A similar cutoff can be applied in the shad-
press dot percent. To get the answer, a hori- ow end. In this case, the value of 93% would
50 12 38 13 37
60 13 47 11 49
70 13 57 9 61
not present a problem if the maximum print-
80 11 69 5 75
ing dot is 93% or higher. Figure shows
90 8 82 3 87
the resultant cutback curve. The graph
100 7 93 0 100
reveals the corrected values (those to be
Table 23 output to press) vs. the original electronic
file dot-percent values.
Printed Dot % Example 2: It is assumed that the cutback
40
corrections derived in Example 1 have been
applied. That is, the cutback curve derived in
13
30 20
Example 1 is the default cutback curve used.
Press Proof This could be the case where a press char-
20 acterization has been used to generate the
5
10 cutback curve and perhaps a different but
3
7 similar press is being characterized. The
10
2 5 task is to generate a new cutback curve
A magnified section 1 3
of dot-gain curves of (Total Cutback Curve in Figure ).
Figure 36 shows the 0 3 5 10 15 20 25 30 As before, the proof and press sheets are
drop out (no printed Electronic File Dot %
measured, the dot-gain curves generated and
dot) in the press sheet
below an electronic file the horizontal lines drawn in (Table 22 and
dot of 3%. Corrected Dot % Figure ). At first glance, this may seem
100
like a strange dot-gain curve. The press has
90
The resultant cutback
80
more gain than the proof in the quarter tones
curve shows the
original electronic file 70 and less gain than the proof in the mid tones
dot on the horizontal 60 and higher. It seems to hold dots all the way
axis and the corrected
50 to 100% and in the highlight, prints a 14 % dot
file to be output to
40 all the way to 7%. The answer is, of course,
plate-making film on
the vertical axis. 30
that a cutback curve has already been
20
applied to the electronic file before it went
The dot-gain curve 10
to press. Ideally, the two dot-gain curves of
for the proof and press 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
sheet with default Electronic File Dot %
Figure would overlap; this is simply a
correction applied. correction to that cutback curve.
5 2 3 2 3 50
Default Cutback Curve
7 4 3 4 3 40
10 5 5 6 4 30
20 7 13 8 12 20
30 8 22 8 22 10
40 12 28 10 30 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Electronic File Dot %
50 12 38 9 41
60 13 47 9 41
70 13 57 9 41
80 11 69 7 73 Because the colors are measured as the eye
90 8 82 6 84 perceives them, all variables, such as sub-
100 7 93 7 93
strate, ink trap and changes in the hue of the
Table 24 process inks are taken into account.
Measurements are taken in absolute mode,
The procedure is exactly the same as not relative to the substrate.
before. One thing to be cautious about is to Corrections are made using ICC profiles.
make sure the horizontal lines in Figure Basically, an ICC profile identifies or maps
are keyed to the proof curve since the aim is the device-independent L*a*b* color values
to match the press to the proof. Table 24 to the particular color values of the specific
shows the numbers and Figure the device. For a press, it means for a given
default and total cutback curves. L*a*b* value, the press must print a specific
Note: Throughout this section and in CMYK combination. For example, in order to
Figures through , the output dot per- achieve a color specified by L*a*b* values of
centage are plotted on the vertical axis. 46-62-51 the press needs to print CMYK val-
This is the correct procedure if the solid-ink ues of 0-100-80-0. For a proofing system, to
density of the proof and press sheet are the print these same L*a*b* values, it needs to
same. The same methodology can be print CMYK values of 3-100-75-0. This means
applied and cutback curves can be calculat- the electronic file to be output needs to be in
ed if the solid-ink densities are not the L*a*b* values, or the equivalent “tagged
same. In that case, density would be plotted RBG.” When color 46-62-51 needs to be print-
on the vertical axis. Everything else follows ed, 0-100-80-0 is sent to the press and 3-100-
in the same manner as described. 75-0 is sent to the proofing device.
ICC profiles can also be used when the
starting point is a CMYK file. Suppose we
CIELab CORRECTION start with a CMYK file which has been sepa-
(ICC PROFILES) rated for a flexo press using a cutback curve.
The objective of CIELab correction is to The goal is to match the proof to the press.
match the colors of one device to another. The CMYK values to be sent to the proofing
The colors are measured with a spectropho- device need to be modified so that for a
tometer in CIELab perceptual color space. given L*a*b* color printed on the press, the
L = 56 L = 87 L = 55
a = -6 a = -1 a = -17
same L*a*b* color is printed on the proof. b = -29 b = -46 b = -1
The modification or correction is shown in
Figure , which is similar to Figure .
As before, printing 0-100-80-0 on the press
gives Lab values of 46-62-51. When output to
the proofing device, the CMYK values need
to be modified to 3-100-75-0 to print the
same L*a*b* values of 46-62-51.
Details specifying how and where to apply
the profiles depend on which of the correc-
tions are done. Corrections can be done at
different stages of the process, whether it be
at the final output stage (RIP) or within an ELECTRONIC FILE VALUES
image-editing program such as Adobe
OVERPRINT C M Y K
Photoshop. This can be confusing. There are 1A 0 100 80 0
many different profiles to deal with and dif- 1B 80 0 60 0
ferent corrections can be applied at various 1C 80 20 100 20
stages of the workflow. True device-indepen- 1D 20 60 0 20
dent color management (i.e., images are 1E 100 40 80 80
stored in L*a*b*) is still in its infancy and will
undoubtedly experience some growing pains Table 25
before gaining full acceptance. CMYK is cer-
tainly attainable and is a good place to start. Example 3: The overprint patches of the
The best advice is to have a clear understand- press characterization target are measured
ing of the goal, which is to match the proof to with a spectrophotometer. Recall, that these
the press. Procedurally, a press sheet is mea- targets have many of these patches. The FTA
sured and the proof is corrected to match that target (Figure ) has 1,344 of them. While
sheet The process is verified by outputting a these measurements can be made manually,
second proof with the correction applied to it is much more reliable and efficient to use
verify the match. Example 3, which follows, a spectrophotometer that reads strips or one
illustrates the process with real-world data. mounted on an x-y table (Figure ). The
PRESS PROOF
OVERPRINT L* a* b* L* a* b* CMS(2, 1)
Table 26
PRESS PROOF
OVERPRINT L* a* b* L* a* b* CMS(2, 1)
Table 27
PRESS PROOF
OVERPRINT L* a* b* L* a* b* CMS(2, 1)
Table 28
measured L*a*b* values are then input to rected to match the press sheet and the target
profile building software. The profile is used was again output on the digital proofer using
to make the corrections to the proof. these corrections. Table 27 shows the results.
Some sample numbers are shown in Tables Also listed in Tables 26 and 27 are the
25 to 28. Table 25 shows the C, M, Y and K CMC (2,1) color difference values calculated
values of the first five patches of the FTA for each patch between the press and proof.
press characterization target. Table 26 shows As a comparison, Table 28 shows the degree
the values from a press sheet (using a default of match achieved using dot-gain compensa-
cutback curve) and a digital proof. After the tion. Of course, with the full 1,344 overprint
profiles were generated, the proof was cor- patches, a more useful metric is needed for
E K E K
RE R AC Y RE R AC Y
TH OLO BL ONL TH OLO BL ONL
C C
Change to actual
gray-balance values
Change Change to Change to
Identification actual minimum dot actual maximum dot
tions, not readily visible in other colors, will Print Aim Acutal Aim Actual
Station Color Viscosity Viscosity Density Density
be apparent in these patches.
1 White 30 0.19
Certain press configurations or package 2 Cyan 25 1.35
3 Magenta 25 1.25
types do not have trim areas where control
4 Yellow 25 1.00
targets fit. In these cases, a smaller, more 5 Black 28 1.50
6 Varnish 22 n/a
limited target, called a run target should be
placed in an inconspicuous place in the
image area. Figure shows the run target
specified in FIRST. Good places include the
back panel, flaps which will not be visible in
the final product or even in the nutrition
information area. These targets provide the
minimum information required to maintain
dot gain and density. On special colors, they tion of all measurement instruments.
can be used to provide CIELab color data. • Densitometers should be periodically
Each production run should have a pro- checked against reference standards
duction run spec sheet. An example is supplied by the manufacturer. Each
shown in Figure . In this example, the instrument comes with calibration pro-
target viscosity and density for each ink is cedures in case adjustment is needed.
specified. There is room on the sheet to • Spectrophotometers come with a white
record the actual values during the produc- standard and a table of what the read-
tion run. The actual values of viscosity and ings should be on that standard. They
density can then be plotted on a control too need to be periodically checked.
chart to monitor the variables for many jobs. • As simple as it sounds, even a microme-
On a long production run, the variables ter needs to be checked. This is as sim-
should be frequently measured and a control ple as making sure it reads zero when it
chart created for the job itself. Details of closes with no sample.
control charts are covered in the Quality
chapter, Book 3.
An important part of production control
that should not be overlooked is the calibra-
ANSI/CGATS.4-1993
Graphic Technology – Graphic Arts Reflection Densitometry Measurements – Terminology, Equations,
Image Elements and Procedures.
ANSI/CGATS.9-1993
Graphic Technology – Graphic Arts Transmission Densitometry Measurements – Terminology, Equations,
Image Elements and Procedures.
ANSI/CGATS.5-1993
Graphic Technology – Spectral Measurement and Colorimetric Computation for Graphic Arts Images.
ANSI/IT8.7/1-1993
Graphic Technology – Color Transmission Target for Input Scanner Calibration.
ANSI/IT8.7/2-1993
Graphic Technology – Color Reflection Target for Input Scanner Calibration.
ANSI/IT8.7/3-1993
Graphic Technology – Input Data for Characterization of 4-Color Process Printing.
ANSI PH2.30-1989
Graphic Arts and Photography – Color Prints, Tranparencies and Photomechanical Reproductions –
Viewing Conditions.
TRANSMISSION:
■ DOT PERCENT
(MURRAY-DAVIES EQUATION):
% dot 100 1 10-DT
The equation shown is for the case of D-max
greater than 3.0 with the densitometer zeroed where
on clear film. A black-and-white densitometer DT is the density of the tint
is used.
REFLECTION:
In all these calculations, the appropriate filter needs to be used for the process color (CMY) being mea-
sured. Refer to Chapter 3, Table 2.
■ GRAYNESS where
DL is the density using the filter which
% grayness 100 DL
gives the lowest reading
DH
DH is the density using the filter which
gives the highest reading
■ L*a*b*
∆ELab L1L22a1a22b1b22
■ CMC
∆ECMC
l L1L22C1C22H1H22
Sl cSC SH
where
l and c are adjustable parameters (usually set to 2 and 1)
C1 (a12 b12)
C2 (a22 b22)
H1H2 [(∆ELAB)2 (L1L2)2 (C1C2)2]
SL 0.040975L
if L is greater than 16
(1 0.01765° L)
SL 0.511 if L is less than or equal to 16
冢 冣
1C
SC 0.638
1 0.0131C
SH SC (Tf 1 f)
冢 冣
C4
f
C4 1900
In the equations starting with SL, non-subscripted values refer to the standard. The result of the CMC
calculation depends on which of the two points is the standard.
■ CIE’94
∆ECIE’94
L1L22C1C22H1H22
KLSL KCSC KHSH
where
KL, KC and KH are adjustable parameters (usually set to 2, 1 and 1)
SL 1
SC 1 0.045C
SH 1 0.015C
C refers to the C value of the standard, as in the CMC case.
CONT’D ON FOLLOWING PAGE
Additional material on press characterization is available from the FTA.
B color separations
bar codes flexo vs. offset, 69
bar-width reduction, 43
color, 43 color space, 119-121
orientation, 43, 86 combination screening, 40
bitmap image comprehensive roughs, 22
converting, 35
defined, 35 computer software
resolution of, 35, 68 drawing, 47, 51
rotating before importing, 37 page layout, 52
raster image, 37, 46, 53
blends, 31-32, 45-46, 47, 77, 99
trapping, 38
brand identification, 11
concept proof, 93
C
central-impression press, 28, 29 continuous-tone art
defined, 37
chroma, 120, 122 scanning, 43
CIE, 118, 119 contract proof
analog, 95
CIE’94, 121, 145 digital, 95
CMY color model, 114, 118, 121, 140 profiled, 95
dot gain, 36, 39, 70, 87, 88, 100, 127, 133-135, in-line press, 29
142 J
job assembly, 65, 79, 80, 84-88
dot shape, 90, 91, 99, 102
K
E
K factor, 87
EPS
simplifying art in, 53 L
working with, 52, 60, 82 L*a*b*, 119-120, 125, 128, 129, 131, 133, 137-
138, 139, 141
F
file formats L*C*h°, 119, 120, 122, 125
for graphics, 57
lightness, 119, 120, 122
film
properties, 90-92 light source
standard, 118
fingerprinting, see press characterization D50, 118
A, 118
FIRST, 42, 61, 80, 82, 89, 91 D65, 118
fonts, 27, 29-30, 58, 60, 61, 78 line screen, see screen ruling
Postcript, 29
TrueType, 29 M
microdots, 91
G
gamut, color, see color gamut moiré, 36, 90, 91, 99
GCR, (gray component replacement), 41, N
53, 70, 72, 80, 82 narrow-web press, 27, 28, 43
gradations, see blends O
object-oriented graphics, 33-34
gravure, 13
offset lithography, 13
gray balance, 141
Fifth Edition
Notice of Liability:
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other-
wise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Notice of Liability:
The information in this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, neither the
authors nor the publisher shall have any liability to any person or entity with respects
to any loss, liability or damage caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by
the information presented in this book.
Published by the
Foundation of Flexographic Technical Association, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America.
VOLUME 3
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT 30
State Programs ...................................................................... 30
Recordkeeping ...................................................................... 30
OSHA Poster.......................................................................... 31
Material Safety Data Sheets ................................................ 31
Hazard Communication ....................................................... 31
Personal Protection Equipment.......................................... 32
Hazardous Materials Identification System....................... 32
Equipment Use and Lockout/Tagout.................................. 33
Facilities Plan ........................................................................ 34
Consultation .......................................................................... 34
Training .................................................................................. 34
Inspections............................................................................. 35
SUMMARY 36
RESOURCES 37
D. Internet Addresses ......................................................... 37
E. Regional Offices of the
US Environmental Protection Agency,
US Department of Labor,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration........ 38
F. Other Government Office Telephone Numbers ......... 39
APPENDICES 40
A. List of Acronyms Used in this Chapter........................ 40
B. Sample Hazardous Waste Manifest .............................. 41
C. Sample Material Safety Data Sheets ............................ 42
BAR CODES
INTRODUCTION 53
RESOURCES 75
QUALITY CONTROL
INTRODUCTION 79
Quality Control vs. Quality Assurance .............................. 79
Who is Responsible for Quality ......................................... 80
CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITY 81
Customer ............................................................................... 81
Printer .................................................................................... 82
Supplier ................................................................................. 80
COMMITMENT TO QUALITY 83
Top Management .................................................................. 83
Middle Management ............................................................ 83
Operating Personnel ............................................................ 84
VOLUME 3
STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL 97
100% Inspection and Sampling ........................................... 97
Statistical Inspection and Sampling .................................. 97
Attributes and Variables ...................................................... 97
Military Standard (MIL-STD-105E) .................................... 98
BIBLIOGRAPHY 117
RESOURCES 119
Addresses of Organizations ............................................... 119
Websites Related to Quality............................................... 120
APPENDICES 121
A. Measures of Central Tendency .................................... 121
B. Histograms ..................................................................... 122
C. Control Charts ............................................................... 123
INDEX 125
P
process and the pollution it pro- Occupational Safety and Health Administra-
duces affects the lives of mil- tion (OSHA) provides guidelines for workers’
lions of people. Environmental protection.
laws have been enacted to help Compliance with these regulations re-
create and maintain a healthy quires the reduction of pollutants emitted
environment for all. Laws also have been from facilities into the environment. Addi-
promulgated to protect the worker. To the tional benefits from reducing pollution emis-
printer, this means that the amount of pollu- sions are improved working environment:
tants emitted from their operation must fall reduced indoor air pollutants, reduced han-
within certain limitations. dling of hazardous solvents by employees,
Since the creation of the United States and the appreciation by company employees
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) of the need to make a conscious effort to fur-
more than 25 years ago, numerous federal reg- ther reduce waste generation.
ulations to protect the air, water and land have Although the statutes discussed in this
been enacted that affect the flexographic chapter originate at the federal level, very
printer. These regulations are based on often it is the state or local environmental
several federal statutes, including the Clean regulatory agency that implements the actu-
Air, Toxic Substances Control, Resource al regulations. State/local laws can be more
Conservation and Recovery, Comprehensive restrictive in some cases.
Environmental Response, Compensation and Because of the many acronyms used in
Liability, Clean Water, and Pollution Preven- this chapter, a referral list is provided in
tion acts. In addition, the Occupational Safety Appendix A.
I
found that the growth of urban areas ing these standards. Because of its impact on
and industrial activities would bring small businesses, the CAAA also provided for
mounting dangers to public health and assistance programs to help them comply
welfare. To improve air quality by reduc- with the new regulations. These amendments
ing the amounts of pollutants emitted, also signaled a change from past pollution
the Clean Air Act was signed into law. control approaches by promoting pollution
Perhaps the most extensive statute in prevention. Innovations in this law include
recent years to impact flexographic printers programs based on cooperation between gov-
were the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 ernment and industry, and pollution-preven-
(CAAA). The CAAA included new provisions tion incentives based on market forces.
to control emissions of volatile organic com- The goal of the CAAA was to reduce air
pounds from large and small operations. To pollution by 56 billion pounds per year.
meet new national ambient air quality stan- These reductions are expected to come from
dards established by the USEPA, many facili- cutting emissions from major, as well as
ties either had to tighten controls of air pol- many minor, sources. In particular, control
lutants such as volatile organic compounds, of ozone and air toxics have an impact on
or reduce emissions for the first time. In flexographic printing facilities.
1996, the USEPA issued new rules under the
CAAA which affected wide-web flexographic
facilities, in response to the need for National NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollu- STANDARDS FOR OZONE
tants (NESHAP). In addition a revised New Title I of the CAAA defines the NAAQS for
Source Review is expected to be released in ozone precursors and places more than 90
the late 1990s. urban areas with ozone problems into one of
The CAAA was intended to meet unad- five non-attainment classifications. A non-
dressed or insufficiently addressed problems attainment area is one which does not meet
such as acid rain, ground-level ozone, stratos- the NAAQS for a particular pollutant. Once a
pheric ozone depletion and air toxics. The region has been designated as a “non-attain-
CAAA gave the USEPA the authority to set ment” area, USEPA mandates that the state
National Ambient Air Quality Standards must achieve attainment by a certain date.
(NAAQS) for six criteria pollutants: sulfur Areas range from the least polluted (mar-
dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, particulate mat- ginal) and progress upward through moder-
ter, carbon monoxide, lead and ozone. It also ate, serious, severe and extreme.
established a list of nearly 200 toxic air pollu- An area is designated non-attainment when
tants and had provisions for fixing the upper- the area fails to meet the national ambient air
atmosphere ozone layer. Once the USEPA quality standard, which for ozone is 0.12 parts
established a NAAQS for these compounds, per million (ppm). Ground-level ozone (smog)
each state became responsible for developing is produced when volatile organic compounds
temperature
e A typical catalytic 1350–1800°F
rise dependent
oxidizer flow diagram. on VOC loading
Here, a catalyst is Retention Chamber 550–700°F
used to lower the total
energy required to
achieve the conversion Exhaust to
Atmosphere From
from hydrocarbon to Burner Process
carbon dioxide and
water vapor.
dizers each with a different method of heat atmosphere. Then, the medium desorbs heat
exchange: recuperative and regenerative. to the incoming process gases, heating the air
Recuperative oxidizers are distinguished by stream to nearly the operating control tem-
the direct transfer of heat from the clean perature at which complete conversion will
exhaust to the process gases (typically via a occur. At least two regenerative beds are
shell and tube style heat exchanger). Recu- required so that process air can be cycled back
perative heat exchangers’ efficiencies typical- and forth between the beds, alternately heating
ly vary from 4% to 80% depending on the and cooling the media (Figure d). Regen-
expected solvent loading conditions. The air erative heat exchanger efficiency increases
flow pattern through a recuperative thermal where recuperative technology leaves off (i.e.,
oxidizer is illustrated in Figure c. at 80% to 95% efficiency).
Regenerative thermal systems differ from Catalytic oxidation is a form of thermal oxi-
recuperative in that heat is transferred from dation that uses a catalyst to lower the total
the cleaned exhaust to the process gases via a energy required to achieve the conversion
heat exchange medium such as ceramic sad- from hydrocarbon to carbon dioxide and
dles or rock. The medium is alternately heated water vapor. Typical destruction efficiencies
by the clean exhaust and cooled by lowering range from 95% to 99%. In this form of tech-
the air temperature prior to discharge into the nology, the catalyst induces oxidation at tem-
S
regulated under the Toxic Sub- Sections 4, 5, 6 and 8 of TSCA:
stances Control Act (TSCA). Section 4: Authorizes the USEPA to require
TSCA was enacted by Congress testing of chemical substances or mixtures
to test, regulate and screen all that the USEPA determines could be a risk
chemicals produced or import- to human health or to the environment.
ed into the United States. Many thousands of Section 5: Grants the USEPA the right to test
chemicals and their compounds are devel- all new chemical substances to determine
oped each year with unknown toxic or dan- their toxicity and subsequent risk 90 days
gerous characteristics. TSCA requires that before manufacturing, processing or import-
any chemical used for commercial purposes ing of said chemical.
must either appear on or be exempt from the Section 6: This section is the official notifica-
TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory. In tion that the USEPA may regulate the manu-
addition, records of allegations of previously facture, processing, distribution in com-
unknown adverse health effects from expo- merce, and use and disposal of any chemical
sure to any chemical must be maintained. substance determined to be toxic.
Any existing chemical that poses health Section 8: Requires all users and manufactur-
and environmental hazards is tracked and ers to keep records and submit reports to
reported under TSCA. Procedures also are the USEPA. For example, printers using film
authorized for corrective action under TSCA developers or replenishers should contact
in cases of cleanup of toxic materials conta- the local environmental agency to determine
mination. TSCA supplements other federal reporting requirements. Also, printers who
statutes, including the Clean Air Act and the import inks are also subject to all TSCA
Toxic Release Inventory under Emergency reporting requirements.
Planning and Community Right-to-Know.
C
including wastes generated by industrial
produce hazardous wastes are processes that may occur in several different
regulated by the provisions of the industries, the code always begins with F.
Resource Conservation and Re- F001 through F005 designate various types
covery Act (RCRA). One major of spent solvent waste. Examples include
requirement is a cradle-to-grave methylene chloride, 1,1,1,-trichloroethane,
reporting system that tracks hazardous xylene, acetone, benzene and n-butyl alco-
wastes from the factory through transporta- hol. The second category of listed wastes
tion, treatment and disposal. Most states have includes hazardous wastes from specific
received authority from USEPA to regulate sources; these wastes have codes that begin
and enforce RCRA. All the RCRA hazardous with the letter K, but are not used in the
waste regulations can be found in 40 CFR printing industry.
Parts 260 and 279. The remaining lists cover commercial
To be considered hazardous waste, a mate- chemical products that have been or are
rial must first be classified as a solid waste. intended to be discarded; these have two
USEPA defines solid waste as garbage, letter designations, P and U. Waste codes
refuse, sludge or other discarded material beginning with P are considered acutely
(including solids, semisolids, liquids and con- hazardous, while those beginning with U are
tained gaseous materials). Wastes are defined simply considered hazardous (Table 4). No
as hazardous if they are specifically named on chemicals used in the printing industry are
one of four lists of hazardous wastes (listed considered as acutely hazardous Code P.
wastes), or if they exhibit one of four charac- Due to the 1980 adoption of the “mixture
teristics (characteristic wastes). rule” and the “derived-from” rule, generators
cannot evade hazardous waste regulations by
diluting or otherwise changing the composi-
LISTED WASTES tion of listed waste. The mixture rule pro-
There are four separate lists of hazardous vides that any mixture of a listed hazardous
wastes. If any of the wastes from a printing and non-hazardous waste is a hazardous
facility is on any of these lists, the facility is waste. The derived-from rule provides that
subject to regulation under RCRA. The listing waste derived from a listed hazardous waste
is often defined by industrial processes, but is also deemed hazardous waste. These rules
all wastes are listed because they contain were struck down in 1991, but at the court’s
particular chemical constituents. These con- suggestion, the USEPA has temporarily reen-
stituents are listed in Appendix VII to 40 CFR
Part 261 with code letters F, P, K and U7. 7 Lists of the F, P, K and Hazardous wastes can also be obtained by calling the
For wastes from non-specific sources and USEPA RCRA/Superfund/EPCRA Hotline at (800) 424-9346.
I
under RCRA, some sites also contain CERCLA was reauthorized by the Superfund
abandoned hazardous wastes for which Amendments and Reauthorization Act of
ownership is unclear or unknown. In 1986 (SARA).
these situations, control and cleanup is
possible through the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL
and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly REPORTING
known as Superfund. Under the Superfund When CERCLA was amended by SARA,
program, USEPA has the authority to clean Title III, Section 302 of SARA authorized the
Table 5
13 The toll-free number for the National Response Center is (800) 424-8802; in
Washington DC call (202) 426-2675.
T
basic federal law that governs General pretreatment standards apply to all
water pollution control in the facilities discharging into a POTW. The appro-
United States. The commercial priate POTW should be contacted for permis-
printing industry produces a sion to discharge process wastewater effluent
number of pollutants that are and for permitting requirements. The general
potentially regulated under the CWA. pretreatment standards prohibit the follow-
ing from being introduced into a POTW:
• pollutants that create a fire hazard in
WASTEWATER DISCHARGE the POTW;
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination • pollutants that will cause corrosive struc-
System (NPDES) regulates discharges into tural damage to the POTW, but in no case
navigable waters, such as lakes, streams, discharges with pH lower than 5.0, unless
creeks and rivers. Thirty-nine states and ter- the facility is specifically designed to
ritories are authorized to administer NPDES accommodate such discharges;
programs that are at least as stringent as the • solid or viscous pollutants in amounts
federal program. The USEPA administers that will cause obstruction to the flow
the programs in the states not so autho- in the POTW, resulting in interference;
rized.14 • any pollutant, including oxygen de-
The NPDES program requires permits for manding pollutants, released in a dis-
discharge of pollutants from any point charge at a flow rate and/or pollutant
source into navigable waters. Because the concentration that will cause interfer-
CWA defines all of these terms broadly, a ence with the POTW;
source will be required to obtain an NPDES • heated effluents in amounts that will
permit if it discharges almost anything inhibit biological activity in the POTW,
directly into surface waters. A source that resulting in interference, but in no case
sends its wastewater to a publicly owned heat in such quantities that the temper-
treatment works (POTW) will not be ature at the POTW exceeds 40° C,
required to obtain an NPDES permit, but unless the approval authority, upon the
may be required to obtain an industrial user request of the POTW, approves alter-
permit from the POTW to cover its dis- nate temperature limits;
charges. • petroleum oil, non-biodegradable cut-
Most states prohibit discharge of industri- ting oil, or products of mineral oil in
al wastewater effluent into a septic system. amounts that will cause interference or
pass-through;
• pollutants that result in the presence of
14 The 12 States that are not authorized are AK, AZ, FL, ID, LA, ME, MA, NH, NM, toxic gases, vapors or fumes within the
OK, SD and TX. Washington D.C. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam,
Northern Marianas and Trust Territories Pacific Islands also do not have POTW in a quantity that may cause acute
approved NPDES Programs. No federally recognized Indian tribes have autho-
rized programs. worker health and safety problems;
T
1990 (PPA) focused industry, Most press return inks can be recycled. One
government and public attention recycling technique relies on blending waste
on reducing the amount of pollu- inks of different colors together to make
tion produced. The Pollution “black” ink. Small amounts of inks or black
Prevention Act emphasizes that toner may be needed to obtain an acceptable
pollution can be prevented at the source color. Other inks of like colors can be blended
through cost-effective changes in production, to maintain color consistency.
operation and raw materials use. Oppor- Improvements are continually being made
tunities for source reduction are often not to make solvents less hazardous. Aqueous
realized because existing regulations, and the solvents and other organic solvents that are
industrial resources required for compliance, not hazardous wastes after use are often
focus on treatment and disposal. Source good alternatives.
reduction is fundamentally different and
more desirable than waste management or
pollution control. Pollution prevention also PREPRESS
includes other practices that increase effi- Image-making most frequently involves
ciency in the use of energy, water or other typesetting and photo developing. Typical
natural resources best through conservation. waste streams include: photographic chemi-
The best way to reduce pollution is to pre- cals, paper and films, silver, and solid
vent it in the first place. Industries have cre- wastes. Pollution prevention opportunities
atively implemented pollution prevention during prepress include the following:
techniques that improve efficiency and • implementing operational and work
increase profits while at the same time mini- practice changes that can extend the
mizing environmental impact. This can be life of chemical baths, reduce the
done in many ways such as reducing materi- amount of chemicals used and reduce
al inputs, reengineering processes to reuse wastewater generation;
by-products, improving management prac- • using chemical substitutes, such as non-
tices, and employing substitution of toxic silver photographic films, which are
chemicals. Some smaller facilities are able to currently being developed;
actually get below regulatory thresholds just • replacing the sometimes repetitive steps
by reducing pollutant releases through of photographing, editing, reshooting,
aggressive pollution prevention policies. and developing with electronic imaging
Better operating practices such as maintain- (including the capability to edit images
ing equipment to prevent failures, labeling on a computer);
and dating containers to help identify the con- • developing inventory-control programs
tents and life expectancy, and keeping the that offer the advantage of reducing
shop clean to prevent contamination of raw spoilage of photo developing chemicals
materials, are all easy ways to reduce waste. and supplies such as paper and film.
L
pational Safety and Health Act employees for review upon their request.
(OSH Act) is meant to assure
safe and healthful working con-
ditions for working men and STATE PROGRAMS
women by: The OSH Act encourages states to develop
• authorizing enforcement of the stan- and operate their own job safety and health
dards developed under the Act; plans. OSHA approves and monitors these
• assisting and encouraging the states in state plans and provides up to 50% of an
their efforts to assure safe and healthful approved plan’s operating costs. States must
working conditions; set job safety and health standards which are
• providing for research, information, at least as effective as comparable federal
education, and training in the field of standards (most states adopt standards identi-
occupational safety and health. cal to federal ones). Twenty-three states or
Employers are responsible under the OSH jurisdictions operate complete state plans
Act to provide a workplace free from recog- covering both the private sector and state and
nized hazards that are causing or are likely local government employees (Table 7). Two
to cause death or serious physical harm to others, Connecticut and New York, cover pub-
its employees. Companies must comply with lic employees only. States with plans must
all standards, rules and regulations issued by adopt standards comparable (but not neces-
Occupational Safety and Health Admini- sarily identical) to federal standards within six
stration (OSHA) under the act. Copies of the months of promulgation of the federal stan-
dards. Until a state standard is promulgated,
STATES WITH APPROVED JOB OSHA will provide interim enforcement assis-
SAFETY AND HEALTH PLANS tance, as appropriate, in these states.
A fact sheet, State Job Safety and Health
Alaska Michigan Tennessee
Programs, (OSHA Program Highlights No.
Arizona Minnesota Utah
15) is available through the OSHA Publi-
California Nevada Vermont
cations Office.15
Connecticut New Mexico Virginia
Hawaii New York Virgin Islands
Indiana North Carolina Washington
Iowa Oregon Wyoming
RECORD-KEEPING
Most employers with 11 or more employ-
Kentucky Puerto Rico
Maryland South Carolina
15 OSHA Publications Office, Room N-3101, Frances Perkins Building, 200
Table 7 Constitution Avenue, Washington DC 20210, (202) 219-4667.
Specific
Hazard
PERSONAL PROTECTION
EQUIPMENT
The OSH Act (29 CFR 1910.132-134) speci-
fies situations when personal protection
equipment (PPE) should be used. For exam-
who then must provide the hazard informa- ple, gloves and safety glasses are required
tion to employers who purchase their prod- equipment when handling certain solvents
ucts. All employers must have a written work- and inks. As mentioned above, these require-
place compliance program. Under the Act, ments should be listed on the chemical’s
companies must: labels. Emergency eye washes should be
• list all hazardous chemicals; installed in areas where eye irritants are han-
• maintain Material Safety Data Sheets dled. If respirators are required, employees
for each of those chemicals; must be properly trained and fit-tested. A res-
• label each container that contains those pirator program must be written showing
chemicals; how respirators are selected.
• have ongoing employee safety training; Most press rooms are high noise areas. If
• have a hazardous communications pro- noise levels are equal to or exceed an 8-hour
gram written and implemented. time-weighted average of 85 decibels,
employers must administer a hearing conser-
Chemicals are considered hazardous vation program (29 CFR 1910.95).
based on their physical or health hazards.
Physical hazards include chemicals that are
flammable, combustible or explosive. Health HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
hazards include both acute or chronic effects IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
such as eye irritation or cancer. The Hazardous Materials Identification
Copies of the Hazard Communication System (HMIS) standard labels are used on
Standard and the publication, Chemical chemicals to indicate the degree of physical
Hazard Communication, (OSHA 3084 hazard using colors, numbers and symbols.
Revised) are available through the OSHA The label identifies the chemical and lists
Publications Office. Another publication, hazard warnings (Figure g):
Hazard Communication Guidelines for • Health hazards are indicated in the blue
Compliance, (OSHA 3111; GPO Order No. area and are graded from 0H (minimal
029-016-00127-1) can be purchased from the hazard) to 4H (severe hazard).
Superintendent of Documents, United States • Flammability is indicated in the red
Government Printing Office. zone, with 4F indicating an extremely
A compliance kit on the standard with flammable chemical, and 0F indicating
16 OSHA Training Institute, 1555 Times Drive, Des Plaines IL 60018. For infor-
mation on the subjects, dates, tuition and location of these courses, telephone
the Institute Registrar at (708) 297-4913 or write to the Institute.
Table 9
I
area, most states have their own ver- tions, contact regional offices of the US
sions of regulations and their own Environmental Protection Agency, the US
agencies. So, before any decisions are Department of Labor (Occupational Safety
made about regulations, state govern- and Health Administration) or other govern-
ment should be consulted. ment agencies (see Appendices E and F).
Region VII 726 Minnesota Avenue 1100 Main Street, Suite 800
(IA,KS,MO,NE) Kansas City, KS 66101 Kansas City, MO 64115
(913) 551-7000 (816) 426-5861
Region VIII 999 18th Street, Suite 500 1999 Broadway, Suite 1690
(CO,MT,ND,SD,UT,WY) Denver, CO 80202 Denver, CO 80202
(303) 293-1603 (303) 844-1600
US Department of Transportation
■ Hazardous Materials (800) 467-4922
Information Center
and Hotline
LAER Lowest Achievable Emission Rate SBAP Small Business Assistance Program
NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality TSD Treatment, Storage and Disposal
Standard
TSCA Toxic Substance Control Act
NEC National Electric Code
USEPA United States Environmental
NESHAP National Emission Standard for Protection Agency
Hazardous Air Pollutant
UV Ultraviolet
NOI Notice of Intent
VOC Volatile Organic Compound
NOx Oxides of Nitrogen
I. INGREDIENTS
CONSTITUENT CAS NO. TLV OSHA PEL
Ethyl Cellosolve (C)* 110-80-5 200 ppm 29 CFR 1910.1000
Formamide (F) 75-12-7 20 ppm
Victoria Blue Dye 2185-86-6 n/a
Water (H) n/a n/a
*ethyl Cellosolve is a registered trademark of Union Carbide Corporation for 2-ethoxyethanol (ethylene glycol
monoethyl ether).
PERCENTAGES BY DYNE LEVEL
LEVEL C (VOL) F (VOL) LEVEL C (VOL) F (VOL)
30 100.0% 0.0% 48 13.0% 87.0%
32 89.5% 10.5% 50 9.3% 90.7%
34 73.5% 26.5% 52 6.3% 93.7%
36 57.5% 42.5% 54 3.5% 96.5%
38 46.0% 54.0% 56 1.0% 99.0%
40 36.5% 63.5%
42 28.5% 71.5% LEVEL F (VOL) H (VOL)
44 22.0% 78.0% 58 81.2% 18.8%
46 17.2% 82.8% 60 65.0% 35.0%
Concentration of Victoria blue dye is 2 grams per liter.
While Diversified Enterprises believes the information contained herein is factual and the opinions
expressed are those of qualified experts, this information is not to be taken as a warranty for
which Diversified Enterprises assumes legal responsibility. It is provided solely for consideration,
investigation and verification.
1. PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION
Product Name TXG53364F
Product Description INK
Product Category Flexo Ink
MSDS Identification No. 000000000000
MSDS Date 06/12/98
For further information on the individual hazardous component(s) listed above, please refer to the Toxicological
Information section of the MSDS (section 11).
Skin
This product may cause mild to moderate eye irritation. Prolonged or repeated exposure may result in con-
tact dermatitis which is characterized by redness, itching, drying and/or cracking of the skin.
Inhalation
This product is not expected to cause respiratory tract irritation under conditions of intended use.
Ingestion
Ingestion of amounts incidental to normal industrial handling are unlikely to cause adverse health effects.
Deliberate ingestion of excessive quantities may result in gastrointestinal irritation, nausea, vomiting and
diarrhea.
— continued on next page —
Extinguishing Media
This material is a water-based product as supplied is not expected to burn. The residual material and/or
product container may support combustion. If this should occur, use water, multipurpose foam, dry chem-
ical or carbon dioxide.
Fire Fighting Instructions
The use of self-contained breathing apparatus is recommended for firefighters. Water spray may be used to
cool containers to heat near flame.
Fires and Explosion Hazards
No unusual fire or explosion hazards are anticipated.
California Proposition 65
This product does not contain any chemicals which are defined by the state of California to cause cancer
and/or reproductive toxicity.
NOTICE: These ratings are intended only for the immediate and general identification of acute hazards. Sun
Chemical is providing this information on a voluntary basis as a guide for our customers. The use and inter-
pretation of this information may vary from company to company. All information contained in this data sheet
should be considered in order to adequately deal with the safe handling of this material.
Revision Date
06/12/98
The information presented in this data sheet represents a compilation of information generated from our sup-
pliers and other recognized sources of scientific evidence and chemical information. To the best of our knowl-
edge and belief, it is accurate and reliable as of the date of issue. However, no warranty, express or implied,
including any warranty of merchantability, fitness for any use, or any other guarantee if offered or implied
regarding the accuracy of such data, the results to be obtained from the use thereof, the safety of this product,
or hazards connected with the use of this material. Since the conditions of handling and the use of this mater-
ial are beyond our control, Sun Chemical shall assume no liability for damages incurred, and that the person
receiving them shall make his own determination as to the suitability and completeness of this information, the
safety measures necessary to handle this product, and the actions needed to comply with all applicable Federal,
State and Legal Legislation.
B. Nonvolatile Content:
1.) 43.82 Weight percent of nonvolatiles in product = (Wn)s
2.) 39.32 Volume percent nonvolatiles in product = (Vn)s
3.) 10.04 Density, lb. nonvolatiles /gal nonvolatiles = (DN)S
C. Volatiles
1.) 56.18 Weight percent of total volatiles in this product = (Wv)s
2.) 8.33 Density, lb. volatiles /gal. volatiles = (Vw)s
D. Water Content:
1.) 50.46 Weight percent of water in product = (Ww)s
2.) 8.33 Density, lb. volatiles /gal. volatiles = (Dw)s
NOTE: The term Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) refers only to volatile organic materials as defined by the
US EPA and does not include water, ammonia, acetone or other exempt solvents. Unless otherwise stated, the
VOC values reported above are based on materials of construction.
See Section 13 of the MSDS for identification of the HAPs ingredients.
B
beholder, but bar code accura- harsh, cold-hearted judge of print quality a
cy is another matter entirely. In scanner is, consider this. There are clear-cut
some circles, you may hear sad guidelines and procedures that have been
tales about how an otherwise developed for flexographic printing of bar
good-looking print job was codes. When adhered to, they produce accu-
rejected by the customer only because of rate, scannable bar codes in virtually every
“tiny” bar code inaccuracies. When you hear circumstance, on every substrate imagin-
this story, do not lend a sympathetic ear. able. When a client’s bar code is produced
The fact of the matter is, there are no such correctly, everyone benefits. And we do
things as “tiny” bar code inaccuracies. A bar mean everyone.
code either scans correctly or it doesn’t. Note: The bar codes reproduced in this
There is no middle ground; no room for volume are intended for illustration pur-
“beauty in the eye of the beholder” unless poses only and are not meant to represent
the beholder is the scanner. scannable bar codes.
BAR CODES 53
Understanding
Bar Codes, the Lifeblood
of the Supply Chain
ave you ever jumped into the ed marketing environment, scannability
H
express lane at the store only equals salability. Those little black bars and
to be stopped in your tracks spaces, when printed accurately as a bar
by a product that won’t scan? code symbol, not only prevent serious prob-
First the clerk runs the prod- lems for trading partners, but they become
uct past the scanner a few the key to unlocking a wealth of time – and
times, turning it slightly for each pass. Then, cost-saving benefits that drive the efficien-
if it’s a product in flexible packaging, there cy of the entire supply chain.
follows a “smoothing” routine – pulling and Bar codes convey unique product identifi-
twisting the packaging material until the bar cation for manufacturers and their products
code is completely flat. Finally, if that does- virtually everywhere in the world. They pro-
n’t produce an accurate scan, a now-exas- vide rapid, error-free data entry at the retail
perated clerk holds up the package, squints point-of-sale. They accelerate shipping and
and begins to manually enter the code into receiving, improve warehouse efficiency, aid
the terminal. logistics and transportation, and otherwise
This wanton waste of your time is only the drive unnecessary costs out of the supply
tip of the iceberg when a bar code isn’t print- chain for industries as diverse as healthcare,
ed correctly. Consider that every checker in automotive, foodservice and electronics.
every store in the chain may encounter similar Their numbering structures even provide
problems with that product. Very soon you companies with the ability to closely track
can see why the retailer will complain to the assets, monitor work-in-progress, and con-
manufacturer who supplied the product in the trol the flow of internal and external routing
first place. Back charges will be levied. Then systems and other identification applica-
the “multiple” effect kicks in. Multiply the tions.
damage by the number of retailers across the In other words, bar codes mean business
country or around the world who are cus- for you and your clients. With a little supply
tomers of the manufacturer, and you can see a chain understanding, some fundamental
potentially catastrophic situation looming for knowledge of the most common symbolo-
the entire product line. And that can translate gies used, and a close attention to estab-
into a dire situation for the designer or printer lished production guidelines, flexographic
who created the error in the first place. printing of bar codes can generate its own
There is an important supply chain lesson rewards in supply chain efficiencies across
here. Simply put, in today’s globally integrat- industry channels.
BAR CODES 55
A Quick Course on
Common Bar Code
Symbologies
ccording to AIM International,
A
Inc., the worldwide trade asso- i
ciation for the automatic iden-
tification and data capture
industry (see Resources),
there are approximately 225
bar code symbologies that have been pub-
lished around the world. However, only a UPC-A
small fraction of these are being used in any
significant way, and fewer still have the wide-
spread acceptance of the familiar EAN/UPC
“product code” symbology.
Considered by many to be the genesis of
the modern bar code era, the EAN/UPC sym-
bol was formally introduced as a 12-digit UPC-E EAN-8
code in the United States by the Uniform
Code Council, Inc. (UCC) in 1973. In 1977,
the European Article Number Association
(EAN) adopted the U.P.C. product identifica-
tion system. The 12-digit code was expanded
to a 13-digit data structure to allow for its use
internationally. Today, the UCC and EAN
International manage the product identifica-
tion system together. There are over 820,000 EAN-13
ENDOCATION LENGTH
SYMBOLOGY TYPE DATA CONTENT METHOD ENCODING RESTRICTION
Table 11
BAR CODES 57
1) The ITF system codes
characters in sets of five 1) 1@
spaces and bars, thus
Start Stop
the moniker “2-of-5” Character The “8” in five bars Character
symbol.
BAR CODES 59
Symbol Structure,
an Overview
he EAN/UPC and other symbol- feature, when combined with special scan-
T
ogies are each considered to be ning patterns used in checkout scanners,
their own unique language, with speeds the checkout process in high volume
their own individual rules for applications.
character encoding, decoding, The key measurement in bar code symbol-
checking and other features. ogy is called the “X” dimension. Quite sim-
But there are common features across the ply, X is the width of the narrowest bar or
spectrum of many bar code symbols that space element in the symbol, and it sets the
illustrate a fundamental structure. parameters for the corresponding bar
In their most common form, linear bar widths, symbol length and sometimes height
codes are a series of alternating dark bars and of the printed bar code. Bar code application
light bars (called spaces), in various widths, standards (standard based on where the bar
which reflect light within an acceptable code will be used) typically specify an
reflectance tolerance as prescribed by specifi- acceptable range for the X-dimension and
cations. Most linear symbols are bidirectional. may also specify a nominal (or target) value.
That means the symbol may be scanned left- The range specified correlates to the scan-
to-right or right-to-left with the same results. ners typically used in the application and the
EAN/UPC symbols are unique in that they can type of scanning conditions that are encoun-
also be scanned omni-directionally. tered. For instance, some scanners scan very
When scanned by an omni-directional small X-dimensions and require the symbol
scanner, the EAN/UPC symbol can be read to be in near-contact with the scanner, while
by the reader at any orientation in which its other scanners can scan symbols with large
bars are presented to the scanner’s pattern X-dimensions from across a room. Some
of scanning beams. The symbol design scanners are operated by humans who can
requires that the height of the bars be some- find the symbol and adjust scanning
what greater than the width of any decod- angle/distance while other scanners are
able segment of a symbol. This “over-square” mounted to a conveyor and expect to see
geometry guarantees that a scanner’s beams symbols in a predictable location with a pre-
will intersect all the required bars and dictable X-dimension.
spaces to decode a symbol on a single pass Another factor to consider for “two-width
across the scanner. EAN/UPC symbols con- symbologies” (symbols with only two ele-
sist of one or two decodable segments, ment widths17) is bar-width ratio. Bar-width
depending on the version. The most com- ratio is the relationship of wide-to-narrow
mon versions of the EAN/UPC symbols con-
sist of two decodable segments that are
17 ITF and Code 39 are two width symbols. EAN/UPC, UCC/EAN-128 and Code
read as a single symbol. This symbol design 128 are not.
BAR CODES 61
1% A bearer bar (the bar checking, uses the graphic design of the
encasing the bar code 1% symbology itself to verify if a character is
symbol) reduces the
probability of scanner encoded properly. One example of this
error. would be a symbology which requires that
there be an odd number of narrow bars in
every properly-encoded character; another
example would be a symbology which must
3 00 1 345 67890 6 always have an even number of dark mod-
ules for each character. These symbol-
checking arrangements are joined by a sec-
ond method of checking called check digits.
Based on algorithms, check digits are calcu-
lated based on strings of numbers encoded
within the symbol, then the check digit is
encoded as part of the symbol as well. When
are associated with the encoded data, the scanned, they allow the code inside the sym-
spacing between text characters, and even bol to be verified as a valid combination of
where the text should be located. There are characters. This adds greatly to the high con-
often text characters that are not encoded in fidence factor enjoyed by bar code users.
the bars and spaces, such as the parenthesis A final feature that is found on bar codes
around UCC/EAN Application Identifiers. such as the ITF symbol is bearer bars. The
There are also symbol characters that may UCC specifies bearer bars surround the ITF
not be included in the human-readable text, symbol to reduce the probability of misreads
such as symbol start/stop patterns and inter- when the scanning beam is skewed in rela-
nal symbology check characters (module 103 tion to the symbol. The bearer bars also pro-
for Code 128 and UCC/EAN-128). vide printing plate support when the symbol
Another major feature shared among most is printed directly on packaging materials
bar codes is a method of error checking built such as corrugated. When the symbol is
into the code. There are actually two ways a printed directly on the packaging material,
bar code data carrier may be checked. The the UCC specifies the bearer bar completely
first method, called self-checking or parity surround the symbol as shown in Figure 1%.
P
and production begins with the UCC/EAN-128 (ANSI/UCC4 – UCC/EAN-128
selection of the proper symbol. Application Identifier Standard). Designers
Each symbology is clearly identi- and printers should obtain the symbology
fied with its own applications. specifications and application standards gov-
The bar code used depends on erning the bar codes they create directly from
where and how the code it carries will be the source. The printer’s customer may also
scanned. Scanners used at the retail POS be required to apply for a part of the identifi-
(point of sale) checkout counter often differ cation number itself. For example, the
dramatically from scanners used in large dis- Uniform Code Council and EAN Inter-nation-
tribution centers. There are even significant al are the two coequal standards bodies which
differences among family members within the oversee the global UCC/EAN system. Anyone
same symbology. For instance, EAN symbols wishing to employ any symbols in this world-
used outside North America cannot yet be wide network must first receive a company
scanned at many retail locations in North prefix by making application to the UCC, the
America, but UPC symbols used in North EAN or one of their 90 affiliated numbering
America can be read anywhere in the world. organizations worldwide. The UCC publishes
Symbologies, including the EAN/UPC, ITF, a collection of symbology specifications and
Code 39, and Code 128 are specified by sym- application standards within the Art of
bology specifications. The symbology specifi- Producing Bar Codes Tool Kit for UCC mem-
cations for all major symbologies (other than bers and their suppliers. The Tool Kit naviga-
EAN/UPC) are available from AIM USA19. The tion system is based on the UCC/EAN flagship
EAN/UPC specifications are available from document for the design, preparation and pro-
UCC20 (ANSI/UCC5 – Quality Specification duction of its symbologies called Guidelines
for the UPC Printed Symbol). Beyond the for Producing Quality Symbols. By following
raw specifications for the bar and space the membership application process and
dimensions and encodation patterns, stan- adhering to the symbology production proce-
dards bodies closely regulate application dures outlined by the UCC, the integrity of the
standards that govern where and how bar system as a worldwide enabler of commerce
codes are used to meet a business require- is assured.
ment. These application standards may even
19, 20 See Appendix at the end of this chapter for contact information.
BAR CODES 63
Bar Codes
in the Design Stage
lmost all packages require bols take up on a design; designers may be
A
either a barcode or UPC sym- tempted to specify a decreased symbol height
bol for pricing, identification without a corresponding reduction in
and inventory information. width. This process, called truncation, is not
FIRST and ANSI have specifi- permitted within the EAN/UPC symbologies,
cations that should be fol- as well as many others, and it should be
lowed. The difficulty for a designer who has avoided.
to use the UPC code in package design is It should also be noted that the allowable
that the specifications for creating these magnification range can depend on how the
symbols are very strict and UPC codes bar code will be used. For example, when
rarely, if ever, add to the appeal of an overall EAN/UPC symbols are used in conveyorized,
design. So, not only do bar codes become a fixed-mount scanning environments (e.g.,
necessary evil, but they also have a very shipping and distribution) as well as at the
strict set of tolerances that must adhered to retail point-of-sale, the minimum magnifica-
by the designer and separator. tion allowed is increased from 80% to 160%.
An example of a point-of-sale product that
might also be used as a shipping container
SIZE MATTERS would be a carton used for a large appliance,
Some symbols are constrained by permis- (e.g., a television or microwave oven).
sible aspect ratios, especially those intended Finally, before the first ink is applied in
for use with omni-directional scanners. Due the pressroom, every press that will run bar
to the nature of this type of scan, these sym- codes should be characterized. Press char-
bols have a fixed relationship between their acterization (or fingerprinting) is a prerequi-
height and width. When one dimension is site for producing quality bar code symbols.
modified, the other dimension should be Printers need to determine the minimum
altered by a proportional amount. size bar code a particular press can produce
The EAN/UPC symbols are one such exam- with repeatable quality. They should ascer-
ple. Because of this relationship, EAN/UPC tain the correct bar-width reduction (BWR)
symbols have a nominal height and width for bar codes in order to account for the
specification. There is also a range of allow- normal ink spread encountered during the
able sizes for the symbol, in this case from printing process. Once established, a printer
80% to 200%. When specifying on purchase should not attempt to print bar codes out-
orders, indication of size is generally referred side these specified ranges.
to as the symbol’s “magnification factor.” For many years, printers used the
Note: Temptation is everywhere. In order Printability Gauge illustrated in the UPC
to decrease the amount of space some sym- Film Master Verification Manual, repro-
BAR CODES 65
(e.g., white or yellow). In addition to
light backgrounds, “reddish” colors may FBA EDITION VIII GCMI* COLORS
also be used.
Recommended GCMI colors for natural kraft
4. In many cases the symbol background is
substrate.
not printed. It is the color of the substrate
CODE COLOR CODE COLOR
being printed (see Substrate Significance
3213 Aqua 3086 Blue
below). If the symbol background is
90 Black 52 Brown**
printed beneath the bars, the background
30 Blue 523 Brown
should be printed as a solid color or in
31 Blue 20 Green
multiple layers of solid color coverage to
32 Blue 21 Green
increase the background opacity.
33 Blue 22 Green**
38 Blue 24 Green
In many cases the designer can be
39 Blue 25 Green
involved in the specification of the printing
300 Blue 29 Green
material characteristics such as matte, gloss,
387 Blue 2008 Green
color or texture. The printer may submit
394 Blue 2014 Green**
sample materials for evaluation and/or
* Now GPI (Glass Packaging Institute)
approval. Whenever these decisions are
** Least desirable of the recommended colors
made, it is important to consider the effect
on the scannability of the bar codes. Such Table 12
considerations as how an overprinted var-
nish or laminate will affect the symbol, as
well as how the use of fluorescent, metallic, LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
transparent or translucent materials might There are actually two primary considera-
reduce the symbol contrast of the bar code, tions when determining symbol location.
should be a priority. The first is the symbol placement on the
design and the second is the symbol orienta-
tion (rotation) relative to the press-web
SUBSTRATE SIGNIFICANCE direction.
Some bar code symbols, such as Inter- When assigning the placement for the sym-
leaved 2-of-5 (ITF), are typically printed bol, a designer should consult the appropri-
directly on linerboard. Because of a lack of ate application standards governing its use.
contrast, symbols printed on substrates such Among the typical concerns are repeatable
as natural kraft linerboard are more difficult placement guidelines for specific packaging
to scan than symbols printed on mottled types (for human-factor considerations),
white linerboard, full bleached linerboard or adequate space for quiet zones, specific gov-
white paper labels. For this reason, the best ernment labeling requirements, and the
scanning results are often achieved by print- physical layout of the package itself. A pack-
ing bars with opaque black, dark blue or dark aging engineer should be consulted to make
green inks with uniform coverage. Table 12 sure the symbol will not be obscured or
lists the Fibre Box Association’s recom- damaged during production, (e.g., over a
mended Edition VIII GCMI colors for ITF carton edge, beneath a carton fold, beneath
symbols on natural kraft substrates.21 a package flap, or covered by another pack-
aging layer).
Once the proper placement is determined,
21 From Fibre Box Association (FBA) Guideline for Direct Contact Printing of Bar
Code Symbols on Corrugated. Reprinted here with permission from the FBA. the printing company should be consulted
FILM MASTERS
Many flexographic printers require precise
bar code film artwork, called a film master, to
manufacture printing plates for bar codes
(Figure 1(). Essentially a film master is an
extremely accurate photo-representation of a
bar code, in either positive or negative film.
The super-accuracy of film masters cannot be take. Film master tolerances are strictly con-
duplicated by the typical photo processes trolled and, in the case of most UCC/EAN
available to most printers, so a reliable film symbols, are often less than ± 0.0002" (0.0051
master producer must be used. This is per- mm) for bar and space widths. Tolerances for
haps the most essential step a printer can these symbols are set by the UCC in the U.P.C.
BAR CODES 67
1( A bar code film ter is intended (i.e., flexo);
master is a precise 1( • identification of Film Master supplier;
photo-representation
of a bar code in film. SAMPLE FILM MASTER
and
Its use ensures accurate (WITH EXAMPLE OF SUGGESTED COPY) • date of film master manufacture.
reproduction of the bar
code.
BAR CODES 69
Bar Codes
in the Pressroom
he production process begins for Direct Contact Printing Bar Code Symbols
T
with the receipt of a work order on Corrugated, available from the Fibre Box
that includes a bar code. The Association.22 In general, the guideline pro-
first thing that must be done is vides recommendation for the purchase of bar
to compare the bar code num- code printing plates, a brief discussion and
bers on the work order against recommendation of inks in GCMI colors, and
the numbers beneath every symbol on the a section on production practices.
plate. It should never be assumed that every
number on the plate will be the same. Also,
the plate should be checked for defects such VERIFICATION AND MAKING
as nicks, plugs, buckles or tears. If an error THE GRADE
or defect is discovered in the plate, it should It can’t be stated any clearer: bar codes
be quarantined or destroyed according to either scan within tolerance or they don’t.
company procedures. The numbers beneath That means it is worth the investment in time
a bar code symbol should never be revised and resources to insure that the quality goes in
by cutting or otherwise altering the plate. before the bar code goes on. And that, in turn,
means that every flexographic printer printing
bar codes should consider migrating to a
A CORRUGATED TIP properly calibrated ANSI/UCC5-based verifier
When printing directly on a corrugated sub-
strate, an excellent resource is the Guideline 22 See Resources at the end of this chapter for contact information.
2!
100%
Spaces
Quiet Quiet
Zone Zone
Reflectance
Bars
2! Scan Reflectance Profile 0%
(SRP) is generated by a
single scan by a verifier.
2# By averaging 10 scan
profile grades, an ANSI
symbol grade can be
calculated.
to bring their quality assurance program into intervals down the symbol and averaging
alignment with the direction of the future. them together for one grade.
Following the direct visual inspection of For further details on this ANSI-based ver-
the plate, it is recommended that the printer ification, refer to23:
test for an acceptable ANSI symbol grade in AIM USA: A Laymen’s Guide to ANSI Print
the first piece approval process. There are Quality.
two types of ANSI grades. A scan profile ANSI: ANSI X3.182 Bar Code Print Quality
grade results from analyzing an SRP (scan Guideline.
reflectance profile) obtained from a single UCC: Technical Bulletin #1 – Understanding
scan of a bar code by a verifier (Figure 2!). UCC Specified Methods for Assessing
In Figure 2@, each scan profile grade is EAN/UPC Quality, ANSI/UCC5 – Quality
established by taking the lowest of eight Specification for the U.P.C. Printed Symbol,
parameter scores (or nine if a quiet zone or Guidelines for Producing Quality Symbols.
measurement is included as for the UCC/
EAN). Table 13 lists the details of these para- ANSI grades should always be specified by
meters. the print buyer with three key pieces of
An ANSI symbol grade (Figure 2#) is information – the minimum ANSI grade
determined by analyzing the results of 10
scan profile grades taken at equally spaced 23 See Resources at the end of this chapter for contact information.
BAR CODES 71
ANSI SCAN-REFLECTIVE PROFILE PARAMETERS
Table 13
(specified as a grade point average), the ver- Flexo printers will find an excellent document
ifier aperture to be used, and the verifier on quality control for printing ITF symbols on
wavelength to be used. For example, all corrugated in the previously mentioned
EAN/UPC symbols should receive a passing Guideline for Direct Contact Printing of Bar
ANSI symbol grade of “1.5” (C grade) or bet- Code Symbols on Corrugated.
ter when using a verifier with the 0.006" Although it may not be possible for all
aperture and a wavelength of 670 nanome- packaging materials or printing processes,
ters ±10. This would be specified as the ANSI grade minimum specified by the
1.5/06/670 on a purchase order. application standard should be exceeded by
It should be noted that the UCC makes one one letter grade at the end of the printing
exception for its symbols in regard to the min- process wherever possible. Bettering the
imum “C” grade. This exception is for ITF grade at the time of printing can be helpful
symbols directly printed on corrugated. For in overcoming any symbol quality lost due
the ITF symbol (which is never expected to be to the packaging, labeling or distribution
scanned in a retail checkout lane), a minimum process of the final, filled product.
grade of “D” is permitted due to the capabili- When analyzing symbol quality on trans-
ties of industrial scanners which are used in a parent or translucent substrates, the final
distribution or logistics scanning environment product should be simulated as clearly as
and ITF’s simple encodation characteristics. possible. For example, when printing a
BAR CODES 73
repeatable symbol quality. Flexographic for the bar color and space (background)
printers should consider these factors when colors for major substrates. This will avoid
making press adjustments and follow com- beginning the production process with a
pany procedures on production sampling. symbol of marginal contrast (which will pro-
Even if the plate passes inspection, produc- duce material outside of specification with
tion defects are common during the press any process variation).
run. These would be categorized as voids in Finally, bar code symbols with different
bars, spots in the bar code spaces or quiet numbers should not be mixed on a roll or in
zones. Defects can be caused by factors such a box unless specified by the customer or
as cleaning the plate during the run, debris company procedures. When bar code sym-
being caught in an ink cell or under a doctor bols are produced via a flexographic plate,
blade, or the plate being damaged. If the they will almost never be printed sequential-
defect is temporary and correctable it may be ly. If batches of symbols become mixed on a
decided to flag the affected portion and con- printed roll they might be used on the wrong
tinue production. If the defect cannot be cor- product, package or coupon when automati-
rected, the company’s procedures to make a cally packaged or applied downstream.
go or no-go decision should be used. Unless otherwise specified, it is wise to sep-
If prepress has made the proper BWR based arate symbols with different numbers into
on a contemporary press characterization, the batches as they are produced and later when
symbol bars should remain within the speci- they are packaged and shipped. If the batch-
fied width throughout the run. This relation- es are of a size that prohibits separating
ship between the BWR in prepress is critical them, company procedures should be fol-
to quality symbol production. If the press lowed to carefully identify each batch.
characterization analysis is correct, a symbol
of adequate size and bar width reduction is
made ready for the range of print gain experi- RAISING THE BAR
enced on the press. If the BWR and minimum Flexographic printers have consistently
size are correct based on prior experience and “raised the bar” in the production of quality
there is still poor symbol quality, there may be bar codes. From the very beginnings over 25
a problem with press factors such as press set- years ago, bar code users have looked to
tings, ink metering, mounting material thick- flexography for solutions that provide the
ness for the plate, cylinder tolerance or press essential identification and tracking aspects
maintenance. The substrate may also be eval- of bar code symbols on large volumes of
uated if it differs fundamentally from the one products, packages and containers. Today,
used in the characterization process. When- backed by an arsenal of new tools and tech-
ever a significant variable from the original nologies, flexographic printers are produc-
characterization is introduced, a new charac- ing the highest quality bar codes in their his-
terization may be warranted. tory. Organizations such as the Uniform
When it comes to symbol color, it is under- Code Council, the Fibre Box Association,
stood that colors will vary somewhat AIM USA and the FTA are dedicated to rais-
throughout the run. This is due to changes in ing these quality achievements to an even
ink viscosity, press speed, drying tempera- higher level. With a sense of partnership and
ture, ink chemistry and other factors. a fundamental understanding of the underly-
However, significant color changes should ing technology, flexography and bar codes
be controlled and avoided throughout the will continue to improve their symbiotic
run. It is wise to develop an acceptable range relationship for decades to come.
EAN International
Rue Royal, 145, B-1000
Brussels, Belgium 32-2-227-1020 32-2-227-1021 www.ean.be
BAR CODES 75
CHAPTER 3
Quality Control
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
T
Control defines quality as “the tomer on the specifications of the product or
characteristics of a product or service provided. Saying that four-color
service that bear on its ability to process is of higher quality than spot colors
satisfy stated or implied needs and line art is not an adequate definition of
or a product or service free of quality. Because one printed product may be
deficiencies.” Other definitions of quality harder to produce or have some attribute
may include meeting customer expectations such as an over-varnish does not make it
or even exceeding customer expectations. more of a quality product than one that is
First and foremost, the supplier must under- easy to produce and has few attributes.
stand the customer and what he or she will Quality is, first and foremost, meeting cus-
be doing with the product after delivery. This tomer expectations on a continuous basis no
can be done in many ways, depending on matter what the desired feature may be.
what the customer most values and what the For flexographic printers to consider
supplier is capable of delivering. In the flexo- themselves quality manufacturers they need
graphic industry, meeting customer expecta- to look at their entire system. The questions
tions might require that the price be consis- that they must answer are:
tent or lower than the competition or that the • Do they know what they are capable of
service received by the customer includes doing?
expert advice on the type of substrate to use • Do they know the customer’s expecta-
or design elements that will work effectively tions?
in flexography. This implies that the flexo- • Do they have the critical variables ade-
graphic printer must understand which char- quately defined?
acteristics are necessary to satisfy the cus- • Do they have specifications that they
tomer as well as what defects must be avoid- and the customer have agreed upon?
ed in the printed product. These defects • Can they consistently meet these specifi-
might include more than misregistration or cations and customer expectations?
poor color consistency or die cut. They might • Do they have a system in place that will
include such items as late delivery and answer the above questions?
improper product count.
There is much confusion between features
and quality. Features are those characteris- QUALITY CONTROL VS.
tics that describe a product. Quality is the QUALITY ASSURANCE
continual meeting of whatever specifica- Quality control encompasses those opera-
tions have been agreed upon to achieve a tional techniques and activities used to fulfill
satisfactory end result, and requires that the requirements for quality. Armand
you, the supplier, have an understanding of Feigenbaum expands on this statement in
what the customer wants, a knowledge of his book “Total Quality Control” where he
what you are capable of delivering and the states that quality control is “an effective
QUALITY CONTROL 79
2% The indiviual doing • coordinating the qualifications of suppli-
the work is ultimately 2% ers on quality issues;
responsible for its
quality, but the quality • assisting in the development of product
control department is specifications;
there to act as an extra
• developing test and inspection equip-
set of eyes.
ment;
• planning inspection and test procedures;
• performing in-process quality measure-
ments;
• performing in-process quality audits;
• analyzing and sharing quality costs;
• analyzing complaint data;
• facilitating corrective action;
• feedback quality information; and
• facilitating strategies for process
system for integrating the quality-develop- improvement .
ment, quality-maintenance, and quality-
improvement efforts of the various groups
in an organization so as to enable market- WHO IS RESPONSIBLE
ing, engineering, production, and services at FOR QUALITY?
the most economical levels which allow for There can be only one answer to that:
full customer satisfaction.” Quality in this Everyone in the organization is responsible
definition does not mean best overall, but for quality. Traditionally, when a quality con-
best for this particular customer for a spe- trol department is in place in a flexo printing
cific set of conditions and at a given price. company, then the responsibility for quality
Control means maintaining a given set of seems to rest with that group. However, no
specifications and reacting when the stan- quality control department can be responsible
dards are not met. Generally, the person,
for quality. The best that can be done by this
persons or department doing the specific
department is to monitor and reinforce the
work are given the responsibility for main-
quality effort. Quality must be maintained by
taining the quality outcome of their efforts.
the people doing the actual work. If the ink
Quality assurance refers to all these plan-
department makes up a specific spot-color
ning and systematic actions which will pro-
ink, then it becomes their responsibility to
vide confidence that a product or service is
match that ink to customer and press specifi-
free of deficiencies. This includes assisting in
cations. The quality department may be able
developing workable specifications, meth-
to monitor the end results, but this would be
ods for evaluating conformance to these
specifications, monitoring methods, an eval- after the fact. If the ink department has made
uation process of overall quality, working a mistake in the ink color a major portion of a
with suppliers in determining specifications job could be run before the quality depart-
and working on the procedures to improve ment could catch it. The quality control de-
the overall quality of the organization. The partment is there to act as an extra set of eyes,
quality control department should be in- not to be the first line of defense against qual-
volved with the following: ity mistakes (Figure 2%). The individual or
• planning the quality system; individuals doing the actual work are the ones
• determining the company’s capabilities; who must be held accountable for their work.
T
acts as a communication vehi- age. What are the concerns? Do the graphics
cle to give information on what and words accurately portray the product?
the product is and how to use it, Will the ink rub off when shipped or handled?
and acts as a silent salesperson Are the colors consistent from one package
in encouraging the customer to to another? How consistent does the color
purchase the product. If the flexo product is have to be so it is not being noticed by the
a directory or a flexible package it is con- end user? Are the die cuts and scores accu-
veying information and must be printed
accurately and give a realistic portrayal of
what needs to be conveyed be it words or
pictorials. The result of a quality effort is to 2^
satisfy the needs of the end user. If there is
an error, it really doesn’t matter to the end
user where in the production cycle a quality
error is made. All the end user cares about is
“does the product work satisfactorily.” When
buying a bottle of wine, the label (Figure 2^)
serves the purpose of identifying the product
and influencing the customer to buy and is
part of the presentation of a quality product.
The best wine with a poorly designed and
printed label can leave an excellent wine sit-
ting on the shelf without a purchaser. If the
label falls off the bottle or is applied in a 2&
crooked manner or the colors bleed when
refrigerated, the end result is that the cus-
tomer may not purchase that wine again. FPOS1100X
1/6 HP Submersible Utility Pump
QUALITY CONTROL 81
rate so that they work well in the converting
CHECKLIST FOR SALES
process? Is the register accurate from color
AND/OR CUSTOMER SERVICE
to color and from the print to the die cut and
scores? Will the printing and converting 1. Who will use the printed product?
process crush the flutes and cause damage to
the product? Will the packages be delivered 2. What are the product needs for protection?
on time and in the right quantity? And, lastly 3. Will the product be adversely affected by
is the price within the area that is affordable the ink or substrate?
for the product that it will contain? These
quality issues must be addressed and han- 4. What is the shelf life of the package
dled between the converter and the cus- before use?
tomer to fully accomplish what is required
5. How many times will the product be used
for the particular package.
before graphics are no longer important?
C
be present at all levels of the needs to be planned and cannot be left to
organization. It is particularly subjective forces. Planning has to go into the
important to have management materials used, the equipment chosen and
committed to quality through- the training given to employees.
out the organization. This com-
mitment includes all products and services
provided by the organization. In addition to MIDDLE MANAGEMENT
management, each and every individual in Middle management is generally assigned
the organization must share this commit- the task of implementing the quality com-
ment to quality. mitment of the company. In this regard they
are given the responsibility for implement-
ing, training and monitoring the effort, but
TOP MANAGEMENT they may not be given the time or money to
Quality starts at the top. In W. Edwards do the job adequately. The first objective
Deming’s book “Out of the Crises” (p. 248) he should be to train middle managers in what
states, “The aim of leadership should be to they need to know and how to go about
improve the performance of man and implementing a quality process.
machine, to improve quality, to increase out- One area in which middle managers fre-
put, and simultaneously to bring pride of quently need training is the development of
workmanship to people. The aim of leader- the team process. This means that middle
ship is not merely to find and record failures managers must be taught how to delegate
of people, but to remove the causes of failure: and work with project-oriented teams to
to help people to do a better job with less improve the process or resolve problems.
effort.” This has to be the mission of top man- This is a new concept, as middle managers
agement. Without a clearly defined and under- have usually been trained to do this work
stood quality effort from top management, it is themselves. However, if the company has
very unlikely that the organization can be a decided to empower its employees it is
quality organization. Top management must important that this be done (Table 14).
balance quality, productivity and price, not Middle managers need to be trained in
choose one or two of these. how to be coaches and facilitators and a cen-
Top management must set the quality tral resource of information, rather than
goals and provide time, money and effort to direct supervisors of the quality process.
back up their words. Some managers feel Quality is maintained by those actually doing
that if people are honest and hard working the job and the supervisor must make this
they will, by these attributes, produce quali- possible by offering methods, supplies and
QUALITY CONTROL 83
MIDDLE MANAGER ENABLING OPERATING PERSONNEL
TEAM TRAINING TO PERFORM QUALITY WORK
■ How to delegate the responsibility ■ Methods ■ Skills ■ Tools
to the team. ■ Materials ■ Equipment
■ How to choose team members. Table 15
■ How to develop a team problem
statement. ple to ensure that the appropriate tools are
■ How to develop a team mission chosen, maintained and used.
statement. The materials used by operating personnel
■ How to train a team to work must be within specification to what is need-
effectively and efficiently. ed to do a quality job. Operating personnel
must not be put in a situation in which they
Table 14
have to make do in order to get their job done.
This will impede their efforts toward doing
equipment that will enable the operating per- quality work. Middle and upper management
sonnel to perform in a quality manner. must understand the capability of the materi-
als in relationship to the equipment and cus-
tomer needs, and supply operating personnel
OPERATING PERSONNEL with materials that meet these needs.
The responsibility for first-line quality is The equipment must be maintained and
always that of the person doing the job. optimized to perform at or above the original
While it is important to have checkpoints so manufacturer’s specifications. Optimizing is
that the quality of the end product is not accomplished by matching the original manu-
jeopardized, this occurs only after the fact. It facturer’s specifications to the way a machine
takes time and effort and does not add value is presently functioning and repairing or
to the process. The more that individuals are replacing any component which does not con-
allowed to take responsibility for their own form. Some of the items one would look at in
work, the less expensive it is to produce a the case of a press would include gear wear,
quality flexo job. repeatability of printing units, runout and par-
For operating personnel to produce a qual- allelism of the anilox print-impression cylin-
ity job, it is important that they be given ade- der, dryer capacity and tension variations.
quate tools, training and reinforcement so After optimization the press can be character-
that they understand thoroughly what has to ized (fingerprinted). This fingerprint would
be accomplished (Table 15). Understanding include such characteristics as registration,
the specifications of the work they do in slur, dot gain and trap of inks. This needs to be
relationship to the various steps in the done for each set of conditions, including
process and end-use requirements is para- anilox rollers, ink types and substrates.
mount to the quality process. Operating personnel cannot be held
For lack of the right tool, many operations responsible for anything more than how
are done poorly and end up causing quality they use the equipment, methods and mate-
defects in the finished work. Inadequate, rials given to them by middle and upper
inappropriate or improperly maintained management. It has been claimed that oper-
tools can lead to downtime and frustrations ating personnel have control of only 15% of
– all which could have been avoided. It is up the output, while middle and upper manage-
to management to work with and craft peo- ment have control of 85%.
T
partments were set up to in- quality inspectors and the quality department.
spect work in progress and do There are a number of things wrong with
laboratory testing to ensure this traditional approach to a quality control
that the end product met cus- department. The first is that if operating per-
tomer specifications. Quality sonnel feel the quality department is a police
control department members were also used unit they will try and hide mistakes and the
to collect samples that were given to cus- quality inspector will not get cooperation from
tomers to verify that the product was within operating personnel to review quality from an
specification. As a general rule, quality con- objective posture. The other major problem is
trol had little to do with training operating that if the quality department is seen as the
personnel on how to evaluate the quality of only group responsible for quality the end
their work and record these procedures. result might very well be out of specification
Quality control departments were not used for flexo products, thus becoming waste in the
to assist in optimizing, characterizing or inspection process or, worse, ending up as
developing strategies for implementing unsatisfactory product in the customers’
capability studies. Very little emphasis was hands. Either of these scenarios is very expen-
placed upon the use of statistical process sive to the flexo printing company.
control.
The quality control function was only for
the production process with little to no inter- BASIC GOALS
action or responsibility for working with cus- The modern quality department needs to
tomers, marketing, sales or customer service. focus upon the needs of the customer and
Most significantly, the quality function did not translate these into operational specifica-
include reviewing the product before manu- tions and procedures that will satisfy these
facturing to be sure that the specifications needs. To accomplish these goals the quality
could be met. Two attitudes were prevalent department and its manager must be
concerning quality control departments and involved in new design control, capability
their people. The first was that they were a analysis, incoming raw material control,
form of police unit, functioning to catch peo- printing process control and process
ple doing things wrong and were dreaded improvement strategies (Table 16).
when seen heading for your department. This does not mean that the modern quali-
Second was that you as an operator were not ty department does not do inspections and
responsible for your quality because the qual- quality testing or take samples for customers.
ity department was there to catch all your mis- This remains a part of their job, but the job of
takes. Operating personnel were not responsi- quality control is expanded to become more
QUALITY CONTROL 85
THE MODERN QUALITY CAPABILITY ANALYSIS
CONTROL DEPARTMENT It is extremely important for the printer to
understand the capabilities of the manufac-
■ New Design Control
turing process in order to assure that the
■ Capability Analysis process is capable of producing the work
■ Incoming Raw Material Control that the sales department has sold and that
■ Process Improvement Strategies the package and graphic designers have
developed. A capable process is a process
Table 16 that will produce virtually all of its product
within designated specifications.
The capability of the process can be dis-
proactive rather than reactive in assisting the covered using a statistical technique such as
entire organization in its quality effort. a simple histogram (Figure 2(). A minimum
of 30 samples needs to be taken to be statis-
tically sound. In the figure, the deviations
NEW DESIGN CONTROL from the print to die are measured and the
The quality department must be involved in frequency of each deviation is plotted.
reviewing printing job specifications includ- Putting in the acceptable limits (customer
ing type families and sizes, trap considera- specifications) shows whether the process
tions, type of inks, number of colors, die cut is capable of producing product within those
and scoring feasibility, substrates and ship- limits.
ping parameters. The development of work-
able specifications is the first step in being
able to produce a flexo product that meets INCOMING RAW
customers’ needs and expectations. Some of MATERIAL CONTROL
the quality measures of the output are shown It is important that all supplies that are
in Figure 2*. It is important that all specifica- used in each and every process be within the
tion reviews involve the quality department specifications designated by agreement with
as it is their function to assist in evaluating the customer, whether they are internal
the quality output. In order to do so they need (produced in-house), or external (purchased
to be involved with the quality input. from an outside supplier). The quality con-
10
material is out of specification. Quality
departments should assist in the training of
all employees involved in these functions.
5
QUALITY CONTROL 87
3) The results of a set of CHECKLIST
measurements can be 3) 1.60
plotted in a run chart. This Documenting the Design
chart shows density 1.58 Upper Specification Limit
measurements. 1.56
1. List and include key files, FPO
(for position only) files placed in key file
1.54
3! Ink viscosity can be 1.52 2. List fonts used (include if necessary)
measured by timing its Specification
Density 3.
flow through a Zahn 1.50
List correct names of fonts
cup. 1.48
1.46
5. List software names and versions
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Sample Number in Increments of Time
7. When including more than one design,
put one design file and all support files
in one folder
3! 8. Annotate any layers that are common
9. List layers to be used with base design
10. Include hard copy of disk directory
11. Include hard copy of final art files,
same size or 100%
QUALITY CONTROL 89
The Economics of
Quality Improvement
uality costs are the sum total INSPECTION AND
Q
of all of the costs involved in APPRAISAL COSTS
making a product correctly. In Inspection and appraisal costs represent all
flexo printing and converting of the various ways in which we look at the
there are two choices: either product to ensure its conformance to require-
the job is printed and convert- ments. This process starts and ends at the
ed correctly the first time or it must be receiving and shipping dock and takes place
redone until it is correct. Quality costs are at various checkpoints throughout the
one of the best means for quantifying the process. Instead of preventing problems from
overall level of quality, since they take into occurring in the first place, many flexo print-
account the entire impact of both problems ers will inspect the product and weed the sub-
and improvements. Quality theorists and standard pieces out. Inspection and appraisal
practitioners have broken down quality costs are partly avoidable and partly unavoid-
costs into four general categories: able. As internal quality levels increase, the
• prevention; need to inspect finished products will be
• inspection and appraisal; reduced. However, true quality improvement
• internal failure; and involves allowing employees such as
• external failure. platemakers and press operators to appraise
their products in order to control their
processes. These costs are unavoidable, but
PREVENTION COSTS they will also be diminished as processes
Prevention costs represent, in large part, come into a more stable, controlled state. An
the investment that the flexo printing and con- excellent example of an appraisal cost in the
verting company will make in quality im- printing industry is color proofing. It is gener-
provement. Traditionally, prevention has had ally considered a necessary process, although
a very low priority in the United States. These by standardizing the reproduction process
costs represent the up-front time and effort from computer monitors to imagesetters and
required to do the job correctly the first time. consistently optimizing and characterizing
Typical prevention costs include training, pre- the process, it is possible to minimize the use
ventive maintenance, vendor certification, of color proofs for monitoring purposes.
ISO certification, planning and quality team
meetings. Prevention costs are unavoidable if
the flexo printing company is to reduce its INTERNAL FAILURE COSTS
overall cost of quality. In other words, preven- Internal failure costs represent what hap-
tion costs are the price a printing company pens when the job hasn’t been done right the
has to pay for real quality improvement. first time. Some of the printed matter will be
QUALITY CONTROL 91
The Principles of
Total Quality Management
he Total Quality Management
T
THE PRINCIPLES OF TOTAL
Process or TQM involves the QUALITY MANAGEMENT
entire organization. It affects the
way of doing business in all 1. Focus on the CUSTOMER – both internal
and external
aspects of the operation. The
Total Quality Management Pro- 2. Involve the ENTIRE flexo organization
cess can be defined as combining the nine 3. Develop a TEAM effort
elements listed in Table 20.
4. EMPOWER the employees of the flexo
company
the understanding of what the customer 7. PARTNER with suppliers and customers
wants and needs and by meeting those
8. REENGINEER where needed
needs. The external customer is the one who
pays the bills and purchases the flexible 9. MEASURE quality so that it can be
managed
package, corrugated container, label or any
other flexo printed product. In order to fully
Table 20
understand the needs of this customer it is
necessary to also understand the end use of
the product. Some considerations may ing what the next person, department or
include the type of material to be used, UPC operation needs in order to fulfill quality
and color tolerances and ink rub and dura- obligations. Each sequential operation has to
bility needs. These issues can only be have specifications and it is up to the person
addressed by doing a thorough investigation and department of each preceding operation
of customer expectations before the job is to understand these demands and meet them
specified. every time. If the specification requires that a
The internal customers are those individu- highlight dot of two percent be maintained on
als or departments that are part of the the photopolymer plate then it is the respon-
sequence that goes into the manufacturing sibility of the plate maker to have a system in
process. This might include sales, estimating, place that verifies this to the press depart-
planning, customer service, design, electronic ment. It is also advisable that internal suppli-
prepress, press, finishing and shipping. The ers and customers work together so that they
concept implies that every department and understand what each needs to supply the
individual has responsibility for understand- appropriate product to the next operation.
QUALITY CONTROL 93
A Illustrates the air make decisions as it concerns their work. to determine the best procedures for quality
flow mpattern through
The end result is that work should be done flexo reproduction.
recuperative thermal
oxidizer better, faster and more easily.
BENCHMARK ACTIVITIES
WORK TOWARD OF THE ORGANIZATION
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT Benchmarking is the process of measuring
OF THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION a flexo company’s level of performance in its
Flexography is a printing process that has various functions and comparing this level
seen monumental strides in process im- of performance to the level of performance
provement. Ink systems are better under- achieved by successful leaders in their simi-
stood, and with understanding of the rela- lar functions.
tionships between ink viscosity, pigmenta- Internal, competitive and generic bench-
tion level and the proper choice of anilox marking are the three common methods of
roll, the flexo printer can predict density and benchmarking. The constant review of inter-
dot gain more effectively. The use of doc- nal processes, including how people inter-
tored anilox rollers and chambered print act, choice of materials, methods practiced
units have dramatically increased the fidelity and the quality procedures used to ensure
of print and reduced environmental issues. the accuracy of the work need to be studied.
Various teams of the Flexographic Quality Competitive benchmarking looks at what
Consortium have undertaken studies in wide the competition is doing to produce a quali-
web, narrow web and corrugated to deter- ty flexo product and be profitable and pro-
mine how to maximize the most important ductive. Generic benchmarking reviews
characteristics of the flexo printing process. “best in class.” This may be a review of any
Some of the studies undertaken have includ- company, not necessarily a flexo organiza-
ed the relationship of substrate, ink system, tion. The review would include specific sim-
plate characteristics and anilox roll configu- ilarities to the flexo company. If a company
rations. Studies have also been done to judge is known to have a superb customer service
the value of flexo printers using a Pantone®24 process then the review would include how
guide to color match flexo colors. These and they accomplish this in order to be able to
other studies are available through the develop similar strategies for customer ser-
Flexographic Technical Association. vice. Benchmarking is a powerful tool
Most of these studies have been accom- because it enables the flexo printer to ana-
plished through the efforts of a few compa- lyze its strengths and weaknesses against
nies and individuals and coordinated by the the best in class. In turn, the gap between
Flexographic Technical Association. More what exists and what can exist can be nar-
involvement is necessary in order to remain rowed by initiating similar actions to the
competitive with other printing processes benchmark that has been studied.
and other methods of communication. Each
company must encourage the flexo work
force to maintain a mind-set for process PARTNER WITH SUPPLIERS
improvement. This means questioning the AND CUSTOMERS
methods, materials and their combinations Partnering is a method of working with
suppliers and customers for the common
good. When dealing with key materials, pur-
24 Pantone, PMS and Pantone Matching System are trademarks of Pantone, Inc. chasing by price alone without considera-
QUALITY CONTROL 95
A Illustrates the air important reasons for measuring quality is prove to a customer how quality was moni-
flow mpattern through
so that it can be controlled. Color varia- tored and maintained during a given produc-
recuperative thermal
oxidizer tion, registration and other important tion run. These records may include color,
aspects of quality flexo reproduction must trap, dot gain, register, number of products
be measured on an ongoing basis. This data run and waste.
needs to be recorded and evaluated to Quality records will also show the source of
determine if the process is stable and in variation. If flexo plates are continually mon-
control. It is impossible to evaluate trends itored for overall height it is then easy to offer
without measuring and recording the flexo constructive feedback to the supplier by shar-
process. ing this information. This will assist in the
How can one take corrective action if one quality effort because plates that are not with-
does not measure what is taking place? If the in specification can be rejected before they
specification for the density of the black ink are mounted and run on the press.
is 1.50 ±0.07 then measurements with a den- The measuring and recording of quality
sitometer must be taken at statistically sound data will help characterize the process capa-
intervals to determine whether black is bility. If, for example, images are trapped to
remaining within its range of 1.43–1.57. The one-sixteenth of an inch, but after monitoring
measurements can be plotted on a run chart the press it is shown to hold register to one-
as shown previously in Figure 3). The oper- sixty fourth of an inch, the trapping specifica-
ating staff can visually determine, from the tion could be decreased to one-thirty second
chart, if there is a need for corrective action. of an inch or twice the register tolerance. This
Records should be kept of all measure- might allow sales to develop new markets
ments made so that a flexo company can that require closer tolerances.
tatistical process control (SPC) essary to have more than one person inspect
S
represents a “tool box” from the process because of the criticality of the
which the printer can draw in object being inspected. It is helpful to have
order to define the printing an inspection form (checklist) so that the
process, measure and control its inspector does not forget items. A record
key parameters, and improve can be kept of the item checked and noted
upon its ability to deliver a satisfying product as approved, or flagged for correction. Table
to the customer. Measuring, collecting and 18, is an example of a checklist.
using critical data is a cornerstone of a quali-
ty program.
STATISTICAL INSPECTION
AND SAMPLING
100% INSPECTION AND SAMPLING In contrast to 100% inspection, statistical
The use of 100% percent inspection is not sampling means inspecting a limited number
a statistical tool; however, in the flexo indus- of samples. Statistical sampling offers econ-
try it is sometimes necessary to inspect omy of scale while remaining a very effec-
every item in the process. This is true in tive quality tool. In a 30,000 run of flexible
areas such as artwork and designs, comput- packages it would be prohibitive in time and
er disk files, printing plates, cost estimates cost to inspect each bag. Therefore a more
and billing. Items in these areas are one of a effective procedure is to develop a statisti-
kind and irreparable damage can be caused cally valid sampling plan to validate the qual-
if they are not caught and corrected. In this ity of the product being produced. A mini-
type of inspection, it is very important that mum of 30 samples is needed to adequately
the inspector be knowledgeable and alert develop an SPC charting system. Table 21
and have the appropriate time to accomplish shows the numbers for a statistically sound
the inspection process. Sometimes it is nec- sampling plan.
QUALITY CONTROL 97
A variable is the result of a measurement history of quality success, column I, (letter
and has a tolerance or ± associated with it. L) could be used. On the other hand, with a
During a flexo production run variables will poorer quality supplier, column III (letter P)
never be constant but always have some might be appropriate.
variation. Some common variables are ink Next, the Acceptable Quality Level Chart
viscosity and pH, solid ink density, dot gain, is used. Using the above example of a run
color value, plate, stickyback and substrate length of 100,000 and the letter N, the second
thickness, and registration. column of the chart shows the sample size
needed. In this case the number is 500 sam-
ples, which need to be taken in a random
MILITARY STANDARD manner. Finally, the number of samples
(MIL-STD-105E) allowed to be out of specification to achieve
Military Standard (MIL-STD-105E)25 is a an Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) is given
method of attribute-acceptance-sampling in the right hand side of the chart. Most com-
that has been developed by the United States panies in the U.S.A. choose an AQL of 1.5 or
Department of Defense and is widely accept- 2.5. Basically, the 1.5 and 2.5 mean there is a
ed by industry as an effective procedure for 98.5% and 97.5% confidence, respectively, in
attribute sampling. This standard includes a the sample plan. This is the customer’s
sampling plan, which is the acceptable qual- choice and is dependent upon the chances
ity level (AQL), run-length size and corre- one is willing to take that the sample plan
sponding sample size, and acceptance and may fail. Using an AQL of 1.5 for this exam-
rejection numbers. A sample is shown ple, two numbers, Ac and Rc, are listed in
(Figure 3@). the column under 1.5. Their values are 14
To review how to use MIL-STD 105E use and 15. This means that the product is with-
Figure 3@. The figure has two charts, in the acceptable tolerance level chosen if 14
“Sample Size Code Letters Chart” and or less out of the total sample of 500 are out
“Acceptable Quality Level Chart.” The first of specification. If 15 or more are out of
lists code letters for inspection levels for a specification, the product is out of the
given lot or batch size. The inspection levels acceptable tolerance level and may be
allow for more or less sampling depending rejectable. One could go to a higher level of
on the history or established quality level of sampling (such as from N to P) or, if feasible,
a given supplier. For example, if the flexo one could go to 100% inspection to get rid of
run length is 100,000 and there is no history, all out-of-specification product. Strictly
the normal or default level II (letter N) speaking, even when 100% inspection is
would be used. With a quality supplier with a done, this does not guarantee 100% accept-
able product. Letter P with an AQL of 2.5
doesn’t have an entry in the chart. Instead,
25 Military Standard Sampling Procedures and Tables for Insertion by Attributes
(MIL-STD-105E) and Military Standard Sampling Procedures and Tables for the arrow means to use the numbers to
Insertion by Variables (MIL-STD-114) can be obtained from Naval
Publications and Forms Center, 5801 Tabor Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19120. which it points, in this case, 21 and 22.
Sample Size
Code Letter
0.010 0.015 0.025 0.040 0.065 0.10 0.15 0.25 0.40 0.65 1.0 1.5 2.5 4.0 6.5 10 15
Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc Ac Rc
A 2 0 1
B 3 0 1 1 2
C 5 0 1 1 2 2 3
D 8 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4
E 13 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6
F 20 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8
G 32 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11
H 50 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 14 15
J 80 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 14 15 21 22
K 125 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 14 15 21 22
L 200 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 14 15 21 22
M 315 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 14 15 21 22
N 500 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 14 15 21 22
P 800 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 14 15 21 22
Q 1,250 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 14 15 21 22
R 2,000 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 14 15 21 22
QUALITY CONTROL 99
Tools of Statistical
Process Control
tatistical process control (SPC)
S
lished by the flow chart, a printer can be
involves not only measure- assured of “doing things right the first time.”
ments and tracking those mea- This results in less waste, a more consistent
surements, but also charting product, higher productivity and reduction in
and other tools to quantify and the cost of producing the product. Table 23
describe the process. The seven shows the symbols used in flow charts and
tools of statistical process control are listed Figure 3# shows an example of a flow chart
in Table 22. for creating a color target to be used for cus-
tomer approval of a spot color.
FLOW CHARTS,
OR PROCESS MAPPING CAUSE AND EFFECT ANALYSIS
Flow charts, which are also known as Cause and Effect Analysis is used to identi-
process maps, are used to define the key steps fy the many causes of quality-related prob-
in the flexographic reproduction process. lems. For example, if the printer wanted to
They help in determining the correct and nec- know the causes of dirty print, cause & effect
essary ways to perform a given operation and analysis using what is called a Fishbone dia-
give direction to the development of standard gram (Figure 3$) would be a useful tool
operating procedures (SOP’s). By following which could quickly and efficiently define a
the standard operating procedures estab- list of probable causes. Most often, this tool
is used by a small group of people utilizing
the brainstorming methodology. This allows
THE SEVEN TOOLS OF
STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL
OK Color on Press
Visually and Numerically
NEED
YES CUSTOMER NO
APPROVAL
Form A2
Form B7
Form B9
FINISH
Poor Quality
Standards
Station Design
Poor Ink
Wrong pH
Dirty Ink Pan Rubber Roll Slow Pump
Durometer
MATERIALS MACHINES
Number of Complaints
upper and lower limits for 12
60 15
Frequency
your process. If the plotted 10
values fall outside of these 8
limits, corrective action 40 10
6
must be taken.
4 20
5
3* A histogram shows 2
whether the variation or 0
Gloss Wrong Color Adhesion Late Other
tolerance for a variable is Color Strength Delivery -.08 -.06 -.04 -.02 -.00 .02 .04 .06 .08
within desired limits. Type of Problem Print to Die Deviation
3&
1.60
side these control limits, some corrective
1.58 Upper Specification Limit
action needs to be taken, since out of specifi-
1.56
Upper Control Limit cation product can be produced. A control
1.54
chart is used in conjunction with a range
1.52
Specification
chart so that a whole picture can be seen of
Density
1.50
the process. It is important to note that the
1.48 Process Average
1.46
control limits must be well within the speci-
1.44 Lower Control Limit ifcation limits. Control charts should be used
1.42 Lower Specification Limit to determine whether the process is in con-
trol before using a histogram to determine
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Sample Number in Increments of Time process capability. It is advisable to use
spreadsheets or specific statistical computer
programs when working with control charts.
RUN AND CONTROL CHARTS Refer to Appendix C for additional details.
Run and control charts are tools used by
operators for monitoring the printing process
on an ongoing basis and making adjustments HISTOGRAMS
as necessary. Instead of waiting for things to Histograms are used for comparing the
go wrong, the control chart serves as an early flexo product to its specifications and to
warning device for the operator who can assist in the determination of press capabili-
then take the appropriate action long before ty. Histograms do not show variation over
the occurrence of substandard production. time, but the overall variation of the process
The cost of using control charts is the time being statistically monitored. For a particular
and training required so that operators have variable, measurements are taken and the
the knowledge and resources necessary to frequency of the results are graphed as was
use them properly. The benefits are reduced shown in Figure 2(. The histogram will show
spoilage and much more consistent results. if the natural variation in the variable is larg-
Figure 3) showed a run chart. With the addi- er or smaller than the desired variation.
tion of upper and lower control limits, this Figure 3* is shown again in Figure 2( with
chart becomes a control chart as shown the natural variation shown as a bell-shaped
(Figure 3&). If the measured values fall out- curve (normal distribution). An important sta-
negative correlation.
Cause
4@ Scatter diagram showing
no correlation.
Film Thickness
Effect
4! Negative Correlation
tistical measure associated with this curve is
the standard deviation called sigma (σ or Σ).
In Figure 3* the sigma value is 0.02. This
means that 68% of the values will have a devi-
ation of ±0.02, 95% a deviation of ±0.04 (2 σ),
Cause
SCATTER DIAGRAMS
Scatter diagrams are tools used for deter-
mining how important the cause and effect
Effect
relationship is between two variables. This
method could be used for testing out such
hypotheses as “Running the press faster
causes more spoilage,” “Customer turnover important press speed, on-time delivery or
is lower when jobs are delivered on time,” or ink film thickness are without collecting
“Thicker ink films cause higher dot gain” data. A scatter diagram can be used for show-
(Figure 3(). While these statements may be ing the correlation (Figures 4), 4! and 4@).
intuitively appealing, it is hard to know how
T
ing process. Using SPC tools the A number of quality characteristics can be
process should be monitored checked visually. These include slur, regis-
and corrected as required. A tration, trap, gray balance and color. Some
good way to do this is to include of these characteristics can also be mea-
a control target, as shown in sured and quantified, but a visual check is a
Figure 4#, on every job. If the job precludes quick verification that the process is still
this target, at the very minimum a run target under control.
should be included in the live area of the job • Registration can easily be measured
(Figure 4$). through visual inspection. Accuracy for
The control target allows continual inspec- this measurement can be greatly in-
tion and measurement of key quality para- creased with the use of a magnifying
meters of the process. These parameters can glass. A 12x or greater power device is
then be charted to make sure the process very effective. Register marks can be
stays in control. The flexo printer should designed that visually assist in determin-
have in house standards which are used to ing how far out of register the colors are
control the process. These standards may be from each other.
industry guidelines, such as FIRST, or stan- • Slur targets will assist the press operator
dards specific to the printer. The standards in visually determining the accuracy of
need to be understood and communicated to the impression and anilox pressure set-
the entire organization, including suppliers tings. These targets can also assist in
and customers. determining worn gears, out of round
4#
A B C D E
4# A control target is an F G H J K
excellent means of
monitoring a process.
A simple control target A Ink Trap Patch E Slur Patch I Dot Gain Values
is shown here. This is B Solid Process Patches F Reference Code J Highlight Grey Balance
the FTA control target, C Exposure Guide G First Logo K Shadow Grey Balance
D Solid Density Patches H Tonal Scale
adapted from the 1997
FIRST Standards.
T
registered. Each of the three differs in scope
ic to flexo printing, instead it and represents a different model quality sys-
specifies in very broad terms the tem depending on the type of business
necessary components of a qual- involved. The most comprehensive is ISO
ity system. It details a list of stan- 9001, covering 20 different components of a
dards that encompass the quality quality system. These range from the respon-
function for all industries. ISO 9000 was orig- sibility of management in setting quality policy
inally published in 1987 by the International and defining quality responsibilities to such
Organization for Standardization in Geneva, areas as purchasing processes, training proce-
Switzerland and updated in 1994. It is sched- dures, and corrective action methodologies.
uled for review every five years. The stan- ISO 9002 is less comprehensive, omitting the
dards were written by an international group necessity of looking at design control
of quality experts and practitioners including (research and development). ISO 9003 is pri-
those from the United States. marily for service type businesses. Table 26
The registration function is performed by shows the requirements of each of three stan-
an organization known as a registrar. These dards and which items are not required as you
are mostly private companies whose purpose move from ISO 9001 to ISO 9003.
is to perform third-party audits and verify ISO 9004. This is a generic template of the
that a company is in compliance with ISO various elements of a quality management
9000. These groups are registered with a and assurance system. It covers such items
group known as the Registrar Accreditation as economics, quality in procurement, quali-
Board (RAB) in the U.S.A. ty in marketing, and the use of statistical
methods. Essentially, ISO 9004 is a guideline
for implementing and auditing the total qual-
THE ISO 9000 SYSTEM ity process.
Actually, ISO 9000 is a series of five docu-
ments working together as a complete quali-
The key to selecting the appropriate stan-
ty system. The documents and their content
dard is to look at the type of business
are as follows:
involved. If it is a manufacturing-intensive
ISO 9000. This is the basic set of guidelines firm without extensive research and devel-
for the selection and use of management and opment (design of the product), as are most
quality assurance standards. It is a statement flexo printers, ISO 9002 is the appropriate
of purpose and a set of definitions that standard.
serves as an advisory function. It suggests In order to become ISO 9000 certified, a
whether to pursue ISO 9001, 9002, or 9003 flexo company must do the following three
registration. things:
ISO 9001, 9002 and 9003. These are the actu- 1. Document what you do, especially if
al standards to which a company becomes there is an effect on product quality –
0.0 INTRODUCTION
1.0 SCOPE
3.0 DEFINITIONS
Key:
Full requirement
Table 26
1.0 PURPOSE:
To identify and control the key elements of the manufacturing process in order to ensure to a
higher degree of certainty that products conform to agreed upon specifications. By verifying
these controls we can deliver consistent and acceptable quality levels to our customers.
2.0 SCOPE:
2.1 To identify all processes within the manufacturing operation of SPC
that have a direct effect on the final product quality, see Macro Flow Chart
describing the process.
2.2 The ultimate responsibility belongs to the V.P. of Manufacturing.
The daily responsibility belongs to the supervisors and team leaders.
2.3 The responsibility for maintaining all equipment belongs to the
Maintenance Manager.
4.0 DEFINITIONS:
4.1 CC1 – Preprint department computerized scanner.
4.2 Scores – Creases in corrugated board enabling the board to fold
per specification.
5.0 PROCEDURE:
Responsibility Step Action
Customer Service 5.1 Releases Hard Card to planning and scheduling.
The Hard Card contains all information and
specifications necessary to manufacture the product.
Preprint Group Leader Runs job according to schedule
and appropriate work instructions.
7.0 APPROVALS:
Table 29
W
perts involved in gov- ductivity, lower costs and increased profits.
ernment, business and Management must understand and lead the
education has led to work force in a personal commitment to qual-
the development of a ity and the use of quantitative analysis tools
quality strategy known such as statistical process control. Successful
as the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality quality improvement programs must be man-
Award (MBNQA). It is suggested that most agement-led and customer-focused.
flexo printers should use the methodology
to analyze their strengths and weaknesses,
but not necessarily apply to win this award. HOW THE AWARD IS SET UP
Some companies use the MBNQA applica- The Foundation of the MBNQA was creat-
tion process as a means of getting expert ed with its main objective being to raise
feedback. Others take a long-range view funds to permanently endow the mission of
and apply with the thought that they will the award. The Department of Commerce is
utilize the feedback to improve their quali- assigned the responsibility of the award,
ty process each year until they can win. which it has assigned to the National Insti-
The MBNQA criteria is a method of bench- tute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to
marking a flexo printing company’s quality manage. In turn, the American Society for
progress in relationship to what is consid- Quality Control (ASQC) has a contract to
ered an outstanding American company. The assist in the administration of the award pro-
use of the MBNQA is an all-inclusive bench- gram. ASQC has the mission of identifying,
mark focusing on the customer and how communicating and promoting the use of
customer satisfaction is achieved. This quality principles to facilitate customer sat-
benchmark can then be used as a means of isfaction through continuous improvement.
process improvement for the company. A maximum of six awards is given annual-
ly, with a maximum of two each in the cate-
gories of manufacturing, service and small
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND business (less then 500 employees) compa-
AND PURPOSE nies. The process is set up in four stages.
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality 1. A review of the application by at least
Award was signed into law on August 20, five examiners.
1987. The award is intended to encourage 2. A consensus review of how well the
improved quality, productivity and service. company scored.
Poor quality can cost companies as much as 3. A site visit, if warranted.
30% of sales revenue while improvement in 4. The final review.
1. LEADERSHIP 125
1.1 Organizational Leadership 85
1.2 Public Responsibility and Citizenship 40
2. STRATEGIC PLANNING 85
2.1 Strategy Development 40
2.2 Strategy Deployment 45
6. PROCESS MANAGEMENT 85
6.1 Product and Service Processes 55
6.2 Support Processes 15
6.3 Supplier and Partnering Processes 15
Table 30
American National Standards: Quality Management and Quality Assurance Standards – Guidelines for Selection
and Use. ANSI/ASQC Q9000. Milwaukee, WI: American Society for Quality Control, 1994.
American National Standards: Quality Management and Quality System Elements – Guidelines. ANSI/ASQC
Q9004. Milwaukee, WI: American Society for Quality Control, 1994.
American National Standards: Quality Systems – Model for Quality Assurance in Design, Development,
Production, Installation, and Servicing. ANSI/ASQC Q9001-2-3. Milwaukee, WI: American Society for Quality
Control, 1994.
Apfelberg, Herschel L. and Apfelberg, Michael J. Implementing Quality Management in the Graphic Arts. Graphic
Arts Technical Foundation. Sewickley, PA, 1995.
The ASQ Basic References in Quality Control: Statistical Techniques. Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press, 1986-89.
Campanella, Jack. Principles of Quality Costs. Milwaukee, WI: ASQC Quality Press, 1990.
Crosby, Philip B. Quality Is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company,
1979.
Deming, W. Edwards. Out of the Crisis. Cambridge, MA: MIT, Center for Advanced Engineering Study, 1982.
Feigenbaum, Armand V. Total Quality Control. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1983.
FIRST: Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerances. Ronkonkoma, NY: Flexographic Technical
Association, 1997.
Glossary and Tables for Statistical Process Control. Milwaukee, WI: American Society for Quality Control, 1983.
Hale, Roger L., et. al. Managing Supplier Quality. Exeter, NH: Monochrome Press, 1994.
Halloran, Jack, and George L. Frunzi. Supervision: The Art of Management. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall,
Inc., 1986.
Imai, Masaaki. Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company,
1986.
Ishikawa, Kaoru. Guide to Quality Control. White Plains, NY: Asian Productivity Organization, 1982.
What Is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1985.
The ISO 9000 Standards: A Practical Overview. Video Conference Participant Materials, New River Media, Inc.,
1994.
Juran, J. M. Juran’s Quality Control Handbook. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1988.
Juran, J. M., and Frank M. Gryna. Quality Planning and Analysis. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishing
Company, 1986.
Maass, Richard A., John O. Brown, and James L. Bossert. Supplier Certification, A Continuous Improvement
Strategy. Milwaukee, WI: ASQC Press, 1990.
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Gaithersburg, MD: United States Department of Commerce, Technology
Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1998.
Military Standard Sampling Procedures and Tables for Inspection by Attributes. MIL-STD-105E. Washington, DC:
Department of Defense, 1989.
Press Characterization: Part I and II. Ronkonkoma, NY: Flexographic Technical Association, 1998.
Ross, Phillip J. Taguchi Techniques for Quality Engineering: Loss Function, Orthogonal Experiments, Parameter
and Tolerance Design. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1988.
Scherkenbach, William W. The Deming Route to Quality and Productivity: Roadmaps and Roadblocks.
Milwaukee, WI: ASQC Quality Press, 1988.
Scholtes, Peter R. The Team Handbook. P.O. Box 5445, Madison, WI: Joiner Associates Inc., 1990.
Shewhart, A. Walter. Economic Control of Quality Manufactured Product. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Press
Company, Inc., 1931 (Republished, Milwaukee, WI: ASQC Quality Press, 1980).
Shewhart, A. Walter. Statistical Method from the Viewpoint of Quality Control. Washington, DC: The Graduate
School of the Department of Agriculture, 1939.
Sloan, David, and Scott Weiss. Supplier Improvement Process Handbook. Milwaukee, WI: American Society for
Quality Control, 1987.
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Japan Printing Academy (JPA)
1916 Race Street Koishikawa 4-13-2, Bunkyo-ku
Philadelphia, PA 19103 Tokyo, Japan
Philip B. Crosby Associates, Inc. Research and Engineering Council of the Graphic Arts
3260 University Blvd., Suite 175, Industry (R&E Council)
Winter Park, FL 32792 PO Box 639
Chadds Ford, PA 19317
Printing Industries of America (PIA)
100 Daingerfield Road, Research Association for the Paper and Board,
Alexandria, VA 22314-2888 Printing and Packaging Industries (PIRA)
Randalls Road, Leatherhead,
Quality Circle Institute
Surrey, KTSS 7RU, England
PO Box Q
Red Bluff, CA 96080 Technical and Education Center of the Graphic Arts
(T&E Center)
Quality Digest
Rochester Institute of Technology
PO Box 882
One Lomb Memorial Drive
Red Bluff, CA 96080
Rochester, NY 14623
Quality Progress
Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Institute
American Society for Quality
(TAPPI)
P.O. Box 3005
PO Box 105113
Milwaukee, WI 53201-3005
Atlanta, GA 30348-5113
Registration and Accreditation Board (RAB),
Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA)
American Society for Quality Control
RIT/T&E Center
P.O. Box 3066
One Lomb Memorial Drive, PO Box 9887
Milwaukee, WI 53201-3066
Rochester, NY 14623
A ARITHMETIC MEAN, MX 20
D EXAMPLE
The distribution of weights of rolls in
inventory. There are three mathematical models that describe
NUMBER TOTAL
the average. These three models are the arithmetic
WEIGHT OF ROLLS WEIGHT mean, median and mode. Generally, the “average”
(X) (F) (FX)
refers to the arithmetic mean. Table A-1 defines mean,
120 1 120
median and mode and shows how to calculate these
130 2 390
140 17 2,380 three averages. For a normal distribution of values
150 24 3,600 these three averages are the same, hence the term
160 32 5,120 “Central Tendency”.
170 14 2,380 Normal distribution implies that the values refer to
180 6 1,080 one variable and the variations in that variable are ran-
190 2 380
dom.
200 1 200
Figure A-1 shows a bar graph of the data in Table A-
TOTALS N=100 fx=15,560
1. The distribution is not quite normal. However, the
results are probably satisfactory for acceptance from
MEAN: MX 15,650
a supplier or sale to a customer depending upon cus-
100
tomer agreed specifications. The data indicates a kur-
MX 156.5 lbs./roll tosis greater than 1 and a negative skew (refer to
MEDIAN: MD 160 lbs. Appendix B for skew and kurtosis).
Table A-1
1.60 0.30
1.50 0.15
Process Average
0.10
1.45
Lower Control Limit Process Average
0.05
Lower Specification Limit
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Press Sheet Press Sheet
Press Sheet 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Density1 1.53 1.48 1.51 1.56 1.45 1.57 1.43 1.48 1.52 1.47 1.43 1.48
Density2 1.46 1.56 1.52 1.52 1.48 1.56 1.49 1.50 1.48 1.48 1.44 1.46
Density3 1.48 1.50 1.47 1.48 1.53 1.56 1.46 1.56 1.46 1.50 1.54 1.52
Density4 1.50 1.52 1.49 1.50 1.40 1.47 1.50 1.50 1.47 1.47 1.50 1.48
Density5 1.43 1.47 1.45 1.51 1.52 1.43 1.44 1.52 1.46 1.47 1.54 1.47
Average 1.48 1.51 1.49 1.51 1.48 1.52 1.46 1.51 1.48 1.48 1.49 1.48
Range 0.10 0.09 0.07 0.08 0.13 0.14 0.07 0.08 0.06 0.03 0.11 0.06
Upper spec limit 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57
Lower spec limit 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.43
Spec 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50
Figure C-1
A. Lack of control due to B. Lack of control due to C. Lack of control due to D. A statistically controlled
a shifting quality level. changes in inherent changes in both quality level process.
variability. and inherent variability.
Figure C-2
VOLUME 3 125
H Occupational Safety and Health
hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), 13-14 Administration. See OSHA.
common, 13
OSHA
emission standards, 13
phone numbers, 39
NESHAP, 13-14
regional offices, 38
hazardous waste manifest, 41
oxidation, 7-10
histograms, 122 catalytic, 8-9
recuperative, 8
I
ISO 9000 System, 108-112 regenerative, 8
benefits of, 110 thermal, 7
implementation of, 110 ozone, 5, 6, 14, 15
ISO registration, 110 -depleting chemicals, 14-15
process control, 111 emissions standards for, 5-6
requirements, 109
standard operating procedures, 110-111 P
Personal Protection Equipment, 32-33
L
lockout/tagout, 33-34 Pollution Prevention Act, 28-35
Post-Press, 29
M Prepress, 28
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Press Operations, 29
113-115, 119
waste inks and solvents, 28
criteria for, 114-115
prevention of significant deterioration
Material Safety Data Sheets (PSD), 11
(MSDS), 31, 42, 50
Q
maximum achievable control technology, 13 quality control
military standard (MIL-STD-105E), 98, 99 characteristics of, 81-82
checklist for, 82
N commitment to, 83
NESHAP, 5, 13-14 middle management, 83
new source review, 11-13 operating personnel, 84
non-attainment area, 11-12 top management, 83
prevention of significant deterioration, costs, 90-91
11-12 definition of, 79-80
densitometry, 107
non-attainment area, 5, 11-12 design checklist, 88
offset ratio, 12 flexo process, 106-107
O improvement strategies, 88
Occupational Safety and Health Act instrument calibration, 87
(OSHA, 30-35 measurement of, 86, 88, 95, 96, 106
consultation, 34 100% inspection and sampling, 97
facilities plan, 34 benchmarking, 94
hazard communication, 31-32 central tendency, 121
Hazardous Materials Identification arithmetic mean, 121
System, 32-33 median, 121
mode, 121
inspections, 35
control charts, 123
lockout/tagout, 33-34 military standard (MIL-STD-105E), 98, 99
Material Safety Data Sheets, 31 run chart, 87
personal protection equipment (PPE), 33 statistical inspection and sampling, 97
poster requirements, 31 statistical process control, 97, 100
record-keeping, 30-31 output measures, 86
state programs, 30 responsibility for, 80, 85-89
training, 34 spectrophotometry, 107
violations, 35 UPC verifiers, 107
VOLUME 3 127
FLEXOGRAPHY:
Principles & Practices
5th Edition
VOLUME
4
CHAPTER 1
Printing
Plates
CHAPTER 2
Mounting
And
Proofing
Flexography: Principles And Practices
Fifth Edition
Notice of Liability:
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other-
wise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Notice of Liability:
The information in this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, neither the authors
nor the publisher shall have any liability to any person or entity with respects to any loss,
liability or damage caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the informa-
tion presented in this book.
Published by the
Foundation of Flexographic Technical Association, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
PLATE CLASSES 5
Hand-engraved Rubber Plates ...............................................5
Molded-rubber Plates..............................................................6
Photopolymer Plates ...............................................................6
Plates for Process Printing ..............................................7
Liquid and Sheet Photopolymers Compared.................7
Film Negative Requirements..................................................7
Direct-imaged Plates ...............................................................8
Laser-engraved Plates.......................................................8
MOLDED-RUBBER PLATES 10
The Master Pattern................................................................10
Metal Masters ..................................................................10
Photopolymer Masters ...................................................12
The Molding Press .................................................................12
Auxiliary Equipment.......................................................13
The Matrix Mold ....................................................................13
Making the Thermosetting Mold or Matrix .................14
Molding a Matrix .............................................................16
Molding the Printing Plate....................................................17
Determining Molded Plate Thickness ..........................18
Accurate Plate Molding ..................................................19
Inspection and Finishing................................................20
Troubleshooting Rubber-molding Problems ......................21
Rubber Plate Compounds and Properties..........................21
Thickness .........................................................................21
Storage..............................................................................21
Types of Molded Plates.........................................................22
Special Considerations for Process Plates ..................22
PHOTOPOLYMER PLATES 24
Characteristics .......................................................................24
Durometer ........................................................................24
Plate Construction ..........................................................25
Special Plate Construction ............................................25
Photopolymer Plates: An Overview..............................25
Housekeeping.........................................................................26
Physical Hazard of UV Radiation..................................26
Film Negative Preparation and Handling ...........................27
VOLUME 4
Principles of Photopolymer Plate Exposures....................27
Back Exposure ................................................................28
Back-exposure Test ........................................................28
Face or Image Exposure ................................................28
Face- or Image-exposure Test .......................................29
Post-exposure or Light Finishing..................................29
Light Intensity..................................................................29
Liquid Photopolymer Platemaking......................................29
Equipment ........................................................................30
The Liquid Platemaking Sequence ......................................30
Casting the Plate .............................................................30
Back Exposure ................................................................30
Face Exposure.................................................................31
Exposure-control Guides ...............................................31
Reclaim.............................................................................31
Plate Washout ..................................................................32
Post-exposure/Plate Drying ...........................................32
Light Finishing.................................................................32
Special Liquid Platemaking Techniques .............................32
Prepress Makeready .......................................................32
Capping.............................................................................32
Image-positioned Plates .................................................32
Sheet Photopolymer Platemaking .......................................33
Equipment ........................................................................34
Sheet Platemaking Sequence ...............................................34
Material Preparation.......................................................34
Back Exposure ................................................................34
Main Exposure ................................................................35
Face-test Exposures .......................................................35
Plate Processing ..............................................................35
Preliminary Inspection ...................................................35
Plate Drying .....................................................................35
Light Finishing and Post-exposure ...............................36
Troubleshooting.....................................................................36
DIRECT-IMAGED PLATES 37
Laser-engraved Plates ...........................................................37
Laser Ablation of Liquid Photopolymers............................37
Design Rolls............................................................................37
Preparing the Roll ...........................................................38
Vulcanized Rubber Selection...................................39
Compound Application ............................................39
Vulcanizing .................................................................39
Photopolymer Application.......................................39
Grinding and Polishing.............................................40
Polyurethane Covering.............................................40
Preparing Artwork for Design Rolls.............................40
Engraving the Cylinder...................................................40
Proofing and Inspection.................................................40
Special Care Consideration ...........................................41
Direct-to-Plate Imaging .........................................................41
Integral Mask Technology..............................................42
PLATE CONSIDERATIONS 45
Measuring Plate Thickness ..................................................45
Checking Plate Hardness......................................................46
Care and Handling of Plates ................................................47
Plate Mounting.......................................................................47
Plate Washup..........................................................................48
Plate Storage ..........................................................................49
Ink and Solvent Compatibility .............................................50
Wrap Distortion .....................................................................51
Surface Tension ...............................................................53
APPENDIX 55
A: Matrix-molding Problems and Corrective Actions.....55
B: Common Plate-molding Problems
and Corrective Actions...................................................57
C: Common Photopolymer Problems
and Corrective Actions...................................................59
VOLUME 4 5
Steps to Proofing for Profitability ................................78
Prepress Makeready..............................................................80
Lowering High Areas ......................................................80
Building -up Low Areas ..................................................81
Composite Proof .............................................................82
Edge Sealing ....................................................................82
Cleaning............................................................................82
Wrapping Mounted Cylinders........................................82
Additional Off-line Time Savers...........................................83
Web-edge Guide Marks...................................................83
Web-trim Mark.................................................................83
Slitter-knife Marks...........................................................83
Bag-folds, Former-guide Marks .....................................83
APPENDIX
A: Tools for Mounting and Proofing ................................105
T
printing plates has been revolu- on the industry has been relinquished to
tionized in recent years. In the photopolymer. Many printers have typically
past, hand-cut and molded rub- chosen rubber because of its ink-transfer
ber was the only choice for characteristics. With new photopolymer
flexo printers. These plates technologies that emulate these properties,
were labor intensive, operator-skill-depen- this point is moot.
dent, imprecise and time consuming to man- Large-format platemaking systems have
ufacture. Mounting was also imperfect. also become popular. One-piece photopoly-
Often, plates had to be repositioned on the mer plates are now being manufactured in
press because of inaccuracies in the mount- sizes up to 52" x 110". Images that are
ing devices or methods. With rubber plates, stepped and repeated multiple times on one
this could be a problem because they were plate are larger than ever before. This step-
not dimensionally stable and could stretch ping of multiple images, combined with the
unevenly if pulled off a mount. need for large, one-piece, corrugated plates
Today, technology has been adopted from and pin register, has led to rapid acceptance
the offset and gravure industries. Images are of these large-format platemaking systems.
stepped and repeated multiple times on one Large platemaking systems are computer-
plate. These plates may be positioned me- controlled, ensuring predictable and consis-
chanically onto a printing cylinder by a vari- tent plate quality.
ety of techniques: pins, micro dot and Halftone process-printing plates are made
microvideo registration systems. Plate from electronically imaged films, computer-
mounting now takes minutes, not hours, pro- compensated for dot gain and other printing
duces accurately mounted plates and elimi- characteristics. These films are output for
nates the need for special skills. each individual press, based on press char-
With the advent of dimensionally stable acterization data. In an effort to further
rubber compounds and polyester-backed enhance quality, modern suppliers produce
photopolymer, images on the printing plate all their printing plates using statistical
are now of predictable size with no distor- process control.
tion across the cylinder. These plates last Artwork for the manufacture of flexogra-
longer and can be registered accurately. phic printing plates is also computer-gener-
They are also more environmentally safe to ated, with all copyart and masks output to
manufacture, and can be made in larger exact specifications, including print-length
sizes with multiple images on one plate. distortion. Artwork is designed by using
Chemical changes in ink formulation have electronic design software that is accurate,
resulted in photopolymer printing plates quick and capable. Logos, bar codes, register
gaining wide popularity, becoming the stan- marks, tone reproduction targets and other
dard quality plate of choice. frequently used items can be stored elec-
Rubber plates are still used in some mar- tronically and called up for any job required.
PLATES 3
There are not many general manufacturing plates. This chapter will cover these new
areas that have seen as many changes in the techniques, as well as the traditional ones,
past few years as the techniques for making used for the manufacture of the many types
quality-controlled flexographic printing of flexographic plates.
F
divided into two broad classes: Instead of using a film negative for plate-
rubber and photopolymer. The making, a full-size mechanical tracing is made
oldest technology is that of hand- for each of the colors to be printed. Each trac-
engraved rubber plates, followed ing is then “rubbed off” or transferred to the
by molded-rubber plates. The rubber-engraving material by using a transfer
photopolymer plate, in its sheet and liquid solution, allowing the pencil tracing lines on
forms, represents a major step forward in the the layout to be tattooed on the surface of the
industry and is the dominant technology in rubber. If compensation for plate stretch is
use today. required, the rubber material is secured to the
appropriately sized curved cylinder and the
tracing is transferred in the curve.
HAND-ENGRAVED When the tracing has been transferred, a
RUBBER PLATES skilled engraver cuts the traced image by
Long before the introduction of molded- hand-ensuring an accurate depth of cut, as
rubber and photopolymer plates, there were well as the proper shoulders and bevels. The
hand-engraved rubber plates. These plates finished product is a printing plate that is
have limited use today in printing large, ready to be mounted and go onto the press.
point-of-purchase displays, in applications In some applications, hand-engraved plates
requiring very large printing blankets for are the quickest, most economical method
solid-color printing, or in the application of of producing flexographic printing plates.
coatings. The material is supplied as a cured- Table 1 summarizes the advantages and dis-
rubber sheet, either natural or synthetic. It is advantages of hand-engraved plates.
usually of a soft durometer and comes in
HAND-ENGRAVED PLATES
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
■ Plates can be used for very large areas of ■ Layout and cutting are hard work
print ■ Size and intricacy of the characters cut
■ Plates do not require metal or photopoly- are limited
mer engraving ■ Plate life is not as long as with molded or
■ Plates are ready to use after being cut photopolymer plates
■ The engraved image may not have the
same accuracy as that of a molded or
photopolymer plate
Table 1
PLATES 5
variety of inks and the ability to release the
BASICS OF MOLDED-RUBBER
ink onto many different substrates. The
PLATEMAKING
basic production steps for molded-rubber
1. Create a master pattern by exposure
plates are listed in Table 2.
through a photographic negative,
Most suppliers of liquid photopolymers
either acid etching a metal engraving,
provide materials ranging in durometer from
or processing a hard-durometer
40 to 60 Shore D, designed to manufacture
photopolymer plate by water wash
masters for molding matrix boards, from
2. Mold a cavity in a phenolic matrix board which rubber printing plates are made.
from the master pattern plate These photopolymer masters are manufac-
3. Produce the rubber plate by molding from tured in the same way as direct-printing
the cavity in the matrix board plates. The plate masters for compression
Table 2 molding, as well as deep-relief powder mold-
ing, can be made from these materials. Most
molding techniques dictate that the pho-
MOLDED-RUBBER PLATES topolymer master be sprayed with a release
Molded-rubber printing plates are flexible, agent to prevent sticking to the matrix. Most
resilient and have the printing image in standard matrix boards can be used for face
relief. They are duplicated from a mold, or molding or powder molding. Molding proce-
matrix and made from an original or master dures are comparable to rubber, except for
pattern plate carrying the image. The master the need to minimize pressure to prevent
pattern may be made of metal, either mag- plate distortion.
nesium or copper, and is produced from the
artwork through a photographic and etching
process. Any number of printing plates may PHOTOPOLYMER PLATES
be made from this mold. The printing plate is The direct photopolymer plate is one of
pliable because it is made from a flexible the major innovations in modern flexo-
material, either rubber or a combination of graphic printing. It affords the ability to
rubber and plastic. These materials have transfer an image from a photographic nega-
excellent ink-transfer characteristics, pos- tive directly onto the surface of the printing
sessing both an excellent affinity for a wide plate, thereby giving excellent image fidelity.
Photopolymers are ultraviolet light-sensi-
tive materials and are used to prepare print-
ing plates for flexography, letterpress and
b offset, as well as printing resists and proof-
Floor Image Area
The non- The printable ing films. Flexographic photopolymer print-
printable area surface
ing plates are similar to molded-rubber
Caliper
Total height plates in that both are flexible, resilient and
of printing
plate have excellent ink transfer. There are many
systems available for producing photopoly-
mer flexo plates.
Raw materials are available as either vis-
Shoulder Plate Backing Relief
Support for Material on the Distance cous liquids, ready to be cast to a desired
the printable back of the from floor
area plate to provide to top of thickness, or as preformed solid sheets of an
B The various compo- stability image area
appropriate thickness. Photopolymer mate-
nents which make up a
photopolymer plate. rials, whether liquid or sheet, are converted
PLATES 7
the most crucial operations in the manufac- color-separation artist then paints out all the
ture of relief-image photo engravings and colors but one on each negative, leaving all
photopolymer printing plates. Prior to the details of that one color on its own film. For
introduction of computer graphics, the fin- example: On a two-color job, say red and
ished black-and-white mechanical artwork blue, two negatives are made. All the blue
was photographed using an engraving cam- copy is opaqued out of the negative, produc-
era to produce the platemaking negatives. In ing the red-plate film. On the second nega-
the engraving camera, special lenses were tive, all the red copy is removed, producing
used to pick up the finest detail, but any the blue-plate film.
imperfections in the artwork were also Great care is required to ensure that all
transferred to the negative. Therefore, in copy is clean and sharp. In addition, imper-
camera-art systems, the artwork was care- fections such as pinholes, broken letters or
fully inspected to make sure that the image other flaws should be carefully retouched.
elements were clean and had sharp line def- Center lines and registration marks should
inition before the art reached the camera. appear on the negatives and be reproduced
With the advent of computer graphics, on the printing plates. Small designs (under
laser-imaged film and automatic film pro- 24 square inches) can be photographed on
cessing equipment, reflection-copy imper- 0.004" film, while larger designs should use
fections have been eliminated. This does not 0.007" film.
imply that laser-imaged platemaking films A good film negative is critical to all the
are perfect. Poorly maintained imagesetters plate-imaging processes with the exception of
can produce minute imperfections in the laser-engraving and other direct computer-to-
platemaking films that may escape the plate processes. Table 4 briefly lists the con-
notice of both the artist and platemaker. This siderations when producing film for flexo
is especially true of films containing halftone platemaking
process screens. Note: If the film is imaged with poor or
After photography or imagesetting, the film veiled dots, higher-than-normal exposure
is developed to conform to density specifica- times will be needed. Over-exposure causes
tions and should be inspected for defects. reverses to fill in and results in tone com-
Inspection is carried out on a light table. The pression on the finished plate.
light beneath the negative makes any tiny
transparent spots (“pinholes”) or other
imperfections easily detectable. These faults DIRECT-IMAGED PLATES
in the negatives may be corrected by painting Direct-imaged plates refer to plates made
over them with a commercial opaquing solu- directly from digital data output from a com-
tion. Opaquing should be applied carefully puter and usually, but not always, involves a
and with the platemaking process in mind as laser to write the image to be printed.
each image transfer system may have differ-
ent requirements. Laser-engraved Plates
In single-color jobs, only one negative is Laser-engraved rubber plates are produced
produced. For multicolor jobs, a negative for by engraving rubber with a laser unit similar
each color must be made. If preseparated art to that used when producing ceramic anilox
is used, each overlay is imaged and a nega- rolls. The high-energy laser vaporizes
tive made. With “composite” or “key-line” (ablates) the unwanted rubber in the relief
artwork, it is necessary to make a composite area of the plate, leaving the raised image.
negative for each color to be printed. The Laser-engraved rubber plates combine the
Table 4
PLATES 9
Molded-Rubber Plates
olded-rubber plates are
M
BASIC PRODUCTION STEPS FOR
flexible, resilient and have
MOLDED-RUBBER PLATES
excellent ink-transfer char-
acteristics. They are manu- 1. Make the master pattern by exposure
through a photographic negative and
factured by duplicating an
either acid-etching a metal engraving
image from a mold, or
or processing a hard-durometer photo-
matrix, that was generated from an original
polymer pattern material
pattern plate. The mold can be used repeat-
edly to make duplicate plates carrying the 2. Make a phenolic matrix mold of the mas-
same image. The plates are made from a flex- ter pattern plate
ible material, either natural rubber or a com- 3. Mold the rubber plate from the matrix
bination of natural and synthetic rubber com-
Table 5
pounds, giving the plate its flexibility. The
basic production steps in making molded-
rubber plates can be seen in Table 5. Types of Metal Originals. Photo engravings
can be made from magnesium or copper.
Magnesium is an excellent engraving metal
THE MASTER PATTERN for producing high quality line originals.
The first step in the molded-rubber plate- Magnesium is sometimes used for coarse-to-
production cycle is making a master pattern. medium (up to 100-line screen) process color
These could be either metal masters or pho- work but magnesium undergoes unpre-
topolymer masters. dictable lateral copy loss in the etching
process, making it unsuitable for very fine
Metal Masters work. Copper is used mainly for fine detail
Metal masters are produced from the orig- and halftone screen reproduction where fine
inal art using a photographic process. The tone or process color jobs are involved.
image on the negative is first transferred Preparation of Metal and Image Exposure, The
photographically to a photosensitive coating metal for the photo-etching process is pre-
on the face of a sheet of metal. The plate is coated with a photosensitive material, ready
then etched in an acid bath, leaving the relief for transfer of an image from the negative
image. The etched metal becomes the mas- film. The photo-resistant coating has a poly-
ter pattern from which a matrix mold is ethylene protective sheet that adheres light-
made. For standard-web flexo applications, ly to the surface. After removal of this pro-
the metal sheet is usually 0.064" overall in tective sheet, the emulsion side of the image-
thickness, with an etched-relief depth carrying negative is placed in direct contact
between 0.030" to 0 .035". Deep-relief plates with the photo-sensitive coated surface. The
used in the corrugated industry are made two are locked tightly together in a vacuum
using 0.250" or 0.187" metal originals with an frame and exposed to a light source.
etched relief between 0.140" to 0.150". When transferring the image to the photo-
resist, it is recommended that a step expo- control the acid action to prevent undercut-
sure (Stouffer) gauge be used to ensure suf- ting the metal from beneath the image. This
ficient light exposure. For surface printing, would destroy the usefulness of the engrav-
the negative should be wrong reading, with ing as a pattern for molded-plate production.
the emulsion down to make plates; for In the mid-1950s, a chemical process called
reverse-printing applications, the negative “powderless etching” was developed. The
should be right-reading emulsion down. process involved a special filming agent
The procedure is similar to printing pho- mixed in the nitric acid bath that acted to
tographs, except that the platemaker is protect the side-wall or shoulder formation
working with metal, instead of photographic of the image, preventing undercutting during
print paper. The vacuum locked assembly is the etching cycle. The entire etching proce-
exposed to an intense light source, rendering dure requires very precise control of the
the exposed areas of the photo-resist insolu- chemical solution, machine speed, bath tem-
ble when contacted by acid. Developing the perature and timing. The powderless etching
image removes the still-soluble coating from method is universally used and produces
the unexposed, nonprinting areas, leaving high quality flexo engravings.
the acid-resistant coating on the image areas The ideal profile of the supporting sides or
of the metal. shoulder formation of the engraving should
The Etching Process. The metal, with the be almost vertical, with a uniform, smooth
exposed and developed photo-resist, is placed taper (Figure c). Excessive shoulders and
in a stainless-steel etching machine where it is broad, stepped shoulders (Figure d), will
splashed with a mixture of nitric acid, oil, tend to cause ink buildup on the finished
etching additives and water until the proper plate, resulting in a smeared and dirty print.
etching depth is reached. The hardened coat- At the other extreme, undercut conditions
ing, which carries the image of the design to (Figure e) would tend to lock the engrav-
be printed, resists the action of the acid, while ing into the mold and make separation of the
the unprotected areas are dissolved by the two impossible without irreversible damage
acid. In this way, the acid bath creates a relief to the mold and possibly the master.
image on the surface of the metal against a Finishing. After etching, the finished engrav-
background that has been etched away. ing is cut from the large metal flat and care-
A concern in the etching operation is to fully finished to remove any imperfections.
PLATES 11
e Undercut conditions in of the engraving. Other useful information,
the plate tend to lock e such as curve direction, print position, loca-
the engraving into
the mold and make
tion on bag, color and any identifying data
separating the two the platemaker or customer requires would
impossible without also be added to the background area.
damaging the mold
and/or master. The photo-resist is removed and cleaned
from the face of the engraving for subse-
f Dirty etching can be Undercut Etch
quent production of the mold. If all of the
caused by pinholes, photo-resist is not removed, it can cause a
impurities and/or lack of
proper control of the
blistered, uneven print surface and flaws in
ethcing bath operation. the finished plate. After the finished engrav-
ing is proofed and checked for quality, size
and accuracy of color separation, it is ready
to serve as a master pattern for molding the
f matrix.
Photopolymer Masters
Dirt Pimples
In the production of metal masters, the
metal-etching acid is dangerous and difficult
to dispose. Therefore, for both environmen-
tal and health reasons, masters made from
very hard-durometer photopolymer material
have become the standard in molded-rubber
plate production.
There are many types of photopolymer
masters for shallow-relief printing including,
photosensitive nylon and metal-backed thin
Ideally, there should be little tooling, routing photopolymer. These masters come in a vari-
or other handiwork necessary with a good ety of thicknesses and with different back-
quality etching. Pinholes in the photograph- ings, usually either stainless steel or alu-
ic negative, impurities in the metal or a lack minum. Deep relief photopolymer masters
of proper control during the etching bath for corrugated plates are usually made using
operation often cause pimples or tick marks the liquid platemaking technique and a spe-
(Figure f). If the condition is not too cial high durometer master pattern pho-
severe, the marks can be removed by tooling topolymer.
or routing the finished engraving. The masters are produced in the same way
Extra centerlines are sometimes provided as regular photopolymer flexo plates. Once
for convenience in locating slug sections the photopolymer master has been made, it
such as price changes, nutritional clauses, is handled in the same molding procedure as
weight or other changes to any part of the a metal master.
plate. Some printers and converters use
scribe lines to indicate folds, panels, repeat
marks or other data, especially on carton THE MOLDING PRESS
work. Identification for the job should be The molding press, or vulcanizer as shown
carefully stamped into the background area in Figure g, is used to make both the
PLATES 13
specifications, depending on the application the bearers. If the cover sheet extends over
and printing plate requirements. Relief the bearers, then the thickness of the cover
potential in sheet matrixes ranges from sheet is not included in the calculation.
0.020" to 0.125". For example, to calculate bearer height:
Thick-plate, Deep-relief Molding. When a fin- Engraving Thickness 0.064"
ished plate with reliefs over 0.125" is re- Desired Floor Thickness 0.080"
quired, phenolic or Bakelite fill-in powder is + Cover Sheet Thickness* 0.005"
used in conjunction with the sheet matrix to = Bearer Thickness 0.149"
achieve the extra relief depth. The sheet *There is no need to add the thickness of the
matrix is used as a backing sheet, which pro- cover sheet if it extends over the bearers on both
vides support and added mechanical sides. If it does, overall bearer height would be
strength. Powdered Bakelite is used mostly 0.144" instead. In either case, it is important to veri-
in platemaking for corrugated postprint fy that both sets of bearers are exactly the same
because of the greater etching depth height on each side of the press.
required. The powder is contained in the Note: Unequal bearer height can destroy
mold by providing a frame around the image originals and damage the molding press.
in the master. This process is called deep- Making an accurate thickness matrix is the
relief powder molding or DRPM. key to successful plate molding.
PLATES 15
h After the molding cycle, a multiple color job containing fine screens
the mold is allowed to h or exceptionally tight registration to elimi-
cool. Cure before being
checked for accuracy. nate any dimensional differences.
Using a micrometer Overall
Matrix
or depth gauge, the
matrix floor thickness
Board
Thickness
Depth
of Impression
Molding a Matrix
is measured. The following is a general summary of
steps and procedures in molding a matrix:
Temperature. Molding press temperature
should be between 300° F and 310° F (60 lbs.
Floor of
Matrix steam pressure at sea level if press is steam-
heated).
Preheating. Master type form or metal pho-
toengraving should be preheated in the
molding press for roughly five to seven min-
utes to allow for the expansion of the metal.
originally made. To achieve this, the exact This helps prevent the pattern from “locking-
location of the matrix on the serving tray up” in the mold as expansion takes place.
should be noted by marking the front por- Preconditioning. Matrix material in a heated
tion of the mold with a wax pencil. The oven will prevent the hygroscopic matrix
matrix should be placed in the same press board from taking on moisture and reduce
and in roughly the same position every time the need to “bump” the mold to release
a plate is made. gasses. Preconditioning will also soften the
Matrix Mold Makeready. Inaccuracies in a phenolic resin in preparation for molding.
matrix mold can be corrected (doctored) Preparation. Matrix material to be vulcan-
without remaking the mold. Makeready is ized is cut approximately l" to 2" larger than
accomplished by a combination of building the master on each side. The border should
up thin areas of the mold with thin paper or be fairly uniform to restrict the flow of rub-
foil and by sanding down the thick areas of ber evenly on all four sides during the sub-
the mold with a fine-grain sandpaper. sequent plate-molding process. Spraying the
The sections to be corrected can be identi- metal original or the uncured matrix board
fied from the back of the matrix by noticing with a commercial release agent before
the color difference between the high and molding the matrix, is a common practice.
low areas. The ultimate goal is to produce an Thin-plate/Low-relief. The matrix material is
accurate printing plate; therefore, plates placed coated-side-up on the serving tray
made from doctored molds should be with the metal engraving face down on the
checked carefully. board (Figure i). Bearer bars of the cor-
Shrinkage. Progressive mold shrinkage was rect thickness are placed either side of the
a major problem at one time, but is no longer assembly.
a concern. Modern materials and techniques Thick-plate/Deep-relief. The type form is
assure that the molds experience almost no placed face-up on a carrier. The relief cavity
progressive shrinkage when used again and of the master is filled with phenolic powder,
again in the vulcanizing process. Although lightly tamped and carefully leveled. The
low-shrink matrix materials have excellent carrier and master is positioned on the serv-
dimensional stability in both directions, it is ing tray and the matrix board placed coating-
still recommended that the matrix material side down over the powder filled master
be cut in the same direction for each color of (Figure j). Bearer bars of the correct
PLATES 17
plate thickness and defects, such as voids or desired plate thickness, including that of the
bubbles. cover sheet (i.e., Holland cloth, release
If it is determined that there is too much paper). As an example, consider the follow-
variation in the plate thickness, either the ing hypothetical situation:
back of the rubber plate may be ground in an Floor of Mold 0.080"
attempt to bring the plate into acceptable tol- Cover Sheet* 0.005"
erance, or the mold may be doctored and the Shrinkage & Deflection 0.005"
plate remade. Plate grinding calls for caution. Desired Plate Thickness 0.107"
Too much abrasion of the back of the plate Impression Squeeze 0.002"
can cause distortion of fine type or cupping Overall Height of Bearers: 0.199"
(dishing) of solids and, in some cases, the * There is no need to add the thickness of the
plate can be totally destroyed. cover sheet if it extends over the bearers on both
sides. If it does, overall bearer height would instead
Determining Molded be 0.194".
Plate Thickness
The final rubber printing plate will be A shrinkage allowance, plus press deflec-
mounted on a bare cylinder that will be dri- tion caused by molding pressures, must be
ven by a gear attached at the end of its shaft. taken into account when computing the
The combination of the bare cylinder diame- thickness of bearers required to produce the
ter plus the thickness of both stickyback and plate. These factors are constant for each
printing plate, must build up to the pitch press and generally do not change unless the
diameter of the gear driving the cylinder. The press is re-shimmed or there is a change in
pitch diameter of a gear can be determined the rubber compound or desired plate thick-
from any standard gear publication. The ness. Typically, an allowance of 0.005" for
bare-cylinder diameter can be determined shrinkage and deflection is added.
by measuring its surface. The difference The bearers are placed on both sides of
between the pitch diameter of the gear and the serving tray to limit the ram movement.
the bare cylinder diameter must be offset by The bearers must be free of dust and foreign
the combined thickness of the printing matter and be well maintained to consistent-
plates and mounting material. The combined ly produce accurate plates. To avoid sub-
thickness of rubber plate and mounting stantial press temperature loss, the serving
material will be half the difference between tray should be kept in the press whenever it
the pitch diameter of the gear and the bare is not in use for any prolonged period.
cylinder diameter. Pressure Requirements, Pressure require-
In wide- and narrow-web applications, the ments for molding rubber printing plates
usual practice is to add 0.002" to the plate vary according to the compound thickness
thickness to allow for impression squeeze and the plate construction. Pressures neces-
and to prevent the cylinder drive gears from sary to mold rubber plates can run as high as
“bottoming” during the pressrun. The corru- 600 to 1,000 lbs. per square inch. In some
gated industry usually adds 0.005" to the instances, thinner and shrink-controlled
plate thickness. plates need even higher molding pressures.
Determining Bearers. It is necessary to calcu- For the highest degree of plate accuracy it is
late the thickness of the control bearers for important to mold all plates with just enough
the finished rubber plate to be at its proper pressure to produce tight bearers.
thickness. This calculation is made by Compound Loading Procedures. It is impor-
adding the floor thickness of the mold to the tant to ensure that the mold is always cold
PLATES 19
gauge should be used as a reference to deter- ry. Readings of plate gauge should be taken
mine speed of closing and degree of tight- every 2" or so throughout a plate to deter-
ness. It may be necessary to “bump” the plate mine uniformity. Even with a special gauge,
as pressure is being applied in order to fill an it is very difficult to get an accurate reading
intricate design, or compensate for batch dif- on small isolated areas or small type within
ferences among rubber compounds. a line of copy, as any pressure applied will
Bumping is accomplished by first applying cause deflection of the print surface. Special
a small amount of pressure and then quickly attention should be given to the corners and
opening and closing the press (similar to the center of the plate; if there were varia-
matrix breathing). This bumping should be tions in the molding process, this is where
repeated several times. The final pressure is they will show.
then applied until the bearers are tight. Plate Gauge. A thickness range of ±0.001" is
Vulcanizing. Vulcanization of the rubber com- generally accepted for line work and solids.
pound takes about 10 minutes at 3,070° F, Plates with halftone process screens should
depending on the total thickness of the fin- have a thickness range of less than 0.0005".
ished plate. Once the rubber plate has been Fine type or delicate copy matter, positioned
completely cured, the assembly is removed alongside heavier type or solid areas, should
from the press. The plate is stripped from the be lower than the heavy areas by 0.001" to
mold while still hot, taking care not to tear 0.002". This means that the total variation
the still delicate plate. The recommended from the heaviest point of a solid area to the
procedure is to gently remove the plate from lightest point of a fine-type section could be
the sides and carefully work toward the cen- as much as 0.004".
ter. This will help prevent possible stretching Out-of-Gauge Plates. If it is determined that
and plate distortion. The plate can then be there is too much variation in the plate thick-
brought down to room temperature or ness, two options exist: Doctor the mold to
cooled in a chiller. eliminate the variation or ground the back of
the rubber plate in an attempt to bring the
Inspection and Finishing plate into acceptable tolerance.
As the molded plate cools, it contracts or Remolding with Makeready. If the plate is not
shrinks in all directions, including the cross of uniform thickness, it may be remolded
section or thickness. The plate must there- using makeready on the mold. Makeready is
fore be gauged with a micrometer after it the method of fine tuning the matrix board
reaches room temperature. The printing before molding the rubber plates. If the plate
plate is inspected for complete fill-out, skips, is too thin in one area, the back of the matrix
blisters or foreign matter and absolute fideli- board may be sanded in the offending area to
ty with the mold. The plate is then gauged for raise the plate height. Conversely, if the plate
accuracy using a plate micrometer. A stan- is too thick, makeready tape, foil or tissue
dard hand-held micrometer should never be paper may be used under the matrix board in
used to gauge the flexible printing plates, the offending area to lower a section of the
because there is no control over the amount finished plate.
of pressure applied. Plate Grinding. If the plate is only slightly over
When gauging a rubber plate, it is essential caliper it may be recovered by grinding the
that the foot of the indicator rest squarely on back of the plate. Care must be taken when
the plate surface. Gauging for accuracy and plate grinding, as too much abrasion of the
consistent plate thickness in the larger-type back of the plate can cause distortion of fine
and solid-printing areas usually is satisfacto- type and cupping (dishing) of solids and, in
PLATES 21
compound is effectively doubled for every ally permanently curved to hug the cylinder
15° F reduction in storage temperature. It is by rolling, placing into a cylindrical fiber
imperative, however, to bring rubber to room tube and post-heating the plate to 250° F for
temperature before molding. The plate mold- about one hour.
er must exercise sound judgment. Metal-backed plates. The metal-backed plate
is molded and permanently vulcanized to a
metal sheet. The metal backing is usually a
TYPES OF MOLDED PLATES thin (0.008" to 0.012") sheet of mild steel or
The choice of compound for the printing half-hard brass. Because this plate is metal-
plate depends on the type of ink and solvent backed, it cannot be ground on a plate
being used. There are various constructions grinder. Therefore, whenever necessary,
available: plain-backed plates, shrink-con- molds should be prepared using makeready
trolled plates, metal-backed plates. techniques. The inherent dimensional stabil-
Plain-backed Plate. This is the most widely ity of this type of plate makes it ideal for
used type of flexographic printing plate. It is close registration requirements of milk car-
supplied without any special inserts or back- tons, paper cups, boxes, egg cartons and tis-
ing and usually is molded between 0.105" sue paper.
and 0.112" for wide web and 0.067" for nar- Metal-backed plates may be integrated to
row web. Plate height usually depends on the plate cylinder either by a mechanical
press specifications and thickness of the lock-up system, or, when steel-backed, using
mounting material. The corrugated postprint magnetic plate cylinders. The plates may be
industry generally uses 0.25" molded plates secured to conventional cylinders with ten-
with a fabric insert sandwiched between sion hold-down bands that fit over exposed
two layers of rubber to maintain dimension- metal edges on either side of the plate.
al stability. Metal-backed plates can be provided with
Shrink-controlled Plate. Shrink-controlled prepunched holes that fit over accurately
plates are typically used in applications positioned pins located in the face of the
where accuracy of print size and color-to- plate cylinder. They may also have a bent
color register is critical, or subsequent die- lead edge for plate cylinder groove type lock-
cutting or other in-line operations require up systems. The punched hole or lead-edge
accurate print register. The shrink-con- slot systems enable rapid plate changes and
trolled plate is made by sandwiching a piece accurate registration of multicolored jobs.
of fabric between two layers of rubber dur-
ing the molding procedure. The fabric mini- Special Considerations
mizes shrinkage during molding and gives for Process Plates
the plate its shrink-control characteristics. Molding procedures used to produce both
Thickness normally ranges between 0.135" line plates or plates containing halftone
and 0.165" for this type of plate. screen are basically the same. With plates
Camera-ready art should allow for elonga- containing process screens, special care
tion around the cylinder for shrink-con- must be taken to ensure that the mold
trolled plates. This type of plate exhibits neg- releases fully from the engraving, without
ligible shrinkage across the cylinder. tearing isolated highlight dots or plugging
The shrink-controlled plate can be han- small reverse dots located in the shadow
dled and ground in the same way as a plain- areas. The mold should faithfully reproduce
backed plate, as long as it is done before the every detail in the engraving.
plate is precurved. This type of plate is usu- The most critical element in the production
PLATES 23
Photopolymer Plates
he direct photopolymer plate is supply various types and constructions of
T
one of the major innovations in material used to produce photopolymer
modern flexographic printing. It printing plates. Each material is designed to
affords the ability to image the meet the requirements of a specific flexo
printing plate directly from a pho- market segment. Two basic categories of
tographic negative, thereby prov- photopolymer printing-plate materials are
ing excellent image fidelity. Photopolymers liquid and sheet. While finished plates in
are ultraviolet, light-sensitive materials used both categories are very similar, the plate-
to prepare letterpress plates, offset plates, making processes are very different and may
printing resists, proofing films, pattern mas- create different physical properties.
ters for molded rubber flexographic printing When selecting a photopolymer material
plates and direct flexographic printing plates. for a particular application, it is important to
Photopolymer printing plates are similar to know the printing system. Not all photopoly-
molded-rubber plates in that they are flexible, mers are compatible with all inks. Different
resilient and have excellent ink transfer. materials from the same supplier may have
There are many systems available for pro- different applications and chemical compati-
ducing photopolymer flexo plates. The pho- bility characteristics. Each manufacturer has
topolymer materials used to make the plates specific recommendations with regard to ink
are either viscous liquids ready to be cast to and solvent compatibility. Those recommen-
the required plate thickness, or solid sheets of dations should be followed, assuming that a
appropriate thickness. Photopolymer materi- photopolymer is compatible with a particular
als, whether liquid or sheet, are converted to ink or solvent.
flexographic printing plates when exposed to
ultraviolet light through a photographic nega- Durometer
tive of the artwork to be reproduced. Hardness or durometer of the printing
The film negative is the single most impor- plate has a large effect on the printing char-
tant element in photopolymer-plate prepara- acteristics. Durometer is measured by using
tion. It is a light stencil that controls image for- a Shore gauge and measurements are report-
mation during exposure of the photopolymer ed as either Shore A or D – depending on
plate. In general, the guidelines discussed in hardness.
the film negative portion of this section apply Photopolymer-plate materials are available
to all photopolymers. It is important to check in a range of cured-plate durometer reading
with the plate supplier to determine the cor- from 25 to 70 Shore A. Most plate materials
rect negative preparation for the particular for general film and paper converting have a
plate material and printing application. cured plate durometer hardness of 45 to 60
Shore A. Rough and uneven substrates, such
as corrugated board, require lower-durome-
CHARACTERISTICS ter materials of 25 to 40 Shore A.
There are a number of manufacturers who
PLATES 25
images, excellent ink transfer and pre- Cost-saving factors:
dictable halftone results. • Longer Plate Life. Lasts about twice that of
• Large Plates. Sizes up to 52" x 110" are pos- rubber plates.
sible. • Eliminates Need for Engraving or Mold.
• Plate Mounting. Efficient process to mount • Allows Reuse. Plates are more reusable
plates, especially when pin or microdot due to less distortion.
registration systems are employed. • Better Production Capability. More photo-
• Allows Step and Repeat. Plates can carry polymer can be made per man-hour using
multiple images. relatively unskilled labor. Process work
• Filing Space. Film requires less space than will cost about half as much as molded
metal and rubber molds. Negatives will rubber for initial printing plates to press.
not deteriorate like metal or rubber molds
and can be easily duplicated.
Accuracy Factors: HOUSEKEEPING
• Predictable Plate Gain. Plate gain can accu- Maintaining a clean, dust-free environ-
rately be determined and compensated for ment in the platemaking area cannot be
in art. overstated. Photopolymer materials in the
• Better Registration. Because of stable uncured state are susceptible to contamina-
backing, a 90% coverage plate will now tion and damage by dirt and other foreign
register with a 10% coverage plate. particles.
• Accurate Prepress Proofing. Off-press proofs Materials and solvents used in photopoly-
are accurate reproductions from the film mer platemaking should be handled carefully.
used for plates. Photopolymer prepress
proofs provide accurate rendition of speci- Physical Hazard of UV Radiation
fied job. The photopolymer platemaking sequence
Time-saving Factors: uses several sources of high-energy ultravio-
• Time Trimmer. A 6-color, 4-up job can be let (UV) radiation that may present a hazard
mounted with pin registered photopoly- to the platemaker. The exposure equipment
mer plates in about 30 minutes as opposed supplied provides sufficient protection to the
to 8 hours or more for rubber. operator during normal platemaking. Safety
• More Efficient. Eliminates the mounter- interlocks should be maintained at all times.
proofer operation. Ultraviolet Light. The high-energy lamps used
• Economical. Downtime is minimized to in the exposure, post-exposure and light fin-
reregister plates. ishing units of the platemaking system emit
• Fewer Steps. Process work can be done in ultraviolet energy, as well as visible-light
half the time (or less) than it takes to energy. The proportion of ultraviolet light
make copper engravings, molds and rub- energy is far higher than the visible light,
ber-plates, and can be stepped and repeat- therefore, the human eye is a bad judge of
ed in multiple images, so there are fewer how bright the light is. Special UV-blocking
plates to register. glasses are needed to provide adequate eye
• Easier. When rubber plates are mounted protection and the protective quality of
on a mounter-proofer, they may not regis- these lenses need to match the wavelength
ter on press. of the UV light source. Platemakers taking
• Faster. Plate production is faster than for certain prescription medications should
metal, molds and rubber. avoid UV light as those medications can
amplify skin photosensitivity.
PLATES 27
1! During back exposure,
polymer is cured to 1! 1@
form a solid. The plate Cover Floor 1. Proper Back Exposure
Sheet Thickness Cover
floor is thickened via
Sheet
absorption of UV-light Relief Layer
energy. Relief depth is
charted to measure Polymer removed Relief Stable
during processing Depth Polyester Backing Layer
curing rate. Data Backing
collected in this Sheet
process form as a Polyester
back-exposure guide Backing UV Back Exposure
for the material and Sheet Cured Photopolymer
machine. Depth of the 2. Proper Face Exposure
photopolymer cured in
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 UV Face Exposure
the face-exposure test
Seconds Back Exposure
depends on plate thick- More exposure = Less relief Negative
ness and results of the
back-exposure test.
PLATES 29
ished plate. Under ordinary lighting condi- Casting the Plate
tions, liquid photopolymer is stable and safe With the liquid photopolymer system, the
to handle at room temperature plate operator casts the raw photopolymer
The plate-backing material is a manufac- material to form the finished plate thickness.
tured polyester sheet, specially coated on The equipment supplier sets the exposure
one side for bonding to the photopolymer. unit during installation and provides the nec-
This provides a dimensionally stable base for essary information to manufacture the range
the finished printing plate. No solvents are of desired plate thickness. The following are
used in the process, so plates can be manu- steps necessary in casting a plate:
factured and press-ready in under one hour. • Enter the desired plate thickness into
the system and set the machine to spec-
Equipment ification.
The standard system includes four or five • Place the film negative emulsion-side
pieces of equipment, described below, that is up on the bottom glass and cover with a
used with some types of liquid polymers. thin protective cover-film (Figure 1$).
The Exposure Unit. Casts the polymer in a pre- • Turn the vacuum on to draw the air out
cise thickness over the protected film nega- from between the lower glass, negative
tive and exposes the photopolymer material. film and cover-film.
The exposure unit consists of a pair of preci- • Cast the photopolymer over the
sion-ground glasses which are responsible protected film negative to the appropri-
for the accurate plate tolerance. Exposure ate thickness.
units are available in both state-of-the-art • Laminate the dimensionally stable back-
computer-controlled and manual models. ing sheet to the upper surface of the liq-
The Reclaim Unit. An automated device uid polymer. Doctor the cast polymer to
which removes the unexposed (still liquid) a controlled thickness (Figure 1%).
photopolymer and collects it for reuse dur- • Lower the upper glass until it makes
ing another platemaking cycle. contact with the backing sheet and the
The Washout Unit. Cleans the plate and thickness gauging system.
removes the residual unexposed polymer • To ensure good tolerance at the thick-
from between the image elements. ness required, apply the vacuum to the
The Post Exposure/Dryer Unit. Finishes the upper glass and backing sheet.
plate with ultraviolet light to cure the floor
of the plate, and the dryer evaporates the Back Exposure
water from the plate. The back, or T1, exposure is responsible
The Light Finishing Unit. Provides a final cure for establishing the relief depth and floor
to the plate, leaving a tack-free, press-ready thickness of the finished plate, increasing
printing surface. adherence to the polyester backing sheet,
and presensitizing the material for shorter
main-exposure times. A negative is not used
THE LIQUID during back exposure. The exact back-expo-
PLATEMAKING SEQUENCE sure time needed to obtain the desired floor
The section on principles of photopolymer thickness in the plate is determined by using
plate exposures covered the basic theory a back-exposure step-test procedure. The
and steps involved in exposing any pho- longer the T1 time, the thicker the floor of
topolymer plate. This section will detail the the plate and consequently the shallower the
steps for the liquid plate. relief (Figure 1^).
1$ 1^ Hardened
Photopolymer 1% The dimensionally
stable backing sheet is
Back Exposure Lamps
Cover Plate-making laminated to the upper
Film Film surface of the liquid
polymer. The cast poly-
Upper Optical Glass mer is doctored to a
Lower Optical Glass controlled thickness.
Contain-
ment
1& When the plate material
Polyester Dams is exposed through the
Backing negative with UV light,
Sheet
the areas corresponding
Exposed Unexposed to clear areas on the
Hardened Liquid photographic negative
Photopolymer Photopolymer are hardened. The areas,
Lower Optical Glass
corresponding to the
black areas in the nega-
tive, are not exposed
Relief Exposure Lamps and remain in a liquid
state.
PLATES 31
the exposure unit and placed on the reclaim ness of the film negative directly affects the
unit. The cover-film, which protected the plate thickness. If the film negative thickness
negative, is removed at this point. The is increased in certain areas by transparent
reclaim unit collects the unexposed liquid shimming, the additional thickness will dis-
material for reuse, which offers substantial place liquid resin and cause the finished plate
cost savings, and minimizes the amount of to be thinner in those areas by a like amount.
waste going into the environment. Any transparent shim material may be used
After reclaim, the plate is ready for further as long as the optical density is satisfactory
processing in the washout unit. for UV-light transmission. Shim material
should be placed on the back (nonemulsion)
Plate Washout side of the negative, so that the emulsion
This unit washes the plate with a warm, remains as close as possible to the pho-
mild detergent-and-water solution to remove topolymer (separated only by the protective
any remaining unexposed resin. cover-film over the negative). Figure 1*
shows an enlarged area of Figure 1$ with the
Post-exposure/Plate Drying makeready in place and Figure 1( shows the
After washout, a post-exposure step using final plate with typical dimensions.
UV light hardens the floor of the finished
plate. At this point, the plate is placed in the Capping
dryer to remove rinse water from its surface. Capped plates are relief-printing plates
composed of two layers of photopolymer.
Light Finishing The cap layer may be of a harder durometer
After the plate is dry, it is moved to the and different photosensitivity than the base
light-finishing unit, where it is exposed to layer. As plates are made, two layers of dif-
shortwave UV (germicidal) light. This step ferent liquid photopolymers are either man-
gives the plate a final, tack-free surface. ually or automatically cast – one on top of
the other. Advantages of the capped plate
include wider exposure latitude, less distor-
SPECIAL LIQUID tion on the printing surface, deep reverse-
PLATE-MAKING TECHNIQUES etch depth and lower press-gain from plate
Special techniques for liquid photopoly- to printed product.
mers include makeready, capping and
image-positioned plates. Image-positioned Plates
Image-positioned plates are large, one-
Prepress Makeready piece plates with all images in register. The
Prepress makeready is a technique that plates are assembled directly on a 10-mil car-
allows the platemaker to selectively reduce rier sheet. This eliminates later mounting of
the thickness in isolated areas within a sin- several smaller plate pieces on 30-mil PVC or
gle plate. Using this technique, press impres- similar carrier sheet that is typically used in
sion can be optimized when printing fine corrugated printing.
type adjacent to large solids by reducing the A full-size, one-piece negative is made for
plate caliper of the fine images. It can also be each color to be printed. Each color is pre-
used to compensate for thickness loss dis- pared in register to the others, and the nega-
tortion, which occurs when the plate made tives are produced with register marks that
in the flat is wrapped around a cylinder. are in perfect parallel with the required
In the liquid platemaking system, the thick- plate-trimming line.
SHEET PHOTOPOLYMER
PLATEMAKING
1( The sheet photopolymer system offers high
quality plates for direct flexographic printing
Large Fine Premake- applications. Many sheet photopolymers are
Solid Type ready
Area Area 0.004"
washed out with a solvent system. Water
washout sheet systems are available, offering
0.035" 0.035"
environmental and operator benefits.
0.067" Platemaking systems can be purchased to
manufacture plate sizes up to 52" x 80" of spe-
Polyester cific thicknesses for each application. They
Backing Sheet
can be used to produce direct-printing plates
for both flexography and letterpress.
The plate material (Figure 2)) consists of
three layers: a polyester backing sheet, a
photopolymer layer, to which the backing
A back-mask negative may also be used to sheet is bonded, and a cover sheet to protect
prevent background buildup in nonimage the printing and image face.
areas of the plate, thus increasing the The polyester backing sheet provides a
amount of polymer reclaim. Using the pre- dimensionally stable base for the finished
press software, a “white plate” or trap is eas- printing plate. The photopolymer layer is a
ily created around each image area. The super-viscous liquid which, under normal con-
back mask can then be made in any conven- ditions, is dimensionally stable. Under either
tional film imagesetter, or cut on a sample heat or pressure, the polymer may be perma-
die table from any opaque film or paper. The nently deformed producing low spots in the
back mask is placed between the plate sub- finished plate.
strate and the background exposure source Unexposed plate material should be stored
during plate exposure, thus preventing poly- and handled with care. Boxes of material and
mer cure and background buildup except in individual plates should be stored absolutely
the image area. Plate exposure and process- flat – never on end. Smaller sheets or boxes
ing is the same as for conventional plates. should not be stacked on larger sizes. All
After platemaking, each one-piece printing platemaking materials must be stored away
plate is registered and trimmed in position. from sources of heat
Lock-up strips are attached, and the plates The cover sheet provides protection to the
PLATES 33
2) Plate material consists plate during washout, and dries the plate.
of three layers: a poly- 2) The light-finishing unit eliminates the sur-
ester backing sheet, a Polyester
photopolymer layer to Cover face tack, and then post-exposes the fin-
which the backing sheet Sheet ished plate with UV light to cure the floor of
is bonded, and a cover the plate. On newer machinery these two
sheet to protect the
printing and image face. steps can be performed simultaneously.
Photopolymer
Layer
SHEET PLATEMAKING SEQUENCE
Steps for making sheet photopolymer
Polyester plates follows.
Backing Sheet
Material Preparation
Unexposed plate material should be cut
carefully to minimize waste. Typically, on a
image surface of the plate material. When sheet of raw photopolymer, there is a small
the cover sheet is removed prior to placing border of cured material around the edges of
the negative in position, a thin “slip film” the sheet.
remains to ensure that the negative does not The film negative size is transferred to the
bond to the polymer during exposure. Large plate material, which is then placed face-up
sheets and narrow strips of plate material on the sheet-cutter board. Smooth, clean
should be handled with care to prevent pre- cuts should be made either with a sharp
mature delamination of the cover sheet. knife or a “hot knife”, allowing a 1" border
The sheet photopolymer is stable and safe around the copy to provide a clamping edge.
to handle at room temperature in a safe-light It is more practical if several negatives can
(UV-screened) environment. The precast be grouped together to form a single sheet
sheet is exposed and developed by the exposure, thus eliminating the necessity to
platemaker into a finished plate. Because cut individual sheets of raw material. When
solvents are used in the development of grouping negatives together, it is recom-
these plates, they may take a few hours to mended that the negatives do not overlap.
manufacture, due to the long drying times. UV-opaque adhesive tape should be used to
eliminate gaps and to ensure that the nega-
Equipment tives are kept flat.
The standard system includes four pieces
of equipment: an exposure unit, a processing Back Exposure
or washout unit, a dryer unit and a light-fin- The back exposure is completed first. The
ishing unit. The exposure unit exposes the sheet material is placed base-side up on the
photopolymer sheet and transfers the image exposure unit and exposed to UV light.
from the negative or exposure mask. Some automated systems are equipped with
Exposure units are available in both manual dual light sources. In that case, the sheet is
and state-of-the-art, computer-controlled placed base-side-down over the bottom set
models. The processing or washout unit of lamps. The back exposure is responsible
cleans the plate and removes the residual for the relief depth and floor thickness of the
unexposed polymer between image ele- finished plate, increasing adherence to the
ments. The dryer unit removes the solvent, polyester backing sheet, and presensitizing
which has absorbed into the surface of the the material for shorter main exposure
PLATES 35
ommendations for setting dryer tempera- Light Finishing and Post-exposure
tures and times. Light finishing and post-exposure are per-
Plates will still be tacky when removed formed image-side-up in the unit. Light fin-
from the dryer, and care must be taken not ishing eliminates surface tackiness of the
to touch the surface of the plates because dried sheet photopolymer plate. This
fingerprints will be left on the finished plate. process uses shortwave (germicidal) UV-C
After drying is complete, the plate back light to finish the plates before post-expo-
should be wiped with clean solvent and a sure. Light finishing times will vary with
lint-free wipe to remove any polymer residue plate type. Prolonged exposure in the light-
prior to light finishing. finishing unit can cause premature cracking
of the print surface during subsequent print-
ing and storage.
MAINTAINING PLATE QUALITY After the plates are light-finished, they
Checklist must be post-exposed using UV-A light to
TRIMMING PLATES: complete the polymerization process, ensur-
■ Use a sharp blade, to avoid creating nicks or ing the whole plate is fully cured and has the
fuzzy edges optimum physical properties for printing.
■ Make cuts from the backing sheet (preferred) Light finishing and post-exposure may be
INSPECT PLATES FOR: run simultaneously on the appropriate
■ Thickness and levelness equipment. Table 7 summarizes conditions
■ Relief in order to maintain plate quality.
■ Surface finish, free from blemishes and pits
■ Reverse-image depth
■ Register line rip marks TROUBLESHOOTING
■ Hardness (durometer) Problems in plate performance can usually
be traced to changes in platemaking condi-
PROPER PLATE HANDLING AND STORAGE:
tions or press techniques. Appendix C covers
■ Avoid 180° bends
some common photopolymer plate problems
■ Use a soft-bristled brush for cleaning
and offers suggested remedies. Note that a
■ Avoid kinking the backing sheet
problem may be caused by a combination of
■ Use proper washup solvents
factors (for example a “wavy line” can be
■ Clean plates before storage
caused by a combination of inadequate expo-
■ Store plates in cool, dry and dark areas
sure time and long washout time).
Table 7
P
2! 2! This laser-engraved
engraved variety, have been image profile reveals
directly imaged for a number of dot structure of the
finished rubber plate.
years. Direct-imaging technolo-
gy is now being applied to sheet
photopolymers, as well as rub-
ber, but in the case of sheet photopolymers,
conventional processing is still required
after the direct-imaging setup.
LASER-ENGRAVED PLATES
Laser-engraved rubber plates are pro-
duced by engraving the rubber compound
with a high energy laser unit similar to that
used when producing ceramic anilox rolls. machines are directly linked to a raster
The high energy laser ablates the unwanted image processor (RIP) which drives the
rubber in the relief area of the plate, leaving laser. Figure 2! shows the dot structure of
the raised image. Laser-engraved rubber the finished plate.
plates combine the excellent printing char-
acteristics of rubber and direct imaging from
computer-generated artwork, thereby elimi- LASER ABLATION OF LIQUID
nating the need for negative films. Most PHOTOPOLYMERS
images for laser-engraved plates are pro- Laser ablation works very well with liquid
duced from computer-generated artwork. photopolymers. The photopolymer is cast on
The engraving process is, however, time a standard exposure unit and a large, solid
consuming, especially with thicker plates plate is made. This plate is produced in the
like those used for direct corrugated print- normal fashion, and then imaged using a
ing. Laser technology is continually improv- laser unit similar to laser engraving a rubber
ing, increasing both the image fidelity and plate. Ablation time is typically shorter than
production speeds. ablation of rubber. Dual-durometer capped
Rubber used for the printing plate is sup- plates have shown excellent imaging and
plied either as prevulcanized sheets of spe- printing results when laser ablated. Table 8
cific thickness for the range of plate gauges summarizes the advantages and disadvan-
used in flexography and letterpress, or raw tages of laser ablation.
gum compounds for design-roll applications.
The prevulcanized sheet material may be
imaged on a flatbed machine or on a rotary DESIGN ROLLS
drum laser-imaging machine. Both types of Many designs for floor coverings, wallpa-
PLATES 37
LASER ABLATION OF LIQUID PHOTOPOLYMERS
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Table 8
pers and flexible packaging have continuous Various rubber compounds, polyurethane
patterns or solid-color backgrounds whose materials or photopolymers may be applied
appearance is improved by eliminating to the surface of a standard press cylinder
seams. For good decorative printing, the and cured in place to form a continuous
absence of “plate breaks” is virtually manda- sleeve of flexible plate material. The print
tory. Seamless pattern printing is the most surface of the design roll is preground,
obvious feature and is the main reason for before laser-engraving, producing a high
using laser-engraved design-roll cylinders level of concentricity. This concentricity,
(Figure 2@). Table 9 summarizes the condi- together with a sharp, clean laser-engraved
tions to consider for design roll use. relief, give design rolls a very long press life
In flexible packaging and some other flex- – several times that of most individually
ographic applications, it is not unusual for mounted printing plates.
the printer to use a laser-engraved design
roll, together with one or more conventional
plate-mounted rolls, when printing a multi- PREPARING THE ROLL
color design. Laser-engraved design rolls are Laser-engraved design rolls can be created
often used for multicolor images being on practically any print-cylinder base – inte-
mated to cutting dies or patterned emboss- gral-shaft cylinders, de-mountable metal
ing rolls, requiring a degree of registration cylinders or rigid metal sleeves – on which
accuracy difficult to achieve with conven-
tional plate-mounting techniques.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR
DESIGN ROLL USE
2@ ■ Seams between plate units would show
objectionable breaks in a continuous pattern
design
■ The nature of the design demands intricate
plate mounting with a large number of small
2@ For good decorative repeats
printing, the absence
of “plate breaks” is
■ Close register is required.
mandatory. Seamless ■ Plates will be used over a long period and be
pattern printing is the subject to numerous washups
most obvious feature
■ Repeat orders necessitate plates be on and
and is the principle
reason for using laser- off the press over a period of time
engraved design-roll
cylinders. Table 9
Vulcanized Rubber
Compound Selection are applied to prevent the compound from
For vulcanized laser-engraved design rolls, escaping during the vulcanizing process.
a range of natural rubber, synthetic rubber
and polymer compounds are available. Some Vulcanizing
of these, however, are not usable for the The wrapped roll is placed in an autoclave,
molded-plate applications. The printer may where, under elevated temperature and
specify a rubber compound for mounted- pressure, it is “cooked” until the compound
plate operations, or depend upon the exper- is vulcanized (fused) to form a solid sleeve
tise of the laser engraver to recommend the that is firmly bonded to the cylinder base.
best compound for the environment in which Vulcanizing time will vary relative to roll size
the roll will be used. Characteristics to con- and compound thickness.
sider when choosing the best rubber cover-
ing for the printing process include ink and Photopolymer Application
solvent exposure, press speed, ambient tem- Strippable sheet photopolymer may also
perature, substrate to be printed and run be used to coat the print cylinder to form a
lengths. print surface for a laser-engraved design roll.
Raw (uncured) sheet photopolymer is first
Compound Application stripped from the polyester backing material
Before the application of the compound, and applied to the surface of the print cylin-
the surface of the cylinder is coated with a der. When sufficient photopolymer has been
suitable adhesive to ensure bonding during applied to the surface of the cylinder, it is
vulcanization. Usually, thin, latex-like, sheets fully cured using high energy ultraviolet light
of the chosen compound are wrapped before grinding and polishing.
around the cylinder or sleeve under tension
and pressure to ensure that no air is trapped Grinding and Polishing
between the successive layers (Figure 2#). A vulcanized roll must be allowed to
Excess compound is applied to allow for “cook” for up to 24 hours to stabilize the
shrinkage during the subsequent vulcaniza- compound before it can be cooled and
tion process and to allow for grinding to size. rough-ground to remove excess rubber
The wrapped compound is then tightly (Figure 2$). Up to four more days must
wound with wet shrink tape, and end plates elapse before final grinding and polishing
PLATES 39
2$ Excess rubber from the art, or undistorted positive or negative films,
vulcanized roll is rough- 2$ may be used, but then need to be scanned
grounded to produce a
dimensionally stable,
and digitized before they can be utilized for
concentric and smooth laser engraving.
roll. Digital artwork can be modified, stepped-
and-repeated, or otherwise layed out to meet
the requirements of repeat length (cylinder
circumference) and print width for the par-
ticular job. Digital artwork can also offer
specified trap between colors, provide bleed
and precisely place registration marks, eye
spots or other devices as part of the design.
Digital-proof prints may be produced direct-
ly from the electronic file or color keys and
glossy proofs can be made from convention-
can take place. The objective is to produce a al image-set films for review and approval of
stress-free roll that is dimensionally stable, the design before actual engraving is under-
concentric and smooth within a dimensional taken. The final digital graphic files will then
tolerance of 0.001". be used to drive the laser output. Refer to
One advantage of using photopolymer is Table 9 for a summary on the use of design
that cured photopolymer is more dimension- rolls.
ally stable and may be ground to the final
diameter without the aging or seasoning Engraving the Cylinder
delay. This also applies to polyurethane cov- While there are at least two different laser-
erings. engraving technologies in use, each differing
in the way the laser beam is guided, both
Polyurethane Covering achieve the desired result by using the con-
In certain flexographic applications, par- centrated high energy of the laser to remove
ticularly those requiring a high order of the plate material from the nonprinting areas.
resistance to wear and damage, cylinders The plate material, whether rubber, poly-
are covered with cast polyurethane, selected urethane or cured photopolymer, is vaporized
for laser compatibility, ink transfer and by the laser, leaving a clearly defined image.
toughness. These cylinders are finished and Depending on the technology used and the
sized in the same way as rubber. requirements of the specific application,
engraving depth can be varied from cylinder
to cylinder and the image shoulder profile
PREPARING ARTWORK may be vertical, sloped or stepped.
FOR DESIGN ROLLS
The cylinder surface of a design roll is Proofing and Inspection
dimensionally stable and seamless; there- The laser-engraved design roll can be
fore, the stretching and shrinkage factors proofed on any one of several proofing
associated with conventionally produced machines to check print uniformity with
plates, need not be considered when provid- minimum pressure. Proofs can also be made
ing artwork for laser engraving. The ideal to assist in mounting plates on other rolls to
input for laser-engraved rolls is one-up, be used in conjunction with the laser-imaged
uncompensated digital graphics. Hard-copy design roll. The cylinder print surface and
PLATES 41
2% Cross-sections of a Conventional Imaging
conventional and direct- 2% Negative Emulsion
2&
imaged plate reveals the
Slip Film
steeper shoulders of the Image
digital process. Shoulder
2* The direct-to-plate
imager uses a laser 2^ 2*
beam to ablate or vapor-
ize masking material on
the photopolymer plate
that is mounted on the
drum.
required, as the image-carrying mask is digitally. While the digital difference is most
alrady in intimate contact with the polymer apparent in highlights, the full tonal range or
surface. There are, therefore, no materials to an image is affected.
interfere with the imaging light as it impacts The use of direct-to-plate imaging affects
the plate surface. More importantly, expo- more than just the platemaking step of the
sure and polymerization take place in the flexo process. No film negative is generated
presence of oxygen, which inhibits polymer- to make the plate, and consequently, no film
ization at the plate surface. As a result, the negative is available to make a proof. The
images that form in the plate are actually entire workflow right up to the press is now
smaller than the image that was written into digital. Color management and digital proof-
the integral mask; the shoulder is not as ing become essential elements of the
sharp when compared to a conventionally process. Some of these required technolo-
made plate imaged from the same electronic gies, in turn, will continue to improve, as
file. This is an important factor when printing more of the process becomes digital. Digital
highlight dots in halftone process screens proofing, for example, has been available for
and stochastic images. Figure 2^ and 2& some time, yet, there is still reluctance to
show the enlarged dot structure of the same accept these proofs as contract proofs.
highlight dot exposed conventionally and Doubtless, continued progress will be made
distortion compensation required. Also, the ■ Higher plate costs during initial
exposure system may impose on the drum adoption of this technology
in order to use all of the plate material. If ■ Learning curve of a new process
any images are rotated in order to fit effi- requires training on new equipment
ciently, compensation will need to be made and processes
on a per-image basis, not globally. If done ■ High costs of the imaging units
globally, the compensation on the rotated
images would be incorrect. The supplier of Table 10
the imaging equipment should be consulted
for proper handling of the issue.
cially advantageous in the corrugated post
Ink-jet Mask Technology print sector, where many small pieces of
The ultraviolet-blocking mask is generat- plate are generally mounted flat on a large
ed on the surface the photopolymer of the single carrier sheet. In this application, indi-
sheet photopolymer using ink-jet technolo- vidual pieces of sheet photopolymer are cut
gy (Figure 2(). This DTP system is espe- roughly to the size of the image elements in
PLATES 43
2( The ink-jet mask imager reducing plate material waste. The inherent
uses an ink-jet to create a 2( positional accuracy obtained when produc-
UV-blocking mask on the
surface of the photopoly-
ing multicolor images, without the time-con-
mer. suming mounting process, combined with
the material cost saving, more than offsets
the imaging cost.
The fully computerized system reduces
overall plate production and mounting times
by as much as 30%, while dramatically
reducing plate-material waste. The inherent
positional accuracy, obtained when produc-
ing multicolor images without the time con-
suming mounting process, together with the
material cost saving, more than offsets the
imaging cost.
the design. The pieces of plate are mount-
ed in position on the large carrier sheet that Exposure and Processing of
will be used on the press. The ultraviolet Direct-imaged Plates
blocking mask is then printed on the sur- In both direct-imaging processes (integral
face of the individual plate pieces. mask technology, ink-jet mask technology),
The fully computerized system reduces the plate is exposed on a standard platemak-
overall plate production and mounting times ing exposure unit, and processed in the nor-
by as much as 30%, while dramatically mal fashion.
P
before beginning any printing the section of the plate being measured. The
job. This section presents a micrometer must be mounted on a stable
review of tools and tests devel- base such as wood, stone or metal to pro-
oped to accurately determine vide strong support. The base should also be
whether or not a plate is press- large enough for the plate to lie completely
ready. Hardness must be determined. Ex- flat, allowing the foot of the micrometer to
cess material may need to be trimmed. be in full contact with the plate, thus ensur-
Mounting marks might have to be etched, ing more readings.
adhesives may require preparation and ink Since the introduction of large photopoly-
formulations may need to be analyzed for mer plates – sizes from 30" x 80" to 52" x 110"
compatiblility. Here is an outline of what – bench micrometers are being designed
must transpire. with bases as large as 54" x 90". It takes prac-
tice to develop proficiency, especially when
using analog micrometers. Only light finger
MEASURING PLATE THICKNESS pressure should be used once the foot is in
Plate thickness, or caliper, accuracy is the contact with the plate.
most important factor when controlling the Analog Indicators. Analog gauges are recog-
print impression on press. Any low caliper nized by the familiar dial indicator face
spots in the plate will either not print or will (Figure 3)). A revolving pointer rotates
cause over-impression of the remainder of inside a circular scale that represents the
the printing plate. The more accurate the least significant value, for example 0.001".
plate caliper, the longer the plate will last on Each rotation of the pointer represents an
press. Plate thickness tolerances of 0.0005" anvil movement of 0.1". A smaller-scaled
(12 microns) or better should be expected
on high quality plates.
Plate thickness is measured using special-
ly designed thickness micrometers with 3)
either digital or analog readouts. Standard
thickness micrometers, like those used in 0
10 90
textile and metal fabrication industries, are
unsuitable for measuring flexographic print- 20 80
ing plates due to the excessive foot pressure
employed. Flexo plate thickness microme- .9 .0 .1
30 .8 .2 70
.7 .3
ters employ large diameter anvils with very .6.5 .4
PLATES 45
3! Parallax error occurs
when the dial is not 3! 3#
viewed straight on, thus
giving a false reading.
40 50
30 60
PLATES 47
3% Precurving plates tape should be chosen based on its tack and
relaxes the plate and 3% cushion properties for the job being printed.
increases conformity to
the curvature of the
Edge Sealing. Plate-edge sealant will prevent
plate cylinder, thereby ink and solvents from attacking the adhesive
preventing plate lift tape during printing and plate washup. After
during the pressrun.
the plates have been set onto the adhesive
tape, the edge seal should be applied in a
fine bead around the plate border. The
sealant must be allowed to dry thoroughly
before wrapping cylinders to continue set-
ting of plates onto the adhesive.
Demounting Plates. If plates are to be stored
and reused, care should be taken when
demounting from the double-sided mount-
ing tape. Rubber plates can be stretched or
run using any sharp cutting instrument. Care torn, and photopolymer plates may be sus-
should be taken to avoid damaging any ceptible to delamination from their poly-
image area during this process. ester backing or kinking of the polyester
Precurving Plates. When plates are to be backing. Special medium-tack double-sided
mounted on small diameter cylinders, it is mounting tape is available for de-mountable
recommended that the plate be precurved. applications.
This is done to prevent lifting during the
pressrun. The precurving procedure relaxes
the plate and increases conformity to the PLATE WASHUP
curvature of the plate cylinder. Plates are Proper plate washup on press can length-
precurved by heating the plate in a tempera- en plate life. Plates should be washed imme-
ture-controlled oven (plate dryer) to 140° F diately after printing with the correct plate-
(60° C) for 10 to 15 minutes. The warm plate wash solution before the ink has time to set.
is then covered with a piece of polyester slip Plate manufacturers’ suggestions should be
sheet and rolled in the print direction with followed when determining which plate
the print face outward to approximately the wash to use. Plates should never be
print cylinder size (Figure 3%). The rolled scrubbed using a wire- or stiff-bristled brush.
plate is then allowed to cool to room tem- Ample quantities of the correct solvent, or
perature for at least four hours. prepared plate wash, should be used in con-
Mounting Tapes (Stickyback). Plates may be junction with a lint-free cloth that will cut
mounted with any commercially available the ink without hurting the plate material.
double-sided tape called stickyback. High- The plate should be swabbed gently until the
tack tapes are recommended for mounting ink loosens and can be sponged off with a
photopolymer plates, especially on small second cloth. Final drying may be achieved
diameter cylinders. Tapes should be of uni- using a soft, absorbent paper. Forced air
form thickness to get the most out of gauge- may also be used to blow away the residual
controlled platemaking. Often, “highs and solvent and lint.
lows” in printing are mistakenly blamed on Note: When cleaning plates on the cylin-
the plate, when they are really caused by ders, care should be taken not to let the sol-
uneven mounting tape or air entrapment. vent or cleaning agent get under the sticky-
There are many types of tapes available and back. That can cause the plate to lift from
S Satisfactory
F Fair
NR Not Recommended
Note: Guidelines only; to ensure compatibilty, contact supplier or conduct swell test.
PLATES 49
PHOTOPOLYMER PLATE AND SOLVENT COMPATIBILITY
MAXIMUM % IN
NORMAL PROPYL MAXIMUM % IN
PURE SOLVENT ALCOHOL COSOLVENT WATER COSOLVENT
KETONES1
Acetone N 5 5
Methyl Ethyl Ketone N 5 5
Methyl Isobutyl Ketone N 5 5
ALIPHATIC/AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS1,2
Heptane N 5 n/a
Hexane N 5 n/a
Cyclohexane N — n/a
VM&P Naptha (3% aromatic) N 5 n/a
Lactol Spirits 9300 (9% aromatic) N 5 n/a
Lactol Spirits 9500 (14% aromatic) N 3 n/a
Lactol Spirits 45 (19% aromatic) N 3 n/a
Lactol Spirits 50 (32% aromatic) N 3 n/a
Benzene N 1 n/a
Toluene N 1 n/a
Xylene N 1 n/a
Ethyl Benzene N 1 n/a
GLYCOL ETHERS
Butyl Cellosolve N 3 3
Ethyl Cellosolve N 30 30
Proposal P N 30 30
Carbitol N 30 30
Table 12. Reprinted with permission from E .I. duPont de Nemours and Company.
INK AND SOLVENT COMPATIBILITY value of 2 to 3 mils and for a thick plate
A simple test for swelling can be used to (0.25") a value of 10 to 12 mils.
determine the relative compatibility be- A more complete test is to leave the sam-
tween the plate material and printing solu- ple out of the solvent for 24 hours and then
tion. Take a small section of a fully cured re-immerse it for an additional 24 hours. In
plate material, measure the thickness, and most cases, the abbreviated single 24-hour
immerse it for 24 hours in the solution to be test will indicate if the plate and solvent are
tested. Remove the sample from the solution compatible. A longer test may be warranted
and, after blotting the sample dry, again mea- on a plate which will be used for a long run
sure the thickness. If the material has gained or for repeated runs.
more than 5% in gauge, then the two materi- Table 11 lists the solvent compatibility for
als may be considered incompatible. For rubber plates. Table 12 lists the compatibili-
thinner plates (0.045" or 0.067"), this means a ty for photopolymer plates.
MAXIMUM % IN
NORMAL PROPYL MAXIMUM % IN
PURE SOLVENT ALCOHOL COSOLVENT WATER COSOLVENT
Water Y 100 —
AMINES (PH ADJUST)
28% Ammonium Hydroxide Y n/a —
2-Amino-2-Methyl-1-Propanol Y n/a —
Morpholine N n/a —
Monoethanol Amine Y n/a —
Triethanol Amine Y n/a —
ALCOHOL/GLYCOLS
Methyl Alcohol N 50 50
Ethyl Alcohol Y 100 —
Isopropyl Alcohol Y 100 100
Normal Propyl Alcohol Y — 100
Normal Butyl Alcohol Y 100 100
Octyl Alcohol N 5 5
Benzyl Alcohol N 5 5
Ethylene Glycol Y 100 100
Propylene Glycol Y 100 100
Diethylene Glycol Y 100 100
Dipropylene Glycol Y 100 100
Triethylene Glycol Y 100 100
Glycerine Y 100 100
ESTERS1
Ethyl Acetate N 20 n/a
Isopropyl Acetate N 20 n/a
Normal Propyl Acetate N 20 n/a
Table 12. Reprinted with permission from E .I. duPont de Nemours and Company.
PLATES 51
3^ The graph at right plots
the alculated distortion- 3^
correction factors for 1.00
polyester-backed pho-
topolymer plates up to
0.25" thock and repeat .030
lengths up to 60". .045
0.95 .067
.100
.125
.155
.187
.250 Plate Thickness
Distortion Correction Factor (DCF) %
0.90
0.85
0.80
0.75
0.70
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
Cylinder Size = Repeat Length
The calculations are based on the formula determine the percent a film negative must
for distortion: be reduced in order to compensate for image
distortion is:
DCF 1 2(Tp Tb)
R % reduction K 100
R
Where: Where:
DCF = Distortion correction factor K = a constant supplied by the plate
R = Printing circumference material manufacturer
(repeat length) of cylinder R = Printing circumference (repeat
Tp = Plate thickness (inches) length) of cylinder (inches)
Tb = Thickness of the polyester
Notice that K is equal to 2 (TpTb) in the
backing sheet
DCF calculation. Table 13 lists calculated K
Note: Figure 3^ is calculated with a Tb factors for common plate thicknesses with
value of 0.007". On the scale of the figure, 0.004" and 0.007" backing. The K factor
using a different Tb value, such as 0.004", depends on the measurement system used.
would show no significant difference. The table lists the value for repeat lengths in
inches and centimeters.
A second formula commonly used to Example: What is the distortion needed in
INCHES CENTIMETERS
Table 13
film negatives for a 0.067" plate with a erally used to measure surface tension. One
0.004" backing sheet and a repeat length of dyne is the force one milligram exerts under
8"? the influence of gravity. Printing plates, sub-
From Figure 3^, the distortion factor is strates, and inks have a dyne value. A practi-
about 0.95. Using the K-value calculation, cal example of what dyne and surface ten-
the percent reduction is 0.396 (from Table sion is all about can be seen in the reaction
13) divided by 8, times 100. This gives a of water on a waxed surface. Plain water will
value of 4.95%. The distortion factor would bead up on a waxed surface because the sur-
be 95.05%. This is the same as the 0.95 (95%) face tension of the water is greater than that
from Figure 3^. Clearly, Figure 3^ only in- of the wax. If a surfactant, such as detergent
dicates a rough value for the distortion fac- or alcohol, is added to the water to lower the
tor. For precise values, the percent reduc- surface tension, it will spread and wet the
tion or DCF formula should be used. wax surface. This is known as wetting out.
Surface energy and its relation to ink
In principle, distortion factors could be transfer and printability is not understood
calculated for rubber plates also. Since rub- well enough to allow exact use of surface-
ber plates have the shrink as well as wrap energy specifications for plates, inks, trans-
distortion and are unbacked, the distortion fer rollers or anilox rollers.
is usually determined empirically. The surface energy values for water-based
inks are between 34 to 38 dynes/cm, while
Surface Tension the values of resins used in solvent-based
Surface tension is a condition existing at inks are 28 to 32 dynes/ cm.
the free surface of a liquid, resembling the Most photopolymer plate materials have
properties of an elastic skin under tension. lower, but more consistent, surface energy
Dynes per centimeter is the unit that is gen- than natural rubber. Materials with higher
PLATES 53
surface energy have a greater affinity for flu- critical surface tension of the plate exceeds
ids with lower surface energy. Consequently, that of the ink. Surface energy of ink, rollers
natural rubber plates, with higher surface and substrates can sometimes be altered
energy, accept ink more readily from the within narrow limits to affect the amount of
anilox roll than photopolymer plates. ink film transferred by the printing plates.
Photopolymers exhibit high critical sur- All these factors have a direct bearing on the
face tension values. Ink wetting and transfer final ink transfer. See also the section per-
properties increase as plate wettability taining to the dyne level of substrates in the
increases. Plate wettability increases as the ink volume.
BLISTERING
1. Excessive moisture in matrix material 1. Store raw stock properly; keep it away from mois-
ture exposure and high humidity. Precondition
(dry out) matrix board before using
2. Too high press temperature 2. Check molding press temperature
COATING OF MATRIX MATERIAL PULLS OFF AND STICKS TO MASTERS OR TYPE FORMS
1. Insufficient cure 1. Cure matrix at prescribed time (at least 10 minutes)
2. Press temperature too low 2. Check molding press temperature.
3. Undercut originals 3. Check shoulders of master; reject very badly under-
cut originals, otherwise use graphite on master and
matrix board to make a release liner
PLATES 55
Appendix B
TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE FOR RUBBER PLATES
UNEVEN PLATES
1. High centers, too much rubber 1. Reduce rubber charge on mold, especially in middle
2. Insufficient pressure 2. Increase molding pressure. Select free-flowing gum
for large molds
3. Excessive heat 3. Reduce preheat cycle, especially for old stock
4. Press platens not parallel 4. Have platens readjusted
PLATES 57
Appendix C
C: TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE FOR PHOTOPOLYMER PLATES
REVERSES FILL IN
1. Too much face exposure (especially with metal- 1. Reduce amount of time for face exposure or mask
backed plates) this area and make the plate again
LINES WAVY
1. Not enough face exposure 1. Increase face exposure
2. Not enough back exposure 2. Increase back exposure
3. Not enough drying 3. Increase drying time –but not temperature or leave
for 5 hours at room temperature
4. Saturated solvent 4. Refill reservoir with clean solvent
5. Artwork exceeds material capabilities 5. Redo artwork or compensate with more face
exposure
PLATES 59
CHAPTER 2
I
ing, “aniline” presses were usually one- wider multicolor presses, the nature of print-
color, homemade, “tail-end” printers ing with rubber plates took a giant step for-
positioned on the end of bag-making ward and flexographic printing technology
machines. The hand-engraved rubber became more specialized. The hard, nonab-
plates, which often had caliper vari- sorbent surface of cellophane was almost
ances of 0.063" to 0.0312", were either nailed impossible to print by conventional letter-
to a wooden cylinder or, at best, glued to a press or gravure processes, so the lowly rub-
steel cylinder of dubious concentricity. The ber plate, which indeed could do the job,
accumulated variations in rippled plates and came into its own.
irregular cylinders were compensated for by Clear cellophane required white to be
forcing the plate cylinder and impression printed as a base or a back-up color on
cylinder more tightly together, adding more almost every job. This requirement resulted
impression to the plates. in a demand for presses capable of printing
Most print jobs of the day were single-color three and four colors and wide enough to run
and were run with just one plate mounted on several design repeats across the web simul-
the cylinder. The major requirement was to taneously. Multiple images could then be slit
print a reasonably aligned reproduction of into separate rolls, and wound for placing on
the plate image somewhere on the face of the wrapping or bag-making machines.
bag. When the job called for two colors, the Demand for more sophisticated printing
press operator lined up the horizontal and caused presses to become more expensive.
vertical center-scribe lines on the face of the Lost press time became correspondingly a
rubber plate with the horizontal and vertical more critical concern, creating a need to
grid lines engraved in the surface of the plate reduce press downtime. A method or
cylinder. Alignment was assisted by “sight- machine capable of accurate mounting and
holes” punched through the rubber plate cen- proofing of rubber plates off-press devel-
ter scribe lines. oped. It became an essential component of
If each plate was mounted straight and was the prepress functions.
fairly well centered on the plate cylinder, the
press operator could bring the two colors
into register by moving the two cylinders cir- DEVELOPMENT OF MOUNTING
cumferentially and sideways in the press in a AND PROOFING EQUIPMENT
sort of trial-and-error fitting exercise. This The first commercial “machine” for accu-
simple, on-press plate-mounting procedure rately mounting and proofing rubber printing
sufficed, as long as jobs were run “one-up” plates was developed by Franklin Moss,
(only one design repeat per plate cylinder), founder of the Mosstype Corporation in, what
and print quality and press downtime was of most people believe to have been, the early
no great concern or importance. 1940s. The well-known letterpress “line-up
In the early 1940s, with the advent of cel- table” was adapted for rotary use by mount-
Table 14
T
the minimum mechanical re- are raised or lowered as necessary. On older
quirements needed to achieve models, it is important to specifically check
satisfactory results from mount- the level of the plate cylinder compared to
ing and proofing equipment. the impression cylinder.
Machinery used for mounting
and proofing halftone process color work Impression Cylinder Concentricity
requires the smallest mechanical tolerances The impression cylinder usually cannot be
achievable. adjusted within the end-support frames
which hold it, and becomes the object
against which all other parts must be judged.
EQUIPMENT CALIBRATION The impression cylinder must be as nearly
The following inspection checks and cor- perfect in concentricity and surface condi-
rective adjustments should be carried out in tion as possible with zero taper.
the order listed to ensure proper mechanical Once the impression cylinder is absolutely
function. level, it should be checked using a dial indi-
cator. A dial indicator, capable of showing
Leveling the Machine deviations of 0.0001", mounted on a magnet-
Accurate leveling avoids proofing prob- ic base, should be used to take concentricity
lems. The machine must be level along the readings in the middle and about 5" from
plate cylinder pedestal-support beam and each end of the cylinder.
transversely across the side frames. An out- Total concentricity run-out should not
of-level machine will have a twist, causing the exceed 0.0005". If the excess run-out is con-
plate cylinder to be out of parallel with the stant, it may be possible to rotate or change
impression cylinder. As a result, the optical impression-cylinder bearings to improve the
mirrors will show error from left to right and condition.
the reference straightedge will not be true. Using an outside diameter micrometer, the
To level the equipment correctly, all for- cylinder is measured for taper, with readings
eign matter, dust and dirt must be cleaned taken every few inches along the cylinder
from the machine. For side-to-side leveling, length. Deviations should not exceed
a properly calibrated and adjusted machin- 0.0005".
ist’s level should be placed on the top of the
impression cylinder and square with the Condition of Plate Cylinders
scribe line. For front-to-back leveling, the Plate-cylinder walls must be clean and free
level should be placed on each of the end of foreign matter, including ink and grease.
support frame (in many models, the level is They should also be free of cuts, nicks, dents
W
plate-cylinder walls on each end. The
ically true mounting and entire assembly must allow the plate-
proofing equipment that cylinder gear and impression-cylinder
is in good repair, the gears to align. Lock the supports firmly
specific mounting in- into position. Avoid too much forward
structions of the job pressure as this will reduce the advan-
understood and the necessary tools on hand, tage of the anti-backlash gears of the
the operator should be ready to begin plate mounting equipment.
mounting. 4. When the final position of the plate
Mounting and proofing a critical process cylinder is set, lock it in position allow-
job is very similar to a critical line job. ing no free movement – either side-to-
Helpful hints for accomplishing the process side or up-and-down. The plate-cylinder
job will be found in appropriate steps gear should now be engaged with the
throughout this dissertation on line work. impression-cylinder gear; check that
the plate-cylinder gear is also locked in
place.
PLATE-MOUNTING PROCEDURES 5. Clean the surface of the plate cylinder
1. Assemble all plate cylinders, gears and again to make sure it is free of oil, ink,
bearings necessary for the job and grease and foreign matter.
check each for correct size, mechanical 6. Position the dividing head on the plate-
fit and cleanliness. cylinder journal opposite the gear end
2. Position the plate cylinder by measur- for jobs requiring multiple repeats
ing the distance between the two plate- around the cylinder
cylinder journal bearings – center to 7. Apply proofing paper with the proper
center. Position the plate-cylinder sup- thickness to bring the impression cylin-
port pedestals equidistant from the der on gear pitch. Most manufacturers
plate-cylinder bearings and far enough undercut 0.003" for proofing paper.
to the left to permit the plate-cylinder (Consult the manufacturer for the cor-
gear to align with the gear on the rect thickness.) The paper should be
impression cylinder. white with a machine glaze (MG) or
3. Place the plate cylinder on the cylinder machine finish (MF) as minimum
supports. When possible, mount the job smoothness. The surface of bleached
using the same plate-cylinder bearings kraft is generally too rough and irregu-
to be used in the press. Move the cylin- lar in caliper to disclose plate variation
der supports inward to allow the small for high quality plate makeready. An
cylinder-support bearings to touch the extremely clean and unmarred surface
Plate 1
Plate Scribe Line Start of Repeat Right Side
Eye Spot
Position Plate 2
Cut Off First Imprint-Left Side Plate Scribe Line
Eye Spot
Plate 3 Position
Plate Scribe Line Cut Off First Imprint-Right Side
Eye Spot
Position Plate 4
Cut Off Second Imprint-End of Repeat Plate Scribe Line
Eye Spot
Position
Cut Off Second Imprint-End of Repeat
4)
Machine
Center Line
Lead Edge of Plate Mount
Bottom
Glue Flap
Front Panel Back Panel
Top
Panel
Center Lines
M
mounting process rapidly.
and developed for the The following is an abbreviated series of
flexographic printing in- procedural steps for operating the system:
dustry, have enhanced 1. Select the proofing paper or other
the accuracy of prepress proofing material and place it on the
plate positioning in regis- impression cylinder. This may be done
tration. Press time has been diminished as a manually or automatically.
result. This section discusses the compo- 2. Bring the printing cylinder into position
nents of the different mounting systems on and lock in place. Apply stickyback to
the market today, as well as the advantages the plate cylinder, either automatically
of the process and the preparation practices or manually.
necessary to the success of these latest 3. Lower the plate hold-down table ito a
technololgies. predetermined position relative to the
plate cylinder.
COMPUTERIZED MOUNTING 4. Place the plate on the hold-down table,
AND PROOFING SYSTEM allowing a portion of the plate to hang
Computerized mounting systems were over the front edge of the table. Turn
introduced to the flexo industry for both the vacuum on to hold the plate in posi-
wide-web substrates and corrugated pre- tion to the table.
print liner in recent years. These mounting 5. Move the microvideo camera over a
systems are available in a range of sizes for defined register mark on the plate and
plate cylinders, from 60" to 120" with asso- enter the position into the computer.
ciated cylinder-repeat sizes (Figure 4)). Locate a second register point on the
The systems do not use conventional pins or plate and enter this into the computer.
punching of plates and negatives. They use 6. The computer determines the position
conventional stickyback for holding plates of the plate on the hold-down table and
to sleeves or integral printing cylinders. moves the table to bring the plate square
Accurate registration is aided by micro- with the cylinder face. Position the plate
video cameras and monitors that magnify relative to the centerline or any desig-
register marks 30x to 40x actual size for visu- nated point on the plate cylinder.
al alignment, making it possible to position 7. Two pressure rollers contact the over-
plates across and around a given cylinder to hanging portion of the printing plate,
within a tolerance of 0.002". All preliminary attaching it to the stickyback and holding
functions are programmed into the machine, it in place while the vacuum is shut off.
allowing the operator to complete the plate- 8. As the computer rotates the plate cylin-
der, the pressure rollers gradually apply for many years in letterpress and offset print-
the plate to the stickyback and the plate ing. Adaptation of these methods to flexogra-
is mounted. phy has not been easy in the past because of
9. The plate is inked and proofed. The dimensionally unstable rubber plates and the
proofing cylinder moves down and large cylinder inventories used for variable
away, allowing the plate cylinder to be repeat lengths in packaging markets.
removed and the next cylinder brought Availability of dimensionally stable photo-
into position. polymer plates allowed pin registration to
become a reality in flexographic printing.
These steps are repeated with each plate
to be mounted, substantially cutting mount- Operating Principles
ing time, especially in three- or four-color The pin-registration system, used in other
process work. printing technologies, consists of producing
accurately sized and positioned holes for reg-
istration pins. In practice, this usually
PIN-REGISTER involves punching holes in the films, plates
MOUNTING SYSTEM I and press cylinders, and positioning these
Pin-registration systems have been used materials on register pins during all steps of
5@
SLEEVE-MOUNTING SYSTEMS
Fast… Effective… Economical – these
copy’s web direction (Figure 6)). When the characteristics are causing sleeve mounting
job is in register, the dots will overprint each systems to be widely embraced by the flexo-
other and appear to be an almost perfect dot. graphic printing industry. Sleeves, (Figure
Figure 6) shows an enlargement of four 6!) carrying prepositioned printing plates,
micro dots of the process colors. Perfect can be quickly and easily mounted to, or
alignment would be a single black dot with removed from, a press cylinder. These
no other colors showing. Using micro dots, devices prived considerable advantages to
plate-to-plate registration to within 0.001" the printer, all of which contribute to
can be achieved. reduced costs and increased efficiency. For
The procedure for mounting using micro example:
dots is as follows: 1. With the addition of only one more plate
1. Position the camera of the mounting cylinder, a multicolored job can be pre-
system directly above the cylinder. mounted while another job is running.
2. Apply stickyback to the first print cylin- This is especially useful when only a limit-
der ed number of plate cylinders are available
3. Remove the protective cover sheet for a particular print repeat size.
from the stickyback. 2.Repeat jobs can be stored on sleeves,
4. Cut two strips of cover sheet and place which saves mounting time and plate and
it back on the stickyback in such a way stickyback costs. The next time the job is
as to leave a strip of exposed sticky- run, it is simple to remount the sleeves
back under the cameras. and rerun the job. The plates are not dam-
5. Align the micro dot on one side of the aged because they are not manhandled in
copy with the camera. any way since they were last in the press.
6. Move the camera on the other side 3. Jobs stored on sleeves can be easily
along the cylinder direction and move remounted and will print in register. This
the plate to align the micro dot. can save time on difficult-to-register jobs.
7. Lock down the camera and “tack” the 4. Press downtime is reduced.
plate to the exposed strip of stickyback. 5. Continuous design printing plates may be
8. Remove the rest of the cover sheet and formed on sleeves by coating them with
smooth the plate onto the rest of the either unexposed photopolymer or vulcan-
cylinder. ized rubber, which can be subsequently
A
work can be valuable before
going into the production run.
It helps evaluate flexo plates, MOUNTING THE PROOF
inks and substrates, and can The proofing press system works as fol-
be produced on a proofing lows:
press with a power-driven impression cylin- 1. Mount the plates to be proofed. Cut the
der that is suitable for all flexo web-printing substrate to the circumference of the
capabilities. The proofing press uses the impression cylinder. Insert both ends of
basic flexo doctor-blade configuration, and the material into the gripper-tension
the impression cylinder can handle any sub- bars and draw the substrate tightly
strate. Plates made for the production run around the cylinder.
are mounted on an all-purpose-sized plate 2. Place the gear-driven plate cylinder,
cylinder and are inked by a doctor-blade- having a grid of plate-positioning sur-
wiped anilox roll. Each color is proofed face scores, in the press on its bearing
individually and additional color plates are supports.
registered to the first-down plate by the use 3. Apply stickyback to the plate cylinder
of two mounted microscopes. in the conventional way, ensuring the
Flexo ink formulas, colors, lacquers and horizontal center of the stickyback is
viscosities designated for the production over one of the grid lines.
run can be used to produce the composite 4. Remove the 0.75"-wide horizontal strip
proof. The result is a near replication of of backing across the stickyback
what can be expected from the press. The (Figure 6@).
system produces several exact duplicate 5. Lightly draw a horizontal line on the
composite proofs for as many colors as exposed stickyback, using a straight-
needed and is eminently suited to process edge aligned with a cylinder score.
color reproduction. (Figure 6*).
The proofing system will not produce a 6. To mount the first plate, align the hori-
proof identical to that achievable on produc- zontal plate-register marks with the
tion equipment because two production drawn line.
presses will seldom produce identical 7. Press the plate to the exposed sticky-
results. Where hand-brayered ink of approxi- back.
mate colors without over-lacquer, or a single 8. Peel off the bottom half of the sticky-
proof will not satisfy the demand, the result back backing, ease the plate down and
from this machine will produce multiple pro- smooth into position. The top half of the
duction-like proofs without consuming time plate is done similarily (Figure 6$).
6#
A
many shops it may be neces- shear, or a commercial plate trimmer
sary to mount plates without a designed for this purpose.
mounting device. This can be 3. Clean the back of the plate thoroughly:
done on a rack beside the rubber plates, clean with alcohol; pho-
press or directly in the press, topolymer plates with clean water. Dry
because of the nature of printing equipment plates thoroughly.
and other circumstances (pin register tech- 4. Holding the plate with both hands, align
niques excluded). As an aid to accurate the horizontal scribe line on the plate
mounting, it is recommended that the sur- with the projected lateral scribe line
face of the print cylinders be engraved with made on the stickyback (Figure 6&).
a grid of longitudinal and circumferential The vertical scribe lines on the plate
lines. Premounting cushioned stickyback must also line up with those projected
directly to the plate and then mounting the from the circumference of the cylinder
stickyback and plate to the print cylinder, as onto the stickyback.
a unit, is not recommended, except for 5. Carefully position the center of the
plates which are less than one quarter of the plate on the stickyback, without
cylinder circumference. For larger plates, stretching, and gradually smooth the
there is a possibility of the cushioned sticky-
back bunching, causing high spots under the
plate.
6&
Stickyback is applied to the print cylinder
in the conventional manner. The steps to
mount the plates are as follows:
1. Project scribe lines from the cylinder
6& For shops that do not
onto the stickyback (Figure 6&). This have a plate-mounting
may be done with a straight edge and a device, the surface of
the print cylinder should
sharp pencil or other instrument that
be engraved with a grid
will make a clean fine line on the sur- of longitudinal and
face of the adhesive. circumferential lines to
aid in the premounting
2. Bevel the edges of the plate. This can be
of the cushioned sticky-
done by hand with either scissors or a back directly to the plate
knife by cutting on an angle, with a cylinder.
D
cern of every flexographic plate to delaminate. Some studies have sug-
printer. It’s always in the press gested that, for some operations, saving a
operator’s best interest to avoid plate for reuse is not financially worthwhile.
any type of delay, particularly
one that might be caused by Using Release Agents
mishandling of the printing plates. This sec- Adhesive systems used in the manufactur-
tion describes some difficulties that could be ing of flexo cushion tapes have to meet strin-
encountered and the steps that should be gent and conflicting requirements: They can-
taken to minimize their impact. Use of not allow the plate to lift or shift during pro-
release agents, hold-down bands and duction, but they must release from the plate
bounce-avoidance procedures are covered. and cylinder at the end of the run. Various
solutions and sprays are applied to plate
cylinders and the back of photopolymer
plates to increase or reduce the level of
REMOVING PLATES adhesion. Exercise caution in their use.
FROM THE CYLINDER Using a release agent, such as shellac, on
If the plate molded rubber plate is so firm- the back of rubber plates to facilitate their
ly bonded that peeling it off will damage the removal from the stickyback after the run
plate or the stickyback, the following is sug- requires great care and should be attempted
gested. Release one corner of the plate from only by very experienced personnel. To print
the stickyback, then with a small artist’s properly, a rubber plate must be in absolute-
brush, apply naphtha or toluene to the ly tight contact with the cylinder. Improper
pealed area in small dabs between the plate application of release agents can impair this
and the adhesive. The plate may then be bond. If a release agent, or cushion adhesive,
gradually pulled away as the solvent softens allows a plate to be removed too easily, it is
and releases the adhesive. Allow the solvent a certain sign that the plate was not held
to evaporate completely before remounting tightly enough for proper printing. Problems
or storing the plate. that often result are misregistration or plate
Polyester-backed photopolymer plates lift on press.
should release from the stickyback with
minimal effort. Remove the photopolymer
plate by loosening the leading edge all along MOUNTING
the full width and pull it “squarely” from the METAL-BACKED PLATES
cylinder. Pulling from a corner will most cer- With plain, metal-backed plates, align the
tainly buckle the polyester backing and pos- notches along the sides of the metal with the
sibly ruin the plate. Do not use solvents of scribe lines on the cylinder. In the case of
any kind to help release the plate. The sol- pin-registered metal backs (plates having
vent may get between the photopolymer and holes to locate them in register on the cylin-
2
1 3 6
5
4
7
8
12
9 11
10
15
13 14 16 17
18 19 20 21
22
Adhesive Cement [7]: Various types of adhesives ing of areas to be trimmed. A fine point will give
are available depending on the application – greater accuracy. Darker ink is more easily seen
bonding plates to stickyback, bonding stickyback on all but black plates, where white or yellow ink
to the plate cylinder, sealing the edges of the is better.
plates to the stickyback or building up low areas Bulb Syringe [9]:This is a common rubber ear
in makeready. syringe (or plastic squeeze-bottle) with a very
Allen Wrenches [14]: A full set is required to adjust small opening. Filled with solvent, it is a handy
any of the Allen screws on the cylinder gears or tool to apply small amounts of solvent between
any working parts of the mounting and proofing plate and stickyback to make plate separation
machine. easier.
Ball-point Pen [4]: For highlighting scribe lines in
the nonimage area of the plates and for the mark- Cont’d on following page
Cleaning Cloths [5]: For washing plate cylinders, plate cylinder. Discarded dental tools are excel-
gears or the mounting and proofing machine, a lent for this purpose.
regular industrial rag is adequate. For cleaning Scissors [3]: Used for general trimming and cutting
plates, a lint-free cloth is necessary. Discarded of stickyback, plates and makeready tapes. They
nylon stockings are also ideal for washing plates. should be 5" or more in length and have sharp
Diameter or PI () Tape [10]: A flexible, steel rule cutting blades.
with very precise markings for finding the diame- Solvents [11]: Bensol, toluol, naphtha, alcohol, etc.,
ter and circumference of a cylinder. are used in the mounting and proofing area and
Emery Cloth [12]: Very fine grade is used for spot should be housed in prescribed safety contain-
makeready, only on the back of a plate and over ers. The same holds for the waste rags which
a very small area. Coarse grade is for roughing are used with these solvents.
up the underside of the plate’s leading and trail- Steel Square [15]: For cutting stickyback to exact
ing edges (nonprinting areas of plates) to sizes.
improve bonding with the stickyback and prevent Stickyback Smoother [16]: A piece of flexible
plate lifting. spring steel about 0.025" thick and 2.5" x 3.5" in
Feeler Gauges [8]: A solid bar of soft metal roughly size. After piercing air traps in the stickyback,
1" wide and 6" to 8" long, whose thickness must this tool smooths out the wrinkles. Use of this
be made equal to that of the combined printing tool instead of your hand can make the sticky-
plate and stickyback. For 0.125" plates, 0.125" back lie more evenly without effecting its tacki-
brass or aluminum stock is readily available. It is ness.
used at the mounter-proofer to establish a pre- Tape [19]: Adhesive tape, cello, polyester, polyvinyl
cise parallel of the plate cylinder to the impres- chloride, etc., available in various thicknesses
sion cylinder. It is also used at the press to paral- from 0.0009" to 0.005", used to raise low-copy
lel the plate cylinder to the impression cylinder areas, such as an entire copy block or a big solid
and the anilox roll to the plate cylinder. – by applying it to either the back of the plate,
Hook-nose Pliers [17]: For stripping out unwanted the back of the stickyback or directly to the bare
areas of rubber after cutting. They are especially cylinder. It offers the advantage of knowing just
useful when working with two-ply rubber solids. how much buildup is being applied with no wait-
Knives [1]: Different types and sizes are designed ing time for drying, as with brushed-on make-
for cutting stickyback, trimming plates and mak- ready materials.
ing precise butting joints. Preferably, knives with Trammels and Dividers [13]: Used in checking pre-
replaceable or refreshable blades ensure sharp cise plate spacing across the cylinder, such as
cutting at all times. from scribe line to scribe line, center to center, or
Magnifier or Loupe [20]: 20x or higher, used to point to point of copy.
inspect fine detail and dot work. Tweezers [2]: For holding small areas of plates that
Needle Syringe [21]: Of the extraction type, it is are being trimmed away, such as net-weight
2 cc or 4 cc in size. Provides an excellent means slugs or code numbers. Tweezers enable the
of releasing air that may be trapped under a plate operator to lift the unwanted area and guard
or stickyback. against penetration of the stickyback.
Pica Ruler [22]: Used to check type size and lead- Wrapping Film [18]: A low density polyethylene
ing. film (about 2.5" wide) for wrapping the plate
Picks [6]: Steel picks, scribers or sharply-pointed cylinders after the plates have been mounted and
instruments are helpful for various operations, proofed, it is useful in eliminating captive air
such as piercing the nonimage area of rubber pockets and giving the plates a uniform distribu-
plates to release air trapped between the sticky- tion of impression, ensuring good contact to the
back and the plate or the stickyback and the stickyback.
dtp, see direct-to-plate plate cylinders, 20, 25, 41, 63, 64, 66-67, 68,
73, 96, 102
durometer, 24-25, 32, 46 cleaning, 73
dual, 25, 37 mounting, 48, 66, 68, 70-74, 91-92, 94-95,
measuring, 46-47 97, 98, 100
wrapping, 82
F
film drill, 86 plate distortion calculation, 52
film negative, 5, 24, 27, 34, 42, 52 plate distortion factor; see K factor
exposure, 30, 32
requirements, 7-8, 9, 27 plate drill, 86, 93
I plates
impression cylinder, 62, 64, 66-67, 70-71, 75, bevelling, 4, 47, 74
76, 78, 79, 80, 98, 99, 104 capped, 25, 32, 37
cleaning, 48, 73
ink, 22, 23, 24, 39, 45, 48, 53, 54 direct-imaged, 8
formulation, 3, 45 distortion, 3, 6, 18, 51
transfer, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 24, 26, 40, 53, 54 dividing head, 70,73
water-based, 29, 53 durometer, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, 24, 25, 30,
37, 46, 146-147
K framing, 75
K-factor, 51-52 laser-engraved, 8
L liquid photopolymer, 6, 7, 25, 86
laser ablation, 37-38, 43 capping, 32
casting, 30
VOLUME
5
Flexography: Principles And Practices
Fifth Edition
Notice of Liability:
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other-
wise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Notice of Liability:
The information in this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, neither the authors
nor the publisher shall have any liability to any person or entity with respects to any loss,
liability or damage caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the informa-
tion presented in this book.
Published by the
Foundation of Flexographic Technical Association, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
END-USE REQUIREMENTS 5
Applications ..............................................................................6
End-use Questions to Ask.......................................................6
Range of Important Ink Properties........................................8
Market Segments......................................................................8
Corrugated Materials ........................................................8
Flexible Packaging ............................................................9
Folding Cartons ...............................................................10
Food Containers ..............................................................10
Multiwall/Paper/Plastic Bags .........................................11
Tags and Labels................................................................12
Household and Office Paper Products .........................12
Publication /Commerical Printing.................................12
Testing End-use Properties...................................................13
INK FORMULATION 21
The Basics of Ink Technology ..............................................21
Color..................................................................................21
Colorants ..........................................................................22
Dyes...................................................................................23
Pigments ...........................................................................23
Inorganic Pigments..........................................................23
Organic Pigments ............................................................24
Extenders .........................................................................25
Miscellaneous Pigments .................................................27
Ink Vehicle ..............................................................................29
Resins ................................................................................29
Solvents.............................................................................29
Additives ...........................................................................33
Ink Characteristics.................................................................34
Ink Formulation and Selection ............................................37
Water-based Inks..............................................................37
Using Water-based Inks ..................................................40
UV & Electron-Beam Cured Inks ..................................41
Flexographic Ink Manufacturing Process ..........................42
Mixing ...............................................................................43
Dispersion.........................................................................43
Filtration ...........................................................................45
VOLUME 5
INK PREPRESS 47
Prepress Process....................................................................48
Ink-Room Design....................................................................48
Ink-Room Systems .................................................................49
Safety.................................................................................49
Color Standard.................................................................47
Proofing System...............................................................49
Inventory Control ............................................................49
Usage Records .................................................................50
Information Systems .......................................................50
Color Management.................................................................50
Color Theory...........................................................................51
Light Source and Color...................................................51
Metamerism......................................................................52
Color Measurement ...............................................................52
Perceptual-based Color Space
CIE—L*C*h° or L*a*b*...................................................53
Instruments.............................................................................55
Densitometer....................................................................55
Colorimeters.....................................................................56
Spectrophotometers........................................................56
Color-matching Theory..........................................................56
Color-matching Procedure....................................................57
Proofing Methods...................................................................59
Flexo Hand Proofer.........................................................59
Bar Proofer.......................................................................60
Laboratory Flexo Proofing Machine.............................60
Authenticating the Proofing System .............................61
Ink-assembly Options ............................................................61
Pigmented Bases and Blend Varnishes.........................61
Single Pigment Finished Inks ........................................61
Matched Finished Inks....................................................62
Ink Blending............................................................................63
Software Capability.........................................................63
Gravimetric vs. Volumetric.............................................63
How to Adjust Tolerances.....................................................64
INK ON PRESS 67
Press Configurations .............................................................67
Ink-metering Systems ............................................................68
Fountain-roll Doctoring .................................................68
Reverse-angle Doctor Blade...........................................71
Chambered Doctor Blade...............................................72
The Anilox Roll ......................................................................73
Anilox Nomenclature ......................................................73
Mechanical Engraving.....................................................73
Ceramic-coated Anilox Roll ...........................................74
Laser Engraving ...............................................................74
Volumetric Carrying Capacity........................................75
Anilox Selection...............................................................77
Anilox Maintenance ........................................................79
VOLUME 5
Historical Data ...............................................................112
Material Blance ..............................................................113
Application Variables...........................................................113
Value Enhancement.......................................................113
APPENDIX 115
A: Anilox Cell Volumes........................................................115
B: Press Log Book................................................................116
C: Press Ink Record .............................................................117
D: pH/Viscosity Record .......................................................118
E: Mixed Ink and Batch Assignment Log..........................119
F: Viscosity Conversion Guide ...........................................120
SUBSTRATES
INTRODUCTION 119
LAMINATES 145
Pressure-sensitive Coated Films........................................143
Facestocks ............................................................................143
Polyvinyl Chloride (Vinyl) ............................................143
Polyester .........................................................................144
Polystyrene.....................................................................144
Polyethylene...................................................................144
Polypropylene ................................................................144
Pressure-sensitive Adhesive Systems................................145
Choosing a Release Liner .............................................145
Pressure-sensitive Paper .....................................................146
Physical Properties........................................................146
Printing and Converting Characteristics ....................146
FOILS 145
Metallized Film .....................................................................149
Physical Properties........................................................149
Printing and Handling Characteristics........................149
Metallized Paper...................................................................149
Physical Properties........................................................149
Printing Characteristics...............................................150
Clear Metal............................................................................150
FILMS 151
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)....................................................151
Physical Properties........................................................151
Printing and Handling Characteristics........................151
Polyester................................................................................151
Physical Properties........................................................152
Printing Characteristics ................................................152
Polypropylene ......................................................................154
Physical Properties........................................................154
Printing Characteristics ................................................156
Polyethylene .........................................................................158
Physical Properties........................................................159
Printing and Handling Characteristics........................161
Cellophane ............................................................................162
Physical Properties........................................................162
Printing Characteristics ................................................163
APPENDIX
A: Tappi Test Methods – Paper...........................................165
– Paperboard ................................166
– Corrugated .................................167
VOLUME 5
CHAPTER 1
Ink
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authors/Editors: David Argent, Progressive Ink
Stanley Field and Dr. Chris Patterson, Flint Ink Corp.
Sam Gilbert, Sun Chemical Corp.
George Sickinger, Borden Chemical, Inc.
I
ing process. It is the media that trans- other hand, are responsible for a host of fac-
fers an image from plate to substrate. tors, including ink’s printability, rheaology/
Ink is used to convey a message and viscosity (flow), adhesion and stability.
provide a package with decorative Solvents are the carrier agents that transport
effects. It can be formulated to meet a ink from the fountain to drum to substrate.
specific need dictated by either press config- Additives mate the ink with the printing sur-
uration or printing surface. face. They can enhance gloss level and,
This chapter, the first in this two-part vol- increase opacity. At the same time, additives
ume joining flexographic inks with sub- can improve heat-, moisture-, fade- and rub-
strates—two products that no printer can do resistance. Directions for performing press-
without—is devoted to ink, as well as its side tests to measure each of these qualities
properties and applications. It discusses the of ink are offered in the respective section.
composition of the vast array of printing No discussion of printing inks could be
inks, as well as the classification of their complete without marrying the different
components and the physical characteristics classifications of the media to the substrate
that each brings to the printing process. most applicable for its use. Chapter Two of
Information is presented in four distinct sec- this volume is dedicated to that cause. It sup-
tions: end-use requirements, formulation, plements information presented in Chapter
prepress practices and on-press procedures. One, which offers the basic, most-necessary
Mixing, blending, dispensing and filtering details on both compatibility and conflict.
are all covered in this primer on effective ink Substrates, as you may know, and will see,
management. Strength, sharpness, lay and are grouped into five categories: paper and
color are reviewed. Press configurations and paperboard, corrugated board, laminates,
the influence that they have on ink require- foils and films. In this instructional volume,
ments are explained. Anilox roll selection the properties of each are presented side-by-
and maintenance guidelines are also offered. side with a detailed discussion of the appli-
You will learn that colorants, whether pig- cations that each is best suited forÑright
ments or dyes, are the vehicles that give an down to the ink.
ink its color. They can be conventional or
INK 3
End-Use Requirements
ince its beginnings in the 1920s
S
and 1930s, the growth and b Plate
Cylinder
acceptance of the flexographic
process have been closely tied Impression
to advances in flexographic
Ink Cylinder
printing ink. At that time, the Metering
process was called aniline printing because Roll
INK 5
e A sampling of items radiation-cured flexo inks, which first
printed on various e appeared in the 1970s. Ultraviolet (UV) light
substrates, including
polyethylene and
and electronic beam (EB) systems using such
polyester films, foil, inks, which are stable and compatible with
metallized films, the environment, are employed to speed
oriented and coextruded
polypropylenes and operations and reduce solvent emissions.
coated films.
APPLICATIONS
Today, flexo inks still find their greatest use,
in packaging applications (Figure f). These
applications range from their initial use for
printing flexible packaging to corrugated
materials, folding cartons, milk and other liq-
uid cartons, food and rigid plastic containers,
expensive gravure cylinders (Figure d). multiwall and paper bags, tags and labels, and
Solvent-based ink formulations containing gift wraps. The largest single use today is the
nitrocellulose (and later polyamide resins) printing of corrugated materials. Why?
were developed that were good for printing on Quality graphics have become increasingly
the polyethylene films introduced in the important for packaging and point-of-pur-
1950s, as well as for the many modern-day chase display products. Flexible packaging is
materials and constructions that followed. not far behind and continues to grow steadily
Among these substrates were polyethylene as the industry moves from paper to plastic
and polyester films, foil, metallized films, ori- materials.
ented and coextruded polypropylenes, coated Other applications include household
films and many different kinds of laminates. paper products such as towels, tissues and
They required inks that could grip their less- napkins as well as wall coverings. Flexo inks
porous surfaces and hold up under what were are also replacing letterpress and offset types
then unheard of application conditions in some newspaper operations and are also
(Figure e). used in commercial publication and book
Water-based flexo inks were first tested in printing. The total value of the flexo market,
the 1930s for paper and paperboard, but did as reported by the Printing Industries of
not realize significant commercial use until America, exceeds $54 billion. A breakdown
the 1950s. Demand for water-based inks grew of the business segments is shown in Table 1.
in the 1960s as acrylic polymer technology
developed, enabling a higher gloss and giving
the inks better water and rub resistance. END-USE QUESTIONS TO ASK
Since then, water-borne systems have be- Packaging applications, in particular, have
come faster drying and have moved into created new demands for the properties and
high-speed printing, process printing, newer performance of flexo inks as new materials,
substrates and lamination applications. Their printing technology, storage and shipping
workplace-safe and environmentally friendly requirements, nontraditional uses and gov-
features have become especially attractive as ernment regulations have reached the mar-
regulatory actions have increased. ketplace.
The regulatory climate has also been one of It has become critical for the printed pack-
the important inducements for the use of age to print well under different conditions,
INK 7
through the customer’s packaging and resistance, odor control, and the ability to
shipping processes. satisfy Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• What kind of conveyor system will regulations for direct food contact and spe-
process the package and what type of cific food additive uses.
stacking pattern will be used? The
answers will determine the coefficient
of friction (COF) or slide angle needed MARKET SEGMENTS
for the bag or box. The relative significance of the important
• What kind of exposure to the cus- ink properties varies depending on the par-
tomer’s materials will the print undergo, ticular application. The applications can be
either through migration or during fill- grouped by market segments which call for
ing of the product? The ink or varnish specific end-use requirements.
will need to resist any product contact
that results. Corrugated Materials
• Will there be any moisture or possible An ink-selection checklist for printing on
condensation to the package? If so, the corrugated should cover such considerations
ink or coating must possess the neces- as stock, trap, anilox specification, press
sary water or humidity resistance. design, image design, layout, and special
• At what temperature will the customer’s property requirements such as grease and
material be packed? gloss skid resistance. These considerations
• How long will the package remain at will apply for the most part in all the market
this temperature? The temperature con- segments.
ditions will dictate the necessary heat- Corrugated printing generally falls into
or freeze-resistance required. one of three categories: brown box, mottled
• What will be the shipping conditions white and bleached kraft, and high quality
that the package must undergo? display (Figure g).
• How will the printed material be Brown Box. End-use requirements are usually
shipped and/or stored? These will deter- not critical in printing the traditional corru-
mine the level of necessary rub- and gated natural kraft box. Historically, ink
abrasion-resistance. selection is driven more by price than by
performance. Color exactness and strength
RANGE OF IMPORTANT
INK PROPERTIES g
Durability and resistance requirements
and the increasing demand for products of
enhanced quality, have placed increasing
importance on the range of properties that
flexographic inks must offer. Among the
most significant ones are adhesion, color
strength, gloss, opacity, rub-resistance,
dimensional stability, mottle-free lay and
g Corrugated printing block resistance.
is either brown box,
Other important properties are surface
mottled white (bleached
kraft) or high quality tension, coefficient of friction, heat resis-
display. tance, sealability, solvent resistance, fade
INK 9
h Folding carton has water, for example, obviously need to be
become a growing h water and moisture resistant. They must
segment in flexography,
and must meet
also withstand the chemical properties of
resistance to chemicals, the cleaning product which can be more
grease, detergents, deleterious to the printed film than mild
alkali, alcohol, heat and
water. The addition of caustic soda.
overprint protective Inks for food-packaging films must not
coatings provide only satisfy FDA requirements, but also pos-
greater rub- and scuff-
resistance. sess differing combinations of other proper-
ties depending upon the product and end
use. Among the properties needed are low-
odor levels, freeze-thaw stability, ice-water
crinkle resistance, grease resistance, scratch
resistance, different coefficient of friction
levels and block resistance.
and in some applications withstand boiling
water. Excellent wet-out to films provides Folding Cartons
good ink-lay, smoothness, trapping and print Inks for printing folding cartons, which is
quality. a growing segment for flexography at the
For surface printing, the inks should exhib- expense of sheetfed offset and gravure, gen-
it good scuff resistance, typically 1,000 erally require high color intensity, fast-drying
Sutherland Rubs with a four-pound weight, properties, good gloss, plasticity and good
and high gloss. Gloss is especially important adhesion. They must print on clay-coated
in surface-printed packaging film and is cus- paperboard, polyethylene and foil. Many of
tomarily accomplished by covering the ink their uses require resistance to chemicals,
with a clear overprint. A typical good gloss is grease, detergents, alkali, alcohol, heat and
60 to 70 at 600° F. Excellent gloss falls in the water. Overprint protective coatings are uti-
70 and up range. For high-gloss, high-impact lized to reinforce barrier properties at the
product lines, inks are being overprinted with most vulnerable carton areas and provide
UV and cationic lacquers to achieve superior greater rub and scuff resistance.
results. Overprints are used to add gloss to For fine-line printing, flexo process inks
the printed flexible package, protect the ink are formulated to give high density and good
from outside conditions, control the coeffi- dot structure. They should also exhibit the
cient of friction so the package moves easily excellent color fidelity and color strength
though the production machinery, and build suited to a wide spectrum of process color
barrier protection for the package contents. jobs. They must also meet requirements for
The particular combination of properties color trapping (superimposition of color),
will depend upon the specific application. color sequence and ink viscosity (Figure h).
Lightfastness is required to resist both fluo- Metallic inks are available to provide bril-
rescent store lighting and outside exposure liance, high gloss and clean prints.
to sunlight. Pigment choice is critical in
avoiding degradation from UV wavelengths. Food Containers
Personal care product film packaging has Freedom from residual odor is critical for
its own set of requirements. Printed sham- flexo inks in terms of their ability to with-
poo pouches that are stored in showers and stand product contact, satisfy FDA regula-
exposed to indirect and direct contact with tions, and meet the many handling and stor-
INK 11
j The tag and label used here because there are many more dif-
market is a growing j ferent substrates and conditions experi-
segment in flexography.
Like plastic packaging, enced by labels than there are to packaging
these products are products. This diversity often makes water
being used increasingly resistance more important because of the
as a marketing tool.
They lend themselves use of labels in a wider range of applications
to diversity and including shampoo, pharmaceutical and
segmentation.
soap pouches.
Chemical resistance is often necessary.
1) Flexography has also Pharmaceutical packaging, for example,
found a niche in house-
hold and office paper often must withstand isopropyl alcohol that
products, such as comes from exposure to a sterile environ-
printing envelopes
and letterhead. ment (Figure j).
High gloss is another common require-
1) ment of printed label products, since they
usually involve surface rather than reverse
printing. This is usually accomplished with
UV coatings. Lightfast requirements are sim-
ilar to those of wide-web applications.
Household and
Office Paper Products
Household paper products, towels, tis-
sues, napkins and the like are almost exclu-
sively printed with aqueous flexo inks. They
are formulated for a wide range of absorbent
stocks. These inks must not bleed or rub off
in the presence of greasy foods and common
Transparent inks are often used for alu- household cleansers. Tack, not normally
minum foil printing to enhance the brilliance measured as a flexo ink property, must
of the foil and produce an eye-appealing remain low throughout the printing process
effect. to prevent paper fiber and ink from plugging
the printing plate.
Tags and Labels Other uses include decorative gift wraps,
Water-borne and UV flexo inks became ream wraps for copier paper, low-cost forms,
established in the tag and label market seg- letterheads and envelopes. Many of these
ment earlier than in the wide-web segment. applications do not require lightfastness. The
Initial testing was comparatively easy to decorative papers use inks that offer bright
accomplish on narrow-web equipment and colors and special effects such as metallic or
the printing surface predominantly used was fluorescent prints (Figure 1)).
friendlier to these inks. The tag and label
market continues to grow because, like plas- Publication/Commercial Printing
tic packaging, these products are being used Water-based flexographic inks have
increasingly as a marketing tool and lend become a viable alternative in the newspa-
themselves to diversity and segmentation. per market. The process has been identified
Rub resistance is more critical for the inks as an alternative to letterpress and offset
TESTING END-USE
INK PROPERTIES
A number of tests have been established 1! Substrate adhesion
over the years to evaluate the properties of is most commonly
inks required for an increasingly broad spec- measured using the
pressure-sensitive
trum of uses. They are described in detail in tape adhesion test.
reference material from the National Asso- It compares the ink-to-
substrate bond to the
ciation of Printing Ink Manufacturers
bond of the adhesive
(NAPIM), ANSI Standard Test Methods between tape and ink
(ASTM), the Flexographic Technical Asso- surface.
INK 13
1@ Crinkle adhesion
determines the 1@ 1#
flexibility and bonding
characteristics of the
ink when a flexible
substrate is crinkled.
1# Scratch resistance is
determined by placing
a sheet of the printed
substrate on a smooth,
resilient surface, a paper
pad for example, and
scratching with the
back of the index
fingernail.
INK 15
1^ The ice-water crinkle
test checks the flexibility 1^ 1&
and integral strength of
a print subjected to ice,
refrigerator or freezer
conditions.
the time required for moisture to pass Similar practical tests have been devised to
1( To determine a sub-
strate’s oil resistance,
through the test sample. Results are reported determine the resistance of ink formulations the product oil and the
print sample is put into
in grams per 100 square inches per 24 hours. to smudging with soap or detergent pastes
a wide-mouth mason
Acid and alkali resistance is required of print- and to soaps in bar or cake form. jar. The sample is
ed ink films that come in contact with dairy Oil resistance is necessary for inks that come inverted on a glass tray
and placed in an oven at
products, juices, and other products that in contact either directly or indirectly with
controlled temperature
contain acids. To test, a drop or two of the packaged foods containing oil naturally or as and humidity for the
appropriate reagent is applied to the sample a process additive. To determine resistance specified time.
print (Figure 1&). After a few moments, it is to oils that may penetrate the substrate,
allowed to run off the printed area onto the about 1" of the product oil is put into a wide
unprinted section where any dissolved color mouth fruit jar. The printed sample is placed
can be seen. The print area is gently on top of the jar with the printed surface up
scratched to observe if the ink vehicle has (or down with impervious films) and the jar
been affected. is sealed with an open-top ring jar closure.
Soap and detergent resistance is essential for The sample is inverted on a glass tray and
the many flexo-printed materials used to placed in an oven for 48 hours at 1,200° F
package and label soaps, detergents, flakes, (490° C) and 90% humidity (Figure 1(). At
and granules. One method of testing is to the end of the cycle, the printed surface is
pour 10 cc of a concentrated solution of checked for adhesion by both the pressure-
soap or detergent in water on a 4" by 4" fold- sensitive tape and crinkle tests.
ed, unbleached and unsized muslin pad Boiling water resistance is needed for printed
(Figure 1*). A test print of 3" by 3" or larger convenience food packages in which food is
size is placed face up on a smooth glass plate, heated before serving. For a typical boiling
and the muslin pad is placed on the print. water test, the printed sample is cut into
Over the pad is placed a flat 12-ounce strips and placed in 200 ml. of boiling water
machined plate, which is left for a period of for 5 minutes. The printed strips and water
time determined by the product and stock are examined for evidence of bleed or dis-
specifications. The sample is then examined coloration which connotes ink failure. For
and graded according to the amount of dis- steam resistance needed in sterilization and
coloration on the surface of the muslin and food processing applications, tests are run in
the change in appearance of the test print. equipment ranging from household pressure
INK 17
2) Plasticizer bleed-resis- tribute to an ink film’s durability. They
tance test procedure 2) include aspects of color (hue match, intensi-
requires saturating a
piece of white-blotter
ty and value) density, tone quality, image
stock with plasticizer detail, opacity, fade resistance and gloss.
and placing it on the Color measurements are still commonly per-
test print . A light
weight is put on the formed with the naked eye, which remains
sandwich, which is then one of the most sensitive judges of color and
placed in an oven at its variations. Visual color judgments should
controlled temperature
and humidity for the be made under standard viewing conditions
specified time. The such as the American National Standards
blotter is examined for Institute PH2-30-1989 viewing standard.
plasticizer stain.
Production prints should be compared to the
color standard on the substrate on which the
2! Color measurements
can be taken by ink will be printed. Comparisons of wet inks
comparing wet inks 2! can be made by draw-downs (Figure 2!) in
done with draw-downs,
where an ink drop is which an ink drop is spread over a substrate
spread over a substrate with a rigid blade or block of steel or by
with a rigid blade, block anilox proof in which the rollout is made
of steel or by anilox
proof and the rollout is with an anilox hand proofer.
made with an anilox Color measurements can also be taken
hand proofer.
using colorimeters and spectrophotometers
(Figure 2@) which offer consistent and mea-
surable results. These instruments allow
operators to monitor production control,
color difference calculations, color specifi-
cation and tolerance tasks. Measurements
should be performed at the instrument’s
largest viewport area possible. Two samples
cookers to autoclaves at temperatures from each from the front, middle and end of the
2,150° to 4,000° F (1,020° to 2,040° C). Prints pressrun, on both sides of the sheet, and for
are then inspected for bleed, discoloration each color, should be measured. Readings of
and ink breakdown. solid-ink densities at several areas of speci-
Plasticizer bleed resistance test becomes men surface should be taken to obtain an
important for printing films such as vinyl indication of uniformity and an average ink-
that contain plasticizers. Plasticizers can density value.
cause inks to bleed into the film or onto Print density can be measured with a reflec-
another material in contact with the ink. A tion densitometer. The instrument must be
commonly used test procedure is to saturate calibrated before testing. The LO (white stan-
a piece of white-blotter stock with plasticiz- dard) and HI (black standard) values for
er and place it on the test print (Figure 2)). each color are set and then individual color
A light weight is put on the sandwich, which patches are read as determined by the instru-
is then placed in an oven at controlled tem- ment. Calibration values are verified for each
perature and humidity for the specified time. standard patch and adjustments made as
The blotter is examined for plasticizer stain. necessary. Two substrate samples each from
Properties that ensure good ink appearance the front, middle, and end of the press run
are equally important as those that con- are taken. Readings at 10 locations on each
INK 19
2$ A friction coefficient resistance to sliding of a printed sample, a
tester takes measure- strip of plain or printed substrate is attached, 2$
ments of both static and
kinetic COF. At the same
face up, to the end of the inclinable arm of the
time, it also calculates plane. A second piece is attached to the stan-
the slip resistance. dard weight which is positioned at the right
end of the arm. The arm is inclined slowly and
steadily. At the point where the weight block
begins to move down the incline, the angle is
read on the protractor scale (Figure 2#). A
more accurate measurement of coefficient of
friction uses an IBM friction coefficient tester
to provide numerical values for both static
and kinetic COF. The instrument applies force
to test strips (one clamped to the unit, one
free to move) and calculates slip characteris-
tics (Figure 2$). then placed in an oven at 1,000° F (380° C)
Odor, or absence thereof, is particularly for 2 hours. The steps are repeated for
important in food and personal product pack- unprinted control substrate. The jar is opened
aging applications. To test, the printed speci- and a qualitative assessment of the odor is
men is placed in a jar, sealed with a cap and recorded.
H
the end-use requirements for characteristics that set them apart from inks
the printed package and used in most other printing processes: they
understood the converting are fluid and quick drying.
conditions, the ink supplier is
in a position to formulate an
ink system to meet the needs of the job. THE BASICS OF INK TECHNOLOGY
These end-use requirements, as discussed in This section will explore these aforemen-
the first chapter, can impose limits on the tioned requirements and the impact that the
materials available for use by the ink formu- individual components and other con-
lator. Therefore, it is necessary for the for- stituents have on flexographic ink manufac-
mulator to have a comprehensive under- turing, print properties, performance, and
standing of the physical properties of the the environment.
raw materials used to produce inks, their
interactions and their limitations in produc- Color
ing a usable ink. The converter and end-user Sir Isaac Newton, using a glass prism,
must possess similar knowledge. demonstrated that white light could be split
Printing inks are colored media designed up into a “rainbow” of hues: red, orange, yel-
to reproduce an image on a printing surface. low, green, blue and violet, which he called
They are primarily used to convey a mes- the visible spectrum. Newton also observed
sage, provide protection, or give a decora- that the rays themselves are not colored, but,
tive effect to the material on which they are when they interact with an object, that the
applied. Inks are extremely versatile and sensation we refer to as color is perceived.
have been used on a wide variety of papers, With very few exceptions, objects do not
plastics, metals, glass and textile surfaces. emit colored light, but only look colored
The majority of printing inks consist of a col- when under illumination. An object that
orant, either an insoluble solid or dye, sus- appears black under standard illumination
pended or dissolved in a liquid vehicle. The does so because it absorbs all the light
resulting combination forms a colored fluid falling onto it. Conversely, an object which
capable of distribution and transfer on a appears white under the same lighting con-
printing press. ditions looks as it does because it reflects all
In addition to providing the desired visual the light incident upon it. If the object
characteristics, inks are formulated to meet absorbs some portions of this “standard”
the specific needs of the printing process: spectrum more than others, it will appear
they must dry under specified conditions; colored. For example, an object that absorbs
adhere to a given material; and have specific only red light will appear cyan.
resistance properties, dictated by the inter- It is important to note that the colors per-
mediate processing and the final end-use of ceived depend on the illuminating source.
the finished product. Different sources of light, e.g., incandescent,
INK 21
2% Hues can be arranged in describes the color, for example, yellow, red,
a “color circle”. This 2% L=100 or green. These “hues” can be arranged in a
“map” or color space White
provides the ability to
“color circle” (Figure 2%). Saturation or
specify colors in chroma (C) refers to the intensity and
+b
numerical terms (L,C,h), Yellow strength of the color, with the strongest,
which can be accurately -a
measured using a most saturated colors being on the periphery
Green
spectrophotometer. +a
of the circle.
Red Lightness (L) represents purity, or how
2^ A graph can be plotted -b
Hue
light/dark the color is, and is indicated on
of wavelength vs. per- Blue
cent reflectance to give
the z axis. This “map” or color space pro-
a spectral or color curve vides the ability to specify colors in numeri-
that represents the color cal terms (L,C,H) which can be accurately
of the object. This curve L=0
Black measured using a spectrophotometer. This
can then be used as a
standard when trying to device is much more sensitive than the
match that color. 2^ human eye and can be used to measure the
Reflectance(%)
100 absorption spectrum of an object by illumi-
90 nating it with a standard light source of
80 known intensity and measuring the intensi-
70
ties of the various wavelengths reflected.
60
The equipment can then plot a graph of
50
40 wavelength vs. percent reflectance to give a
30 spectral or color curve (Figure 2^) that rep-
20 resents the color of the object. This curve
10
can then be used as a standard when trying
400 500 600 700 to match the color.
Wavelength (nm)
Colorants
Pigments together with dyestuffs, provide
sodium, fluorescent, halogen and mercury the color or visual identity of an ink and rep-
vapor, emit visible light with different wave- resent the largest share of the total cost. They
length compositions. The lack of certain are present to provide both decorative and
wavelengths or parts of the spectrum means functional properties: for example, lightfast-
that these light sources can display color. ness, opacity/transparency and product resis-
Consider a sodium lamp: light from this tance. Both types of colorants are chemical
lamp is pure yellow and contains no blue compounds that alter appearance by the
component. Therefore articles which appear selective absorption and/or reflection of light
blue (absorbing red and green wavelengths) energy. For organic pigments and dyes, this is
in normal daylight appear almost black determined by specific groups of atoms,
under a sodium lamp. Although this is an called chromophores (C=C, C=O, C=N,
extreme example, it illustrates the need to N=N), present within the molecules which
view all colors under identical, specified absorb light energy. Different combinations
light sources for color matching purposes. of chromophores absorb different levels of
The visual characteristics of an ink are energy, thereby producing different observed
recognized in terms of its color and can be colors. Other chemical groups, known as aux-
defined by three independent variables: hue, ochromes (OH, Cl, Br, NH2 , CH3), while not
saturation, and lightness. Hue (H) actually responsible for selective absorption, help
Table 2
INK 23
leum feedstocks. A simple, though imperfect, nium, aluminum, zinc, or organic chemicals
way to classify them is as organic and inor- to aid dispersion, maximize opacity or gloss
ganic pigments. and improve durability. There are two major
Organic pigments are those derived from crystal forms: anatase and rutile. The rutile
carbon-based materials, while inorganic pig- grade is more opaque, but slightly more abra-
ments are compounds of various metals sive and yellow than the anatase grades.
which contain no carbon atoms with the Most grades are produced using the chlo-
exception of carbon black. Although there ride process, rather than the environmental-
are numerous types of pigments, few find ly unfriendly sulfate process. The chloride
their way into ink formulas. Many are uneco- process generates a harder crystal structure
nomical, do not provide the necessary resis- with higher dry brightness. The anatase
tance or performance properties, or have grade is preferred in situations where doctor
associated environmental or toxicity hazards blade, cylinder or die blade wear is a prob-
which preclude their use in flexographic inks. lem. A dispersed particle size of approxi-
The following section is a detailed descrip- mately 0.2 microns is necessary to achieve
tion of the most commonly used pigments optimal light scattering.
within the industry. Each pigment can be Carbon Blacks. These pigments have an
identified by names in common use, togeth- extremely fine particle size with a high sur-
er with the appropriate color index number. face area, which can cause body and flow
(The Color Index is a method devised by the problems. Like titanium dioxide, they show
Society of Dyeists and Colorists for classify- outstanding chemical inertness, being
ing pigments based on their chemical type extremely resistant to acids, alkalis, light,
and structure). Miscellaneous materials in- heat and solvents. Almost all grades of carbon
cluding metallic powders, pearlescents, fluo- black (PBk. 7) available are produced by the
rescents and specialty pigments are covered furnace process. Such furnace grades often
separately. undergo further chemical processing with
oxygen and surfactants to mimic the superior
Inorganic Pigments wetting and flow of the now virtually defunct
With a few minor exceptions, inorganic channel blacks.
pigments have certain notable features. Iron Blues. Also known as Milori, Bronze,
These include: high lightfastness, economy, Chinese, or Prussian Blue (PB 27), iron blues
high opacity, weak tinctorial strength, high range in shade from a dirty reddish tone to a
specific gravity and a lack of cleanliness of cleaner green shade and can show consider-
hue. Toxicity is also a common feature asso- able bronzing. These pigments show excel-
ciated with inorganic pigments that contain lent resistance to solvents, fats and light
harmful metals such as cadmium, lead, (except tints with titanium dioxide), but are
chrome and molybdenum. Inorganic pig- difficult to grind. They have poor alkali resis-
ments commonly used in flexographic inks tance and are unsuitable for use in water-
include: titanium dioxide, carbon blacks, based systems or for use on soap wrappers.
iron blues, iron oxides and extenders such as These pigments should not be used in oxida-
calcium carbonate, silica, lithopone and clay. tively sensitive ink formulas.
Titanium Dioxide. This is the most important Iron Oxides. Typically opaque and tinctorially
white pigment (PW 6) in use today due to its weak, iron oxides vary in shade from dirty
chemical inertness. A variety of grades are yellow (PY 42), through dull red brown (PR
available. The different grades are surface 101, PR 102, PBr. 6, PBr. 7), to black (PBk. 7).
treated with coatings of silicon oxides, zirco- They exhibit exceptional chemical and
INK 25
ized Phthalo blue is the metal-free variety its lightfastness and is used in applications
(PB 16) used in situations where copper can- requiring outdoor exposure. All these pig-
not be tolerated even if it is “locked up” in ments are prone to “hydration,” in that when
the pigment. There are two Phthalo greens exposed to water for prolonged periods,
available: PG 7 and PG 36. They are consid- they tend to change shade, becoming more
erably more expensive than the phthalo yellow.
blues and only used where mixtures of • Lithol Reds. Like the 2B reds, the hues of
phthalo blue and yellow are inadequate. The these pigments vary with the salt. Eco-
two grades vary in shade with PG 36 being nomical pigments, like the calcium lithol
yellower and weaker than the PG 7. (PR 49:2) can be used successfully in both
High Performance Pigments. There are a great water-based and solvent-based inks.
number of specialty high performance pig- • Lake Red C. This low cost pigment (PR 53:1)
ments available including: isoindolines, has good working characteristics: it is a
perylenes, diketopolypyrolidones and indan- clean, bright yellow-red that has good fat or
thrones. When cost allows, indanthrones are oil resistance. Drawbacks include poor resis-
being used to a greater extent in flexograph- tance properties to light, even at full strength,
ic inks. Two, special and costly, red and vio- and reactivity with acids and alkalis. Use has
let pigments are used when extreme resis- been diminishing because of barium content.
tance properties are required. These two are • Clarion Red or Ethyl Lake Red C. Similar
Quinacridone Red (PR 122), which is similar chemically to Lake Red C (PR 53:1) in that it
in color to Rhodamine Red, and Carbazole or is a barium salt that can limit its utility,
Dioxazine Violet (PV 23). Their properties Clarion Red (PO 46) is a highly transparent
are similar to those of the Phthalocyanines orange-red shade with good gloss.
pigment, but unfortunately, the same cannot • Lithol Rubine. Commercially available as
be said of their costs. the calcium salt, (PR 57:1), lithol rubine is
Metal-salt Pigments are water-soluble “dyes” often referred to as a 4B pigment. Although
that have been converted into water-insolu- many grades are available, it typically has
ble salts. Most notable in this area are a spe- good transparency, prints well, and is com-
cific group of red pigments and the Fanals, monly used because of its shade, trans-
e.g., methyl violet (Fanal is an early trade parency and cleanliness as a process magen-
name given to triarylmethane class of pig- ta. Red 2G (PR 52:1) offers a similar if slight-
ments). Metal-salt pigments show excellent ly bluer shade, but has a slight advantage
resistance to fats, oils and waxes. Except for with gloss and flow.
the fanals, they remain relatively unaffected Triphenylmethane Salts. This group includes
in the presence of solvents; however, all are the pigments more commonly known as
extremely sensitive to aqueous reagents Methyl Violet (PV 3, PV 27), Rhodamine Red
(acids, alkalis, soaps). (PR 81, PR 169), Alkali Blue (PB 56), and
• 2B Reds. Calcium 2B Red (PR 48:2) is a ver- Brilliant Green (PG 1). They are expensive
satile blue-red shade with good working due to the high cost of raw materials, howev-
properties and reasonable lightfastness. The er, their brightness and cleanliness of shade
Barium 2B Red (PR 48:1) is yellower than cannot be achieved in any other way at a
the calcium salt and preferred for its opacity competitive cost. Resistance properties on
and better flow, though environmental con- the whole are poor. They all bleed into vari-
cerns sometimes preclude its use. The ous organic solvents, soaps, fats, oils and
Manganese 2B Red (PR 48:4), which is a plasticizers. Extreme care has to be taken
clean medium-scarlet shade, is notable for when formulating with inks based on these
INK 27
PIGMENT PROPERTIES
LIGHTFASTNESS/
CHEMICAL RESISTANCE
FAT OL
LI
H
S
COLOR
AP
KA
LL
CO
S
T
TIN
FU
SO
AL
AL
PIGMENT INDEX SHADE FLOW OPACITY COMMENTS
Alkali Blue PB 56 Strong R/S blue P Semi 2 1 2 4 5 3 Very alkali sensitive
Alumina Hydrate PW 24 Extender M Trans N/A N/A 2 5 5 5 Poor ucid resistance
Barium 2B Red PR 48.1 Bright Y/S red G Semi 4 2 2 5 4 2 Contains barium
Barium Lithol PR 49.1 Bright B/S red M Semi 2 2 2 4 3 2 Contains barium
Calcium 2B Red PR 48.2 Very blue shade M Semi 6 4 2 5 5 1
Calcium Carbonate PW 18 Extender G Trans N/A N/A 5 5 5 5 Poor acid resistance
Calcium Lithol PR 49.2 Strong B/S red M Semi 2 2 3 4 3 3
Carbazole Violet PV 23 Dull R/S purple M Semi 7 6 5 5 5 5 Expensive
Carbon Black PB 7 Black M Opaq 8 8 5 5 5 5
China Clay PW 19 Extender M Semi N/A N/A 5 5 5 5 Low-cost extender
Clarion Red PO 46 Y/S red G Trans 3 2 2 5 5 2 Contains barium
Cu-free Phthalo Blue PB 16 Dirty G/S blue M Trans 8 7 5 5 5 5 S1 less heat stable
CuFe Rhodamine PR 169 Strong rose pink M Trans 5 3 2 2 4 1 Darkens in light
Dianisidine Orange PO 13 Y/S orange M Semi 5 4 5 4 4 5
Diarylide Orange PO 34 Bright M Trans 6 4 5 5 4 5
Diarylide Yellow PY 14 Warm yellow G Semi 5 3 5 5 5 5
Diarylide Yellow PY 17 Lemon yellow P Trans 6 4 5 5 4 5
DNA Orange PO 5 Dirty red-orange G Opaq 6 4 4 4 2 2
Hansa Yellow PY 74 G/S yellow G Opaq 6 –7 5 5 4 2 5 Sublimes on heating
HR Yellow PY 83 Red shade M Trans 6 4 5 5 5 5
Iron Blue PB 27 Dirty blue violet M Trans 4 3 2 3 4 2 Dirtier than PV 3
Iron Blue PB 27 Dirty R/S blue M Opaq 6 4 1 4 4 2 Hard pigment
Iron Oxide Yellow PY 42 Dirty yellow G Opaq 8 8 5 5 5 5 FDA suitable
Lake Red C PR 53.1 Warm Y/S red M Trans 3 2 2 5 4 2 Contains barium
Lithol Rubine PR 57.1 Strong B/S red M Trans 3 2 2 5 4 1 Std. process color
Lithopone PW 5 White E Opaq 8 8 5 5 5 5 Poor acid resistance
Mac BON Red PR 52.1 Strong B/S red G Trans 4 3 2 5 4 1
Manganese 2B Red PR 48.4 Med. scarlet M Semi 7 5 2 5 5 2
Naphlhol Dark Red PR 23 Dark B/S red P Trans 6 3 4 2 5 5 Good in NC chip
Naphtbol Carmine FB PR 5 Strong B/S red M Semi 7 5 5 4 4 5 Very high cost
Naphthol Bordeaux PR12 Very blue shade P Semi 6 4 5 5 4 5 Dull, very soapfast
Naphthol F5RK Red PR 170 Bright B/S red P Semi 7 4 5 4 5 5 Very high cost
Naphthol FRR Red PR 2 Bright Y/S red M Semi 6 4 5 4 2 5
Naphthol Red FGR PR 112 Clean med. red M Trans 6 6 5 5 4 5 Soap-fast scarlet
Phthalo PB 15.4 G/S blue M Trans 8 7 5 5 5 5 Process
Phthalo Blue PB 15.1 R/S blue P Trans 8 7 5 5 5 5
Phthalo Green PG 36 Y/S green P Trans 8 7 5 5 5 5
Phthalo Green PG 7 Bright green P Trans 8 7 5 5 5 5 Expensive, poor flow
PTMA Methyl Violet PV 3 Bluish violet G Trans 5 3 4 1 4 2 Darkens in light
PTMA Rhodamine B PV I Clean magenta G Trans 4 3 4 1 5 2
PTMA Rhodamine Y PR 81 Rose pink shade G Trans 4 3 2 3 3 2 Bleed prone
Quinacridone Red PR 122 Bright B/S red M Semi 8 7 5 5 5 5 Duller than PR 81
Silica PW 27 Extender P Trans N/A N/A 5 5 5 5 Matting agents
Titanium Dioxide PW 6 White G Opaq 8 8 5 5 5 5 Can be abrasive
KEY: E=Excellent G=Good M=Medium P=Poor Opaq=Opaque Semi=Semitransparent Trans=Transparent
Table 3
INK 29
value maleics have utility in alcohol-based and are commonly used for their release prop-
flexographic inks and are used in combina- erties in cold-seal release packaging. The
tion with nitrocellulose and polyamides for polyamide resins derived from hot melt adhe-
papers, films, and foils. High acid-value sive-grade materials display adhesion to most
resins have utility in water-based flexo inks substrates and are widely used in “universal”
as grinding and modifying vehicles. They laminating inks. Their higher molecular
typically improve printability and gloss by weight means that they show lower resin
aiding ink flow and transfer. They also can compatibility than other polyamides, poorer
be used to help increase the heat resistance pigment wetting, and lower solubility, which
of softer resins. impacts on color strength and print perfor-
• Polyamide Resins. These resins can be mance (Figure 2&).
broadly categorized into three types: alcohol Care should be taken with any polyamides
soluble, co-solvent soluble and hot melt. to avoid incorporation of heavy metals from
Those with a molecular weight (MW) below drying agents or pigments. These metals cat-
4,000 have good alcohol solubility and nitro- alyze the oxidation of the dimerized fatty
cellulose compatibility. When incorporated acids used in the production of the resin to
into flexographic inks, they impart excellent produce extremely rancid odors and a dis-
adhesion to a variety of corona-treated and tinct possibility of print blocking.
coated-polyolefin films. They are also noted • Acrylic Resins. These resins have found
for their excellent printability, transfer, high wider use in flexographic inks in recent
gloss and solvent release properties. They are years. In solvent-based inks, acrylics are
also compatible with shellac, rosin esters, used primarily for their adhesion characteris-
phenolics and polyketones. Although they tics in combination with nitrocellulose or
exhibit outstanding pigment wetting, they are other cellulose esters. Careful formulation is
ill suited for use as sole grinding vehicles and needed to ensure the sufficient presence of
commonly require modification with “harder” “active” solvent that will maintain the solu-
resins. Co-solvent polyamides require a blend bility of the resin without significantly affect-
of an alcohol and aliphatic/aromatic hydrocar- ing the printing plate and to minimize solvent
bon for solubilization. Noted for their wide- retention. Acrylic or acrylate resins also form
ranging adhesion, co-solvent polyamides are the basis of most water-based and UV/EB-
slightly harder than the alcohol-soluble types curable resin technology currently on the
market. These technologies are discussed in
greater depth in following sections.
• Polyketone Resins. These resins are used as
2& modifiers to assist gloss and adhesion.
Polyketones are inert, hard, non-film-form-
ing resins that dry rapidly, but show tenden-
cies to “skin over,” potentially leading to
increased solvent retention.
• Polyvinylbutyral Resins. These resins,
derived from polyvinyl alcohol and aldehyde
butyra, are used for their flexibility and adhe-
sion properties in lamination and heat-seal-
ing inks. Specially purified grades are avail-
able; however, care should still be exercised
2& Polyamide gloss and
transfer test. when selecting these materials for food-use
INK 31
2* The importance of acetate in an ink fountain that contains a
solvent balance is 2*
Percent Glycol Ether in blend of n-propyl acetate and n-propyl alco-
shown in this graph, Evaporating Solvent
where the solid curve 100
hol. The vertical axis represents the percent
represents the 90 of n-propyl acetate in the solvent evaporating
composition of the 80 from the fountain. The solid curve represents
solvent vapors from 70
the various mixtures. the composition of the solvent vapors from
60
the various mixtures. For example, if you
50
2( A comparison of 40
start with a fountain blend of 10% n-propyl
glycol ether solvent and 30 acetate, it follows that the solvent vapors
n-propyl alcohol levels
shows the percent of
20 contain 35% n-propyl acetate. This excessive
10
glycol ether evaporating loss of n-propyl acetate will shift the solvent
is significantly lower 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 balance and result in a leaner, less acetate
than the level of glycol Percent Glycol Ether in Fountain
ether in the fountain. rich solvent resulting in print problems. In
this case, the problem can be avoided by
2( using a 35:65 blend of n-propyl acetate/n-
Percent Propyl Acetate in
Evaporating Solvent
100 propyl alcohol to replace the solvents lost by
90 evaporation from the ink fountain.
80 In summary, the original ink and any fresh
70
ink added to the fountain should be diluted
60
50
to target viscosity with the 10:90 blend of n-
40 propyl acetate/n-propyl alcohol. Any subse-
30 quent manual viscosity reduction, while on
20 press, should be carried out with the 35:65
10
blend of n-propyl acetate/n-propyl alcohol to
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 maintain solvent balance.
Percent Normal Propyl Acetate in Fountain Ink
Similarly, Figure 2( shows a plot of a gly-
col ether solvent and n-propyl alcohol. In
this case, the percent of glycol ether evapo-
• and ambient conditions, e.g., tempera- rating is significantly lower than the level of
ture or atmospheric pressure. glycol ether in the fountain. It would be
extremely dangerous to replace any evapo-
To prevent imbalance, any solvent blend rating solvent with the same blend used to
added as a replacement should be of a simi- make the initial cut. The fountain would
lar nature to the escaping solvents. Failure become increasingly richer in glycol ether,
to use a compatible replacement may also leading to poor drying, blocking in the
result in resin kick-out or ink souring, loss of rewind, retained odor, and lamination prob-
gloss, increasing ink viscosity or lack of lems such as blistering, tunneling and poor-
adhesion. Such problems are more notice- bond strengths.
able in jobs where ink usage is limited, such Most solvents present a fire hazard, and it
as process work or small spot colors and it is is important to take note of flash points and
the responsibility of the ink formulator to explosive limits. In addition, some solvents
identify a suitable “balanced solvent” to pre- are considered hazardous to health or the
vent this from occurring. environment above certain concentrations.
The importance of solvent balance is The properties of a number of common sol-
demonstrated in Figure 2*. The horizontal vents used in flexographic inks are detailed
axis represents the percentage of n-propyl in Table 5.
Table 5
INK 33
3) In order for an ink • transfer;
to print well, it must 3) Web • color and strength;
possess the rheology to
be transported through • print appearance;
Plate Ink Drying on Plate
the inking system onto Cylinder • adhesion; and
the anilox. It has to have Doctor
Blade • functional properties.
sufficient wet tack to Assembly
transfer from the anilox
onto the plate and then Impression Anilox The fundamental property required of an
finally to the substrate. Cylinder Ink Roll
Film ink is that it prints well. To do this, it must
Split
possess the rheology or fluidity to be trans-
ported through the inking system onto the
Ink Drying anilox. It has to have sufficient wet tack to
into Anilox Cells
Resolubility transfer from the anilox onto the plate and
Points
then finally to the substrate (Figure 3)). The
drying speed of the ink needs to be such that
it remains fluid while on the press, but dries
tant choice. Watch for problems with foam- rapidly after application to the substrate.
ing, adhesion or reduced water resistance. The ink must be of suitable shade and
• Defoamers. Foaming is a problem that most strength. It must print cleanly, adhere to the
commonly occurs in water-based inks and is chosen substrate and provide the properties
evident under conditions of high agitation. necessary to meet customer specifications.
Obviously, prevention is better than cure, Rheology. Fluidity and low viscosity are cru-
but where foaming is present it can be dealt cial to the flexographic process. While on
with by the addition of defoaming agents. press, the ink is required to be pumped and
Such materials work by dramatically reduc- transported through various pieces of equip-
ing surface tension in the system, causing ment and subjected to extreme shear forces.
existing bubbles to burst, and preventing Maintaining a fluid ink at a low viscosity
unstable foams from forming. These materi- reduces the wear and tear on press compo-
als are usually derived from mineral oils or nents and can be achieved by the incorpora-
silicones. tion of suitable solvents. The actual viscosi-
• Pure Chemicals. This category of additives ty chosen for printing is determined by a
covers a diverse group of materials including variety of factors including the metering sys-
acids, alkalis, metal chelates, polyols, metal tem, substrate characteristics, press speed
salts and anti-oxidants. Such materials can and print requirements.
function as adhesion promoters, fixatives, Transfer. Of all the ingredients present in the
drying aids, stabilizers and cure agents, as ink, the binder system impacts most heavily
determined by the ink chemistry and formu- on transfer. In general, as the molecular
lation. weight of the chosen resin and the resin
solids present in the ink increase, so does
the transfer. Transfer properties of differing
INK CHARACTERISTICS formulations or resin systems can be easily
There are a number of fundamental prop- compared in the laboratory by applying the
erties required of flexographic inks that are test inks – after ensuring the strength and
determined by the nature and demands of viscosities are equal – side by side using a
the printing process and the final application hand anilox proofer.
of the print: Color and Strength. The color and strength of
• rheology; a flexographic print are largely determined
INK 35
adhesion on the myriad of available sub- require a corona treatment unit to print suc-
strates must be identified on a case-by-case cessfully on polyolefinic films, it is almost
basis (Figures 3! 3@). certainly required with water-based inks.
End-use Application. This requirement has a Some of these process parameters are out-
particular bearing on the formulation of an lined in Table 7.
ink. There may be requirements during pro- Regulatory Controls. The composition of an
cessing, as outlined in the previous chapter, ink has to account for local, state and gov-
for heat resistance, the ability to be laminat- ernment regulations covering:
ed and certain slip or scuff characteristics. • air remissions;
The package may have to show product • metal content;
resistance to fats, oils, detergents, solvents • material toxicity; and
acids or alkalis. Consideration of the printed • food and drug standards.
product’s end use can be used to determine
the gross performance needs. However, all Sweeping environmental legislation within
technical requirements for a particular appli- the last 20 years has necessitated major
cation should be fully specified by the cus- reformulation efforts to remove, replace or
tomer prior to formulation. Table 6 shows a reduce harmful materials, and require even
few flexographic end-use markets and the tighter controls over incoming raw materials.
general properties required. This situation is becoming ever more com-
The enormity of formulating an ink capa- plex since federal legislation is increasingly
ble of complying with all these requirements enacted differently on a regional basis,
should not be underestimated. One also depending on local conditions and needs.
needs to keep in mind the added complica- The changes ultimately require the ink man-
tions of converting needs, regulatory con- ufacturer to supply different ink formula-
cerns and quality performance objectives. tions for identical applications, based on geo-
Converting Needs. The converting processes graphic environmental need. This topic is
in operation have a dramatic influence on expanded upon in a following section.
the formulation of an ink. Changes in the ink
may require changes in the process. For
example, while solvent-based inks may not
END-USE APPLICATIONS
Table 6
5. Cooling Rolls.
7. Run Times.
INK 37
INK FORMULATIONS
good print quality, rapid drying, good flexibility calcium 2B pigment 14.0
(folding) and scuff for sheeting equipment. Wax titanium dioxide 6.0
and plasticizers improve scuff and flexibility. maleic resin (dry) 8.0
Isopropyl acetate and ethanol speed up drying for
nitrocellulose (dry) 11.5
less absorbent coated stocks.
n-propyl alcohol 25.0
ethanol 18.0
isopropyl acetate 10.0
plasticizer 5.0
wax compound 3.5
100.0
Table 8
INK 39
Using Water-based Inks of approximately 3,500 cu.ft/min. The higher
The problems encountered in handling specific heat capacity of water also requires
water-based inks typically stem both from the ovens to be set at slightly higher settings
the physical properties of water and the to achieve the same web temperature as
chemistry of the ink and include: with solvent-based inks.
• pH control; In the case of absorbent substrates, the
• volatility of water; need for efficient driers is lessened. On high-
• specific heat capacity of water; ly absorbent stocks, the free water is drawn
• conductivity; and into the surface, often by capillary action,
• surface energy. leaving the pigment and resin solids deposit-
ed on the surface. This can occur in as quick-
Water-based inks are commonly regarded ly as 0.1 second. Drying can also be en-
as easier to handle than solvent-based inks hanced on acidic paper stocks where the
because of their lower volatility. However, acid neutralizes the solubilizing amines.
this is a misconception since pH control in Although no longer a major problem with
water-based inks is just as vital as maintain- ceramic aniloxes, water-based inks are often
ing solvent balance in solvent-based inks. associated with increased chrome anilox
Water-based inks are most stable within cer- wear for two reasons. The first is mechani-
tain pH limits. After prolonged use, the pH cal: water-based inks have less lubricity and
can drop below the lower limit leading to cause mechanical breakdown of the chrome
false heavy body and resin kick-out (similar anilox from frictional wear. The second is
to solvent-based ink souring). A pH reading chemical: the inks aid the generation of a
higher than the suggested upper limit can galvanic cell by functioning as an electrical
lead to both drying, odor and product resis- conductor between dissimilar metals.
tance problems (similar to solvent retention). Ink will only transfer or “wet out” on a sub-
Caution has to be exercised in reducing strate when the surface tension of the ink is
the viscosity of water-based inks as they lower than that of the substrate to be print-
tend to lose viscosity faster than solvent-
based inks. Over-reduction often leads to
poor print quality, e.g., crawling and poorer
WATER-BASED INK FORMULATION
performance properties.
Water dries much more slowly than typical
Typical water-based flexographic formulations
flexographic solvents like propyl alcohol or
are as follows:
propyl acetate (See Table 5, Solvent Proper-
For For
ties). To compensate for this, water-based Nonabsorbent Absorbent
Substrate Substrate
inks are often formulated to have higher
35% pigment dispersion 50.0 40.0
resin and pigment solids. The higher solids
acrylic solution polymer 10.0 30.0
allow a thinner wet-ink film to be printed,
acrylic emulsion 30.0 12.5
which speeds up drying – especially on non-
water 5.0 13.0
absorbent substrates – while maintaining
organic amine 1.0 1.0
performance properties (Table 10). Since
polyethylene wax compound 3.0 3.0
inks on non-absorbent substrates dry solely
surfactant 0.5 —
by evaporation, the drying capacity of the
organic anti-foam 0.5 0.5
press is very important. It is critical that the
inter-unit and overhead drying units operate TOTALS 100 100
INK 41
course, that all handling guidelines are fol- tor used in a cationic UV ink generates a
lowed. strong “Bronsted” acid, which reacts with
• Resin (Oligomer). The resin in radiation-cur- the other components (aliphatic epoxides
able inks is actually called an “oligomer.” As and vinyl ethers). This reaction varies from
in conventional inks, the resin is the chemi- free-radical UV chemistry in that removal of
cal backbone of the ink. Among others, it the UV source does not quench the reaction.
provides the body, wetting ability, binding The cationic ink or coating continues to cure
and functional properties of the ink. for up to 24 hours after UV exposure.
• Photoinitiators. In UV inks, the photoinitia-
tor is the chemical which becomes “excited” As flexo printing improves in quality and
and starts the curing reaction when exposed application, the need for specialized physi-
to ultraviolet light. The excited photoinitiator cal properties also continues to grow.
passes that energy to the other components. Increased chemical or product resistance is
At that point, any component which be- the largest attraction to this process. The
comes excited has the ability to attract other additional benefits of low energy cost, mini-
components to itself and transfer energy to mized downtime and the reduction of VOCs,
the newly attracted component. Photoiniti- will also continue to drive the market.
ators are not required in EB inks. The highly
charged energy of the electron beam is suffi-
cient to activate polymerization. FLEXOGRAPHIC INK
• Additives. These materials include waxes, MANUFACTURING PROCESS
wetting agents and rheology modifiers. They Flexographic inks, whether solvent- or
provide the added customizing touches to water-based, are generally manufactured
the ink. using the same processes: mixing, dispersing
• Pigments. Pigment particle size and con- and filtering.
centration can affect the curing rate of a UV Many ink companies produce their inks
ink. Pigments are selected for color and from scratch using dry pigments for water-
wetability, or oil-absorption ratio; and for or solvent-based inks, or press-cakes for
their receptivity to UV light. Among process water-based inks. Others choose to purchase
colors, yellow and magenta are the easiest to predispersed concentrated bases, and let
cure, followed by cyan and black. Because them down with vehicles of their choice.
black tends simply to absorb the wave- These concentrated bases are normally pro-
lengths of UV light, more energy is required duced by the same methods as finished inks.
for a satisfactory cure. Many ink makers produce their own con-
Polymerization. In conventional UV or EB centrated bases in-house rather than going
chemistry, any component that has reacted outside for them.
is called a “free radical.” It is the free radicals The manufacture of a flexographic print-
that have the energy to keep the curing or ing ink (Figure 3$) typically begins with the
“polymerization” chain reaction going. Each mixing of the raw materials to produce a uni-
chemical chain continues growing until one form blend. From there, the product contin-
of two things happen: The excited chains ues into the dispersion stage where the actu-
use up all of the available components or the al work in breaking up the agglomerates is
UV/EB source is removed and a foreign sub- completed.
stance, such as oxygen, quenches or halts There are a large number of flexographic
the reaction. ink manufacturers in the United States.
In contrast, irradiation of the photoinitia- Because of the present health/safety and
blend with the ink vehicle. The more effi- Agglomeration True Dispersion Flocculation
INK 43
1. By the introduction of ions or molecules assortment of sizes and use a variety of
capable of satisfying the surface charges media.
on the solid pigment particles. These There are many advantages obtained using
ions give each particle a similar, uniform ball mills for dispersion:
charge resulting in repulsion, or • Dispersion is uniform throughout the
2. The use of non-ionic materials that batch.
adsorb onto the pigment surface and • Grinding time can accurately control
produce steric hindrance. This complex degree of dispersion.
also results in particle repulsion. • Production procedures can be stan-
dardized for the mill used.
Typically, ink resins will accomplish the • No premix is required.
required stability. If they fail, surfactants • There is no loss of volatiles. The vessel
specific to the pigments are used in the for- is sealed.
mulations. • Highly concentrated bases can be pro-
The first real piece of dispersion equipment duced for later letdown.
used in the manufacture of flexographic inks • The process is not very labor intensive.
was the pebble or ball mill (Figure 3^). The The mill is opened, loaded, sealed, run
mill is a horizontal closed-end cylindrical for 16 hours (normally between 4:00
vessel filled to about half its height with p.m. and 8:00 a.m.), the degree of dis-
porcelain or steel balls. This piece of equip- persion checked and unloaded.
ment combines mixing with dispersion. It
has a loading hatch on top and an evacuation There are, however, some major disadvan-
valve on the opposite side. The ball mill is tages to this type of equipment:
filled with the raw materials, sealed and • Batch size is limited to mill capacity.
rotated on its horizontal axis. The mill media • The time factor is the same regardless
is carried up to the top of the mill during the of mill size.
rotation and cascades down. This action • Power costs are high.
produces the impact and shear to break up
agglomerates and typically 16 hours will give In the early 1950s, it was realized that if
the desired results. one could produce more impacts per unit of
These mills are manufactured in a wide time, then dispersion could be accomplished
sooner. This improvement was actually
accomplished by combining a premix with a
very small but dense media – sand – and agi-
3^ tating it with an impeller. The problem, how-
ever, was how to separate the dispersion
3^ The pebble or ball mill- from the sand. Continuing along these same
combines mixing with lines, in 1958, DuPont’s S. Hockberg patent-
dispersion. This action
ed the process of sand milling (Figure 3&).
produces the impact
and shear to break up The premix is pumped upward through the
agglomerates. The ball mill, a vertical cylinder containing the
mill is filled with the
media. A series of plates is mounted on the
raw materials, sealed
and rotated on its hori- agitator shaft, and the top of the mill is
zontal axis until the mill screened to prevent the media from escap-
media is carried up to
ing with the dispersed ink. Flow rate
the top of the mill and
then cascades down. through the mill is controlled by the pumps
INK 45
types of filters used. Felt-type bags with sizes wide variety of micron-size cartridges are
rated from 100 microns to 25 microns are available. Here too, if pressures are exceed-
available and can be used with gravity flow or ed, unfiltered ink can bypass the filter and
commercial pumping systems. There are cau- contaminate the batch.
tions to be noted. A new type of filter that is beginning to see
• With the use of pumping systems, it is more use in the manufacture of flexographic
critical that recommended operating inks is the vibrating screen filter. Ink is
pressures not be exceeded. If they are, pumped onto a rigid vibrating sieve and the
the filter might be bypassed and unfil- large particles are retained on the screen. A
tered ink will contaminate the batch. large number of sieve sizes are available,
• With gravity flow it is common to see some with new innovations like self-clean-
plant workers “beating” the filters with ing filters.
ink knives to get faster flow. Beating Most flexographic ink manufacturers
deforms the bag and can allow larger today are using 100-micron filters as their
particles through. standard size. For special inks, 50-micron or
even 25-micron filters are used. Also,
The cartridge filter is often used to filter mechanical systems are equipped with mag-
flexographic ink. Natural or synthetic fibers netic filters to ensure that no contamination
are wound around a porous core, and the ink from metal particles may have been intro-
is pumped through the core and fibers. A duced during the shot mill stage.
I
growing trend in the prepress area 3( total cost of the printed
product.
toward treating ink management as a
Manufacturing costs
key process. Converters have found 82% of total,
Ink 2% of total 4) The purpose of any
that attention to this area pays high div- ink-blending operation
idends in in the form of reduced waste is to deliver the right
Board: 71% amount of the right ink
and increased pressroom productivity. to the right press at the
Professional management of the inkroom is right time.
now an essential part of running a competi- Labor:
9%
tive converting operation. The days of the Other: 15%
INK 47
4! Ink prepress covers the PREPRESS PROCESS
steps and procedures 4! Part 1 Receive Ink prepress covers the steps and proce-
that take place between End Use Ink
receiving the ink from dures that take place between receiving the
the ink supplier and Estimate ink from the ink supplier and delivery of ink
delivery of ink to the Part 2 Usage
press. Ink to the press (Figure 4!). These boundaries
Formulation
Generate Color Standard are typical, but not absolute, in terms of what
Batch and
4@ A typical ink room lay- Ticket Standard Formula is necessary for a successful operation. For
out occupies approxi- Part 3
Ink instance, some ink departments are respon-
mately 1,000 square Prepress Make
feet. Batch
sible for managing ink into the press pumps,
while others may actually do some ink for-
Part 4 Stage mulation and ink assembly normally associ-
Ink on Ink
Press ated with the ink supplier. The main objec-
tives are to understand where the boundaries
have been drawn in the converter operation,
4@
Pressroom manage the input products from the ink sup-
plier(s), and optimize outputs of products
Blended Inks
Press “A” in Inventory and services to the press department. Once
Returned the boundaries have been drawn, communi-
Dispenser
Inks
Inkroom cated and understood, ink prepress opera-
Press “B” tions can be designed to meet all needs.
Inks Staged Light
for Press Booth
Press “C”
THE INKROOM DESIGN
Ink Lab A typical inkroom occupies about 1,000
square feet. The drawing shows how an
inkroom this size could be organized
(Figure 4@). There are two areas: an
office/laboratory area and an ink-handling
Another common cause of press down- area. In the laboratory area, color matching,
time, due to ink-related waste issues, is that proofing, quality control, diagnostic testing
the press department has not been instruct- and ink management information system
ed on how to use the ink system in question. (MIS) functions are performed. This room
For example, the job may meet all appear- would be connected electronically with the
ance standards yet fail an adhesion test ink supplier and perhaps with the converter
because the press department was not MIS department and shop floor data system.
aware of the web temperature requirements Major equipment in the ink lab includes
to pin on the ink. Thus the ink prepress prod- the following:
uct is not just ink, it is also information, ser- • proofer;
vice and training. The inkroom must regard • weighing scales;
the press department as the customer for • color measurement device; and
product and service. At the same time, the • computer with ink management software
press department, as a consumer, has and modem
responsibilities to the inkroom. The inkroom
must receive timely process change infor- Major equipment for ink production would
mation, correctly marked press returns and include the following:
feedback of ink performance on press. • ink-dispensing system;
Proofing System
INKROOM SYSTEMS The heart of any ink-blending operation is
Regardless of the print, end-use and the a correlated proofing system that can pre-
types of presses being served, the inkroom dict the ink strength and shade that will be
must have procedures in place that define obtained on the press. Only by having a good
and control key areas. proofing system can the inkroom be confi-
dent in its ability to deliver “press ready”
Safety inks to the printing operation. This will save
This is always the number-one priority in hours of press downtime and help eliminate
any manufacturing operation; but it is partic- color variation complaints. The method
ularly important in the inkroom, due to the should be one that can be used by everyone
nature of the materials being handled. Proper in the inkroom with consistent results. This
handling of chemicals is essential. Formal system will also allow for better matching on
training programs for the operators are man- press return ink.
dated by legislation and must be document- Where a printing operation has a mix of
ed. If flammable materials are present, a spe- different presses and inking systems, differ-
cial emphasis should be placed on maintain- ent proofing methods may be required to
ing explosion-proof systems, grounding of ensure that there is a correlation between
containers and arranging exhaust in areas the proof from the inkroom and the print
where open containers are present. from the press.
The safety of the inkroom is very important
and must be audited on a regular basis. The Inventory Control
result will make for a safer workplace. Ink should be used on a first-in, first-out
Housekeeping, personal safety equipment, basis, due to the shelf-life limitations of any
personal hygiene and adherence to safe work chemical mixture. The issue here is simply
practices are key factors to be reviewed in an using the oldest ink first. The ink supplier
ink operation. should have dates on all containers to facili-
tate this process. If there is no date of manu-
Color Standard facture on the container, get one from the sup-
There should be a process in place that plier. Some suppliers utilize date-coding sys-
generates, approves and stores color stan- tems that may not be immediately apparent.
dards for use in the inkroom, as well as in There should also be a system of control
the actual printing operation. This can save a that always allows ink to be available while
lot of discussion, time and money, as well as maintaining the lowest possible inventory. A
preserve the printer’s reputation with cus- basic min-max system can work well with a
tomers. A good system should provide a cur- weekly inventory and facilitate ordering in
rent standard, signed and dated. There time to fill the pipeline. An area that is often
INK 49
overlooked is press returns. Press returns on the press and quick reaction to changes
should be identified and weighed, and the in schedule.
containers kept sealed to improve the prob- Equipment. There is less equipment in an
ability of reuse. Since waste inks become a inkroom than the pressroom, but it is just as
regulated hazardous waste, control of press important and must always be working
returns will save the time and cost of dis- properly. Scales must be accurate and in
posing of these materials. good working order. The mixer must run
smoothly and be sized to handle the batch-
Usage Records size requirements of the operation. Hoists
Accurate records play a central part in the and other lifting equipment must have the
control of inventories. They will also help to rated capacity to handle all containers pre-
reduce waste, since most colors are sent, and they must move easily without
matched for a specific job and anything not restriction. Manual material handling equip-
used is returned to inventory with the hope ment should also be inspected on a regular
that it can be used later. A basic system con- basis to ensure they are in good working
sists of recording the weight of ink made, the condition. Color-control equipment (i.e.,
weight returned, and the run size. This will color booths, spectrophotometers, etc.)
provide a record for each job, allowing for a must be calibrated and maintained to ensure
more accurate estimate of ink requirements optimum performance.
for future runs. More sophisticated comput-
erized systems are available to track this
information. The objective is the same – COLOR MANAGEMENT
have the right amount of ink on press and Color communicates. Color sells. Color is
only return the minimum amount of ink to the sizzle that drives the sale of virtually
the inkroom. This will reduce cost, waste every consumer product in the world. It
and on-hand inventory. evokes a wide range of emotions that draw
the buyer to the product. Color management
Information Systems professionals know that color is a crucial
A great deal of information is usually man- part of the selling process because it is such
aged by the inkroom. Some examples are: an important part of the “buying decision.” If
Ink Systems. Ink formulations must be color is used effectively in the manufactur-
matched to specific substrates based upon ing and marketing of an item, potential buy-
their compatibility and end-use properties. ers will perceive added value in that product.
Ink Additives. Anything added to the ink must To use color effectively in a flexo package
be identified and information provided for design requires an understanding of the
their proper use. Misusing additives can entire process, from initial design to final
result in downstream problems. package (Figure 4#). Many elements and
Press Performance. On press, color data and professionals are involved, each relying on
corrective actions are important to track. interaction with the other. Print buyers and
This is valuable feedback that can save the designers start the process, taking into
department from solving the same problems account consumer preferences. Colors must
over and over. be specified and communicated, from the
Scheduling. The ink department should have visual appeal of the final package to the
a good system that links the ink operation capabilities and tolerances of the flexo-
with the press schedule and press setup, graphic printing process. In a package
thereby coordinating the timing of ink needs design, color and all other elements must be
’S
BOB
Printer/ Structural
Converter Designer
Suppliers Pre-Press
within the capability of the production color theory, color measurement, and color
process. matching. Color theory and color manage-
At each step of production, output from ment application are explained more fully in
the previous step becomes the input to the the Process Color Printing volume.
next process. Colors are communicated
among several different individuals who
may render and reproduce the colors on COLOR THEORY
many different devices. For final production, Color results from the interaction between
a contract proof, viewed under standard light, an object and the viewer (Figure 4$).
conditions, will show a close approximation The human observer, or viewer, sees this
of the final printed product. Once the client modified light and perceives it as a distinct
has agreed on the contract proof, the ink color. All three elements, light, object and
department is responsible for supplying ink viewer, must be present for color as we know
and color standards that allow the agreed it to exist.
upon color to be obtained; impression after
impression and press run after press run. To Light Source and Color
assure consistent reproduction, color mea- If an object is viewed using other than a
surement and control is essential. This sec- white-light source, the perceived color will
tion will touch on this subject in three parts: take on the hue of the illumination. While
INK 51
sunlight is the most natural way to view the amount of light of the source throughout
objects, it is not an ideal light source to the visible range of wavelengths, which is
judge the color of objects; it is simply too roughly from 400 to 700 nanometers.
variable. Artificial light sources are available
and may be controlled and specified to sim- Metamerism
ulate average, natural daylight, and incan- To complicate matters further, there is a
descent and fluorescent lamps. common situation where two objects appear
A scale of color temperature, expressed as to have identical color under one specific
degrees Kelvin (°K), is used to quantify light light source and then do not match under
sources. Various artificial light sources have other light sources. This phenomenon is
color temperatures that range from about known as metamerism and is caused by use
4,000° K to 6,800° K. The D50 CIE Standard of different pigment combinations to achieve
Illuminant has a color temperature of 5,000° the individual color matches. Fortunately, the
K, representing average natural daylight, and metameric condition is both detectable and
is the color temperature most widely used in controllable.
graphic arts viewing booths. Figure 4% To avoid metamerism, specific, fixed pig-
shows three light sources along with their ment combinations are used for a given
spectral curves. The spectral curve shows color match. The problem can be detected
by viewing “matching” objects under differ-
ent light sources. Metamerism can be quan-
tified by spectrophotometric measurements
4$ Light using different illuminants or simulated
Source
lighting conditions.
600–700nm 500–600nm
COLOR MEASUREMENT
To compare, communicate and store color
400–500nm
data, it is necessary to adopt a measurement
system. The human visual system is the most
4$ Color results from the discriminating when comparing colors, but it
interaction between Object Viewer is neither able to assign numbers to colors,
light, an object and the
viewer. The viewer sees
this modified light and
perceives it as a distinct
color. All three ele- 4% Sunlight (D50) Incandescent Light Fluorescent Light (D65)
INK 53
4* Colors can be chroma indicates how close the color is to
classified as light or 4* gray or the pure hue. Chroma changes on the
dark when comparing
the L values. 100 horizontal plane, where the colors in the cen-
ter are gray (dull) and become more saturat-
4( Chroma changes on the A ed (vivid) as they move toward the perimeter
horizontal plane, where (Figure 4(). This color attribute is also
Lightness
the colors in the center
referred to as “saturation.” Again comparing
are gray (dull) and 50
become more saturated B the tomato to the radish, the tomato is much
(vivid) as they move more vivid; the radish appears duller.
toward the perimeter.
Hue (h): When asked to identify the color of
A is lighter than B
an object, the hue is most likely mentioned
0
first (Figure 5)). Quite simply, hue is an
object’s perceived color – red, green, orange,
and so on.
4( Color Tolerancing (CMC). In the L*C*h° color
space, the tolerance for an acceptable color
match is bounded by a three-dimensional
space with varying limits for lightness, hue
and chroma. In the diagram (Figure 5!), the
variations of the ellipse size throughout the
r
ne
ea
Cl
A
rti
er
INK 55
mitted through the colored filters, the den- repeatability and inter-instrument agree-
sitometer can determine some of the attrib- ment; therefore, they carry a higher price tag
utes of the color being measured. than the more simple designs. As with the
A densitometer is able to compare color, tristimulus unit, the spectral-based instru-
but not in the same manner as the human ment presents the color measurement as the
eye. Densitometers vary widely in the num- same three L*C*h° (L*a*b) numbers.
ber of functions that they perform, but the Increased sensitivity to slight color differ-
main function of a densitometer is to mea- ences makes the colorimeter a very useful
sure density. This value correlates very well tool for testing incoming inks and sub-
to ink-film thickness and is used to calculate strates. Colorimeters also find use in pro-
other print attributes, such as hue error, duction departments where corporate col-
grayness and tone reproduction in process ors or special matches are printed and com-
printing. pared to a standard.
Colorimeters Spectrophotometers
For capabilities beyond those of the densi- Spectrophotometers work in a similar way
tiometer, colorimeters are the basic color to spectral-based colorimeters. They split the
measuring tools. Two types of colorimeters visible spectrum into very small segments
are available on the market today: tristimu- using either narrow-band filters or a diffrac-
lus and spectral-based. tion grating. All spectrophotometers can out-
Tristimulus. The tristimulus colorimeter is put the same data as colorimeters, however,
very similar in design to the densitometer. It the spectrophotometer is a more sophisticat-
has red, green and blue filters that are used ed instrument and able to output the infor-
to split the visible spectrum into thirds. The mation as a spectral curve. This curve is
primary differences in the tristimulus col- derived from taking the percentage reflec-
orimeter is two-fold. First, the tristimulus tance at each wavelength measured and plot-
colorimeter is engineered to see color like ting it on a graph. Once each point has been
the human eye, whereas the densitometer is plotted, the dots are connected to produce a
equipped with specific sensitivities for curve that is unique to each pigment color
process-ink colors. Second, the micro- measured. These curves can be used like a
processor in the tristimulus instrument fingerprint to identify the pigments that
works with very different numbers and algo- make up an ink.
rithms. Colorimetric formulas generally The spectrophotometer is the ideal instru-
yield three numbers that allow the user to ment to use when mixing inks. The instru-
plot the measured color as a point in a three- ment can save a great deal of time spent on
dimensional space. hit-and-miss ink mixing. Its use will improve
Spectral. A spectral-based colorimeter, or the batch-to-batch consistency of ink, along
spectrocolorimeter, divides the visible spec- with ensuring consistency between different
trum into very narrow segments, each repre- ink department individuals.
senting only a very small and select portion
(bandwidth) of the spectrum. Because it
divides the spectrum into many parts, a COLOR-MATCHING THEORY
spectrocolorimeter can gather more infor- The most useful visual tool in color
mation and is more accurate than a tristimu- matching is the color wheel (Figure 5#), a
lus colorimeter or densitometer. Conse- slice of L*C*h° color space. The colors of
quently, these spectral devices have greater the spectrum are arranged in a circle as
INK 57
5% This chart summarizes
what happens to the 5%
L*C*h° numbers as var- L Value will: C Value will: H Value will:
ious colors of ink are
Go lighter Go dirtier Go greener
weakened. It should be Yellows to a higher number to a lower number to a higher number
noted that the ink can
be weakened by adding Go lighter Go dirtier Go yellower
Oranges to a higher number to a lower number to a higher number
solvent, by adding
extender or by use of a Go lighter Go dirtier Go bluer
lower-volume anilox Reds to a higher number to a lower number to a lower number
roller.
Go lighter Go dirtier Go greener
Blues to a higher number to a lower number to a lower number
5^ A general flowchart for Go lighter Go dirtier Stay about the same
mixing a special color Greens to a higher number to a lower number
ink shows the procedure
for making a small,
100-gram batch to test
and develop the specific
formula.
damine pigment in a white tint, should be ence (especially for similar colors), or com-
avoided. The combination of rhodamine and puter formulation software.
titanium dioxide is unstable due to chemical 1. Weigh Sample. A 100-gram sample of the
reactivity. initial formulation is weighed in the ink
If fade-resistance or outside exposure are laboratory. Pigment selection is based on
required, the pigments chosen should be the color being matched using the color
suitable. When specified by the end-use wheel as a guideline. There are other
requirements, the pigments used should be considerations for the optimum color
stable to aggressive products such as milk, match. Use the fewest number of colors
acids, alkalis, oils and solvents. Finally, the in the match since this makes weighing
lowest cost combination of pigments should and control of the ink for the press much
be used to achieve the color. Once the small simpler and easier to adjust and control.
test batch is made, the amount of material 2. Adjust Viscosity and Strength. This step is
can be scaled up for the press run quantity. based very much on experience and
The initial formula can be obtained from a knowledge of both the ink system and
variety of sources: historical data, experi- the press where it will be used. Actual
5^ Black
White
Green Adjust
viscosity and Proof
Purple strength
Blue
Rhodamine Visual and
Weigh up
Spectral
100 grams
BS Red Measurement
YS Red
Orange Adjust No
formula Color OK?
Approval
GS Yellow Yes Process
Extender
INK 59
5* The bar proofer is a
mechanically driven 5* 5(
device where speed and
Printing Plate Doctor
pressure are controlled Blade Ink Sample
Caliper Range
and reproducible. 0.045" to 0.250"
Cell
Volume
10.0
the wire on the rod; thicker wire lays down
more ink. Different coating rods, or proofing
bars, are used to correlate with specific
Light Line 400 press conditions. The main disadvantage of
this method of proofing is that the proofing
bars are not able to lay down ink as smooth-
Cell ly as the press on uneven substrates.
Volume
5.0
Laboratory Flexo Proofing Machine
This machine generally has a detachable
printing wheel about 7” in diameter on which
a photopolymer plate is mounted in a typical
way (Figure 5(). The machine also has a
volume and by using rubber rollers of hard- detachable anilox roll and a doctor-blade sys-
er or softer durometer. Many inkrooms use tem. A full range of anilox rolls are available
several flexo hand proofers of various ink to suite the actual press configuration.
delivery rates to correlate with individual The substrate sample is mounted on a
presses or even specific decks within a rigid carrier and placed on the transport
press. The flexo hand proofer is capable of guide. Printing speed, anilox pressure and
laying down ink films which match the press printing pressure are selected according to
in terms of appearance, even on substrates the press application.
which are uneven. A sample of ink is applied to the nip
between doctor blade and anilox and the
Bar Proofer machine is started. The automatic cycle
The bar proofer is a mechanically driven brings the anilox roll in contact with the
device where speed and pressure are con- print wheel which in turn contacts the sam-
trolled and reproducible. The results from ple. The print wheel makes one rotation,
this device are not operator dependent. A printing the substrate and proofing the sam-
wire-wound rod draws ink down on the sub- ple ink in a very controlled manner.
strate (Figure 5*). The amount of ink that is
deposited is dependent on the thickness of
mal proofing method and compare it to the nitrocellulose OT yellow base 40%
press sample, preferably using a spectropho- gloss, film, blend varnish 50%
INK 61
by this ink system, and all of the functional developing multi-purpose ink systems. One
properties of the ink system would be certi- ink system with the correct balance of heat
fied by the ink supplier. If the color is correct resistance and gloss can, in many cases,
but the ink is too weak, perhaps due to use replace the individually formulated heat-
of a lower-volume anilox roll, the only way resistant gloss ink systems.
to correct the situation is by adding concen-
trated base colors. Many converters will Matched Finished Inks
stock some pigmented bases to address this With this option, the ink is supplied by the
problem. Adding base to an ink must be ink company as a pre-matched finished ink
done only with the permission of the ink (for example green gloss film), in which case
company, since the strength problem may be it would be certified for color, press readi-
corrected at the expense of finished proper- ness and end-use properties when received
ties such as ink adhesion. by the converter. This way of purchasing
If this same green was needed in a heat- inks is normally reserved for large-use items
resistant formulation, it would need to be that repeat frequently. In these cases, the ink
blended from single-pigment heat-resistant company has manufacturing equipment bet-
finished inks. Ink suppliers work with their ter sized to produce the ink economically.
customers to keep inventories down by
6)
INK 63
6! The graph shown is and press, running the same conditions, a
from actual experience 6!3.0 repeatability of delta E, of 2.0 CMC 2:1 or less
and represents a
complete revamping of
is desired. This is a tight tolerance which may
2.5
product quality coming or may not be achievable for a given process
from the inkroom. and color. It may not even be needed for a
2.0
In this situation, the
given color and, in the final analysis, a visual
DEcmc
pressroom became
1.5
confident in the color assessment should be made to determine the
from the inkroom and required delta E for customer acceptance.
1.0
was able to focus on
press variables to Overall color consistency will improve, how-
0.5
improve print quality ever, simply by measuring the process and
further. giving feedback to the inkroom and press-
J FMAMJ J A S OND J FMAMJ J A S OND J FM
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 room. This is not an easy task since many
Time
work habits have to be changed. The graph
shown in Figure 6! is from actual experi-
ence and represents a complete revamping
tling or separation of ink ingredients. It is of product quality coming from the inkroom.
also important that the ink circulate In this situation, the pressroom became con-
throughout the whole system including the fident in the color from the inkroom and was
dispensing head. able to focus on press variables to improve
Here are some advantages of in-house print quality further.
automated ink-blending systems: When the on-press color is approved and
Just-in-time (JIT) Ink Production. Automated the delta E value is within the established
dispensing allows the printer to blend inks tolerance, replace the signed-proof spectral
immediately for a press run and blend only values with the CMC L*C*h° values of the
the ink that is needed. press proof. This is important since this is
Exact Quantity of ink Per Order. Historically, the real target to aim for every time the job
more ink was ordered than was needed to is run. When an ink batch is proofed before
avoid any chance of running out of ink and the job goes to press, compare the batch to
shutting down a press. With automated dis- the color that was achieved on press. If the
pensing more ink can be produced at the delta E of the initial pressrun was approved
press of a button. This prevents the constant with a delta value greater than the estab-
buildup of excess ink that must be reworked. lished tolerance, the press print spectral val-
Constant Quality. Automated dispensers en- ues should not be saved. However, attempt
sure exact reproducibility on repeat orders. to get closer the next time the same job is
The color produced for a job last week or run and then save the new spectral values.
last month will be exactly the same color Once an approved standard and CMC
when it is blended next time. Ink inventory L*C*h° spectral values are established, it is
build-up is again reduced due to the correc- necessary to determine the numerical toler-
tion of wrong colors and rejected batches. ances that can be established around the
color. To do this, samples of subsequent job
approvals need to be saved. Job approval
HOW TO ADJUST TOLERANCES samples (the more the better) for the next
The question of achievable, realistic toler- several runs of an identical job should be
ances for special-color inks is the subject of saved. Under ideal conditions, two or more
some debate and will be addressed in future people should visually evaluate all of the
releases of FIRST. Ideally, on the same stock prints at one time against the original signed
INK 65
6@ The colors should be ors. From these curves, the computer calcu-
evaluated under a 6@ lates mathematical values that completely
“daylight” light and an Incandescent Fluorescent
Daylight describe the color. It can store these values
incandescent light to (D50) Light Light
eliminate metameric and compare them to other prints, and
potential. The inkroom determine if they are the same or within
proof and color target
should be evaluated commercial tolerance.
with a common back-up The color computer will not replace eyes,
material behind the experience or judgment. It is a tool that
prints.
always remembers and never gets tired.
Most printers, ink suppliers and many cus-
tomers use color computers to control their
processes and to certify incoming materials.
I
interaction between the ink and the var- being introduced on a regular basis, it is
ious printing components in order to important to realize that even though two
minimize variations in printed materials substrates may be based on the same chem-
and maximize efficiency. This chapter istry, the actual print surface may vary and
will examine the various press configu- the printability of the individual substrates
rations and how they influence ink selection may be different.
and performance. It will also look at the ink- The last section will review the ink chem-
metering system, press dryers, printing istry and press-application conditions of a rel-
plates, and film movement through the press. atively new and quickly evolving area in flex-
Significant changes take place in the ographic printing – UV inks.
mechanical conditions on press, so it is
important to understand how these changes
relate to, and effect the inks. Proper ink han- PRESS CONFIGURATION
dling on press is critical to trouble-free print- Press configuration includes the unwind,
ing. Color control, viscosity and pH adjust- printing, drying and rewind sections of the
ments for water-based inks will be explored. press. These sections may all vary somewhat
These areas are becoming more important in structure and composition. As require-
due to the increased usage of water-based ments for improved quality and more com-
inks and high performance solvent inks. plex print designs are introduced, equip-
Both the ink and the press are influenced ment, materials and configurations are all
by the specific environment in which they are being optimized to meet current demands.
used or located. Humidity and temperature Printing sections of a central-impression
play important roles in proper drying and res- (CI) press (Figure 6#), stack press (Figure
olubility of the ink. These factors affect how 6$) and in-line press (Figures 6% 6^) are
well ovens dry inks. basically identical. All but the central-
Any printed material must be evaluated impression configuration have separate
agianst a quality standard. Beside the obvious printing units, each with their own individ-
color and strength of a print, it is important to ual impression roller. The central-impres-
know how to evaluate density for process sion configuration utilizes separate printing
printing and to put objective numbers on stations, but the impression cylinder is
evaluating the line print areas. Other areas of common to all the printing decks. The
concern are various end-use testing require- structure of the printing section is indepen-
ments. Among the tests to be discussed will dent of the press design. The amount of ink
be rub and slip for surface inks and bond applied to a substrate and the manner and
determinations for lamination applications. fidelity with which it is applied depends on
Commonly used substrates, how they com- the ink-metering process. Ink design is gen-
pare, and the advantages and disadvantages erally not dependent on press configuration
of the various substrates will be covered in but is determined by what type of metering
INK 67
6# A typical central
impression press 6#
configuration.
B K
C J
I
H
H
F
G
system is being used and the position of the totally removed. Doctoring is performed by
specific color unit in the press. a rotating rubber covered roller or by a doc-
tor blade, so that only the ink in the cells
passes beyond the doctoring nip. The ink in
INK-METERING SYSTEMS the cells is then transferred to the printing
Ink-metering systems are used to control plate and on to the substrate.
the amount of ink transferred from ink reser- It is important to understand that the pri-
voir to printing plate and subsequently to the mary and sole function of the anilox roll is to
substrate. The ink-distribution system on a meter and control the volume of ink trans-
flexographic printing press has three com- ferred to the printing plate. The amount or
ponents; the ink, the anilox roll and the doc- volume of ink is determined by the number
toring method. Ink is generally pumped from and size of engraved cells on the surface of
the reservoir to the ink pan or doctor-blade the anilox roll and the method of doctoring
chamber on the press and is picked up by or wiping. Currently, there are three doctor-
the cells of the anilox roll through physical ing methods in use today.
transfer or capillary action. The surface of
the anilox roll is then doctored or wiped Fountain-roll Doctoring
clean so that surface ink film is minimal or The oldest and most common method used
D E
C
B
G
F
in the industry is known as the two-roll sys- run. This ratio can range from a low of 3 rota-
tem (Figure 6&). This system uses a rubber or tions of the anilox roll to each rotation of the
elastomeric covered cylinder known as the rubber fountain roll to as high as 10 or 12 to 1.
fountain roll. It is driven by a separate drive In the fountain-roll system, ink is pumped
system and rotates at a constant speed, gen- into the ink pan so that the rubber fountain
erally much slower than the anilox roll. roll is partially immersed in the ink. In order
Anilox rollers must be driven at the same sur- to obtain maximum durability of the rollers
face speed as the plate cylinder in order to and to provide lubrication to this nip, it is
achieve a smooth ink transfer to the printing recommended that the fountain roll be
plate. This is usually accomplished through a immersed to approximately one-third to
gear-train arrangement where the impression one-half of the fountain roll radius. This
cylinder drives the plate cylinder, which in depth of immersion will enhance the func-
turn drives the anilox roll, thus ensuring they tion of the fountain roll to pick up and trans-
all rotate at the same surface speed. Thus, the fer sufficient ink to the anilox roll.
anilox roll rotates at a different speed than When the fountain roller is positioned in
the fountain roll. The rotational difference contact with the anilox roll, ink picked up by
between these two rollers can vary depend- the surface of the fountain roll is transferred
ing upon the speed at which the press is being to the cells of the anilox. The slower rotation
INK 69
6% A typical in-line press
layout. 6% E E
B
6^ A typical sheet-fed
corrugated press unit. C C C C F G
D D D
A
H H H H G
6^
Slotter
Creaser Print Units Sheet Feeder
of the fountain roller provides a wiping made, the covering will displace more readi-
action, thus doctoring an even ink film on ly and too much ink will pass through to
the anilox surface. It is critical that the hard- flood the surface of the anilox. When this
ness of the fountain roll covering be com- happens, press operators must make addi-
patible with the anilox engraving cell count. tional press-side adjustments at this nip.
If the covering is too soft, when contact is Excessive pressure on the anilox roll to
INK 71
6* A reverse-angle doctor- came about because of the conversion from
blade system allows a 6* solvent-based to water-soluble ink systems.
precise ink-film thick-
ness to be transferred Doctor Blade Each flexographic printer should determine
to the printing plate at Anilox the type of doctor blade material which per-
Roll
various operating forms best for the particular operation.
speeds without press-
side adjustments. Some plants have found that a stainless-steel
doctor blade works best, while other plants
6( Chambered doctor- use non-reinforced plastic materials. Re-
blades are the newest gardless of the material used for the doctor
systems in fleoxogra-
phy. Comprised of two
blade itself, the primary concern must be on
doctor blades, a Metering the pressure setting. Keep in mind that
Roll
reverse-angle blade to excessive pressure can only create friction,
doctor the ink from the
anilox roll; and a con- which in turn will create excessive wear.
tainment blade, to hold
the ink in the chamber. 6( Chambered Doctor Blade
The chambered doctor-blade system is the
newest system used by the flexographic
Anilox printing industry. The chamber blade unit is
Ink Out Roll
comprised of two doctor blades, one of
which is a reverse-angle doctor blade that
does the job of actually doctoring the ink
Ink In from the anilox roll, and the other is a con-
tainment blade that holds the ink in the
chamber. The two blades are preset at spe-
cific angles for proper doctoring and are
affixed to a backing plate that forms the
three-sided unit (Figure 6(). When this unit
is applied to the anilox roll, a chamber is
The pressure setting of the reverse-angle formed between the anilox roll and the
doctor blade should be maintained at a min- three-sided fixture. The sides of the anilox
imum level consistent with the uniform roll are sealed with pads of felt, rubber or
transfer of a thin ink film. Tests were con- plastic material. These side-sealing mecha-
ducted many years ago by press manufac- nisms may be spring-loaded or pressure-
turers, ink makers, anilox roll manufacturers loaded. When ink is pumped into the cham-
and others which concluded that the correct ber, it becomes somewhat pressurized.
pressure setting of a reverse angle doctor Chambered doctor-blade systems help
blade should not exceed quarter-ounce of reduced the solvent or water evaporation
pressure per inch. The tests showed that from the ink, keeping the ink flow character-
when the pressure was increased to half istics under control. A critical element in the
ounce per inch, a noticeable amount of wear operation of the chambered doctor-blade sys-
to the anilox cells was detected. tem is that the pressure settings must be
A variety of doctor blade materials have maintained as recommended by the original
entered the industry over the years, ranging equipment manufacturer. Some of these units
from high tensile, tempered blue steel; to have air-loaded pressure controls, while oth-
plastic, some of which is reinforced with ers offer manual controls and include a set
synthetic fibers. Many of these changes screw installed as a protective stop to prevent
INK 73
7! Enlarged detail of a settings of a doctor-blade system, ceramic
mechanically-engraved 7! coating was developed. Ceramic coatings are
anilox roll showing the
reverse pattern made
applied through a plasma-coating system in
from the engraving tool which ceramic particles are melted at very
used to emboss the high temperatures and forced onto the sur-
surface of the roll.
face of a cylinder by using a gas-fired propel-
lant. The ceramic coating provides an
extremely durable and very hard surface
which resists wear and impact that would
normally damage a chrome-plated roller. The
result is the mechanically engraved, ceramic-
coated anilox roll, in which a ceramic coating
is applied to an engraved surface in place of
the chrome plating.
A major problem with ceramic coating
face of a steel- or copper-plated cylinder over an engraving is that the coating is limit-
with sufficient pressure to emboss the sur- ed to medium-range anilox cell counts of 200
face metal of the cylinder into the cavities or 220. Attempts to ceramic-coat finer anilox
formed by the teeth of the engraving tool. cell counts found that cell integrity was lost
The result is a reverse pattern of the tool on because the cells would become filled with
the surface of the anilox roll (Figure 7!). ceramic material. In order to preserve cell
Each tooth on the tool begins with a single definition, most anilox roll suppliers limited
punch designed to hold a specific volume of the ceramic coating to a maximum engrav-
ink. From the single punch, an engraving tool ing of 200 or 220. Most manufacturers limit
is made with every tooth measured for accu- the amount of ceramic coating over an
racy. Thus, when the tool is used to make an engraving to 0.001" for fine screens and
anilox roll, each cell formed is identical. 0.003" for coarser engravings.
When the cells have been formed in the
base metal of the anilox roll, the next step is Laser Engraving
to protect the surface of the cells from cor- Since ceramic coating of fine line-engraved
rosion and wear. This is accomplished by anilox rolls was not practical, a new method
electroplating nickel over the engraving to of engraving was required. Furthermore,
provide corrosion resistance and then apply- with the development of the chambered doc-
ing a layer of double-hard chrome plating to tor-blade system a more durable surfaced
provide durability. While chrome plating pro- anilox roll was a necessity. Through much
vides excellent ink receptivity and release, it research and development, the laser-
cannot withstand the pressures of doctor- engraved ceramic anilox roll was invented
blade metering and wears rapidly. Attempts and has become an integral part of the flexo-
have been made and continue to be made, to graphic printing industry. A laser-engraved
extend the life of anilox rolls by electroplat- roller begins with a cylinder which is plasma
ing specialized coatings to provide durability, coated with a thick layer of chromium oxide
but most have been unsuccessful. ceramic material. Chromium oxide material
was selected for the coating because ink
Ceramic-coated Anilox Rolls release and ink receptivity characteristics
Because chrome-plated anilox rolls did not are comparable to chrome plating. This coat-
have the durability to withstand the pressure ing material has an extremely hard surface
INK 75
7# Liquid-volume method removes most of the operator error.
measurement requires 7# Comparative volumes of new and partially
the ink-jet film to be Microliter
rolled around the tack Syringe worn or plugged rolls may be checked by
roller with the treated simply weighing the cut silhouette of the ink
surface outside. The patches.
covered roller is then
pressed against the Inkjet Film Vertical Scanning Interferometry. A more sci-
surface of the anilox and Anilox Roll entific approach to accurately measure vol-
ink from the micro-liter ume involves using an interferometric scan-
Hand
syringe is introduced Roller
into the nip. The ink-jet ning device. This device was designed by
Printed Area
film is rolled against the Microliters used
= Volume (bcm) incorporating the technology used in manu-
anilox, spreading and Area ( sq.in.)
facturing fiber-optic equipment and comput-
printing the ink volume
simultaneously. er discs. It is also used in several aerospace
programs by the United States government.
The interferometric measuring method has
been adopted by the leading manufacturers
bond paper is placed over the ink smear and of anilox rolls as the most accurate measur-
a footprint of the area covered with ink is ing device currently developed. The cost of
made. The area is measured and a calcula- these more scientific measurement instru-
tion is made to determine the volumetric ments may be too high for the average flexo-
carrying capacity. graphic printer to consider. As a result, many
While this method is very accurate, it is printers correlate the readings by the anilox
dependent upon the ability of the individual roll manufacturer with actual liquid volume
to uniformly apply the bead of ink, spread the measurement taken by their inspection per-
ink, take the footprint and finally measure the sonnel. Charts using both volume measuring
outline. There will be differences in the cal- systems can be logged by the printer to
culated volume among individuals doing the determine the durability of anilox rolls, thus
volume check because of the level of experi- enabling timely roll changes before a critical
ence in performing that task. As a result, the print job is to be scheduled.
liquid-volume measurement should be taken The interferometric device uses a three-
from three different areas on the anilox roll dimensional scanning head positioned on an
and the volumes averaged. The average anilox roll while connected to a computer
should be used as a starting point to deter- and a TV monitor. The device scans all of the
mine wear and durability of the anilox roll. cells in the viewing eyepiece at a rate of
An improvement on the method just ex- some 5,000 readings per second. Light waves
plained incorporates the use of a surface- are bounced against each of the interior
treated clear-polyester sheet, like those used anilox cell walls from the top to the bottom
in inkjet printers, and a wide hand-held tack of each cell and the distance is recorded.
roller, like the ones used to remove dust This information goes into the computer,
from negative films. The ink-jet film is rolled which has been programmed with the prop-
around the tack roller with the treated sur- er algorithm. The computer then calculates
face outside. The covered roller is pressed the volumes of each of the cells in the view-
against the surface of the anilox and the ink ing area and averages them to determine the
from the microliter-syringe is introduced volume for that particular anilox roll. Tests
into the nip (Figure 7#). The ink-jet film is by the United States Bureau of Standards
rolled against the anilox, spreading and have found this interferometric method to
printing the ink volume simultaneously. This be accurate to within 0.03%.
Table 10
INK 77
DOT SIZE EQUAL TO ANILOX CELL OPENING
gain. Once all of these conditions have been wall thickness of 5 microns. Table 11 shows
met, the anilox selection process can begin. the size, in microns, of 1%, 2% and 3% dots at
After the image requirements have been various screen rulings. Next, the size of the
determined, the printer can begin to develop dot is the cell count, where the opening of
specifications for the anilox roll. If the image the anilox cell just equals the size of the dot.
is pictorial and process printing is a require- For example, at 120 lpi, a 2 % dot has a diam-
ment, then several considerations must be eter of 34 microns. This corresponds to an
taken into account. One is that the line anilox-cell count of 654. Hence, a 660 anilox
screen of the printing plate must be known, roll would have a cell size smaller than the 2%
so that the anilox roll cell count is fine dot. Table 11 shows the cell opening for
enough to correctly ink each of the halftone some common anilox-cell counts. The tables
or process screen dots. can be used to help determine which anilox
While there are several schools of thought roll to use.
concerning the ratio of anilox cell count to Optimum Volumes. Volumetric carrying
halftone or process dots, the prevailing one is capacity is an important consideration when
to have the anilox roll four times or more than selecting anilox rolls with screen counts of
that of the halftone line screen. For example, 440 or higher. With all anilox rolls, the rec-
if the printing is a 110-line screen plate, then ommended volumetric carrying capacity
the anilox roll must be 440 or finer in order to should be determined by the depth-to-open-
ink each of the dots without having a single ing ratio in order to obtain clean ink recep-
dot dunk into an anilox roll cell. Dot dunking tivity and ink release from the anilox cells. It
can be a concern, especially where a printing is suggested that anilox rolls should have a
plate has very fine highlight dots of 1% , 2% or depth-to-opening ratio between 23% to 33%,
even 3%. Should the printing plate contain in order to allow the ink to smoothly enter
highlight dots of 3% or less, then the printer and release from the anilox cells. Higher
should consider using an anilox roll with a ratios, where the cells are deeper, may have
higher screen count, i.e., five or even six times a tendency to plug with dried ink after a peri-
the halftone screen count. od of use. The deeper cell does not evacuate
Tables 11 and 12 provide dimensional a sufficient amount of ink to allow total res-
information on halftone dot and anilox cell olubility of the remaining ink in the cell when
dimensions. The tables are based on a cell mixed with fresh new ink. Thus, the ink will
INK 79
possible, but in every instance no fewer than thoroughly discussed and approved by your
once a day, or once every shift. A cleaning roll supplier. Regardless of the type of
program should be employed to thoroughly anilox, ink cannot be allowed to dry in the
clean and brush anilox rolls whenever the cells. Ink flow over rollers must be main-
printing station is to be idled. Should the tained when the press is stopped, or the rolls
anilox roll become clogged with dried ink, must be cleaned immediately. The specific
then an aggressive cleaning method must be cleaning material should be that recom-
employed, such as pressure washing or mended by the ink supplier.
ultrasonic cleaning. In the clean-up phase, solvent-based inks
Anilox rolls must be cleaned while the ink are more forgiving than water-based sys-
is still wet and fluid. This will reduce the tems. Solvent-based inks not only can wait
clean-up time and make the job of cleaning longer before being cleaned, but the inks
much easier. Dried ink is difficult to remove also resolubilize in a wider range of solvents
from the bottom of the anilox cell and cured with less elbow grease. Water-based inks
ink may not come off at all. A maintenance must be cleaned immediately. A combina-
program should be developed and discussed tion such as this one can be used:
with the anilox roll supplier in order to pro- 10%–20% Mild Alkali (no ammonia)
60%–70% Water
vide maximum productivity and maximum
20% Solvent (propyl alcohol or
longevity of the rollers. Many roll suppliers a propyl ether derivative)
even sell a recommended cleaning solution.
Should pressure washing of anilox rolls be Excessive alkali and/or amines can cause
an accepted procedure, then it is suggested pitting in chromed cylinders and so should
that a complete training program be devel- not be used. Make sure to rinse well after
oped. Some pressure washers have an auto- cleaning, or it can cause problems in the
matic traversing wand and vacuum system next inks used with that cylinder. This is true
where the cleaning media, such as bicarbon- for water- and solvent-based inks.
ate of soda, is blasted onto the anilox roll sur- Many inks are not compatible with each
face and removed instantaneously. These sys- other, so when changing from one ink to
tems are regulated as to traversing speed and another for a different job, be sure to clean
pressure settings. Other systems have a man- very thoroughly. This practice will avoid
ual wand unit and the manufacturers of these potential for the inks to kick out in the cell
manual-controlled units recommend that the and cause multiple problems.
wand be traversed across the roller at a rate
of 12 in/sec. Slower movement may cause
irreversible damage to the anilox roll surface. INK PUMPS
Additionally, there are ultrasonic cleaning While there are many different types of
units, soak tanks and other cleaning systems pumps available today, those in wide use are
available to the flexo printer. Ultrasonic the peristaltic and the centrifugal pumps.
cleaning systems are excellent for cleaning Peristaltic pumps are used primarily on
high line anilox rolls, but recently there has short runs, as they are easy to clean and
been evidence that they may cause damage change over. They do require somewhat
to the cell structure. Therefore, ultrasonic more maintenance, however, and inks do
cleaning should be used with caution. not circulate well with this pump.
Since cleaning of the anilox roll is pivotal The centrifugal pump is the most widely
to the longevity of the roll, the use of any used today. It works well on long runs and
cleaning procedure or system should be requires little maintenance. The pump action
INK 81
an important tool for problem solving in the hydrophobic and the problem disappears.
future. Numerous data – the press settings, Keeping an accurate log book (See Appen-
ink conditions, substrate information, and dix B), records (See Appendix C,D,E) and
pressroom conditions – should be placed maintaining press settings is a good way to
into the log. The printing industry contains a troubleshoot. The next step is to discuss actu-
multitude of variables – substrates, types al press settings and what they should be.
and ages of presses, drier capability, press
speeds, ink systems, solvent combinations, Dyne Level of Substrates
time of year and pressroom conditions. It is Affect On Printability. Surface tension is a
impossible to document every single vari- condition existing at the free surface of a liq-
able for every single job that is run. Even if uid, resembling the properties of an elastic
possible, going back to this information in skin under tension. Dynes per centimeter is
the future would be a problem. There simply a measure of surface tension. One dyne is
would not be enough time to go through all the force that a milligram exerts under the
these records. The more data accumulated, influence of gravity. Substrates as well as
the easier it could become to solve a prob- inks have a dyne value. A practical example
lem which was not seen on previous runs. of what dyne and surface tension is all about
Inks are the one variable that can be easily can be seen in the reaction of water on a
controlled as the other variables change. For waxed surface.
example, an ink system might be running Plain water will bead up on a waxed sur-
with few to no problems on a daily basis. One face because the surface tension of the
day, the ink doesn’t appear to be drying the water is greater than that of the wax. If a sur-
way it should. Is this an ink problem? factant, such as detergent or alcohol, is
Probably not, but the ink is the one variable added to the water, it will spread and wet the
in the printing process which can be most wax surface. This is known as wetting out.
easily altered. After further analyzing the dry- In printing, if the ink beads up on the sur-
ing problem, it is apparent that the between- face of the substrate, there are serious print-
station dryers are set to lower temperatures ing problems. The ink must wet out the sub-
than normal. After turning these dryers up to strate completely.
their usual temperature, the problem disap- The rule of thumb is: in order for the ink to
pears. This is a typical, yet simple, problem wet out the substrate, the ink has to have
which is seen in the pressroom. If an ade- lower dyne value than the substrate. As a ref-
quate log book was kept, the problem-solving erence, the dyne value of substrates should
time could be kept to a minimum. be somewhere between 36 and 42, with 38 to
The previous example was a simple prob- 40 being the norm. Flexo inks can vary but
lem. Perhaps the between-station dryers as long as the dyne value of the ink is less
remedy helped, but the problem was not- than 36, the ink will wet out.
completely fixed. After further analyzing, it Most polymeric-film substrates have dyne
is noticed that it is midsummer and the values lower than 36. In this case, the most
humidity is at its worst. The alcohol used to widely used method to increase the dyne
dilute the ink might be hydrophilic, that is, it level of the substrate is to use an in-line
likes water, and is sucking moisture right out corona surface treatment. Corona treating
of the air. This creates water buildup in the uses electrical charges to oxidize the surface
ink, causing the drying problem. The ink rep- on the printing side of the stock and raise the
resentative now provides a new solvent dyne value. The treatment also may burn off
combination with an alcohol which is any surface contaminants such as placisti-
INK 83
Tension Control based inks, only more difficult. There are
A balance is necessary. If the rewind web two reasons why water is more difficult to
tension is too high, the potential exists for dry. First, water vapor is typically already
blocking problems. On the other hand, if the part of the atmosphere. If a previous model
rewind tension is too low when an adhesive is used, but water-based inks substituted, an
laminated structure is printed, there exists a equilibrium state is reached very quickly
potential for tunneling in the print. Other because of the presence of atmospheric
problems associated with poor tension con- moisture, making drying difficult. Again, as
trol include: with the solvent-based inks, additional heat
• loss of color to color registration; and volume only postpone the inevitable.
• deformation of the web; and The second problem with water-based inks
• poor productivity. is the amount of energy required to evapo-
rate the water portion. The amount of ener-
Dryers gy required to convert any compound from
By design, solvent-based flexo inks dry by its liquid state to its gaseous state is called
evaporation. Ink is applied in a thin layer on the latent heat of vaporization. Water
a substrate and then typically is hit with heat- requires several times more energy to
ed forced air. Both additional heat and air dry change its state from a liquid to a gas than
the ink and dramatically reduce the amount typical flexo organic solvents do. In compar-
of solvent that is retained in that layer. As the ison to ethyl alcohol, water requires three
industry has matured, the quantity of solvent times the energy to vaporize.
retained in the dried ink has become of para- This does not mean that a press running
mount importance to packaging buyers water-based inks will have to run at one
because it has been linked to objectionable third the speed of its solvent counterpart.
odors and can degrade the desired function- There are several factors that help improve
al properties. There is a big gap between dry- the drying performance of water-based inks.
ing the ink on a package and a printed pack- Typically, water-based inks have a higher
age with low retained solvents. Heated air percentage of solids. Higher solids translate
without significant velocity will do little to to less water to be removed. Second, due to
disrupt this condition and therefore will not the nature of the type of resins available in
effectively dry the ink. A high-velocity jet of water systems, a thinner layer of ink is often
air, however, has enough energy to force employed. In addition, when water is com-
through the boundary layer and to continue bined in an azeotropic mixture with certain
the drying process effectively. solvents, the evaporation can be accelerat-
Dryer manufacturers stress what they call ed. These factors can reduce the dryer
the three Ts of drying: Time, Temperature, demands. All of these discussions relate to
Turbulence. The effectiveness of an oven can nonporous substrates. On porous materials,
be measured by the time available for drying. like paper and paperboard, a percentage of
This of course translates into the oven length the water can be absorbed by the substrate
on a web-fed press. The correct use of tem- itself reducing the dryer demand. At high
perature is essential to accelerate the evapo- speeds, however, the absorption is reduced,
ration of the solvents from the ink. And final- requiring the dryer to be relied on for thor-
ly, efficient air turbulence can overcome the ough and complete drying.
negative influence of the boundary layer. Dryer Temperatures Between Station and
The drying of water-based inks is very Tunnel. Both stack and central-impression
much the same as the drying of solvent- presses have in-between color dryers and a
INK 85
not tolerate high heat, problems will occur. ing, or poor bond strengths in the case of
The temperature required by the coating lamination inks.
would destroy the film. Conditions of Dryers. Other factors beside
Using the same substrate with the dryers temperature are important to the press,
set at 180° F to get good adhesion and low including the velocity of the air, the volume
retained solvent in the ink film, the film may of the air and time. The speed at which an ink
be able to handle this temperature. Since the dries limits press operating speeds. Ink dries
actual web temperature will be significantly when the solvents are allowed to evaporate.
lower, the film can still distort. If the film Drying can be accelerated by heating the
begins to distort, the print may appear to be web, circulating air over the web, or both.
out of register. The press operator will Simply stated, this is what press dryers do.
respond by trying to get the register in line Drying is also accelerated by using fast-evap-
mechanically. This problem is film-related orating solvents and by lowering ink viscosi-
not press-related. It is always important to ty to print a thinner ink film. Porous webs
be aware of the substrate limitation when also speed evaporation because they are
dealing with temperature. Do not always highly absorbent.
rely upon the meters on the press, unless To print one color effectively, or many that
they are checked often for accuracy. If there don’t touch or overlap one another on the
is not enough heat on the web, the ink film web, the solvent must be removed and the ink
will not dry or cure properly. Remember, too essentially dry before it reaches the rewind
much heat can ruin the substrate. stand. In designs where inks must overlap or
Also, the dryers should be balanced on a trap over another (whether for register, large-
regular basis. What is done in this process area overprinting or halftones) the ink must
can depend upon the dryers on the particular dry in sequence as it is printed. Complete dry-
press. When the dryers are properly bal- ing is not always necessary between colors,
anced, the between-station dryers should all but sufficient drying must occur to prevent
have an equal volume of air blowing through the subsequent color from rewetting the first
them. If not, the deck with less air volume and blending with it or picking it off the web.
could have trouble drying, while the deck Bypassing or skipping vacant decks, when
with more air volume could be running into possible, will give more time for sequential
skinning problems. Equal amounts of air drying and allow higher operating speeds.
should be blowing out along the length of the Final drying before rewinding must occur to
dryer – gear side of the press to operator prevent roll blocking, ink offsetting on the
side. If not, one side of the web may not be back of successive webs or solvent retention
drying efficiently. The air flow also needs to and its residual odors.
be directed at the web, not on the plates or Normally, inks are formulated to dry rapid-
the anilox rolls. If air blows on these rollers, ly enough to allow proper sequential drying.
ink will dry in, causing other problems such When inks have been reused, circulated
as dirty printing. In a balanced dryer system, excessively, or adulterated with improper
the tunnel dryers need to be accurate in tem- additives and allowed to get out of chemical
perature control. The volume and velocity of balance, drying problems occur that affect
air needs to be at its optimum. This is the last operating speeds. Depending on the area
place the ink will have the opportunity to dry size of overprint or trap and the ink film
with the aid of heat and forced air. If the dry- thickness, many open porous substrates can
ers are not at maximum efficiency, the end be printed at speed without using dryers.
result could be high retained solvents, block- Other less or nonabsorbent webs require
INK 87
• ink properties depend on stock ab- but should know that sometimes a solvent
sorbency; lower absorbency often lowers will evaporate out of the ink. This usually
heat resistance, scuff resistance and happens over long runs or if the lids are left
product resistance, but increases gloss. off the sumps. When these solvents are lost
to evaporation over time, the ink may not
Press Speeds behave as it should. Therefore, a make-up
Another variable which is vital to good solvent may be required to keep the resin in
printing is the press speed. Most printers solution and keep print quality at its original
want to run as fast as possible, which is high level. These make-up solvents are usu-
understandable. However, the goal is to run ally faster drying solvents as they are the
as fast as possible without sacrificing quali- first to evaporate, such as heptane. The ink
ty. Many inks do not run the same on differ- representative should determine if a make-
ent presses, and the same ink on the same up solvent is needed and what it should be.
press will run differently at different times of The reducer blend is usually one or two
the year. Press settings have to correlate the solvents, sometimes three, that reduce the
capabilities of the press and the effect of the virgin inks to press viscosity. This is usually
other variables already mentioned. The rule done in the pressroom. In flexo, the staple
of thumb is to run the press as fast as possi- solvent would be some type of alcohol in
ble, yet continue to achieve the necessary larger amounts and usually a small amount
drying and printability. Every press will be of ester such as normal propyl acetate. This
different. Sometimes the same ink can be is for solvent-based inks only and other sol-
run in two different presses in the same vents could be used. If solvent changes are
pressroom on the same substrate, yet the required for different ink systems or at dif-
speeds will differ. This speed difference ferent times of the year, these alterations
largely has to do with the capabilities of the should be noted in a log book, as well as any
dryers. This again is where a log book can press settings that need to be altered, along
help determine what the press speeds with the other changes.
should be based on past history.
Press speeds are often limited by mechan- Rewind Tension
ical effects. However, press speeds can also The basic requirement of a good rewind-
be altered by the ink-solvent blends and the tension system is to wind rolls with straight
reducer blends. The difference between edges and uniform density, while preserving
these two blends is that the ink-solvent the accuracy of register and repeat length. It
blend consists of the types and amounts of is not the purpose of this book to discuss the
solvents present in the virgin ink when pur- different types of rewinders or the mechanics
chased. The reducer blends are the solvents of them. From an ink standpoint, however, fit
used to reduce the virgin inks to press vis- is important to remember that the ink is being
cosity. These two blends can be quite differ- sandwiched between the substrate in the
ent. The ink-solvent blend is the composi- rewind. The more tension used in the rewind,
tion of solvents in the ink when manufac- the higher the possibility of ink blocking to
tured. This could be a large variety, maybe as the backside of the substrate. This is espe-
many as five or six different solvents. The cially true if the drying capabilities of the
purposes of all these different solvents is to press are not as good as should be.
control drying speed and to keep the resin in Another area of concern is rewind tension
solution. The printer does not need to know when printing lamination inks for future lam-
all the different solvents in a particular ink, ination. In this case, it is not in-line laminat-
INK 89
pose of waste ink can be substantial. Another or mottle is seen, the ink viscosity should be
reason curing inks are not popular is because increased, or a pigmented extender should
of the risk of using improper amounts of cat- be added. Ink run with viscosity too high can
alyst. Press-side testing can be done to check also show inconsistent lay and dirty printing.
for the right amount of catalyst; however, This is typically the result of ink caking on
errors can be made. With conventional inks, the plates or ink not transferring properly to
there isn’t a question about the proper the substrate. In process printing, it is very
amount of catalyst. Finally, some of the cata- important that the proper viscosity be deter-
lysts used are hazardous chemicals, and they mined for an ink before any density adjust-
must be handled carefully. ments are made. Once this viscosity is iden-
tified, a balanced extender should be added
to meet specific density specifications. The
INK VISCOSITY influence of viscosity on color should be
The viscosity of an ink will affect many noted. Small viscosity changes can also pro-
aspects of printability including print duce shade changes in a print. A red color
strength, print sharpness, ink lay and color. may become more yellow as it gets higher in
Viscosity is one of the easiest variables to viscosity and bluer as it goes lower.
change on a press, and it is the variable that Thus, when printing problems occur, a
has the most significant effect on the result- holistic approach must be used to identify
ing print. Ink viscosity should be checked at the proper corrective actions. When a color
least once an hour and more frequent checks is not acceptable, it is imperative to deter-
are generally recommended by the ink sup- mine whether toner should be added or a vis-
pliers. Dot sharpness in process printing, or cosity adjustment made – all aspects of the
clean printing of fine-type edges when line printing process must be considered before
printing, are both greatly influenced by ink making this determination. Although viscosi-
viscosity. If the viscosity is too low, the ink ty changes may be the quickest approach, the
will often show dot growth causing the consequences of these changes must be
image to lose its sharpness and print dirty. It reviewed.
is very easy to reduce or increase the print First, a note concerning water-based inks.
strength by slight adjustments in the print Viscosity can be related to pH in water-borne
viscosity. Because of this, viscosity is often inks. It is critical that inks be adjusted for pH
the first thing changed when dealing with prior to any adjustment for viscosity. If this is
print-strength adjustments. If viscosity not done, the addition of a water reducer can
adjustments do not meet the requirements cause the inks to become over-reduced.
for print strength, anilox changes are usual- Excessive viscosity reduction of water inks
ly the next step. In water-based inks, howev- can cause many problems including a weak
er, the opposite should be done. The correct color, poor lay, poor drying, offsetting and
anilox is critical and is selected first, and poor lamination bonds. Rather, small
subsequent viscosity changes are small. amounts of amine to adjust pH may result in
The lay of an ink can be affected by vis- better rheology and lower viscosity. These
cosity. If an ink viscosity is too low, the ink factors support the importance placed on
may crawl on the substrate before it dries. automatic viscometers and viscosity instru-
Crawling will result in a print of inconsistent ment calibration.
ink thickness and smoothness. Crawling is Both water-based and solvent-based inks
more apparent in dark colors than with pas- can have a tendency to be thixotropic.
tels or lighter shades of pigments. If crawling Thixotropy is a tendency of a liquid to show
method of press-side
cup. Ink viscosity determines which cup to
viscosity determination
use. Readings considered accurate are be- in flexo is with a Zahn
tween 20–40 seconds on any specific cup. If cup.
INK 91
7^ Another method of with the least effect on drying or block-
checking viscosity is 7^ ing and optimum color value.
using a Shell Cup,
which is more
• Change the anilox to reduce color vol-
commonly used in ume. This approach provides the least
gravure applications effect on the ink itself and probably the
than in flexo. However,
because it is more best long-term balance of good printing
accurate than a Zahn, and high color intensity.
printers favor this
method for on-press
checks. M
IN
On the other hand, if the ink is too weak,
SE
C
/1
00
different options exist:
• If the ink is pre-reduced on press start-
up, uncut ink should be added to the
fountain or reservoir. This will build
strength and viscosity. This is certainly
the easiest cure if the higher viscosity
Regardless of which instrument is used to has not caused printing quality prob-
measure viscosity, calibration must be done lems. Increasing viscosity and increas-
on a regular basis. Slight variations in read- ing strength often go together with dirty
ings can result in significant print problems. printing.
Calibration should be done when new equip- • If an ink based on a dispersion and let-
ment is received, and a log should be estab- down varnish is being used, additional
lished to maintain a regular calibration pro- dispersion may be added. This can
gram. eventually lead, however, to poor adhe-
sion or a loss of other properties as the
Color Adjustment at Press dispersion is not a complete ink vehicle.
The basics of ink viscosity – how it is mea- • If other factors are equal, changing the
sured and some of the factors that affect it anilox to a higher volume is certainly
have been discussed. The next topic is how preferred. Here more ink is carried to
to use ink viscosity and ink metering to the substrate at the lowest viscosity pos-
adjust and control color strength. In any sible to provide optimum strength with
printing configuration, the actual metering the cleanest colors.
system will determine the ink strength need-
ed to achieve the desired color. The color Printing the same color ink at excessive
strength achieved when ink is added to the strength or viscosity makes the color itself
press may be acceptable. If it is too strong, muddy looking. At the same time, dirty print-
however, at least three options exist: ing often occurs. A more transparent, finer
• Add solvent or water depending on the dispersion will negate this effect somewhat.
system, thereby reducing viscosity and However, it often does so with a loss of color
strength. This is the easiest way to intensity and an increase in cost. Sometimes
adjust down color strength. It may, black is added to an ink to “fake” higher
however, lead to drying problems in strength. While this trick often will help, it
water-based inks or even drying prob- does so at the expense of color sharpness,
lems in solvent systems. and the result is somewhat muddy.
• Add extender varnish; this second way Ideally, the ink supplier will provide an ink
to reduce color strength is often best as that will yield the proper color values and
it provides color strength reduction intensities with only minor metering or vis-
INK 93
alkalinity of a substance measured on a scale ammonia or an appropriate amine aded to 20
of 0 to 14. From 0 to 7 is acid, and from 7 to gallons of ink will raise the pH of the ink
14 is alkaline. The neutral point is 7. Although from 8.0 to 8.9. A heavy, high viscosity ink
many believe water to be neutral, it is impor- can occur at a pH around 8.1 to 8.3. Table 13
tant to remember that water is usually, but outlines what happens with an ink and pH.
not necessarily, approximately 7 pH. The pH In summer months, it is advisable to mon-
of water is determined by the pH of the soil itor and adjust pH on an hourly schedule. In
in the surrounding source area. In some the cooler months, every two to three hours
areas, this pH is also affected by the pH of the should be adequate.
rain water (acid or otherwise). When the pH of an ink becomes too low,
Resins used in the manufacture of water- the ink will begin to body up or get higher in
based inks are both of the solution and emul- viscosity. The resins in the ink begin to fall out
sion types, which can be carefully formulat- of solution. The lids on drums or buckets of
ed for tailor-made performance relative to ink can sometimes be seen to have ink strings
specific press speeds, drying conditions, coming from them as a result of poor resin
application volumes and the like. The resins solubility. At low pH, the ink will also begin to
used are generally alkali-soluble, acrylic transfer improperly from the anilox to the
polymers. Simply, that means the resins – plate and from the plate to the substrate,
when synthesized into high molecular causing a decrease in color strength. Also, the
weight polymers – have numerous active inks will start to build up on the plates, caus-
acid sites. In this slightly acidic condition, ing dirty printing. These are some of the
the resins are not suitable for printing and noticeable signs of low pH. Other problems
are coiled. The result is that the body of the could occur with the printed material as well,
polymers is heavy, and the viscosity is very which are harder to detect. If the pH of the
high, rendering ink neither pourable nor ink is too high, the printed material will usu-
pumpable in a press-and-ink pan loop. When ally have poorer water resistance than nor-
the polymers are adjusted with an amine or mal. This may not be an issue if the ink is not
other alkali to an alkaline pH range of 8.0 to designed for water resistance in the first
9.5, the resins perform optimally and have place. The job may be run without any notice-
the best characteristics for dispersing and able print problems, but there is a chance for
wetting-out pigments, for transferring and a potential claim when the print rubs off
laying out on the substrate, and imparting under wet conditions. In addition, if the inks
the product resistance requirements. are too high in pH, the amine odor can also
While printing with water-based inks, the become a problem.
heat produced from running the press and
heat from the outside environment can lower How pH is Measured
the pH of the ink by evaporating the ammo- There are several different ways to mea-
nia and/or amines in the ink. As the amine sure pH. The best way is to use a reliable pH
evaporates, the pH of the ink falls, and the meter, which can be purchased from any
resin begins to revert back to the heavy-body, scientific equipment facility .and can cost
higher viscosity ink. At that point, adjusting from $100 to several thousand dollars. For
the viscosity with water will not quickly or the purpose of ink-pH control in the press-
effectively lower the viscosity or heavy body room, a pH meter costing several hundred
because it is a chemical problem and not a dollars is usually sufficient.
physical one. It is very important that the pH The least-expensive version is a pocket
of the ink be raised. One 6-ounce cup of model, which has too high a variance range
INK 95
would be very easy to add too much amine, drying inks? Ironically, one of the largest
and the result could be an ink with a pH of water-based problems we see is that the inks
10, 11, or higher. dry too fast, and solvents need to be added
The alkaline mixture should be added to remedy this problem. The following will
slowly while agitating the ink. The viscosity hopefully explain how this actually works.
of the ink should decrease as more alkaline Most water-based inks are formulated to
mixture is added. This is partly because of be stronger in color strength. Therefore, less
the additional water, but more importantly, ink is needed to achieve the desired color
the resultant lower viscosity is due to the pH strength than solvent-based inks. By apply-
rising to the desired range. Add only a little ing less ink, usually by using finer line
at a time, stopping to check the pH, making aniloxes, less water is also applied. The less
sure not to overshoot the target range. water applied, the less water there is to dry.
Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be In addition, many printers run water-based
added to inks which are too high in pH. It inks at slightly higher viscosities than sol-
might seem that adding an acid would vent-based inks. This allows for more color
reduce the pH level. In theory, it might give strength with less water present in the ink.
the desired pH, but the resins and additives
Finally, resins unique to water-based sys-
in the inks are intolerant to acids and the
tems are incorporated in the form of emul-
result would be wasted ink. The only possi-
sions. The resin is not dissolved in the water
ble addition to an ink with too high a pH
the way it is in a solution varnish but
would be more virgin ink, and this is only
remains suspended as a particulate. What
effective if the pH of the virgin ink is lower.
this does for drying is that it allows virgin
When adding amines, stop once the ink is in
inks to be formulated at lower viscosities.
the desired pH range. A pH level of 9.5 is not
The lower the viscosity of a virgin ink, the
better than 9.0; anywhere in the range is
less water it takes to reduce it to press print-
ideal. Adding more amine once desired
ing viscosity. Once again, the less water, the
range is achieved only increases the chances
easier the drying.
of overshooting the range.
With all these methods of reducing the
After the pH is in the desired range, the
amount of water in the final ink film, a point
viscosity should be checked to ensure it is
is reached where in many cases, slow sol-
still where it needs to be. If the viscosity is
vents (often glycol ethers) are added to
too high, a little plain water can be added to
get to the desired viscosity. Always adjust water-based inks to slow them down, so they
the ph before adjusting the viscosity! print cleaner. This has created problems for
For almost any problem encountered many printers over the years, where the use
while running water-based inks the pH level of these glycol ethers has sometimes
is the first thing to check. While pH is not the become rampant. Many press operators see
only problem that will be encountered, and that a little glycol helps them to print clean-
pH is not the root of all water-based ink er causing less downtime to clean plates,
problems, it is a good first step. and assume that if a little is good, more is
better. This assumption is wrong! Glycol
ethers need to be used only when absolutely
WATER- VS. SOLVENT-BASED INKS necessary and only in the recommended
Water dries more slowly than most sol- amounts. Too much glycol ethers added to
vents. With many printers moving to water- inks will cause long-term problems that the
based inks, how do they deal with slower- press operator won’t see.
INK 97
anced dryers, which blow air onto the plates promote blocking. To control this situation,
and/or anilox rollers, can result in ink drying the use of chill rollers on the press is need-
on the plates or drying in the anilox roller ed. These chill rollers must be monitored to
causing dirty printing. Increasing tempera- spot condensation and correct the problem
ture alone on a press running water-borne immediately.
inks may not be enough to attain acceptable
drying results. Optimum conditions for water- Climatic Effects on Ink Solubility
borne inks are high temperature, low humidi- One of the most serious concerns with ink
ty and maximum air circulation. solubility involves the absorption of water
Air circulation in the dryers is also impor- into the alcohol in flexo inks. If these inks
tant for solvent-based inks. Since the air also contain certain resins, such as nitrocel-
coming into the ovens from the outside is lulose, the presence of the water will signifi-
low in solvent content, it can readily accept cantly affect the solubility of the nitrocellu-
the solvents from the inks. With the move to lose resin. The result is a blushing of the ink,
solvent incineration and solvent recovery, giving it a flat appearance or causing a kick-
dryers are being designed to permit higher out. The solution usually involves switching
levels of solvent to accumulate before the air to a higher-molecular-weight alcohol, adding
is removed. This optimizes the incineration additional acetate or adding glycol ether sol-
or recovery aspect of the dryers. Under vents. Care must be taken not to add too
these conditions, solvent removal from the much acetate to avoid potential plate-swell
printed web may be lessened, due to the problems. If slower solvents are used, block-
higher solvent content in the dryers. Where ing may become a concern.
there is no solvent recovery or solvent incin- Water-based inks may show poorer solu-
eration, concern over solvent levels in the bility in high heat conditions due to a loss of
dryers is not a major issue if the dryers are amine in the ink. Most water-borne inks for-
performing correctly. mulated for printing nonporous substrates,
use a very fast-drying amine, which tends to
Climatic Effects on Ink Blocking evaporate out of the ink under high temper-
High humidity or high temperatures can atures. Loss of the amine results in poorer
cause conditions in the rewind that will resin solubility. By covering the sumps and
result in ink blocking. High humidity can minimizing the amount of ink in each sump,
cause condensation on the chill rollers, and the evaporation of amine can be reduced.
this moisture can transfer to the substrate.
Moisture in the rewind can cause certain Climatic Effects on Dirty Printing
substrates to block. Chill rollers should be Dirty printing can be the result of poor ink
checked on a regular basis to ensure they resolubility. It can result from the ink drying
are not forming condensation on the sur- too fast or too slow. In either case, the ink
face. High humidity can also prevent com- builds up on the plate. With both water-
plete drying of water-borne inks. This resid- borne and solvent-based inks, there is an
ual moisture in the inks can increase poten- optimum temperature at which the ink will
tial blocking problems. print best. One of the major causes of ink
Blocking of the web is affected by temper- drying on the plate is the presence of stray
ature, pressure and time. If high temperature air from the in-between dryers. This air
conditions persist, the printed web may not blowing on the plates causes the ink to dry
be cooled properly before rewinding. This, and eventually build up until it prints in the
coupled with too high a rewind tension, can nonimage area. Checking the in-between
INK 99
mercury (Figure 7&). Quartz is used because
it is transparent to UV, whereas normal glass INK COMPOSITION
is not. Mercury is used because of its strong
emissions in the ultraviolet range. The sys- CONVENTIONAL INK UV INK
DISADVANTAGES ADVANTAGES
■ Cationics are relatively new to flexo and ■ Low potiential skin irritaion
require differenent handling ■ Not oxygen inhibited
■ Amines will poison the cure of cationics ■ True metallic pigments can be used
■ Amine functional substrates are prob- ■ Static dissipation
lematic ■ Reduced shrinkage – improved adhesion
■ Amine funcitonal pigments cannot be to films
used (fluorescents) ■ Post cure
■ Perceived higher pricing ■ Low odor
■ For CI press, speeds of white ink limited ■ Food package: LD50’s are known
by cure time after UV lamps ■ Product shelf live
■ Inherent low viscosity
Table18
INK 101
print defects, like dot bridging caused by personnel where continuous or long-
dried ink on the printing plate, are all but term exposure is expected and can not
eliminated. The inherently higher viscosity be avoided. This is particularly true dur-
of UV flexo inks aids in reducing dot gain in ing wash-up procedures where solvents
process printing and vignettes. Print quality may be in use.
and consistency is also aided by the lack of 4. It is recommended that some form of
viscosity changes during the press run. UV- eye protection be available to press-
curing equipment is not cheap, but when room personnel and be used around the
examining the comparative cost versus con- pressroom during the working day.
ventional ovens on new presses, the differ- Glasses act as a first-line defense
ences are small. against accidentally introducing ink,
Two issues seem to concern people the coating, or wash solvents directly into
most about UV inks. First is the question of the eye. They also reduce the chances
safe handling and usage. All inks are chemi- of rubbing the eyes with contaminated
cals and as such need to be handled with hands. Should ink or coating be acci-
care. They can’t be eaten or worn, and they dentally introduced into the eye, flush
don’t belong in the eyes. Good hygiene is with water for at least five minutes and
important when handling any ink. If treated follow in-plant first aid procedures.
with the care and healthy respect that chem- Consult a physician.
icals deserve, then inks will be able to do the 5. It is recommended that all personnel
job they were intended for. The other con- adopt the practice of cleaning ink or
cern people have expressed or want assur- coating off their skin with soap and
ances on is on how to confirm that the UV water, and not with solvent, which is
ink is cured. There are several cure tests that the more common practice. Solvent
can be performed press-side, as well as more cleans quicker, but it removes the nat-
detailed, time consuming tests such as ana- ural fats and oils of the skin and may aid
lytical measurements, which are correlated the penetration of the ink and coatings
to the more simple press-side tests. into the deeper layers of the skin. This
can intensify irritation problems, rather
than helping prevent them.
ENERGY-CURED PRODUCTS 6. It is recommended that personnel
The following program is recommended cleaning large spills of energy-cured
for the safe use of energy-cured formula- inks or coatings use gloves. In addition,
tions and should be applied in the areas of used wipers from any clean-up should
ink or coating handling, mixing, and cleaning be placed in a separate container so
of equipment. The necessary items should that the wiper does not become a
be readily available to the working area. source of additional contamination.
Precautions for handling energy-cured inks Solvents may be used with care in
and coatings are as follows: cleaning spills on floors and equipment.
1. Minimize exposure to UV/EB materials. 7. Keep ink and coating-handling equip-
2. The use of barrier creams for the hands ment clean and keep used wipers in a
as a preventive measure is recommend- receptacle. This cuts down on inciden-
ed for those workers who may handle tal contact to other workers. Keep ink
the products in common, short-term and coating containers closed.
exposure situations. 8. Discourage the practice of eating on the
3. Glove protection is recommended for job or in the work areas and encourage
INK 103
earlier presses, color intensity and press
FIRST* SOLID INK DENSITY speed were directly related. As press speed
increased, color strength of the applied ink
PAPER FILM also increased. The advent of bladed presses
■ CYAN 1.28–1.42 1.18–1.32 eliminated this problem and today, ink
■ MAGENTA 1.18–1.32 1.13–1.27 strength is generally not dependent on press
■ YELLOW 0.95–1.05 0.95–1.05 speed. In chambered-blade systems, if ink
■ BLACK 1.43–1.57 1.33–1.47 flow into the chamber does not keep up with
* Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications and press speed, ink starvation can occur, result-
Tolerances
ing in a weak looking print. In addition to con-
Table 17
cern with the ink metering, a press set-up at
300 fpm may require resetting of impressions,
Unfortunately, viscosity cannot be in- when higher running speeds (say 900 fpm)
creased infinitely. There is a best range. are used, in order to maintain color densities.
When it gets too high, dirty printing and off- Plates. Good process printing depends on
setting will be problems. Also, at high vis- achieving a light kiss impression between the
cosities, ink drying can be more difficult to anilox and the plate. Too much impression
control and transfer may lag due to ink dry- can show up as weakness, fast drying, and
ing in the cells of the anilox. dirty print. A kiss impression must be main-
Ink drying in process application is quite tained between plate and substrate as well, or
complex. There are three distinct relation- the dots printed will be misshapen and the job
ships to consider: will look weak and dirty as ink piles up in the
• Ink-film Thickness and Drying wrong places on the printing plate.
• Ink Transfer and Drying Substrates. Another variable that must be
• Ink Viscosity and Drying dealt with in process printing is the substrate.
Due to the transparent nature of process
The first impression would seem to be: use inks, the finished appearance and colors of a
the slowest solvent possible and all problems given job are highly dependent on the color
will be solved. This is not the case. There are and smoothness of the substrate. Any color
many different slow solvents, and they do in the substrate will appear in the printed ink
not all have the same effect on ink-film thick- area. The color must be adjusted by means of
ness, ink viscosity, and transfer. Some slow the separations or by using a first-down white
solvents will cause ink film to swell, and ink to hide the substrate color. Poor substrate
viscosity to increase – both these effects tend smoothness, or anything on the substrate
to reduce ink intensity and make the job look that will negatively affect ink transfer, will
weak. Some solvents reduce ink tack; this create problems and sometimes these can be
also reduces strength and may cause dirty cured using a first-down varnish or white.
print. Slow solvents also can cause odor Higher ink viscosities can sometimes help,
problems if used to excess. The solution is to but often these cause other problems.
use small amounts (5%–10%) of very slow sol-
vents rather than large amounts of slower Press Characterization
solvents,. Blanket suggestions cannot be To determine how each of the print vari-
made. The solvents used should be recom- ables come together to create a finished
mended by the ink supplier. halftone color process print, a press charac-
Press Speed. Press speed and the drying terization or “fingerprint test” of the printing
speed of the inks are directly related. In the process is carried out by the actual press
INK 105
7(
Cutback Values (film) 3 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 70 80 90 100
Electronic File Values 3 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 70 80 90 100
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z AA BB CC DD EE FF
1
C
2
3
M
4
5
Y
6
7
K
8
9
42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
0 2 4 6 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100 0 2 4 6 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100
INK 107
8) Strong vs. weak ink test. gernail and dragging it across the surface of
Color strength is 8) the print. The scratch resistance comparison
often assessed visually
and subjectively. A
Strong Weak vs. standard is necessary, due to the highly
densitometer or subjective method involved (Figure 8!).
spectrophotometer can If ink is removed vs. standard, the situation
also be used to monitor
the strength of the ink. should be investigated.
Print Register
When running more than one color on a
job, each color must be printed in close posi-
tional relationship to the other colors on the
job. This relationship is called register. If the
press causes the substrate to stretch beyond
acceptable limits or oven temperatures are
too high and cause the substrate to shrink,
resulting colors from multiple ink traps. register can go out of acceptable limits. Both
Opacity is commonly assessed visually. The of these problems are usually correctable by
level of opacity in a white ink can be deter- press adjustments.
mined objectively by the use of an opacime- A job can also be out of register if the
ter. The level of strength that an ink print mounting of the plates on the plate cylinder is
exhibits can also affect its color. Certain col- not done properly. If the register at the left
ors will actually appear a different shade as lead edge of the print is in register and the
the color becomes weak or strong vs. a stan- right trail edge is out of register, it is likely
dard. An example of this would be a Rubine- that one of the plates may be mounted incor-
based color match (Figure 8)). As the ink rectly. When a job is out of register due to
strength becomes weaker, the color appears plate-mounting problems, the plates will need
to be more yellow. Color strength is often to be remounted to correct the problem.
assessed visually and subjectively. A densit-
ometer or spectrophotometer can also be Ink Gloss
used to monitor the strength of the ink. A Gloss is a measure of the degree of
weaker ink will have a lower density and dif- reflectance on the surface of the print
ferent, lighter color. (Figure 8@). The gloss level of a print is most
Before color adjustments are made press commonly measured visually versus a stan-
side, correct strength should be obtained. dard. There is a move toward the use of a
This will avoid the possible addition of col- glossmeter to eliminate the subjective visual
ors that can make the match difficult to con- interpretation and to allow for numeric
trol and can result in metamerism. determination of gloss. If the gloss level is
unacceptable, it may be an indication that
Scratch Test the ink printed has not been mixed properly.
A quick test for scratch resistance during This can cause an inconsistent level of slip
start-up and press run can identify some additives in the ink container. The higher
potential problems easily and quickly. If an level of these additives can decrease gloss.
ink contains wax additives and the container
of ink was not mixed properly, it is possible Ink Crinkle
the scratch resistance will be poor. The test On flexible packaging materials, such as
is performed by taking the back of the fin- polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, etc.,
Coefficient of Friction
Certain packages require a specific level of
slip on the outside and often the inside of the
Flat means stale
package. The inside slip level is important
for high speed filling operations, where the
product must go into the package. An
inclined plane or an AGR are two common
instruments used to measure the Coefficient
Gloss means fresh Of Friction of a surface. Tests are usually
done at the start of a production run and
checked at regular intervals during the run
to be sure the process is in control.
inks must also have acceptable flexibility.
Poor flexibility on these substrates can Rub
result in ink flaking off the package as it is When rub resistance is required, it is com-
handled. Prints are most commonly checked mon to test the rub resistance of the print
for flexibility by putting about an inch of either against itself or against another surface
print material between the thumb and fore- the print will be in contact with (Figure 8$).
finger of each hand and quickly rotating the The test is carried out using a Sutherland rub
prints several times. This is a very subjective tester as described in Chapter 1. This test is
test. The number of times the prints are performed with a certain amount of weight
rotated and the degree of force in that rota- applied to the print for a set number of
tion will affect the results. It is therefore ben- strokes/rubs in contact with either the print
eficial to do this test with a known accept- or the expected contact surface. In addition
able print and compare those results to the to the Sutherland rub tester, there are other
production print (Figure 8#). There are also instruments that can be used to test rub resis-
instruments available for determining the tance, depending on the shipping and storage
degree of ink flexibility. These instruments conditions a package will be exposed to. It is
provide a much more consistent method of not unusual for optimum rub resistance prop-
testing to allow for greater repeatability. erties to develop over several hours.
INK 109
8# Good crinkle vs. bad cial water-borne inks are not soluble in water,
crinkle. For flexible 8# Good Crinkle vs Bad Crinkle but rather in amine and water. If a job is print-
packaging materials,
inks must also have
ed and the amine is not removed through dry-
Good Bad
acceptable flexibility. ing, or if too much or the wrong amine was
Poor flexibility on these added to an ink, the printed material may res-
substrates can result
in ink flaking off the olubilize when exposed to water. Generally,
package as it is water resistance improves with time when
handled. water-based inks are printed. With the
increased use of water-borne inks, some print-
8$ It is common to test the ers have set up tests off press to check for
rub resistance of the
print against itself or water resistance. This is done by wiping the
against another surface print a number of times with a wet tissue. The
the print will be in con-
tact with. pressure and amount of water used, as well as
the number of wipes made will all affect the
8$ results. Once these three variables are con-
trolled, this test can be a good indicator that
the inks were applied and dried properly.
Other Conditions
It would be difficult to anticipate all possi-
ble conditions that may require press side
testing. It is perhaps best to realize that any
job should be carefully reviewed to deter-
mine which testing is feasible to be done
press side. This can be determined by using
a team approach to review what conditions
the package will be exposed to and how the
package is designed to perform.
Water Resistance
If a print is expected to be in contact with
water, the inks must be designed to resist any SUBSTRATES
bleeding or removal during this exposure. If a printer was asked what one thing he
This is especially important for water inks; would like to see from his ink company, he
however, solvent inks may be of concern would likely answer “one ink which works
also. The degree that an ink will bleed in on all the substrates” (Figure 8%). There are
water is largely a function of the colorant many ink systems out there, because there
used. If an incorrect pigment was used to are many substrates printed flexographically,
tone the ink press side, the resulting print which is why the process is so popular. Each
may bleed when exposed to water. This can substrate has unique characteristics which
happen with both solvent- and water-based require different formulations of inks in
inks. Test methods for water resistance are order to get the end-use properties desired in
specific to the particular application in- the final package. Common substrates that
volved. They must be agreed to by all parties inks are specifically formulated to print on
involved in the process. are papers and paperboards, polyethylenes,
Water-based inks have their own concerns foils, cellophanes, vinyls, polypropylenes,
when it comes to water resistance. Commer- PVCs, coextruded films, polyesters, metal-
lized films and more being introduced to the ly purchased. It was realized that this was
process. Each of these substrates has varia- not the case, when their standard polyester
tions, depending upon manufacturer and ink systems did not work properly on the
production processes. Each variation could imported substrate. In some cases, before
require a different ink system, or maybe a the ink companies could formulate an ink to
slight modification to an existing ink. work on the imported material, the polyester
It is important to remember that as sub- shortage was over and printers could again
strates vary, the inks often have to vary with purchase the material they originally used.
them. For example, if a printer is using a The point to remember is that if someone
polyester film and switches to another poly- asks you what type of ink should be used on
ester, which is supposed to be the same, a specific polypropylene film, don’t be too
there is a chance that the same ink will not quick to respond unless you are familiar
work equally well on both substrates. The with that exact substrate.
ink industry saw this problem recently.
Polyester film suddenly became difficult to Substrate’s Effect on Color
obtain in one part of the world. Some print- When color matching, it is very important
ers bought overseas products which were to match the color of the ink applied to the
supposedly equal to what they had previous- substrate on which it will be printed. The
INK 111
color of the substrate can greatly affect the thumb formulas and precise material bal-
appearance of the ink. For example, if the ance studies on production runs.
same red ink were to be printed on a range of
substrates; clear film, white opaque film, Laboratory Method
white paper, and brown kraft paper, the color This method is extremely accurate in pre-
produced would appear to be quite different dicting ink costs for nonabsorbent surfaces.
on each of the substrates. This is because A proof of the ink being tested is made on an
inks are transparent, some more than others. appropriate stock and ink coating weight is
Therefore, the color under the ink layer will taken and used in the formula to compute
show through the ink, changing the appear- ink costs.
ance of the ink.
If inks were not transparent but instead C 100CW IC PS SC
100% opaque, what substrate was used IS
would not matter, but these inks could not be Where:
used for process printing. Process printing C = Applied Cost, $/ream
relies upon overlap, or trap, of one color over CW = Dry Coating Weight, lbs./ream
another to create a very large number of IC = Ink Cost, $/lbs.
other colors and shades. The subsequent trap PS = Press Solvent Added, lbs./ink lbs.
colors can only be achieved if the inks are SC = Solvent Cost, $/lbs.
transparent. Process printing is covered in IS = Fresh Ink, % solids content
another volume, but it is important to realize
that with transparent inks, the color of the This method does not predict the costs
substrate under the ink will alter the appear- caused by fugitive solvent losses. The key to
ance of that ink accuracy in this method is ensuring that the
proofing method, used for coating weight
determination and color specification of the
INK-VALUE DETERMINATION proof, matches the production print exactly.
Ink is a significant cost in printing – often
as much as 5% to 10% of the sales dollar. The
value of ink as a decorative and functional Historical Data
coating is easily measured in terms of speci- A formula can be developed by using data
fications, such as spectrophotometric gathered over time. For example, a rough
curves, gloss values and bond strength num- estimate of ink consumption can be deter-
bers. The cost of actually using the ink in mined using this equation:
specific jobs must be predicted and opti-
mized. Exact knowledge of costs gives the I R % Coverage 0.02
printer a competitive edge because jobs with Where:
a below target profitability can be reviewed I = Weight of fresh ink needed in lbs.
and corrected. Many printers conduct indi- R = Number of reams printed
vidual job costing within individual com-
modities allowing previously averaged vari- This formula can be further refined based
ables, such as ink type and coverage, to be on individual factors in specific jobs.
accounted for in detail. There are several formulas that have been
Knowledge of ink value is often gathered developed for ink consumption estimation
through a combination of historical data, over the years and proven to work well, such
laboratory gravimetric techniques, rule-of- as:
INK 113
coating weight determination. high volume items, therefore the greatest
Color matches should be figured using cost saving impact is seen.
applied cost and not cost per pound of ink. When purchasing inks, the best value is in
Establishing the applied cost may take more high-strength inks. These are highly pig-
time but the payback will be seen rapidly. mented and, while the cost per pound is
Typically, colors matched or re-matched for higher than conventional inks, this can be
low cost are those used on high coverage or more than offset by increased mileage.
SUGGESTED USE:
Heavy Lines and Solids 120–330 lpi
Line and Type 200–400 lpi
Vignettes 360–550 lpi
Process 500–1200 lpi
INK 115
116
Appendix B
Date Customer Personnel Title Job #
Start Location
Finish
Job Description Total Construction
To
Job Tot
_________
________
SUBSTRATE PRESS NUMBER________
________ DRYER B/C __
SETTING__ READING
CODE ___________
MANUFACTURER
_______ __
O/H1 SETTING
O/H2 SETTING __ READING
READING
_______ ________ _ _
_____
WETTING TENSION
_____ _________
NORMAL SPEED
_________
WEB TEMP TEMP. % HUMIDITY
PRINT SURFACE
TOTAL QUANTITY PRINTED
DYNES/CM TRIAL SPEED
WEB WIDTH
CI DRUM TEMP________
CONDITIONS
PRESSROOM ________
_________
OUTDOOR
FLEXOGRAPHY: PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES
6
Appendix C
PRESS INK RECORD
DENSITY BAR
SPECIAL INFORMATION
INK 117
Appendix D
pH/VISCOSITY RECORD
UNIT OF MEASURE
BATCH NUMBER ASSIGNED
(Must be on label)
COMMENTS
INK 119
Appendix F
VISCOSITY CONVERSION GUIDE
CAUTION: These numbers are guides only. Actual comparisons will differ.
A
by Webster’s New World Dic- through further development, driven by
tionary as “a medium or a sub- changes in market demand, and the advent
stance which supports anoth- of recycling.
er; a foundation.” In printing, The flexographer needs to be aware that
the substrate supports the ink the materials are usually produced to meet
film that carries the message needed to end-use requirements and not necessarily
describe the internal contents of a package those of the printing process. This is begin-
or give an advertised message. ning to change with the demand for higher
Substrates for flexography are varied, print quality. In some cases specialized inks
depending on the end use of the material. need to be used, or the current inks have to
There is almost no material that cannot be be altered. Drying ovens are necessary in
printed by the flexo process – from tiny some cases. In the past 10 years, the use of
paper toothpick wrappers, to plastic cover- water-based inks has become prevalent on
ings for mattresses, to metal foils. A major paper substrates and even on some plastic
challenge for the flexographer is under- films.
standing the substrate material to be printed The objective of this chapter is to educate
because each has special requirements. the printer about the properties of various
Primary topics covered in this volume substrates. Information presented is de-
include: an explanation of the different sub- signed to make it possible and convenient
strates; how they differ in their production; for the printer to ensure that each material
printing characteristics; and guidelines on meets its proper specification before, as well
how they need to be handled. as after, it is printed.
New substrates are always being added, Common materials are listed under the
while existing ones are constantly improved five main groups. A brief description of the
upon in response to new needs. Substrates material manufacturing process is offered.
are divided into five major groups: Comments about the characteristics and
• Paper and Paperboard problems associated with the substrate that
• Corrugated are frequently encountered by the flexogra-
• Laminates pher are provided.
• Foils
• Films
SUBSTRATES 123
Paper and Paperboard
aper is one of the oldest sub- other new developments: advertising and
P
strates used for printing and has mass distribution. These in turn necessitated
gone through many changes as new methods for wrapping and packaging
materials and environmental merchandise for delivery to consumers.
concerns have influenced pro-
duction. It is believed that man
first invented paper about 200 B.C., but the MANUFACTURING PROCESS
earliest known record attributes the develop- Paper can account for anywhere from 40%
ment and production to the Chinese, begin- to 60% of the cost of a final printed job, so it
ning early in the second century A.D. This is important to understand the manufacturing
paper was made using bark, hemp and rags process. The original Fourdrinier invention is
as the chief ingredients. still in use today on most paper machines.
The Chinese continued to refine their Every piece of equipment can be broken
paper-making skills and developed starch siz- down into three sections: the wet-end, the
ing in the second half of the eighth century. press section and the drying section.
Starch aids in keeping the fibers bonded From the wet end, or headbox, a dilute slur-
together and holds the ink out at the surface ry of fiber and additives consisting of about
to prevent blurring the printed image. The 99% water is deposited onto an endless mov-
development of paper with sizing was con- ing wire where most of the water is drained
tinued in the Middle East and later in Spain away. Further water is removed by perforated
and in Sicily. Most paper was made by hand suction boxes beneath the wire.
until the 18th century when the Fourdrinier The fragile wet web is transferred to the
brothers developed the first practical paper press section where a supporting wool or
machine. synthetic fabric felt passes the paper through
The Fourdrinier machine formed a contin- wringers and suction rolls to the drying sec-
uous strip of paper instead of the single-sheet tion. There, heated cylinders reduce mois-
production of the hand-made paper. This ture to the desired finished level. Paper
innovation facilitated the further develop- caliper and surface smoothness are estab-
ment of printing presses. A second milestone lished by passing the web between a calen-
was marked though the use of wood pulp for der stack of steel rolls. Finally, the paper is
paper production. Prior to wood pulp, the wound onto a huge reel at the dry end of the
chief ingredient in papermaking was rags. paper machine.
The new plentiful and renewable ingredient Additional steps might include adding pig-
supported increased large-scale production mented coating(s) to one or both sides of the
to meet the rapidly growing demands for web, rewinding to remove defects, slitting the
printed material. master reel to the desired roll width and
As more people were educated, the diameter, or other post-production enhance-
demand for knowledge grew. The rising read- ments. Figure 8^ shows the wet end of the
ership of newspapers and books resulted in paper machine.
SUBSTRATES 125
8^ At the wet end a paper
manufacturing process, 8^
a dilute slurry of fiber
and additives consisting A H
mostly of water is
deposited onto an D E F G
endless moving wire
I
where most of the water
will be drained away. C
B K J
The ideal printing paper would be one that pulp is flushed from the stones with streams
has identical characteristics on both sides. of water. This pulp is made up of short, stiff
Paper traditionally has had a characteristic fibers which have little strength properties.
two-sidedness, or top side of the sheet, Paper made from this pulp is the least expen-
known as the felt side, and the bottom of the sive because none of the lignin, resins or
sheet, or the wire side. The difference impurities have been removed and as a result
between sides could be determined visually the paper will darken very readily. Newsprint
by means of the screen mark left on the wire is a common example of a high groundwood
or bottom side during sheet forming. paper but even this product needs the addi-
Newer paper machines with twin wires tion of longer, chemically treated fibers to
make the two-sidedness less apparent. The provide sufficient strength for processing in
two-sidedness is most apparent in the differ- high-speed printing presses and folders.
ence in ink receptivity due to the inconsis- Chemical processes for producing wood
tencies in the concentration of “fines” or pulp provide papers that are stronger and
small fibers and fillers. The felt side is more more impurity free than the groundwood
closed because the fillers are concentrated process. Continuous batch digesters produce
on the top of the sheet, while the wire or bot- papers that are more permanent. There are
tom of the sheet is more open due to the two types of chemical pulping, sulfate (or
drainage of water through the fibers forming kraft) and sulfite. The sulfate process yields a
on the wire. The use of retention aids and wider variety of products which are stronger
newer machines have helped to eliminate than those from the sulfite process. Hence,
some of the top-to-bottom differences in the sulfate process is more commonly used.
mechanically produced paper. Semichemical pulps are sometimes used in
varying proportions with chemical fibers to
Production of Wood Pulp provide bulk or other desirable combinations
There are four main types of pulping meth- at the lowest cost. All chemically separated
ods: mechanical, chemical, semichemical fibers are longer, stronger and free from the
and thermomechanical. resinous contaminates in the wood itself.
In the mechanical or groundwood method, Papers with no groundwood fibers are
logs are pressed against huge revolving known as “free sheets” (groundwood free).
grindstones to defiber the wood, and the Free sheets are used for business papers,
SUBSTRATES 127
differ very much from that made from virgin PAPER PROPERTIES
fiber. Some characteristics like formation, There are no obvious distinctions in the
smoothness and opacity can be improved definition between paper and paperboard.
due to increased pliability of de-inked fibers. The major difference lies in the caliper.
Brightness can suffer, but this can be Generally, papers are either coarse or fine.
improved with the addition of virgin fiber Coarse are the kraft papers, and fine are the
and optical brighteners. Recycled papers bleached, smoother papers.
print comparably to virgin paper with the Paper is classified based on its end use
added bonus that they tend to curl less and and the term used for this description is
have greater dimensional stability. called grade. Each grade is formulated dif-
ferently so its characteristics are appropri-
Fillers ate for the ink that will be applied and the
Paper contains non-fibrous materials equipment on which it will be run. Paper per-
called fillers. Fillers such as clay, titanium forms best when used for its intended pur-
dioxide or calcium carbonate are added to pose, but some papers are considered dual
modify absorbency, hardness, smoothness, purpose. A good paper is one that prints and
printability, durability, weight and handling converts successfully. Finished paper prop-
characteristics of paper. Binders like gum, erties can be broken down into several clas-
methyl cellulose, starch or resins are added sifications:
to help hold the fibers together, to increase • structural or mechanical;
stiffness, and to reduce dust and lint. Papers • surface finish and appearance; and
need fillers to produce higher ink holdout • chemical.
resulting in less dot gain since, the ink can
be kept on the surface and not be absorbed These properties apply to both paper and
into the fiber’s structure. paperboard. However, the method for their
determination may differ. The following is
meant as a brief definition and does not nec-
Table 18
size for a given grade). These 500 sheets also lb = pound ft = foot
sheets of 25" x 38" is equal to 3,300 square m = meter in2 = square inches
feet of paper. Therefore, the basis weight can cm = centimeter ft2 = square feet
pounds per square foot. Today, due to the cm2 = square centimeters
Table 20
SUBSTRATES 129
will be converted into a product that must fit the ability of a paper to hold its original size
into a specified container for shipping. This or constant dimension in all directions when
is important for books, envelopes and busi- exposed to physical stress or variable mois-
ness forms. ture. This is a very important property espe-
Burst. Burst is a measure of a combination of cially where unit-print stations are used and
properties, like tensile and stretch, up to the more moisture is added by water-based ink
point of rupture. Burst differs from tensile at each unit. Papers with poor dimensional
strength in that the force used for the failure stability will not hold color-to-color register
is in a circular direction, while tensile is in and may result in a poor, blurred print.
one direction only. Packaging paper must Folding Endurance. Folding endurance is a
meet minimum bursting-strength require- paper’s ability to withstand repeated flexing
ments. or folding and bending. The test is usually
Caliper. Caliper is a measurement of the thick- run in both the machine direction and cross-
ness of a single sheet of paper, paperboard or machine direction of the paper. Government
combined board measured with a micrometer documents like wills and maps need high
under a static load for a minimum specified folding endurance. Papers have greater
time. The unit of measurement is thousandths strength in the cross-machine direction. Pa-
of an inch, or mils. Caliper is important perboard uses a different procedure to mea-
because wide variations can cause the final sure this property and the result indicates
print impression to be uneven. Caliper and the suitability of the paperboard for conver-
smoothness are inversely related. Higher sion into folding cartons without a scoreline.
caliper papers tend to be rougher while lower Formation. Formation is the uniformity of the
calipers tend to be smoother. Caliper affects fiber distribution in the paper. There are a
both stiffness and bulk. Heavier-weight papers number of instruments that measure forma-
and paperboard have calipers expressed in tion. The higher the number, the more uni-
points (each point is equal to 0.001".) form the sheet. The values are reported as
Curl. Curl is non-flat paper caused by changes flocs (hills) and voids (valleys). Flocs are
in moisture content or physical stress and densified fiber bundles and voids are areas
may take many forms. Due to changing rela- with less fiber. Calendering can level out the
tive humidity, and ultimately paper moisture, surface of the paper but the internal struc-
stresses in the paper may become unbalanced ture that has the compacted fibers of the
and a curl will develop. As a general rule, flocs will absorb ink less than the adjacent
fibers expand (contract) about three times voids producing a non-uniform, mottled or
more in diameter than in length with blotchy print. Applying more pressure dur-
increased (decreased) moisture. A paper’s ing printing cannot overcome the non-uni-
wire side, with a higher concentration of fiber, form or blotchy print since the floc structure
is more reactive to moisture changes than the is throughout the sheet and will appear
filler-rich felt side. Reel curl may occur near a equally on both sides of the paper. In process
roll core with paper wound too tightly and work, the print will appear grainy especially
take on a permanent set in this position. when working with higher line screens.
Density. Density is the value obtained by Grain Direction. Grain direction is essentially
dividing basis weight, expressed as mass per how the fibers lay or align when they are
unit area, by the caliper. Paper that is com- deposited on the wire in the papermaking
pact and tightly formed will have a higher process. “Grain long” refers to the machine
density value. direction with most of the fibers oriented
Dimensional Stability. Dimensional stability is somewhat parallel to this direction or the
SUBSTRATES 131
8* Excessive moisture will minates the paper. Paper will absorb some
cause welts and wavy wavelengths and reflect others. If it absorbs 8*
edges making further
converting difficult. all the wavelengths of white light while reflect-
ing none, then it will be black paper. Most bril-
liant color reproductions are obtained on
papers with high-balanced reflectance.
Friction Resistance. Friction resistance is
sometimes referred to as coefficient of fric-
tion (COF). The coefficient of friction is
expressed in both static and kinetic forms.
The static term is related to the force
required to initiate movement between two
surfaces. The kinetic is the force required to
sustain uniform movement. This is an impor-
tant property for any printing paper and also
for converting operations. Modifiers like or texture of the paper’s face and is influ-
waxes are added to increase the ease with enced by the fillers, coating, supercalender-
which papers will move across each other. ing and sizing. There are a number of instru-
Paperboard cartons, file folders and multi- ments for determining smoothness, so it is
wall shipping bags must have sufficient skid important to understand which method is
resistance to prevent problems during trans- being used and reported. In general most of
port. In some cases colloidal silica is added the instruments are air leak methods and the
as an anti-skid treatment. lower the number, the smoother the sheet.
Gloss. Gloss is the surface quality of the
paper which reflects light like a mirror and Chemical Properties
gives it a shiny appearance. It is measured by Fiber Content. Papers are made primarily of
an instrument that illuminates a sheet at a both softwoods (fibers from conifers or pine
particular angle (usually 75°) and detects trees) and hardwoods (fibers from decidu-
light reflected at the same angle. It is used for ous trees that lose their leaves). An appro-
coated and uncoated paper and paperboard. priate combination is necessary to obtain
The smoother a paper surface, the more light the proper balance between strength and
is reflected in this mirror-like manner. surface finish for specific paper grades.
Printed ink gloss is somewhat dependent on Recycled and reclaimed fibers are also used
paper gloss. A 20° measurement is preferred exclusively or in part for certain grades of
for high gloss, cast coated, lacquered and both paper and paperboard.
highly varnished papers. Neither method is a Moisture. Papers are manufactured to a spec-
measure of image reflecting quality. ified moisture content. This moisture will
Opacity. Opacity is the property of the paper have a direct bearing on how much ink the
that obstructs light transmission. Opacity is paper will absorb during printing. Papers are
influenced by the degree of fiber refining. made of cellulose fibers that will absorb or
Increased refining increases the fiber bond- lose moisture very readily. Handling of paper
ing and decreases the amount of voids in the before printing is critical because paper
paper reducing light transmission. The use picks up ambient moisture from the air. A
of fillers in the paper also helps to increase very moist sheet will require more ink and
the hiding power or opacity of the paper. will need many press adjustments to keep
Smoothness. Smoothness is the surface finish proper registration. Press rooms need to
SUBSTRATES 133
9) A magnified view of the reasons to coat a paper are to enhance the
fiber structure in coated 9) Uncoated
appearance and to improve the printing sur-
and uncoated paper.
face. Coatings also provide functional quali-
ties such as water resistance, grease proof-
ing and heat sealability. The paper acts as a
base for the coating., which improves the
surface of the paper by filling in the inherent
micro spaces created by the fibers overlay-
ing each other. It also improves the print for-
mation by making the flocs (hills or dark
areas of densified fiber) and voids (valleys,
Coated areas with less fiber) produced during the
manufacture of paper less apparent. A more
uniform surface gives more consistent print
density, gloss and print smoothness. Coat-
can dull slitter knives more quickly in con- ings must allow the escape of water-vapor
verting operations. Acid papers can eventual- during printing, especially with heavy ink
ly yellow and become brittle due to small coverage. The higher a basis weight and
amounts of residual acid attacking the fibers. coating thickness the greater the risk of the
Alkaline papers are manufactured in the pH paper blistering when drying, especially at
range of 7 to 8. This is considered essentially web temperatures above 212° F.
neutral. The seemingly small difference The coating is generally applied on the
between the pH values are deceptive because paper machine after the size press. Sizing
the scale is logarithmic, meaning each incre- helps hold the coating on the surface of the
ment is 10 times greater than the last. Calcium fibers. Coatings are comprised of pigments
carbonate is the primary filler for alkaline (clay or calcium carbonate), a binder (starch
paper and this improves the appearance and or latex), flow modifiers (carboxyl methyl
brightness without the addition of titanium cellulose), brighteners and whiteners.
dioxide. Calcium carbonate can be abrasive in Coated paper is then super-calendered either
its natural form, but paper makers use a chem- on- or off-machine to give the final degree of
ically manufactured precipitated form (PCC) surface finish. A super-calender is a stack of
of the material. The advantages of alkaline rolls that are a combination of alternating
paper include higher natural brightness, hard cotton rolls and steel rolls which polish
which gives greater printed ink contrast; the surface of the sheet. The number of nips
improved bulk, for better handling; greater through which the paper passes determines
stiffness to enhance runability; and improved the final gloss, smoothness and caliper.
archival qualities. The United States Govern- Coatings can be produced in a number of fin-
ment has required that all its documents must ishes from matte to enamel. Paper finish will
be printed on alkaline paper. determine the final ink absorbency, gloss and
Acid and alkaline papers print equally well drying rate. The color of the coating will
by flexography. determine the amount of “snap” or contrast
between the ink and the paper surface.
Coated Papers Problems encountered with coated papers
A large portion of papers printed by flexo, can take a number of forms. A mottled
such as label stock, some liner board and gift appearance in the unprinted coating may
wrap, are coated (Figure 9)). The primary produce a mottled print. Imperfections in
SUBSTRATES 135
pressroom and sufficient time allowed for lowed by eggshell with a pitted texture and
the roll to come to the same temperature as vellum as the smoothest.
the environment. Pressroom humidity is Machine and English. Differs from the antique
important when printing paper. Paper per- finishes by having a smoother, more pol-
forms best when the relative humidity is less ished surface.
than 8% drier or wetter than that of the Felt. Made by having the felt mark trans-
paper. Paper is hygroscopic, meaning it will ferred to the paper and is partly dried to imi-
absorb or lose moisture. Once the paper has tate handmade paper.
picked up or lost moisture it is impossible to Laid. Paper which has a fine crisscross of
change back to the original manufactured vertical and horizontal lines.
moisture content. Some performance char- Embossed. This finish is applied after the
acteristics of the paper will be lost by the paper is off the machine. These papers are
change in moisture. To avoid problems with made by passing the paper through two rolls
dimensional stability, curl, register problems that stamp a three-dimensional pattern into
and dot gain, it is advisable not to unwrap a the paper.
roll of paper until ready to put it on press. A Supercalendered. This paper is characterized
partially used roll should always be wrapped by a smooth and shiny finish.
again to avoid changes in the paper proper-
ties. Paperboard behaves in the same man- Coated Paper Finishes
ner. The degree of moisture change in paper- Enamel Coated. The highest or heaviest coat-
board is dependent on fiber type, condition ed paper which is highly supercalendered,
of fiber (degree of recycle) and structure. generally to a 75° gloss of 60% or higher.
Rolls should be handled carefully. Dropping Dull Coated. This paper is lightly supercalen-
a roll can crush the cores, making it difficult to dered to have a low gloss (typically 30% to
put on the press shaft. Damaged cores can 40% at 75°) and is very good for readability.
also result in tension variation that translates Matte Coated. A fully coated, nonsupercalen-
into print misregister, repeat-length abnormal- dered finish that has virtually no gloss
ities and slower press production. Bumping a (below 25% at 75°), but tends to be more
roll with a fork-lift can damage many layers of prone to poor ink-rub resistance, due to the
paper in the roll, making it unusable. Rolls large rough-surfaced pigments used to scat-
should always be moved with a clamp truck. ter light and reduce gloss.
Embossed Coated. This paper is coated, then
embossed with a three-dimensional pattern,
PAPER FINISHES producing a textured surface having a slight-
There are basically two types of paper fin- ly lower gloss.
ishes, uncoated and coated. Uncoated papers Cast Coated. Paper which has its pigmented
can vary greatly in appearance from a very coating dried, while held against a highly
smooth and shiny surface to an antique finish polished surface similar to a glossy photo-
that has a rough, distinctive texture. In con- graph. Cast-coated papers are usually mea-
trast, coated papers have a smooth finish and sured with a 20° glossmeter rather than an
are classified by their gloss or shininess. 75° instrument normally used to character-
ize other pigmented-coated papers.
Uncoated Paper Finishes Coated One Side (C1S). Widely used for
Antique, Eggshell and Vellum. Refers to labels, the uncoated side is compatible with
uncoated papers with a rough, distinct sur- adhesives.
face texture. Antique is the roughest, fol-
SUBSTRATES 137
is fluted and combined with liner board to to curl when printed. It is advisable to wet the
produce corrugated board. back or uncoated side during printing, if an
Food Board. A hardsized board for water adhesive has not been applied, to help elimi-
resistance. Used for food packaging. nate the curl tendency.
Frozen-food Board. Single- or multi-ply board
with resistance to high moisture and water
vapor. This usually is a coated board for high MULTIWALL BAGS
quality graphics. The first U.S. patent for paper-sack making
Kraft-lined Chipboard. A board with an machines was granted in the 1860s, when,
unbleached kraft liner on a wastepaper base. due to the Civil War, paper replaced the dif-
Kraft Linerboard. A strong packaging paper- ficult-to-obtain cotton sacks. Multiwall bags
board with two-ply construction made from replaced the use of cotton sacks to ship flour
virgin kraft pulp. The top ply is added by a and grains to distant cities. Further expan-
second headbox. Used in combination with sion of this type of shipping method was
a fluted medium for corrugated boxes. fueled by the shortages created by World
Lined Board. A multi-ply board with a liner ply. War II. During this time the use of the multi-
Liquid Packaging Board. Also called milk-car- wall bag came into wide usage. The develop-
ton board, this strong board is usually plastic ment of a wide range of special papers to
coated. control moisture and insect infestation, plus
Solid Bleached Sulfate. High quality board the ability to tailor-make the shipping con-
usually made with 100% bleached kraft pulp tainer to any required strength to fit difficult
and coated on one or both sides to enhance handling, gave a big boost to this industry.
process color printing. The major advantages of paper-shipping
Solid Unbleached Sulfate. Unbleached chemi- sacks are low tare weight, flexibility, ease of
cal pulp provides an exceptionally strong filling and handling, low cost, minimum stor-
board with very good tear and burst resis- age, biodegradability and good graphics.
tance; frequently coated white on one side
for printing.
White-lined Board. A board with bleached ENVELOPE PAPER
pulp liner and the remainder composed of a Envelopes are made from many paper
mixture of chemical and mechanical pulp. grades, depending on end use and printing
Used for food packaging. requirements. The grades can vary from
bleached to unbleached kraft, to fine paper,
to some label stocks. In some cases, synthet-
LABEL STOCK ic paper is used for heavy shipping require-
Label stock is very diverse and can include ments. The ink must be specified for the type
paper, laminates, metallic foils, plastic and of paper. Most envelopes are printed in-line
synthetic substrates. It can be divided into by the flexographic method, although a por-
groups like coated and uncoated, pressure tion are still printed by sheetfed offset and
sensitive or heat sensitive, gummed or self- later die cut into blanks. In some cases, the
adhesive. Plain paper labels are used exten- blanks are cut, then flexo-printed and folded.
sively but generally are coated on the printing Papers used for envelopes must have good
side so an adhesive can be applied to the back dimensional stability, bulk and stiffness to
side of the paper. This type of label is used for allow for manufacture at high speed with
large-volume items like soft drinks, wines and good printability. Paper moisture is critical
canned foods. These papers have a tendency when heavy ink coverage is used because
Table 21
SUBSTRATES 139
Printing and Handling TISSUE
Characteristics Tissues are a special category of sub-
Glassine paper is handled differently from strates which run the gamut from semitrans-
other substrates, mainly because the fibers of parent to totally opaque. They may be made
the highly refined sheets are very reactive to very weak and soft or surprisingly strong
moisture. Many printers and converters use and hard. Tissue is almost always character-
water-based inks and coatings because of the istically fairly thin, unless combined in mul-
volatile organic compound (VOC) regula- tiple plies by embossing or adhesives.
tions. However, improvements in wet-end Tissue-making paper machines are among
chemistry, refining and surface treatment has the fastest in the industry with production
produced glassine paper of greater dimen- speeds up to 5,000 ft/min. Tissue formed on
sional stability, so it is possible to obtain glas- a Fourdrinier wire is further dried in a press
sine paper that will do just as well as other section and against a huge (typically about
substrates using solvent-based inks. 18' in diameter) heated Yankee drum. Paper
When converting glassine, the paper towels and napkins are among tissue com-
should not be allowed to lose any more than monly printed by flexography using water-
a minimum of its original moisture. Loss of based ink. Producing tissue with fiber
moisture can cause brittleness and weaken strength to resist linting during printing and
web strength. As the paper loses moisture maintain fluffy softness desired in the end
below the supplied content, a small amount product is a technical balancing act for the
of shrinkage should be expected. papermaker.
C
Because the medium is normally sandwiched
popular and cost-effective pack- between two layers of liner, there is no real
aging method for the transporta- concern for sheet appearance
tion of manufactured goods
today. Corrugated board’s main The Liner
purpose is to protect its con- The outside face is made of natural kraft.
tents by cushioning. It’s very high strength-to- This kraft paper is made primarily of soft-
weight ratio allows this material to be strong wood from coniferous (evergreen or pine)
despite its light weight. trees. The pulp is made by the sulfate
process from wood chips. The kraft fiber
can be bleached to lighten dark components.
BOARD CONSTRUCTION
Corrugated material is a composite made
from paperboard components of the liner,
which is the outside face, and the medium, 9!
which is the internal fluted structure that
gives the board its strength There are differ-
ent types of board construction as shown in
Figure 9!.
Triple
The Medium Wall
SUBSTRATES 141
9@ A magnified view of the
medium shows voids in 9@
the fiber construction.
These void areas receive
Roll of
the adhesive and serve Medium
as the anchor point for Corrugated
the bond between the Medium
liner and the medium.
Medium:
Light-weight board used for the fluted
inner ply of corrugated box stock.
• Stiffness
• Resistance to crushing
• High stretch Blown-up View
• Gaps provide holding volume for adhesive of Medium
Top Liner
Roll of
Liner
Blank
Bottom Liner
Roll of
Liner Fluted Medium
After washing and refining, the paper is make a perfectly white layer but is sufficient
made on a specialized Fourdrinier machine. to give an improved imaging surface for
The difference between this machine and packaging applications, thus the mottled
normal paper machines is the use of two appearance and name.
headboxes. About 80% of the fiber first
deposited on the wire is less refined and Combined Board Construction
stronger. The remaining fiber is more refined At the corrugator, the roll stocks of both
and smoother and is applied to the felt (top medium and liner are converted into com-
or finished) side of the sheet. bined corrugated board and cut into sheets,
Two types of finishes are possible, wet fin- which are also known as blanks. Corrugated
ish or dry finish. The wet finish has a coating board is manufactured in a number of con-
of starch applied before the calender and is structions (see Figure 9!). The simplest form,
smoother than the dry finish, which is uncal- known as single-face, is used for wrapping
endered. fragile items, but not for making shipping con-
Mottled white liner board is made by the tainers. Double-face is the most common con-
same method but has both kraft and struction and uses a fluted medium sand-
bleached kraft in its composition. The top wiched between two layers of liner. The dou-
layer of bleached kraft is not enough to ble-wall and triple-wall configurations provide
flutes have more and smaller flutes per foot K 24.6 0.260
Table 22). This construction enables the cor- A - Standard 35.4 0.177
rugated packages to withstand a crushing A - Optional 37.7 0.158
force and still protect their contents. Smaller C - Standard 39.4 0.142
flutes, such as F, N and micro flutes, have C - Optional 38.6 0.140
been developed for the small-container mar- B - Standard 46.9 0.098
ket, and provide a much smoother printing B - Optional 46.9 0.097
surface. E - Macro 84.7 0.053
E - Micro 89.9 0.044
F 128.1 0.030
DEFECTS N - Standard 170.0 0.020
There are many different defects that can
N - Optional 140.0 0.020
be generated during the corrugating process.
These defects can affect the production rate Table 22
SUBSTRATES 143
9# The construction of the into the next section of the machine. When
flute and its bond to the 9# Normal
the board goes into the printing section,
linerboard plays a large
role in the production of excessive pressure on the board embosses
quality boxes. Some Leaning the printing, making it unsightly and, at the
of the flute problems same time, crushing the flutes.
created at the corrugator
include leaning, uneven
heights and crushed
Uneven Flute Height
Washboarding
flutes, which affect
Washboarding is a physical fault in which
board caliper.
the liners, instead of forming a flat, smooth
9$ Washboarding is a outer surface, partly follow the contours of
Caliper
physical fault in which the fluted medium to produce alternate
the liners, instead of
ridges and valleys (Figure 9$). The lighter
forming a flat, smooth
outer surface, partly fol- the weight of liner used, the more likely that
low the contours of the washboarding will be present.
fluted medium to pro-
Washboarding makes printing very diffi-
duce alternate ridges
and valleys Leaning flutes fail to provide sufficient flat cult because of the uneven surface. Wash-
crush. Insufficient flute heights cause prob- boarding makes it necessary to increase
lems with bonding, or if they do bond, they printing-plate impression, which crushes the
cause low spots in the board, places where board with resulting loss of caliper, flat
printing plates cannot touch without crush- crush and print quality.
ing other flutes.
Crushed flutes are flutes that have been Blank Size
smashed, resulting in the failure of the box Board length is very important for reducing
to hold its contents or to stack properly. waste, eliminating problems in the flexo-fold-
Crushing also results in low caliper and er-gluer, in die cutting, and for box-making
missing print areas. accuracy. Boards that are cut too long at the
corrugator result in waste. The waste comes
Caliper from the scrap that is trimmed off at the flexo-
Caliper is the measured thickness of the folder-gluer or die cutting machines. Boards
board. The caliper differs with a change of that are too short will skew in the flexo unit,
flute size and with the grade of paperboard causing jams in the machine. Short boards in
used in construction of the board. The flexo a flexo-folder-gluer do not form good boxes
operator must always check the board cali- because the glue tab will not overlap the side
per of each order. Blanks have to fit properly panel properly, thus the tab will not hold and
through the feed gates (not too tightly, or so the box will not form properly.
loosely that more than one blank can pass There are two causes of short boards. The
through at one time). As the blanks proceed obvious one is that the board is cut too short
through the machine, they are pulled by rolls at the corrugator. The other is improper cur-
and pull bands that have high coefficients of ing. When a board comes off the corrugator,
friction. It is necessary for the rolls and pull it is still warm and contains moisture, feeling
bands to apply a slight pressure on the blank much like a loaf of bread that just came out
so that they maintain control of the blank as of the oven. A hot board also affects ink
it is pulled through the machine. If there is transfer and drying in the printing units. It is
too little pressure applied to them, the rolls better to wait and let the boards “cure” in the
and pull bands lose control of the blanks, “Work in Progress” area before using them.
which results in skewed or misfed blanks Waiting allows the boards to normalize and
Warp Axis
9% Variability of corrugated
Board Travel substrates accounts for
different warpness.
SUBSTRATES 145
9^ The regular slotted
carton (RSC) is the 9^
standard form of
shipping container with
top and bottom flaps
Side Panel
• dust-free sheets; and and bottom flaps. Figure 9^ shows how the
• controlled moisture content. leading and trailing slots have been cut into
the blank sheet to form the box flaps. End-
The wish list of the printer could go on and vertical-scores are impressed into the
and on, but the corrugated board and box blank to assist in folding the flaps. In this
manufacturer has economical constraints instance, the lead and trail scores are
and even the preferences mentioned here impressed into the blank at the corrugator and
hardly ever exist together in a corrugated the vertical scores are impressed on the flexo-
plant. The quality-conscious postprinters of folder-gluer. The glue tab is cut into the blank
today deserve a lot of credit for past and for attaching the end panel to the side panel.
current achievements. Other types of containers produced on the
flexo-folder-gluer include the half-slotted
container (HSC) and trays, which are pro-
BOX CONSTRUCTION duced two at a time. The majority of flexo-
There are many different types and styles folder-gluer machines have limited die-cut-
of boxes as well as special construction dis- ting capabilities.
plays produced in the corrugated postprint
industry. These box constructions may be Die-cut Blanks and Containers
broken down into two major categories: Corrugated materials that require die
slotted cartons, lids and trays, which are cutting are generally produced on a sheet-fed
generally produced on an in-line flexo-fold- corrugated flexo printer equipped with either
er-gluing machine; and special folded boxes a rotary or a platen die-cutting station. The
and displays which require die cutting. die-cut station may be in-line or off-line with
the printing. Off-line die cutting is preferred
Slotted Cartons when printing high quality multicolor graph-
The regular slotted carton (RSC) is the ics and halftone process screens.
standard form of shipping container with top
T
packaging decoration because: private brands.
it differentiates the product The outlook for the household chemical
from its competitors, creates market is higher than in personal care, with
perceived value to the consumer an anticipated growth in the foreign mar-
and fights for attention on the kets. Opportunities lie in the thinking that
shelf at the store. Pressure-sensitive coated clear containers are good, and in the push
films and paper serve this growing market. for recycling/refilling.
The food and beverage market continues
to see growing use of pressure-sensitive films
PRESSURE-SENSITIVE because this is a relatively mature industry.
COATED FILMS Growth is in the glass packaging/clear con-
The packaging-decoration market is a $3- tainers, private brands and product line
billion market that continues to grow. Within extensions.
this market, pressure-sensitive film is the The pharmaceutical market is currently
fastest growing segment. In 1996, heat-trans- growing slowly, but will increase due to the
fer technology accounted for less than 5% of aging population. Opportunities will be
the packaging-decoration market, as did found in tamper-evident packaging, the need
shrink-sleeve and in-mold labeling. Pressure- for more information to be provided with the
sensitive represented 40% of the market, while product, and in shelf competition.
wet glue made up the remaining 60%
Pressure-sensitive film for packaging dec-
oration improves the overall aesthetics and FACESTOCKS
durability of the labeled container. It looks Currently, 90% of the films used in packag-
as good on the day the finished product is ing decoration are vinyl, polyester, polysty-
used, as on the day it was purchased. It is rene, polyethylene and polypropylene. Films
also a response to the advances made in are available either corona-treated, print-
printing and application technologies. It con- treated or top-coated to give the printer ease
tributes to lower total applied cost of the in ink selection regardless of the type of film.
package. In beverage applications, it also fits
in with environmental concerns. The label Polyvinyl Chloride (Vinyl)
can be made of the same material as the bot- Two different processes are used to manu-
tle, so that the entire package is recyclable. facture vinyl films for pressure-sensitive
The outlook for pressure-sensitive prima- applications: calendering and casting. Both
ry labels in the personal care category is for processes use the same basic raw materials:
medium growth. The market has seen an polyvinyl chloride resin, plasticizer (for flex-
emergence of commodity products and a ibility), UV stabilizers (for outdoor use),
need for high performance coupled with low antioxidants (for film processing), and col-
cost. Growth opportunities lie in secondary orants. It is the additives that are migratory
SUBSTRATES 147
and will bloom to the surface and can make Clear polyester has an outdoor life of two
printing difficult. Shelf life of the vinyl is to three years, and is available in thicknesses
dependent upon the quality of these addi- ranging from 1.5 to 7.0 mils. Polyester is a
tives, and storage conditions. very stiff film, which makes it easy to dis-
Calendered Vinyl has an outdoor life of one to pense, is dimensionally stable (because of the
five years, and is typically available in thick- cast/tentering) and has high solvent and tem-
nesses of 3 to 10 mils. Vinyl has high tear resis- perature resistance. It is not a conformable
tance, good dimensional stability, and is a film (cannot be used in squeezable applica-
squeezable film. Unfortunately, it is prone to tions) and is very expensive.
label shrinkage (especially if conditions The solvent resistance, which permits
approach the temperature at which it was cal- polyester to be utilized in harsh environ-
endered). It is fairly expensive, and has low ments, makes it very difficult to print. Non-
stiffness, which can cause dispensing issues. topcoated polyester is printable only with
Because of the way it is processed, vinyl has a solvent based inks. If it is topcoated, it can
high tensile strength and lower elongation in be printed with water-based and UV-curable
the machine direction than in the transverse inks as well.
direction. This attribute can manifest itself in
end-use applications, or on-press, especially if Polystyrene
exposed to high temperatures. Polystyrene is produced with crystalline
Cast Vinyl has an outdoor life of five to seven polystyrene resin or rubber-modified poly-
years, and is available only in thicknesses of styrene (to give it some flexibility), and is
1.5 to 3.0 mils. Its biggest advantage over cal- available as clear, clear matte, white matte,
endered vinyl is its ability to conform over or metallized. It is usually produced in the
rivets, making it ideal for large signage appli- same way as polyester and consequently can
cations. Unfortunately, it is more expensive react similarly in its end use or on press.
than calendered vinyl. Polystyrene is not intended for outdoor
use, and is available in the 2- to 10-mil thick-
Nontop-coated vinyl can be printed only ness range. It is a very economical film that
using solvent-based and UV-curable inks. can be competitive with paper. Its inherent
Screen inks typically have the heaviest ink stiffness makes it easy to die cut and dis-
laydowns, and therefore contain the highest pense. Unfortunately, it is solvent-sensitive,
amount of solvents or monomers. In order to and has low-heat and tear-resistance.
be printed flexographically, as well as via let- Without some type of surface modifica-
terpress and offset, vinyl has to be top-coated. tion, be it corona treatment or topcoat, it is
The topcoat is a low-solids coating applied to usually printed only with solvent-based ink
the film, analogous to a primer coat. systems. After the surface is modified, it can
be printed with water-based and UV-curable
Polyester systems as well.
Polyester is manufactured with polyethyl-
ene terephthalate resin (to impart toughness Polyethylene
to the film) and colorants, such as titanium Polyethylene historically has been manu-
dioxide. It is manufactured by the cast ten- factured by the blown-bubble method. It has
tering method, which gives the film its biax- a limited outdoor life and is available in a
ial orientation as well as its high tensile wide range of colors, typically in thicknesses
strength in both the machine and the trans- of 2 to 4 mils. It has high tear resistance, a
verse direction. smooth surface, and is very conformable.
SUBSTRATES 149
PRESSURE-SENSITIVE PAPER Flexibility and gloss are the strength of
Paper-based, pressure-sensitive laminates these substrates, with a facestock’s luster
are the second most popular substrate used ranging from matte to high gloss. Smooth-
in printing. After label die-cutting tools ness can have a big impact on print quality
appeared in the mid-1930s, the category with smoother sheets usually providing more
began to expand from simple price stickers uniform ink coverage. For applications that
to sophisticated, converted products that call for computer imprinting and smudge
have met the decorating and marking needs resistance, a rougher, uncoated sheet, or one
of practically all segments of the industrial, with smudgeproof coating is best. Low-sur-
commercial, consumer and medical markets. face-strength facestocks are most efficient
Better paper stocks with outstanding flex- where label destructibility is needed, but the
ographic printing capabilities, a broad range substrate must be strong enough to with-
of adhesives to adhere to a wide variety of stand converting. When choosing a faces-
materials and release liner technology for tock, the label shape, web width, converting
high-speed converting and processing have equipment, pressure-sensitive adhesives and
all helped make these materials popular. release liners should be considered.
Among the markets that prefer them are Standard paper stocks can’t take much
consumer product primary labels, inventory exposure to moisture without a clear coating
control and order-picking systems, printed of varnish or over-laminate. Of the paper
stickers, coupon promotional labels and facestocks, those which are latex and resin
many other familiar devices. impregnated have the best moisture resis-
From about $500 million a decade ago, the tance. Generally, uncoated facestocks or
value of converted pressure-sensitive papers those with smudge-proof coatings are more
sold today exceeds $1.6 billion. They are suitable for computer applications. The
produced in roll form and supplied to flexo degree of smudge resistance can be influ-
printers sheeted, in uncut master rolls or in enced by the type of imaging method, the
specified roll widths. Master rolls can be up printer and the type of ink ribbon or toner
to 78" wide, and selling price is based on cost required.
per msi (thousand square inches).
Pressure-sensitive paper substrates are Printing and Converting
limited to 78" in roll width, up to 15,000' in Characteristics
roll length, with core diameters of 3" to 6". The paper facestocks used in pressure-sen-
Gloss, semi-gloss and matte finishes of tag sitive work have many of the printing char-
stocks, fluorescent, colored papers, in addi- acteristics of other paper substrates.
tion to latex impregnated, laminated and Because the whole pressure-sensitive con-
solid foils, metallized papers and thermal- struction, including facestocks, adhesive and
sensitive imaging stocks are all suitable for release liner, is handled by flexo equipment,
flexographic printing. it is important to look at how each compo-
nent relates to the final converting step of die
Physical Properties cutting and stripping. As mentioned before,
Substrate thickness is usually measured in the facestock has a number of traits that
mils and, depending on the material, can determine the quality of printing and con-
range from 2.5 mils to 10 mils. Basis weight tribute to the performance of the whole con-
is calculated in pounds per ream (25" x 38", struction. Key properties, which determine
500 sheets) and varies by material type from the ability to die cut and strip any material,
30 lbs. to 150 lbs. per ream. include tensile strength, tear and elongation.
SUBSTRATES 151
Foils
oils are produced using vacuum lation, labels and decals, capacitors and a
F
metallizing. In this process, a thin variety of decorations. One of the largest sin-
layer of metal, usually aluminum, gle markets is flexible packaging where shelf
is placed on a substrate, typically appeal and barrier properties are important.
a flexible film or paper. This is Ordinarily, metallizing machines are cylin-
done in a vacuum chamber, usual- drical vacuum chambers that can process
ly by resistance-heated evaporation sources substrates up to 120" wide. Reel diameters
(Figure 9&). This highly reflective coating is are as high as 40" (OD). Because the metal-
used for the aesthetic and barrier traits the lizing process takes place in a vacuum
aluminum can provide. Among the users for chamber, it happens one reel at a time and,
these metallized materials are thermal insu- for economic reasons, as large a reel as pos-
9&
I
K
C
M L
G H
D
B
F
A E
9& Foil, a thin layer of A Payoff Reel D Bowed Roller G Idle Roller J Tension Roller
metal on top of a B Spreader Roller E Nip Roller H Capstan Roller K Spreader Roller
substrate, is produced C Tension Roller F Chilled Drum I Spreader Roller L Lay-on Roller
in a vacuum chamber. M Take-up Reel
SUBSTRATES 153
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF METALLIZED PAPER
BASIS WEIGHT CALIPER TENSILE STIFFNESS MULLEN
END USE #/REAMa g/m2 MIL MDb CDc MDb CDc PAL
Giftwrap 35 57 2.1 2 29 66 40 12
General label 43 70 2.7 27 40 74 41 14
General label 58 94 3.2 32 60 150 22 22
High Gloss 56 91 3.4 34 0 150 23 23
Table 23
curl. Foil laminates often curl and jam press with plain paper. Because of the advantages
and production lines with misfeeds and outlined above, metallized paper can be
flagged labels. Metallized paper’s tendency introduced into the pressroom without the
to lie flat also boosts press speed and die learning curve that usually accompanies an
cutting efficiency to similar levels as those of unfamiliar substrate.
plain paper. The same holds true at high-
speed labeling lines.
CLEAR METAL
Printing Characteristics The metallizing industry has made signifi-
Most metallized papers have a print coat, cant strides in producing high-barrier,
which make them compatible with both sol- “clear” films. Both SIOx and ALOx films have
vent- and water-based inks. Plain-paper inks been finding new market applications. SIOx
need little adjustment to print metallized films have been used in several high-end
papers; they even strip and dry as easily as medical applications.
F
class of substrates used in the color.
flexographic packaging industry.
These clear, plastic substrates fall Physical Properties
into four classes: polyvinyl chlo- For printing, especially labels and decals,
ride, polyester, polypropylene most vinyl films are made by calendering.
and polyethylene. This process is best suited for high-volume
production and requires excellent surface
quality and uniform thickness control. It can
POLYVINYL CHLORIDE (PVC) produce films up to 84" in width. For thick-
PVC is a unique and popular packaging nesses below 0.002" casting is used. Casting
material because of its ability to accept and works best for small volume specialty appli-
respond to a range of additives. This film is cations requiring excellent clarity, low strain
commonly referred to as vinyl. It can be and uniform strength in both directions.
blown, cast, or extruded. Thicknesses of Although vinyl films have a broad flexibility
sheets range from 0.0004" to greater than range, the typical physical properties are
0.004". The films are inherently odorless, tensile strength of 3,400 to 5,000 psi, elonga-
tasteless, chemical resistant and waterproof. tion of 50% to 200%, and Sheffield smooth-
In the early years of use they were seen pri- ness of less than 10 on the face side.
marily as cheaper alternatives to textiles.
Today, vinyl films are versatile and cost Printing and Handling
effective for uses including wall covering, Characteristics
blister packaging, tapes and labels, water- The ability to print with both solvent- and
beds and floppy-disk jackets. water-based inks without surface treatment
The ingredients used to manufacture vinyl has figured prominently in both meat and
depend on the intended application. PVC poultry packaging. A recent development has
resins are the major component of the films been the imprinting of a safe-handling label
and are made by polymerizing vinyl chloride mandated by the USDA, on the film itself.
monomer using suspension, emulsion or bulk This ensures 100% compliance at the store
polymerization. Plasticizers are the major level on all packages of raw meat.
additive and impart flexibility. Food packag- Although not always necessary, a primer
ing requires the use of an FDA-approved plas- coat may be used in some applications.
ticizer. The next ingredients are heat stabiliz- Corona treating of vinyl films to improve sur-
ers whose functions are to prevent discol- face tension is available but not widely used.
oration during processing. Further additives
are lubricants and esters of multifunctional
alcohols, which impart antifog and antistatic POLYESTER
properties. Additives or fillers,like talc or clay, The unique mechanical, thermal and chem-
as well as amides, are added for slip and anti- ical traits of bi-oriented polyester (polyethyl-
SUBSTRATES 155
ene terephthalate or PET) film is making it package or a long-life graphic.
more and more the substrate of choice in Once a product with generic types, PET
many flexographic applications. When a sub- film today has many forms designed for spe-
strate must be tear-resistant, stable in heat cific end uses. These forms may feature a par-
and humidity, retain sheet flatness and clari- ticular surface chemistry, roughness, clarity
ty, and have a good moisture and or oxygen or slip. Also, there are special variations, such
barrier, polyester film is the right choice, as matte, heat sealable, thermoformable,
whether the printed result is a throw-away shrinkable, low shrink and barrier-coated.
The primary uses for polyester film include:
photography (X-ray, aerial, phototool), mag-
netic recording (computer, audio, instrumen-
END USES OF PET FILM IN U.S.
tation, video) and reprographics (duplicating
ESTIMATED
microfilm, engineering, layout), but packag-
APPLICATION % OF CONSUMPTION ing and printing uses are the fastest-growing.
Photographic 26.7 Most photographic PET base and some mag-
Magnetic Recording 15.2 netic and reprographic base is produced by
Reprographics 13.4 plants belonging to the coating firm. Virtually
Packaging, including metallized 11.5 all other uses are supplied by industrial film
Printing/labels/release coating 3.8 producers. (Table 24).
Electrical 3.2 Standard area yield factors for polyester
Glazing/specialty vacuum coating 3.2 film are shown in Table 25. Thicknesses
Transfer printing/roll leaf 2.7 above and below this range are common in
Pressure-sensitive Tape 2.5 some end uses, especially electrical and mag-
Building Products 2.5 netic recording. Thicknesses listed are the
General laminates/stationery 1.9 ones commonly used in flexographic printing.
Miscellaneous 13.4 Roll widths of 60" to 70" are common in
TOTAL 100 many end uses and roll diameters are very
often 24" to 28", with weights of 1,200 lbs. to
Table 24
2,000 lbs. With flexo applications, smaller
rolls are more common, with 6" diameter
cores virtually the standard, though 10" is
AREA YIELD FACTORS FOR often supplied for other uses.
POLYESTER FILMS
AREA YIELD
Physical Properties
GAUGE/MICRONS IN2/LB M2/K
Depending on the requirements, PET film
48/12 41,250 58.7 can be manufactured with a variety of physi-
75/19 26,400 37.6 cal properties, as shown in Table 26. Special
92/23 21,500 30.6 films such as formable or heat-sealable may
142/36 13,900 19.8 have different properties, and the manufac-
200/50 9,900 14.1
turer can supply data on these. Unless other-
300/75 6,600 9.4
wise indicated, all values in Table 27 are at
400/100 4,950 7.0
73° F (23° C) and 50% humidity.
500/125 3,960 5.6
700/175 2,830 4.0
Printing Characteristics
Polyester film’s chemical stability comes
Table 25 from its basic polymer, polyethylene tereph-
SURFACE-MODIFIED FILMS
Table 27
SUBSTRATES 157
9* Polypropylene usage in 220° F range, the film goes into an expansion-
the United States. to-shrinkage transition that can cause unpre- 9*
dictable web-handling problems.
Nonfoods
20% Snack Packaging
Other 25%
POLYPROPYLENE Assorted Foods
15% Baked Goods
This section will focus on oriented
15%
polypropylene or OPP film. The volume of Labels
10% Cookies
10%
non-oriented polypropylene film used is
about one fourth that of OPP film. It replaces
Confectionery
low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film in 5%
applications for which its better clarity, stiff-
ness and barrier properties justify the extra
cost. Non-oriented polypropylene film,
sometimes called cast-polypropylene film,
has physical properties and printing charac- the reader is referred to The Encyclopedia of
teristics similar to those of LDPE film. The Polymer Science and Engineering, Volume 3.
inks and printing practices used with cast- The yield of 1 mil (0.001") OPP film is
polypropylene film are the same as those for 30,600 square inches per pound, compared
LDPE (see section on LDPE for details.) with 19,500 square inches per pound with
Estimated world usage of oriented poly- cellophane. PP's specific gravity of 0.91 g/cc,
propylene (OPP) for 1997 was approximate- the lowest among plastic films, accounts for
ly 4 billion pounds, with 20% of it being con- a yield significantly higher than that of any
sumed in North America, 31% in Western other clear, oriented plastic film. PP resin’s
Europe and 38% in the Asian-Pacific Region. high yield and relatively low cost per pound
The largest portion of the 800-million pound make it the most cost-effective film of its
North American market is snack packaging kind for flexible packaging. Depending on
(25%). Other major areas include baked thickness and structure, it ranges from $0.05
goods (15%), cookies (10%), labels (10%), to $0.10 per 1,000 square inches.
confectionery (5%), other assorted foods OPP film is available in thicknesses from 40
(15%) and nonfoods (20%) (Figure 9*). to 400 gauge (0.0004" to 0.004"). Essentially,
Polypropylene film changed little between all printed OPP film ranges in thickness from
1960 and 1980. But in recent years. many 0.00045" to 0.0012" (0.45 to 1.2 mil). OPP film
new products have appeared and OPP film is sold by the pound, and comes on 3" or 6"
has expanded into a large family of materi- inside diameter cores. Widths depend on the
als, some of which call for special printing type of film. Several types are available from
considerations. tenter lines that yield widths of about 200".
Recent additions to this family include a
number of composite films in which OPP is Physical Properties
the core, with thin, functional layers of vari- Most of today’s OPP film is clear, biaxially
ous polymer resins coextruded or applied by oriented, slightly formulated homopolymer
coating. Opaque films, which have a foam- not significantly different from when it was
like structure, and metallized films are two first introduced in 1960.
relatively new additions that have achieved Polypropylene’s physical characteristics
substantial volume. For a view of polypropy- come from the catalyst and reaction condi-
lene film beyond what this section covers, tions used to produce it. They determine
General Properties
Water Absorption (%) <0.005
Low-Temperature Usefulness (°C) –60
Chemical Properties
WVTR for 1 mil (g/100 in2, g/m2)
Grease Resistance Excellent
Oil Resistance Excellent
a Machine Direction
b Transverse or Cross-machine Direction
c Slip-modified Film
Table 28
SUBSTRATES 159
is typical for tubular-process OPP film, usu- the 40 dynes per centimeter level. Converters
ally known as balanced (BOPP) film. It can increase the dyne level on already-treated
might be unbalanced and relatively weaker OPP by corona treating in-line, but the effect
in the machine direction but stronger in the is only temporary. If done improperly, con-
transverse direction, as is usually the case verters (and suppliers) can also cause back-
with tenter-produced OPP film. side treatment, which can be disastrous for
Table 28 shows the typical tensile proper- applications which require a non-treated sur-
ties of OPP film. Of special interest when it face such as cold-seal release applications.
comes to printing is the tensile modulus. The OPP films can contain migratory slip- and
machine-direction modulus is a direct mea- anti-blocking agents. These tend to bloom to
sure of a film’s resistance to elongation, a the surface, mask the surface treatment and
significant trait in continuous web printing. give misleading, low-wetting tension read-
ings. Solvent inks usually get through these
Printing Characteristics contaminants easily, while water-based inks
Any discussion of printing of OPP film will not, without the addition of some cut-
with flexography has to include both bulk ting solvent (5% alcohol). Ink adhesion is
composition, physical properties and sur- typically a function of the film’s surface
face characteristics. The surface character- chemistry beneath any migratory additives
istics are important because they determine which bloom to the surface.
whether or not a particular ink will wet-out Variations in surface composition include
and adhere, while bulk film properties mat- coextruded or coated layers of ethylene-pro-
ter because they affect print quality from the pylene copolymer, acrylic polymers and alu-
aspect of web handling. minum. In printing characteristics, polyolefin
Polupropylene is made by polymerizing the copolymers are similar to polypropylene, but
unsaturated hydrocarbon gas propylene. The they are usually more receptive to corona
result is polypropylene, a saturated hydro- treatment than homopolymer polypropylene.
carbon structure of the class of polymers Acrylic surfaces have wetting tension
called polyolefins. Like other saturated higher than that of the polyoefins and show
hydrocarbon substances, polypropylene has an advantage in ink adhesion (but a disad-
very low polarity and very low reactivity. Its vantage in retaining ink solvents, requiring
surface-wetting tension (sometimes called extra care in drying).
surface energy) is low, 29 dynes per centime- Metallized surfaces adhere well when
ter. This inertness means that wetting and ink clean. But they are so reactive that the sur-
adhesion will not occur unless the surface face may be contaminated by contact with
energy is increased. Usually, this is done by the other side of the film, particularly if it
corona, high-voltage discharge treatment contains any organic substance of low mole-
and, to a lesser extent, by flame treatment. cular weight. For consistently good print-
The energy intensity and technique used in ability, the metal surface should be treated in
surface treatment are critical for successfully line, using, for example, a bare-roll corona
printing OPP film. For general purpose print- treater.
ing, a surface treatment equal to 2.5 to 3 watt Just as important a consideration in printing
minutes of corona discharge per square foot OPP film is resistance to machine-direction
of film is required. Film manufacturers will do elongation. After the surface energy deficien-
this to boost the surface energy from 29 to cy of OPP was remedied, the tendency of OPP
45+ dynes per centimeter on freshly treated film to stretch in the machine direction was
film. This treatment will fade down to about the next major obstacle. Converters found
a Defined as load required to stretch a 1" wide by 1" thick piece of material to 100% elongation.
Table 29
that while they could use tensions of a few the 100% elongation, 2.8 lb. for 1% elonga-
pounds per inch of web width when printing tion. This value would occur at the initial
cellophane, they had to learn to control web part of the curve of the stress-strain rela-
tensions to as low as 0.25 to 0.5 pounds per tionship and can be relied on as physically
inch and still maintain good web spreading meaningful. Increasing the temperature or
and flatness when printing OPP film. tension, or reducing the film thickness,
As temperature goes up, OPP film’s resis- would mean higher elongation for a given
tance to elongation goes down, just as with tension load.
other thermoplastic materials. At tempera- Comparison of various films’ machine
tures of about 140° F (typically reached in direction modulus values, as in Table 29,
converting) a 1 mil thick OPP film under 0.5 indicates the relative tendencies of OPP film
lb. per inch tension would stretch about 0.6%, and other flexible packaging films to stretch
the maximum allowable elongation for good in the machine direction. This comparison
registration. should bring home the importance of con-
The tensile modulus (not the tensile trolling tension in printing them. Table 30
strength) reflects the film’s resistance to shows common off roll weights.
elongation. The tensile modulus has been
defined as the value of the load required to
stretch a 1" wide by 1" thick piece of materi-
al to 100% elongation. The tensile modulus is OPP FILM WEIGHT/INCH
the initial slope of the load vs. elongation OF ROLL WIDTH
curve and is measured in units of pounds per CORE DIAMETER ROLL WEIGHT IN
square inch (psi). For a film, converting a INSIDE OUTSIDE DIAMETER LBS. PER INCH
(IN) (IN) OF WIDTH
380,000 psi modulus (such as for the
3.0 3.75 11.0 2.7
machine direction of BOPP film) to the ten-
3.0 3.75 15.0 5.5
sion load that would apply to a 1 mil thick-
6.0 6.75 12.5 2.8
ness, yields a value of 380 lbs. for 100% elon-
6.0 6.75 16.0 5.4
gation per 1-inch width film (as shown in
6.0 6.75 19.0 8.1
Table 29). Note that tenter-process film
6.0 6.75 21.0 10.0
stretches more easily in the machine direc-
tion and would require only a 280 lb. load for Table 30
SUBSTRATES 161
9(Polyethylene usage in POLYETHYLENE
the United States.
Polyethylene (PE) is the most common
9(
10,000
film used in the United States (Figure 9() . Average
Annual
numerous to list but range from tape and dry 4,000 LDPE
LLDPE 7.8%
cleaner bags to exotic multilayer boil-in-the-
LLDPE
bag laminations and coextrusions. 2,000
LLDPE
New resins and in turn, new films, are
appearing on the market quickly and con- 0
1985 1990 1995
stantly. Ideas generated by resin producers,
film producers, and film users and convert-
ers have expanded the roster of available
films. New resins, such as those using the reactor and the appearance of the mole-
new catalyst technology metallocene, have cules. LDPE is made in a high-pressure reac-
greatly expanded the universe of polyethyl- tor (pressures upwards of 40,000 psi) and
ene films. has an ethylene backbone with many
A short review of polyethylene resins branches as shown in Figure . LDPE can
should be helpful in understanding the many be copoylmerized with at least four com-
different film types available today. Table 31 mercially available comonomers:
shows three main families of polyethylene. • vinyl acetate (EVA);
These can be further broken down as follows: • methyl acetate (EMA or EMACa);
Low-density Polyethylene (LDPE). The first • acrylic or methacrylic acid comono-
polyethylene commercially manufactured mers (EAA or EMAA); and
was low-density polyethylene (LDPE). • ionomer or ionically crosslinked PE
LDPE is also referred to as high-pressure (Surlynb).
polyethylene, or branched polyethylene. a Registered trademark of Chevron
These names are derived from the type of b Registered trademark of DuPont
1 LDPE (low density PE): Best clarity; highest tear; lowest stiffness
2 LLDPE (linear low density PE): Higher stiffness, greater puncture resistance; improves down gauging potential.
3 HDPE (high density PE): Highest stiffness, low impact and tear, highest tensile, best barrier.
Table 31
SUBSTRATES 163
TYPICAL FILM PROPERTIES
Table 32
SUBSTRATES 165
shows that the mechanism was “micropitting Converters print many millions of pounds
of the surface”. Whatever the mechanism, we of polyethylene each year, but for applica-
know the surface energy, measured in tions requiring top-quality print with exact-
dynes/cm, is increased after treatment. This ing register standards, polyethylene is usual-
higher surface energy allows inks and coat- ly not the substrate of choice. In many pack-
ings to wet-out the surface. aging applications, polyester or oriented
Common treat levels range from 36 to 42 polypropylene is reverse printed and then
dynes/cm, depending on the application. laminated with polyethylene to lock in the
Untreated polyethylene has an inherent treat print and give excellent protection to the
level of 31 as compared to polypropylene printed image, in addition to, making the
with a 29 dyne/cm treat level. The measure- film heat-sealable. Polyethylene is used in
ment of treat levels is done by a wetting ten- many printed applications, but often not as
sion method (ASTM, D2578-67). Other meth- the printed film.
ods used to measure treat level are: adhe-
sion-ratio test, ink pick-off test and measur-
ing the angle water or other solvents make CELLOPHANE
with the surface. Cellophane is a thin, flexible and transpar-
Films with additives need more power (or ent material used for packaging applica-
slower speeds) to reach the same treat levels tions. It is not truly a film in the sense that it
as film without additives. An insufficient is composed of chemical compounds.
treat can cause poor or spotty adhesion, trap- Cellophane is both a bio-degradable and
ping of colors over each other and ghosting. renewable resource of regenerated cellulose
Over-treating can cause blocking, reduce seal film, derived from purified wood pulp,
strength and cause poor printing by the pos- known as “dissolving pulp”.
sible formation of low-molecular-weight The use of cellophane followed the growth
degradation products. of the flexible packaging industry. For 30
Handling requirements for polyethylene years it dominated the industry because it
films can be summarized in two words: Be offered the marketplace a wide variety of
Gentle. Marks from handling rolls can cause properties that produced a product at rea-
films to tear in end-use processing. Storing sonable cost. Once the base sheet is pro-
film in hot conditions can cause blocking duced, it is coated either with polyvinylidene
and sunlight can break down polyethylene. chloride copolymer (PVDC) or nitrocellu-
To get a rough estimate of the tension re- lose, which adds heat sealability, machine-
quired to run polyethylene films, the secant ability and barrier properties. Uncoated cel-
modulus and the film thickness is required. lophanes are sold mostly for industrial uses,
The secant modulus is simply the force such as pressure-sensitive tape base, fiber-
required to stretch the film 1%. glass and rubber mold-release membranes,
and roll-leaf applications. The advent of plas-
Example: Use a typical secant modulus for poly-
tic films, such as polyethylene and polypro-
ethylene film in the machine direction of 25,000.
pylene, eroded the use of cellophane.
With a 1% stretch, the web tension on a 2-mil film
needs to be
Physical Properties
25,000 0.002 0.01 0.5 lbs/in of web width
The physical properties of cellophane are
or 0.5 lb/in of web width
very similar to all types of film and are only
For a 40" web, the total web tension would be differentiated according to coatings and rein-
40 0.5 = 20 lbs. forcing structure and thickness. Many film
SUBSTRATES 167
Appendix A
TAPPI TEST METHODS: PAPER
SUBSTRATES 169
TAPPI TEST METHODS: PAPERBOARD
Reference:
Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry, TAPPI Test Methods, 1997.
SUBSTRATES 171
ink appearance, 18 embossed coated, 136
enamel coated, 136
inkroom, 47, 48, 49 felt, 136
equipment, 50 laid, 136
safety, 49 machined English, 136
procedures, 49-50 matte coated, 136
inks supercalendared, 136
catalytic, 40 manufacture, 125-128
electron-beam cured, 41-42 properties
process, 9, 10, 104 basis weight, 129
solvent-based, 5, 6, 36, 39, 40, 42, 43, 148, bulk, 129
154, 157 burst, 130
UV, 41-42, 146, 149 caliper, 130
water-based, 5,6, 37-39, 130, 154, 157 curl, 130
density, 130
ink test dimensional stability, 130
acid/alkalai resistance, 17 folding endurance, 130
block resistance, 14 formation, 130
boiling water resistance, 17 grain direction, 130
coefficient of friction, 19 internal bond, 131
color measurement, 18 porosity, 131
crinkle adhesion, 14 stiffness, 131
fade resistance, 19 stretch, 131
gloss, 19 tear, 131
heat resistance, 15 tensile energy absorption, 131
ice-water crinkle test, 16 tensile strength, 131
image detail, 19 roll length, 135, 150
lamination adhesion, 14 roll quality, 135
moisture bleed, 16 storage/handling, 135
moisture vapor transmission resistance, 16 surface appearance
odor, 20 brightness, 131
oil resistance, 17 coefficient of friction, 132
opacity/contrast ratio, 19 color, 132
plasticizer bleed resistance, 18 gloss, 132
print density, 18 opacity, 132
rub resistance, 15 smoothness, 132
scratch resistance, 14 uncoated, 136
soap and detergent resistance, 17
substrate adhesion, 13 paperboard, 128-129, 130, 135, 136, 137-138
tone quality, 19
pigments, 23-29
transfer resistance, 16
inorganic, 25-27
in-line press, 67, 81 fluorescent, 27
metallic, 27
laminates, 147-151 organic, 25
pearlescent, 29
lightness, 22, 53, 54, 61, 65
thermochromatic, 29
paper
polyester (PET), 148, 151, 153, 156, 166, 167
acid, 133
area yield factor
alkaline, 133
physical properties, 156
chemical properties
printing characteristics, 156
fiber content, 132
moisture, 132 polyethylene, 137, 139, 147, 148-149
pH, 133 additives
sizing, 133 anti-blocking, 165
coated, 134, 136 pigments, 165
finishes slip agents, 165
antique, 136 physical properties, 163-165
cast coated, 136 printing characteristics, 165-166
coated one side, 136
eggshell, 136 polypropylene, 147, 149, 158-161
embossed, 136 oriented (OPP), 158, 166
SUBSTRATES 173
Table of Contents
PRESSES AND PRESS EQUIPMENT
INTRODUCTION 3
TENSION SYSTEMS 34
Tension Zones ........................................................................34
Unwind .............................................................................34
Intermediate ....................................................................35
VOLUME 6
Rewind .............................................................................35
Tension Drives .......................................................................35
Motors ..............................................................................35
Brakes and Clutches ......................................................36
UNWIND EQUIPMENT 44
Single Position Unwind ........................................................44
Flying-Splice Unwind ...........................................................45
Unwind Tension Systems .....................................................47
In-Feed Unit ...........................................................................49
Out-Feed Unit ........................................................................49
REWIND EQUIPMENT 51
Surface Winders ....................................................................51
Double Drum ...................................................................51
Single Drum .....................................................................51
Center Winders ......................................................................52
Rewind Tension Systems .....................................................53
Power Requirement ..............................................................54
Constant Tension ............................................................55
Taper Tension ..................................................................55
Surface Rewind Tension Systems .......................................57
WEB GUIDING 62
Web Guides ............................................................................62
Automatic Web Guiding Systems .................................64
Web Position Control .....................................................65
Sensor Installation ..........................................................65
Unwind Guiding ....................................................................65
Intermediate Web Guides ....................................................66
Steering Guides ...............................................................67
Steering Guide Operation ..............................................67
Instant Center Location ...........................................68
Entry Spans ...............................................................69
Web Plane ..................................................................69
Steering Guide Selection .........................................69
Offset Pivot Guide ..........................................................70
Rewind Guiding .....................................................................71
Rewind Operation............................................................71
SUBSTRATE CLEANING 89
Film Treating .........................................................................90
Corona Discharge ...........................................................90
Typical Film Treating Applications ..............................90
Powder Spray Systems .........................................................91
Electrostatic Powder .....................................................91
Dust Control ....................................................................91
In-Line Laminating ................................................................92
Modified Press for Laminating .....................................92
Separate Laminator Section ..........................................93
Solid Adhesive Laminating ............................................94
UV/EB Varnishing ..................................................................95
Curing ...............................................................................95
Safety ................................................................................96
VOLUME 6 5
Pull Bands ......................................................................107
Counter Impression Roll .............................................108
Permanent Mesh Coupling ..........................................108
Inks .................................................................................109
Anilox Rolls ...................................................................109
Sheet Transport Systems ...................................................110
Pull-roller .......................................................................110
Vacuum and Belts .........................................................111
Rollers and Vacuum .....................................................111
Printer-slotter ......................................................................112
Printer-die Cutters ..............................................................112
Flexo Folder Gluer .............................................................112
Platen Die Cutting ...............................................................117
Stacking ................................................................................117
Upstackers .....................................................................117
Downstackers ...............................................................117
Registration ...................................................................118
The Gear-driven Press ........................................................119
The Line Shaft-driven Press ........................................120
Trends in Press Design .......................................................120
Servo-drive Presses ......................................................121
Free-standing Off-line Presses ....................................122
Thinner Printing Plates ................................................123
Quick Change Anilox Roll Systems ...........................123
Dryers ...................................................................................124
Sheet Cleaners ..............................................................125
Updating and Upgrading
for Continued Development ........................................126
Job Preparation and Planning ...........................................126
Equipment Maintenance ..............................................127
Training for Continued Improvement ........................127
APPENDIX 153
A. Diametric Pitch 8 ..........................................................153
Diametric Pitch 10 ........................................................154
Diametric Pitch 12 ........................................................155
Diametric Pitch 20 ........................................................156
B. Circular Pitch 0.125" .....................................................157
Circular Pitch 0.25" .......................................................158
Circular Pitch 0.5" .........................................................159
C. Module Pitch 1 ..............................................................160
Module Pitch 2 ..............................................................161
Module Pitch 3 ..............................................................162
Module Pitch 4 ..............................................................163
PRESSROOM PRACTICES
INTRODUCTION 167
VOLUME 6
Hazardous Materials ...........................................................174
Disposal of Hazardours Materials ..............................175
Right-to-Know Law .......................................................175
Tool Safety ...........................................................................175
Doctor Blades ...............................................................176
Use of Rags ....................................................................176
Die-cutting Saftey .........................................................176
VOLUME 6
Automatic Washups ......................................................220
Mark Ink Containers ....................................................220
Weekly Cleanups ..........................................................221
APPENDIX
Pressroom Troubleshooting Chart ...................................223
INDEX 233
Special thanks to Langston for illustrations 67, 69-75, 78, 81-86, 88-89.
T
es, auxiliary equipment and in- row web. Web widths range from 6" on a
line operations that it’s virtually small adhesive label press, to over 150" on a
impossible to review all the newspaper press. The break point between
available combinations. How- the definition of narrow web and wide web
ever, each of these subjects will has been in the range of 20" to 24". That is to
be reviewed sufficiently to provide an under- say, web widths up to 24" may be considered
standing of flexo printing presses and their narrow web and web widths over 20" may be
related equipment. considered wide web, leaving an area for
In recent years, more and more flexo dispute. The term “mid-web presses” has
presses have been supplied with in-line oper- come into usage for a class of presses that,
ations, such as laminating and/or coating, although not strictly defined, has a web
die cutting, etc. Therefore, an understanding width that lies somewhere in the range
of how these operations are incorporated between 20" and 47". For this publication,
into the press is beneficial. Do not confuse narrow web is defined as being web widths
in-line operations with in-line presses. In-line up to 20". Anything above 20" is considered
presses are just that – a specific variety of wide web.
printing press as described elsewhere in this The flexo web press has four major com-
chapter. In-line operations are applications ponents: the unwind with in-feed, the print-
other than printing that are performed on ing section, the dryer and the rewinder with
other equipment that has been combined out-feed. The auxiliary equipment, such as
with the press. A separate section in this web guides, web viewers, powder spray
chapter has been devoted to in-line process- units, air shafts, etc., are also important in
ing with the narrow web press. There is also the overall operation of the flexo press.
a complete chapter devoted to the corrugat- There are many models and designs of this
ed post-print operation. equipment and each component will be cov-
Historically, the flexographic web printing ered in detail in other chapters.
industry has been broken down into two
T
THE STACK PRESS
web flexographic printing press- In the stack press (Figure b), individual
es: stack, central impression color stations (sometimes called sections or
cylinder and the in-line press. decks) are stacked one over the other on one
Generally, these presses are used or both sides of a main press frame. Each
for printing flexible packaging color station is driven through gear trains
materials, but they also do narrow web, cor- supported by the main press frame. Stack
rugated and publication printing operations. presses are made with one to eight color sta-
Regardless of the end product, the printing tions, although the most common configura-
principles remain fundamentally the same. tion is a six-color press.
b
A To Main Dryer
D E
C
B
G
F
H
H
F
G
G
Stack presses have three main advantages. extremely thin gauges, the stack press is
First, the operator can usually reverse the generally restricted to color registrations
web to allow both sides to be printed during that do not require greater accuracy than
one pass through the press. Various web- ±0.0312". When heavier gauge materials are
threading arrangements allow complete ink being printed, such as papers, laminated film
drying before the reverse side is printed, pro- structures and others that can tolerate fairly
vided enough drying capacity is designed into high web tension values, the stack press can
the area where the web passes between the profitably produce commercially acceptable
two series of stations. The second advantage registered products.
is the color-station accessibility, which facili- The stack press lends itself well to appli-
tates changeover, wash-up, etc. The third cations such as printing in-line with other
advantage is the ability to print large repeats. types of machinery. These add-ons may
The stack press has proved useful in many include extruders, bag machines, sheeters,
applications and has been used to print on laminators or other equipment.
almost every type of substrate. It does have With some special color-station designs,
limitations that don’t make it completely it’s possible to have 360° register on each
acceptable for some applications. When station and independent engaging and disen-
printing substrates that are extensible or of gaging to allow the remaining part of the
In recent years flexo has achieved print the CI drum. Very commonly employed today
quality comparable to gravure, and as a is the use of digitally controlled heating/cool-
result, more and more work from the ing elements, which hold drum temperature
gravure sector is moving to flexo. This within a range of ±1° F. This close tolerance
increase in print quality has driven the devel- is a necessary element in the printing excel-
opment of the 10-color CI press, since most lence being demanded of press manufactur-
gravure jobs are up to 10 colors. ers and converters today. If the press experi-
ences variation in drum temperature, which
Central Impression Drum causes CI drum size variation, the operator
Drum construction in a central impression will be continually attempting to compen-
press can be of double-wall steel or cast iron. sate, causing missed impressions or over-
In either case the drum will be temperature- impression.
controlled by a heating/cooling device. As The CI cylinder, independent of its method
markets have advanced in flexography, and of construction, must be manufactured to
the product expected from a CI press has meet high Total Indicated Runout (TIR) char-
improved to a high degree of excellence, acteristics. It is very common today that
press manufacturers have been compelled to specifications on a new press dictate that the
hold more demanding tolerances in regard to drum not exceed 0.0003" TIR. Ideally, the
devices can be designed and installed to furnished with the capability to be pulsed –
allow the operator not only convenient that is, upon activation of a pushbutton or
access to the register controls but a degree switch, the units will be programmed to
of automation. Normal use of automatic move a certain increment. Incremental
deck positioning systems allows for the pos- movement is a great asset, especially for a
sibility of automatically centering both side high-quality process print where fine register
and circumferential register devices. With capability is paramount. By providing the
properly positioned plates, the automatic capabilities for pulse registration, the opera-
deck positioning system provides the opera- tor has the ability to adjust and fine-tune reg-
tor, upon rack-in and gear mesh, a properly istration from a remote area, such as a web
registered print job very close to acceptable viewer or video monitor. The above capabil-
quality without further adjustment. ity saves lost motion, which equates directly
The motor-operated type of registration to higher quality print with less waste.
system, whether hydraulic or electric, can be
N
recently been defined as any converting operation, such as die-cutting,
web width less than 20" (508 slitting or laminating. The ability of narrow
mm). While this is an arbitrary web presses to do multiple operations in-line
designation, it will serve as a at high speeds provides tremendous produc-
definition for this chapter. The tion efficiencies and cost savings to users.
vast majority of narrow-web presses, how- The converting operations performed on
ever, are 16" (406 mm) or less, and most are narrow-web presses are also usually accom-
10" (254 mm) or smaller. However, changing plished by rotary means. However, platen, or
market conditions and the need for greater flatbed, die-cutting can be used, and foil for
productivity have created a definite trend stamping can also be fed intermittently.
toward the use of wider presses. Web widths
of 10" (254 mm) and 13" (330 mm) have sup-
planted the old standards of 6" (152 mm) to DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH
8" (203 mm) web widths. Presses with 18" The origin of narrow-web flexography is
(457 mm) to 20" (508 mm) web widths are usually placed in the period immediately
becoming more common. after WW II. At that time, Mark Andrews Sr.
Narrow-web flexography is also character- (1904-1980), the founder of Mark Andy, Inc.,
ized as a rotary process with multiple in-line made his first presses for printing on the
converting functions. Variable print, or then new product, “Scotch Tape.” Others
repeat length, capability is a critical feature may have made similar equipment prior to
in the markets served by narrow-web equip- this but, unquestionably, Andrews was the
ment. With alternate printing processes, vary- first to begin the sustained manufacture and
ing repeat is often accomplished with an marketing of narrow-web flexo presses.
intermittent web motion. The elegant sim- Flexo then was still called the “aniline”
plicity of the flexo ink system, low-cost plate process, named for the aniline dies in the
cylinders, and the ease and cost effectiveness inks. These initial presses were designed to
of processing plates in a variety of sizes, sit on a workbench or table and were used
make an intermittent or platen type of sys- for making labels from self-wound, self-
tem unnecessary on narrow-web flexo press- adhesive tapes. Web widths were 2" to 4" (50
es. Plate cylinders are easily and economi- mm to 100 mm).
cally changed on narrow-web presses, pro- Andrews is also credited with another
viding the ability to alter the repeat length innovation that has shaped the narrow web
while maintaining rotary printing. Typical flexo industry: the development of rotary die-
narrow-web flexo presses have a print repeat cutting and its integration into narrow-web
range from approximately 4" (101 mm) to 24" presses. Initially, these rotary dies were used
(609 mm) in 0.125" (3 mm) increments. for perforating tapes. As pressure-sensitive
It is rare for a narrow-web flexo press to roll label markets emerged, the entrepre-
be limited to simply printing. Typical appli- neurs building that industry recognized the
L H
I
K
web converters and combined into a world by the spatial orientation of their printing sta-
class printing technology. While each printing tions. From this difference, a number of
process has its own unique set of strengths other characteristics are derived.
and weaknesses, flexo has made tremendous
progress in overcoming its weaknesses and Central Impression Presses
further advancing its strengths. As a conse- The earliest narrow-web flexo label presses
quence, process work of 200 and 225 lpi is were central impression, and this design has
now being printed on narrow-web flexo remained popular through the years. Narrow-
presses, while solids are richer and smoother web central impression presses, like their
than ever before. wide-web counterparts, are characterized by
the location of all the printing units around a
common impression drum (Figure f).
TYPES OF NARROW-WEB PRESSES Unlike wide-web central impression presses,
There are four basic design styles of nar- the typical narrow-web CI press is three or
row-web presses: central impression, in-line, four colors. Satellite stations, not located on
stack and platform. These presses are distin- the central drum, can be added to obtain five-
guished from one another in the first or six-color capability.
instance by their web paths, as determined Narrow-web central impression presses
H H H H G
are relatively inexpensive and take up a web width of 16" (406 mm) to 24" (609 mm).
small amount of floor space. They typically While falling within the range defined as nar-
do not have sophisticated controls and row web, the design of these presses is heav-
accessories, making them easy to operate ily influenced by their wide-web origins, and
and maintain. These characteristics make the reader is directed to the wide web chap-
the design popular with smaller and start-up ter for more information on them.
companies, as well as with larger converters
needing additional capacity for low-end In-line Presses
work. This style of press is also often used In-line presses, as their name implies, have
for training in educational institutions. their printing stations oriented horizontally
Because the web is captured on a com- to one another (Figure g). Each printing
mon cylinder and not subject to tension station has its own impression cylinder.
fluctuations as it is transported from station These presses are appreciably longer than
to station, central impression presses hold central impression presses, but are also
excellent color to color register. They are more versatile and provide the operator with
well suited for printing difficult to control greater accessibility to the printing stations.
materials, such as tapes, highly extensible More than 75% of the narrow-web presses
films and cloth. sold today are in-line designs.
The typical narrow-web central impression In-line presses are manufactured in a full
press has a web width range of 6" (152 mm) range of web widths, from 7" (178 mm) to 24"
to 20" (508 mm). This narrow width, and the (609 mm). They are often modular, i.e.,
limited number of colors on typical narrow- designed to allow the buyer to specify the
web CI presses, have restricted their use in number of print stations required, and, if nec-
the flexible packaging market. However, in essary, to add stations at a later date. The
response to changes in the flexible packaging number of print stations on an average in-line
market and its need for equipment better press has increased over the years. Six to
suited for shorter run lengths, traditional eight colors are now typical, but 12 or more is
wide-web press manufacturers have intro- not uncommon. Even on the largest in-line
duced narrower versions of their wide-web presses, register tolerance is typically less
central impression presses. These presses than ±0.005" (0.13 mm) over a specified num-
are typically six to eight colors and have a ber of repeats.
Sheeter
Double
Die
Print Station
Print Station
Print Station
Single
Air Unwind Rewind
The range of available web widths, and the accomplish this may vary dramatically,
number of print and converting positions depending on the location of the interstation
possible with in-line style presses, make dryers. Likewise, the level and sophistica-
them very adaptable to a wide variety of tion of the press controls range from basic
uses and markets. Their open, accessible manual, mechanical functions to nearly fully
design allows many accessories to be added automated presses.
to them for specialized requirements. Thus,
most of the narrow-web flexo presses used Stack Presses
for folding cartons, flexible packaging, lot- Narrow-web stack presses are character-
tery tickets and coupon applications, are of ized by the vertical relationship of their print
the in-line design. stations, and they are sometimes referred to
There are many design variations within as “vertical in-line” presses (Figure h).
the category of in-line presses. Some are Stack presses can also have the print sta-
cantilevered, i.e., without a framework on tions oriented in an inverted “U.” Like the
the operator’s side of the press, while others central impression press, the stack press
are fully framed. All in-line presses have to takes up a small amount of floor space. Like
transport the web from one station, or mod- the in-line press, the stack press has individ-
ule, to another. However, the web path to ual impression rollers. Stack presses are
ister adjustments. Coarse register adjust- establish precise register, may be a manual
ments are made in a number of ways on nar- or an automatic function. Fine adjustments
row-web presses. The most common is by are usualy made through a worm gear to
disengaging the gear of the plate cylinder momentarily change the velocity of the plate
from its drive gear and rotating the plate cylinder or die. This adjustment results in a
cylinder. Another method is to use a high- phase shift of the position of the tooling. The
speed motor to rotate the plate cylinder. This adjustment range may be a full 360°, or with-
method is sometimes used for automatic pre- in a prescribed window.
register systems. With preregister systems, Automatic Register Systems. Automatic regis-
the operator positions all of the plate rolls at ter systems normally are used with 360° gear-
the equivalent of top-dead-center, and enters boxes, but they can also be used with sys-
the repeat length information into a proces- tems with a restricted adjustment range. Two
sor. The processor calculates the amount basic types of automatic register systems are
each plate cylinder needs to be rotated, or used on narrow-web presses. One style is a
offset, to obtain a coarse register position. mark-to-mark system. This style uses one or
Coarse positioning is used to register the more optic sensors to “read” the position of a
print to within approximately one gear series of sequentially printed register marks.
tooth, typically 0.125". Fine positioning, to The other style of automatic register system
nates and varnishes provide more durability are also used for folding cartons and for foil
and scuff resistance. lids. These applications require that the
desired shape be fully cut out of the web.
Die-cutting Stations Since male/female tools provide a shear cut-
Narrow-web presses are converting sys- ting action, as opposed to the crush or burst-
tems that combine printing with die-cutting ing action obtained with standard rotary and
and other finishing operations. Die cutting re- steel rule dies, less force is required and a
quires extreme precision and exacting toler- cleaner cut is produced. Die life is also
ances. Its mechanics have been compared to greater with male/female systems.
using an ax to cut wood to a prescribed depth A typical rotary die station (Figure j)
repeatedly and consistently. The increased consists of parallel slots milled in the front
use of film materials for labels requires that and rear frames of the press; a rotating, dri-
the analogy be modified to include precisely ven roller used as an anvil; a pressure assem-
cutting plastic as well as wood. bly consisting of a pressure bridge and an
Typically, die cutting is done with rotary assist assembly; and a waste matrix removal
tools. However, flatbed die cutting is often system. Removable bearing blocks are
used for folding cartons and in some inter- placed on the journals of the die to position
national markets. Special male/female tools and maintain it in the parallel slots.
decide if resharpening is required before against deflection because the forces during
putting the die into storage, so it will be die cutting change greatly as the cutting
ready to work well the next time. edges move from along-the-web to across-
the-web cuts. If the die isn’t correctly loaded,
Problem Areas the die bearers and the cutting edge may
The rotary die-cutting process appears quite separate from the anvil, thus losing the criti-
simple under casual observation but in fact cal positioning of the cutting edge in relation
relies heavily on the quality of tools, convert- to the anvil. This separation, referred to as
ing materials, the condition of the die station die liftoff, is often found to be the source of
and the press. In addition to control and diecutting difficulties that can’t be diag-
maintenance of appropriate web tension, the nosed by measuring the die, the straightness
press must be able to keep the web from of the anvil and the liner in use.
weaving, thus avoiding what can be one of A similarly difficult-to-diagnose problem is
the major sources of die damage – tracking caused by die flexing and sometimes both die
of the web under the bearers. and anvil flexing. In this situation, the bear-
The die-cutting process relies on the web ers do not necessarily leave the anvil surface,
being under tension while supported by the but the forces during cutting are great
anvil. This anvil must be rigidly supported enough to bend the die, causing a movement
W
web tension applies • in general, poor productivity and high
mostly to flexographic waste.
presses, it is also rele- Many of these problems are simply accept-
vant for coaters, lami- ed as normal and are not usually attributed
nators, slitters, winders, to web tension, as they should be. However,
sheeters and other machines familiar to the anyone who experiences these problems
flexographer. and recognizes the relationship can improve
Web-tension control is a very important efficiency, and profits, by using better ten-
function of any web-process machine sion-control methods.
because it determines, in large part, the
machine’s production efficiency and the
product’s quality. Inadequate tension control TENSION ZONES
can severely limit the performance of new A typical flexographic press has more than
machines. And modern tension controls, one tension zone. This separation exists
retrofitted to older machines in good condi- because the process in any individual zone
tion, can raise performance to equal or some- may require a different tension level or pat-
times beyond that of the newest machines. tern than the processes in other zones.
Web breaks and wrap-ups around driven A tension zone is that length of web that
rolls (caused by slack web) are only the extends from one tension-affecting device
most obvious consequences of inadequate (TAD) to the next. Typical tension-affecting
tension control. Here are some others: devices are: unwind or rewind core shaft
• loss of color-to-color registration while with attached motor, clutch or brake; driven
running at speed, splicing or changing rolls; braked rolls; nip rolls where at least
speed; one roll is driven or braked; drag bars; and
• deformation of web due to stretching or any other device that may add or subtract a
wrinkling; significant amount of tension to or from the
• print-length variations; interleaving of slit web. Printing, coating or slitting stations are
webs; web shifts side-to-side; not normally considered to be tension-
• curling or wrinkling of laminating webs; affecting devices, even though driven rolls
• variation of coating thickness; are involved because the web is not gripped
• unwind or rewind core crushing; firmly. An exception is the gravure printing
• reduction of machine speed to accom- station, which uses a high-pressure nip and
modate web-handling problems or sheet driven rolls. The following describes the dif-
length; ferent tension zones.
• excessive waste of web material; inabili-
ty to run a wide range of web thickness- Unwind Tension Zone
es, widths or materials; Constant tension from full roll to core is
• the need for excessive labor to operate desirable here. Any significant deviation
B
only create tension and therefore Roll followers are an improvement on
a method is needed to adjust the manual control systems. There are three
torque of these devices in order to basic types: follower arms, sonic range find-
produce the correct web tension. ers and diameter computers. All measure the
There are only two tension con- diameter of the unwind or rewind roll and
trol systems: the machine operator or some adjust the brake or clutch torque as it
kind of automatic controller. changes. Torque adjustment is the basic func-
tion of any unwind and is proportional to
diameter change according to the formula:
MANUAL SYSTEMS
Manual tension-control systems require TORQUE TENSION DIAMETER
the machine operator to judge the tension in 2
the web and make appropriate adjustments This torque adjustment process is some-
to the brake, clutch, or motor torque or times mistakenly called “taper tension,” but
speed by hand. Such systems are called the correct term is “taper torque.” Taper ten-
“open loop” because the torque or speed out- sion refers to the rewinding tension control
put does not depend on what is happening in Roll followers are not true tension con-
the machine, only on the person making the trollers. The machine operator manually sets
adjustments. Skill, experience and constant tension, and the roll follower only compen-
adjusting are required to achieve a satisfac- sates for roll diameter variation. There is no
tory result. The machine operator is the ten- compensation for speed changes, brake fade
sion controller and the quality of control or other factors affecting web tension.
depends on that person’s judgment, skill and Follower arms have a roller or wheel on the
attentiveness. The machine operator must end of a lever arm attached to a rotary posi-
compensate for changes in machine, speed, tion sensor. The wheel rides on the roll sur-
roll diameter, brake and web characteristics, face and the arm rotates as the roll diameter
and quality, with nothing more to help him changes. The sensor detects the arm move-
than his best guess and experience. ment and signals the controller to adjust
Consequently, manual tension-control sys- brake or clutch torque accordingly.
tems provide tension profiles that are very The follower arm is the simplest and least
erratic, and change from roll to roll over time expensive type of roll follower. But it has two
and from operator to operator. Manual con- disadvantages. First, it requires touching the
trol is best used in slow machines having stock roll surface, which is not always desir-
small diameter unwind and rewind rolls able, and it gets in the way of loading and
where product quality and material waste are unloading rolls. Second, setting torque is
not important. more difficult than with the other types.
Roll followers eliminate the constant read-
justment required by manual systems and
T
simple or complex, plays an that the operator does not have to shaft and
important part in the proper unshaft rolls of material. Even with pneu-
operation of the press. There are matic shafts, this chore becomes quite diffi-
two general groups of unwind cult when handling wide rolls. A further
stands: single-position and flying- sophistication of a shaftless stand is the self-
splice stands. Most single roll and older drop- loading type (Figure 2)).
splice unwind stands are non-driven, while In general, single-position roll stands are
most modern flying-splice unwinds are of the used where large diameter mill rolls contain
driven type. A brief discussion later will cover sufficient footage to keep the press running
both center-shaft and surface-drive types. for a reasonable time between changes.
SINGLE-POSITION UNWIND
The simplest and most common type of
1&
Parent Roll
unwind stand is the single-position stand. It
can be manufactured to handle a great vari-
ety of roll widths and diameters (Figure 1&).
Brake
To make the stand more usable, designers
normally incorporate a side shift adjustment
so the core shaft may be moved by the oper-
ator either way from its center position. This
adjustment allows the operator to relocate
the web without having to shift the roll on the
core shaft. For wide, large-diameter rolls, a
loading apparatus may be used. Hydraulic
arms may be added to the stand to facilitate
the loading of rolls (Figure 1*). Other
1*
Parent Roll
arrangements, such as overhead hoists or
tram rails, have found applications. Loading
Arms
The most important function of an unwind Hydraulic
Cylinder
stand is uniform tension control during the
1& The single-position unwinding of the material to the printing
unwind is the most
common type of
sections. Also, the unwind stand can be
unnwind stand. automatically guided to provide lateral web
position control at the press in-feed. The sec-
1* Single-position unwind ond most common single-position unwind
with loading arms
stand is the shaftless type (Figure 1(). This
facilitates the loading
of rolls. stand uses the roll core as a support for the
Tension Brake
Brake
Expiring
Mill Roll
Moveable
Cradle Tape for
Splicing
Side Adjusting
Screw
Splicing
Rolls
2)
Figure 2! illustrates a typical 24" diame-
ter, simple drop-splice unwind stand for
B
common packaging materials such as poly-
C
Brake ethylene and other extensible films.
A
In this sketch, note that this simple unwind
is semi-automatic in operation since it
Core chuck requires the operator to “drop” the splice into
the splicing rolls. Drop splices are made by
placing the pre-taped, leading edge of the
Assembly A moves in and out on lead screw B
new roll into the pneumatic or hydraulically-
and up and down on lead screw C loaded marriage rolls that press the tape onto
the expiring web. Operator skill is required to
determine the precise moment to make the
When changes become frequent, considera- splice, in order to keep the tail of the expiring
tion must be given to flying-splice systems, roll to a minimum. The operator also has to
1( The shaftless unwind
which, although more expensive, increase index the turret into the proper splicing posi- uses the roll core as a
the printing output. tion. Most modern stands are made to accept support tor the material
and is the second most
both “underwound” and “overwound” rolls.
common single-position
Indexing the turrets can be done with either unwind because the
FLYING-SPLICE UNWIND electric or hydraulic motors. operator does not have
to shaft and unshatf
There are many types of flying-splice Larger roll diameters and the demand for
rolls of material.
stands available. They are classified with more uniform color throughout the roll lead
respect to their roll diameters. Flying-splice to a need to drive the full roll during splicing. 2) A more sophisticated
stands for the packaging industry generally Rolls weighing 500 lbs. to 800 lbs. are very shaftless unwind
self-loads the material.
are capable of handling up to 24" or, in some difficult to move, making a successful “drop”
cases, 32" diameter rolls. Other stands for splice at running speeds where matching
handling heavier laminates and paper are web sped is required virtually impossible.
2! Flying splice unwind is
a simple unwind, semi-
available with diameters up to 60". It is not An improvement in this type of stand is automatic in its opera-
tion, since it requires
uncommon to see flying-splice stands capa- to drive the new roll of material so that it
the operator to “drop”
ble of handling 72" diameter rolls where fair- is traveling at the same linear speed as the the splice into the splic-
ly heavy board stock is being run. expiring roll. The new roll can be driven ing rolls.
T
for rewinding equipment: center on top of the roll being wound, and can be
and surface winding. Some sin- pneumatically or hydraulically loaded to
gle-roll rewinds use a combina- provide a greater nip pressure between the
tion of center and surface drives. roll and the winding drums. The pressure
Flying-splice rewinders are nor- of a rider roll should be gradually lessened
mally of a center-wind type. Although there during the rewinding cycle to provide more
are automatic flying-splice surface winders, uniform pressure.
they are normally used in the paper industry. Hydraulic or pneumatic loading of the roll
core shaft is another accepted method of
increasing nip pressure. The hydraulic cylin-
SURFACE WINDERS ders act to maintain a uniform or steadily
Surface rewinding units use the surface of decreasing pressure relationship between
a moving roll to impart rotation, by friction- the roll being wound and the winding drums.
al contact, to the roll being wound. There Maintaining uniform pressure is easier to
are two surface rewind designs common to accomplish on a single-drum winder be-
the industry. cause the method of loading doesn’t have to
overcome or compensate for the increasing
Double Drum roll weight.
The double-drum rewind is the most com-
mon type of surface rewinder and is de- Single Drum
scribed in Figure 2%. It uses two rolls of The single-drum rewind unit (Figure 2^)
equal diameter to drive the web. The rewind uses the same surface-winding principles
unit is usually driven by a variable-speed as the double-drum unit, but has a single
drive to set the basic tension pattern.
Normally, one roll is also driven slightly
faster than the other to provide a differential
surface speed, creating a hard roll. The
2% Rider Roll
CENTER WINDERS
Spreader Center winding gets its rotary movement
Bar
Roll through the core shaft. The center-winding
Unloading Slitter
Arm Station
units are available both as core-shaft and as
2^ The single-drum rewind shaftless types. On flexo presses, the most
unit uses the same sur-
common center-shaft winder is the core-
face-winding principles
as the double-drum shaft type.
unit, but has a single A common center-shaft winder is the sin-
winding drum to impart 2&
rotation.
gle-position type described in Figure 2&.
This design employs one core shaft mounted
Rider Roll
2& A single-position center in frames. The shaft is driven by an electric,
shaft rewind unit with mechanical, hydraulic or combination drive
Roll
web slitter. This com- Unloading Arm with some means of adjusting the drive
mon design employs
one core shaft mounted speed to vary the roll hardness. The single-
Expander roll
in frames. The shaft is position type must be stopped for roll
driven by an electric,
mechanical, hydraulic
changes. The rider roll is also driven on more
or combination drive modern designs.
Slitter Station
with some means of A rider roll is frequently used in both sin-
adjusting the drive
speed to vary the roll gle- and flying-splice center rewind units. Its
hardness. purpose is to help get a hard and uniform fin-
[ ]
per web inch; web width expressed in inch-
ROLL ROLL ROLL CORE
es; the mathematical horsepower constant; INERTIA MASS DIAMETER2
DIAMETER2
and the ratio of the full-roll diameter over 8
ROLL 2 LINE SPEED CHANGE
ACCELERATION
the core diameter.
Two other factors should also be consid- ROLL DIAMETER
Table 3
Table 4
W
web, regardless of the shafts to handle very high torque. Narrower
material, it has to be rolls can be handled because of low deflec-
unwound and usually tion from loads concentrated near the cen-
rewound. In most cases ter. Low maintenance and easy in-plant
the roll has a core of repair procedures contribute to the popular-
some type, which could be paper/fiber, ity and extensive use of air shafts.
metal, plastic or wood, that has to be held Although the air-shaft design is basically
securely to provide rewinding tension or simple, a variety of styles are available and
braking torque. There are a variety of man- each shaft is custom-made to suit specific
drels, shafts and chucks in use and most are requirements of an application. Each of
mechanically or pneumatically operated. these types is designed around one basic
Mechanical shafts and chucks have been principle, i.e., a metal tubular bar acts as the
widely used for conventional web handling load-carrying member. The body of the shaft
operations and are well-known in the field. has a number of drilled holes or slots into
Pneumatically-operated shafts and chucks, which are fitted buttons or lugs backed with
because of their simplicity and reliability, are steel pressure flanges. Upon introduction of
accepted as standard by engineers, produc- air into the shaft, an internal air bladder
tion supervisors and maintenance personnel expands and forces the buttons or lugs radi-
knowledgeable in manufacturing and con- ally outward until the inside diameter of the
verting operations where web materials are core is securely gripped along its full length.
being processed. This next section will The internal air bladder is made of a tear-
explain the operation and application of resistant neoprene or similar material and
pneumatic shafts – more commonly called has bonded ends or metal fittings to form an
air shafts – and chucks. airtight flexible chamber. Air pressure of
approximately 80 psi is necessary to ensure
that the outward thrust is sufficient to grip
AIR SHAFTS the core. When the air is released, the shaft
Air shafts are used for both conventional deflates, causing the spring-loaded buttons
and more demanding applications. They or lugs to retract below the outside surface
offer many advantages over the older of the body and allow fast shaft removal.
mechanical shafts mainly because of their There are five basic types of air shafts:
light weight and simplicity of operation. In large-button, lug, small-button, leaf and fiber-
addition, a high strength-to-weight ratio glass-sleeve (Figure 2*). The best applica-
results in minimum deflection, and the abil- tions are described in the following para-
ity to maintain a full grip across the entire graphs.
Large Button Type. For rugged, heavy duty used, this type provides a continuous grip-
standard core winding or unwinding. Big ping action throughout the entire expand-
buttons 0.625" in diameter are spaced 1.75" ing face, making it suitable for winding
apart in multiple rows. multiple rolls or rolls without cores.
Lug Type. The lug type of air shaft is similar Fiberglass-Sleeve Type. A variation of the leaf
to the large-button type, but with bars 0.25" type, this air shaft is used when light-han-
wide by 3" long instead of buttons. dling weight is of prime importance. Two
Small Button Type. For stacked or multiple fiberglass sleeves used in lieu of leaves and
cores when slitting and rewinding narrow in conjunction with a high tensile aluminum-
webs. Small buttons 0.375" in diameter are shaft body account for the weight saving and
spaced 0.75” apart in multiple rows. This make for a lightweight rugged unit.
shaft has the capability of gripping individ-
ual narrow cores stacked on the shaft even if
the core tolerances vary from one core to SPECIAL AIR SHAFTS
the next. There are many specially designed models
Leaf Type. For rugged heavy-duty coreless of air shafts for specific requirements. Four
winding or where thin walled cores are unique and popular types are described
T
ling a web is edge guiding. It is The typical web guiding system consists of
generally applicable in cases several components integrated into a closed
where it is desirable to maintain control loop. Figure 3@ illustrates a system
the edge in constant reference showing the sensor, controller, hydraulic
to the press and where the sen- actuating cylinder and web. No particular
sor can be repositioned in accordance with type of guiding apparatus is shown in this
changing web widths. Control systems are illustration, since it depends on the specifics
available with capabilities for guiding on of the installation.
either edge, center guiding, or electric eye In the typical closed-loop condition control
line guiding. system, the set point, or command, is the pre-
Sensing of the web edge is generally accom- positioning of the sensor on the press to
plished using a pneumatic detector that pro- determine the guide point. The sensor then
vides a low-pressure signal proportional to produces error signals, which go to the con-
the web position. Photoelectric sensing is troller. At the controller, the servo valve
generally used only in those cases where translates the low-level error signal into a
guiding relative to a guideline registered with high-level hydraulic output to the guide cylin-
the printing is required to accommodate criti- der. The guide mechanism, in turn, produces
cal slitting requirements on the press. an output. This output is a velocity differen-
Center guiding is used in situations tial across the web in response to the flow
where web widths vary during operation from the controller. This velocity differential
and it is therefore desirable to keep the is transmitted to the web through the guiding
material centered relative to the press, device, and the web is repositioned at the
rather than referenced to one edge. This sensor, providing the necessary feedback.
kind of guiding can be accomplished
through the use of fixed sensors located
on each side of the web, or through sys-
tems providing automatically adjusted
3@
sensors for continually following the web
as its width varies. The choice between
fixed and moving sensors depends upon
3@ This air-pressure the degree of web width variation.
hydraulic guiding
system includes the The hardware for center-guide systems is
sensor, controller, more complex and the setup and operation
hydraulic actuating
cylinder and web.
are more complicated than the simple edge-
Note no particular type guide system. However, in those cases
of guiding apparatus is where the benefits of center guiding are
shown, since it depends
on the specifics of the required, it can be a highly successful way of
installation. dealing with the printing requirement.
0.85
0.80
0.75
0.70
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
It is important to note that the feedback to ture that allows the operator to disable the
the sensor is through the web. Thus, the automatic guiding system and to center the
behavior of the web, in conjunction with the intermediate guiding device in its travel. This
other components in the loop, is most impor- feature is generally most useful in situations
tant to the proper functioning of the control where the press must be re-threaded. With
system. Not only are the characteristics of unwind and rewind guides, the most com-
these individual components important, but mon auxiliary control system is a feature
the relationship of their characteristics must that enables the operator to manually con-
be carefully established to ensure proper sys- trol the system, as well as to operate in the
tem results. The accuracy of this feedback is automatic guiding mode. With this system,
particularly true where high press speeds the operator can manually position the
require fast guiding system response and sta- unwind or rewind stand during press setup
bility to achieve highly accurate web position and then switch the system into the normal
control and registration. automatic mode of operation when printing.
Various auxiliary control systems are There are three locations on flexographic
available for use with the automatic guiding presses where guiding is normally applied at
systems. With intermediate guides, the most the unwind, prior to printing and at the
common auxiliary control system is a fea- rewind. Guiding at the in-feed section with
Web Web
= Sensor
either unwind guiding or intermediate guid- Hydraulic types. The two hydraulic types of
ing corrects for misalignment of mill roll automatic control systems function in a sim-
position and such things as telescoped and ilar manner. A sensor monitors the lateral
poorly wound rolls. position of the web. The sensor signal is
transmitted either directly to the power unit
Automatic Web Guiding Systems servo valve (pneumohydraulic systems) or to
There are four basic types of automatic a signal processor, which then sends a signal
control systems (Figure 3#): to the power unit servo valve (electrohy-
• pneumohydraulic; draulic systems). Hydraulic output from the
• electrohydraulic; power unit through the servo valve, propor-
• pneumomechanical; and tional to the lateral error of the web, posi-
• electromechanical. tions the guide structure, which moves the
web to the correct lateral position in the sen-
All of these systems are closed-loop, type 1, sor. These systems are attractive for
proportional control systems; this description extremely heavy loads and harsh environ-
means the correction output adjustment is ments.
opposite and in proportion to the error Mechanical types. The two mechanical types
detected. of control systems also function in a similar
This setup eliminates undesirable time lags positions the sensor where he or she wish-
before the sensor sees the output of the con- es the edge of the web to be positioned. In
trol cylinder. automatic mode, the unwind stand then
Because of the mechanical configuration shifts laterally, keeping the edge of the
of most unwind stands and the masses like- web at the guide point of the sensor.
ly to be involved, mechanical and hydraulic The ideal location for the sensor is as
resonance considerations generally play an close as possible to the shifting unwind
important part in designing a successful (See Figure 3%). This positioning will give
unwind guiding installation. Lateral bending the best dynamic performance and accu-
of the uprights due to their flexibility, or flex- racy. Systems are available that allow the
ing of the stretcher members of the stand sensor to be located after the first fixed
often contribute to a relatively low spring idler. These systems will guide the web,
rate and resultant low mechanical natural but at a reduced level of performance.
frequency. All shifting stands should be
designed with the natural frequency of the
controller in mind so that they are in the INTERMEDIATE WEB GUIDES
vicinity of two or three times the natural fre- If there are long spans between the unwind
quency of the controller. and first print station, it may be desirable to
Unwind guiding aligns the edge to a prede- install an intermediate web guide immediately
termined guide point. Depending on the sen- ahead of the first print station, either in lieu of
sor selected, unwind guiding sometimes or in addition to the unwind guide (Figure 3^).
requires a direct mounted or slave idler, or This intermediate guide can correct for any
idler rolls, for proper operation. The idlers web position errors that may occur in spans
are required when using a sensor with a nar- between the unwind and the first print station.
row gap or a line guide sensor. The idler Intermediate guiding devices generally fall
maintains a constant plane for the material into two categories. The first is a steering
being guided. The unwind stand is generally guide, which is a roller having accurate
positioned so there is less than one web motion (in the plane of web travel) about an
width to the first fixed idler in the machine. instant center located several web widths
The operator positions a roll of material ahead of the guide. The second type of inter-
on the unwind stand. The operator then mediate guide is a displacement guide, or off-
Fixed
Entering Guide Roller
Idler Center of Rotation
of Guide Roll
Centerline (Instant Center) Web Travel
of Machine
and Guide
Assembly
Approximately 5° to 25°
L (Entering Span)
L1 (2/3 to 3/4 L)
X2
Pre-Entry
Span
Sensor L2
Exiting
Deadbar Span
or Support
Roller
90°
as the web exits the entry roller. The exit is The web-entering span ideally should be
where the highest stress distortion occurs. parallel to the guide plane of motion. In a
At the point of critical rotation, the stress worst case scenario, the web plane of
on one edge will be zero. The stress on the motion should be no greater than 30° off the
other edge will be approximately 13 times guide plane of motion.
the web’s average stress. This lateral bending Instant Center Location. The location of the
of the web, and the associated stress distor- center of rotation is very important in
tion, is the primary reason the steering guide obtaining stability in the control system.
requires a long entry span. If the rotation of The center of rotation is ideally two-thirds
the steering guide exceeds the critical angle, to three-quarters the length of the entry
the stress on one edge can become negative, span upstream of the guide roller. If the cen-
meaning it has a loose edge. The stress on the ter of rotation is less than ideal, the guide
other edge increases to compensate for the becomes over-steered. The magnitude of
loose edge. The net tension in the web will over-steering is inversely related to the dis-
remain constant, but if less web width is tance the center of rotation is located
under tension, then web stress becomes upstream. As over-steering increases, the
higher. The loose edge can result in troughs guide control system becomes more and
and/or wrinkles being formed in the web. more unstable until the system oscillates
depends greatly on the guide span, roller face 4. Maximum lateral shift required.
length and wrap style. 5. Maximum line speed.
F
printing, press manufacturers pulse source, providing a brief instant flash
have constantly made improve- with a frequency synchronous with the print
ments in their designs and repeat length. Being relatively simple in con-
process techniques to reach high- cept and structure, it is the least expensive
er optimum printing speeds for option but has severe limitations as a suitable
improved profitability. As web speeds web viewer.
increased, many process functions became With a stroboscope, the viewing area is lim-
more critical, requiring greater operator ited to the size of the lamp beam diameter,
attention and skill to obtain maximum effi- which varies with distances, of course. The
ciency, quality assurance and waste control. distance also controls the degree of illumina-
As a result, web viewers were developed and tion and definition of print detail. Discounting
made available to aid the press operator in operator discomfort and fatigue, image defini-
fully utilizing the press potential. tion is also less than satisfactory. The lamp of
As web speeds exceeded the 250 to 300 the stroboscope is designed to flash in syn-
feet per minute (fpm) range, above which chronization with the print repeat length, or
operators could no longer accurately inspect multiples thereof, so that an identical portion
the printed web, web scanners became a of the web is constantly viewed. Therefore,
necessity for quality assurance. Today, with frequency is dependent upon print repeat
the increased demand for more sophisticated length versus web speed and will vary as
print requirements, the selection of a suitable either or both are changed.
web viewer is of prime importance. At low speeds, the operator observes a brief
The degree of efficiency obtainable is instant flash, lacking the necessary dwell time
greatly dependent upon the ability of the web to retain the image between flashes. As web
viewer to provide a stable image of such speed increases, a frequency is reached where
quality that precise definition of detail, regis- persistence of vision bridges the gap between
tration, etc., is readily visible at all printing flashes, providing the stroboscopic effect, or
speeds. When this stable image is accom- a stationary image. As the frequency
plished, the operator can constantly monitor approaches and exceeds approximately 25
the print quality and make the necessary cycles per second, the stationary effect is lost
press adjustments, as well as observe the and the stroboscope begins to provide a con-
adjustment results, while the press is running stant illumination typical to the common light
at optimum web speeds. This, of course, min- bulb. With these factors in mind, it is readily
imizes material waste and press downtime. apparent that a web viewer with the strobo-
scopic concept is limited in performance.
STROBOSCOPE
The simplest web-viewing device is a strobo- OSCILLATING MIRROR
scope, similar to an automotive timing light. Another type of web scanner is a device
X
4! By “bending” the the visual dwell span, one mirror of the
printed web over an Fixed
idler roller to simulate
Viewing rotating drum reflects the image until the
Angle
an arc throughout the Strip next mirror picks up the identical area of the
Mirror
sweeping angle, the succeeding print repeat length. This process
“bent-web” viewing
feature eliminates is repeated continuously as other mirrors
the sweeping angle rotate into position in synchronization with
distortion during a True Arc
the print repeat. The series of images is then
straight-web threading
orientation. reflected to a separate strip mirror that is
CPU Monitor
ning and video web inspection systems have Camera-Positioner Assembly. This is typically
filled this need, and are now the most popu- available in three different configurations:
lar form of online print inspection methods. manual, motorized and programmable. If a
They are available from basic viewing sys- manual positioner is chosen, the positioner
tems to automated defect detection systems. must be installed on the press so the opera-
This discussion will focus primarily on basic tor has physical access to move the camera
viewing systems. across the web (crossweb). Manual position-
ers are primarily used on narrow-web
System Configuration machines. Motorized positioners provide
A typical video inspection system is basic left-right jog capability. Programmable
shown in Figure 4@ and consists of these positioners offer multiple, user-programma-
four basic components: ble positions to be stored and then activated
• camera assembly in a continuous loop.
• camera positioning assembly The camera positioner needs to be installed
• CPU and software after the last line operation that requires
• press timing devices inspection. This is typically accomplished
after the dryer, but before the last dancer
Camera Assembly. Typically, the camera assembly prior to rewind. Most inspection
assembly contains a high resolution RGB system suppliers do not supply the brackets
(red, green, blue) color camera. A motorized that connect the positioner to the press frame
zoom lens and diopter, or close-up lens, as standard equipment. Many will provide
together determine the overall magnification these at an additional charge. The brackets
of the system. The zoom lens also controls and the chosen viewing area are critical to
the focus and iris. The iris controls the ensuring satisfactory viewing results.
amount of light reflected into the camera and The chosen viewing area must meet some
hence the brightness of the image. A strobe minimal requirements. The distance from the
lighting system uses a xenon flash lamp that web surface to the camera/lens is defined by
produces a high-intensity short-duration the camera lens focal length. The focal length
flash of light. This illuminates and provides determines the height at which the camera
stop-motion of the area for the camera to positioner assembly is positioned above the
capture the image. web viewing area. This dimension should be
O
dryers are known as either between-color or
flexographic printing process interstation dryers. The dryer after the last
is the proper treatment and print station is called the main tunnel or over-
handling of the substrate mate- head dryer.
rial. One of the primary consid- Interstation dryers remove a sufficient
erations is, of course, the dry- amount of the volatile solvents from the ink so
ing of the ink on the substrate after the print that the next print station may apply another
stations. Further considerations include color without altering the previous one. On a
additional treatment in order to receive the four-color stack press there are typically three
ink, cleaning of the substrate and control of interstation dryers. A color CI press usually
static electricity carried by the substrate. has five. On either a stack press or CI press,
Finally, lamination and varnishing will be there is one main tunnel dryer. The latter
briefly discussed. removes the volatile solvents from the last
printing station and completes the heat setting
of all the inks applied. The main tunnel dryer
DRYERS also removes the final traces of volatile sol-
Some flexographic presses have integrated vents from products where retained solvents
drying systems. A typical arrangement for a could present problems, such as blocking.
central impression (CI) press is shown in The interstation and main tunnel dryers
Figure 4&. There are individual dryers after have various air flow schemes, depending on
each print station except the last one. These the vintage of a press. For example, a press
ers, with each one sharing one supply fan and 4( How a dryer works:
The heated air is pushed
one exhaust fan (Figure 4*). This system onto the substrate
gives the press operator the ability to inde- through a series of air
nozzles, narrow slots
pendently control air temperatures in either running perpendicular
the interstation dryers or the main tunnel. to the substrate travel,
Main
Other examples of airflow schemes are: Tunnel across the width of the
Dryers substrate. After vaporiz-
• one supply fan and one burner ducted ing the volatile compo-
to both the interstation dryers and main Between nent of the ink, the air is
Color exhausted.
tunnel dryer, then exhausted through a Dryers
common exhaust fan;
• independent supply fans and burners,
but exhausted with a common exhaust 4(
fan; and Air Heated
Exhaust Air
• independent supply fans with one com- Supply
mon burner with exhaust through an
independent or common exhaust fan.
5$ A spiral-wound 5#
double-body cooling
roll provides a coolant many and varied. Some of these designs are
passage that allows
accurate control of the patented, which may attest to their impor-
Coolant
flow rate and velocity of tance in this phase of the roll business. Only
the coolant. Outlet Inlet
End End the spiral-wound version is shown and dis-
cussed. The outside diameter of the inner
body is spirally wound with an appropriate
material. When this inner body assembly is
12" to 240" Face
7" to 40" Diameter placed into position within the outer body, a
distinct coolant passage is formed in the
annular space. This design gives accurate
control of the rate of flow and the velocity of
the coolant.
QAV
design, most of the air bank is automatically Where :
exhausted as the roll rotates and most of the Q = rate of flow or discharge (ft3/sec)
roll body is in contact with the coolant. A = passage area (ft2)
A further improvement in substrate cool- V = coolant velocity (ft/sec)
ing and roll efficiency is the double-bodied
roll (Figure 5#). The coolant is forced to If a single passage area is required, the
flow in the annular or ringed space. Con- pitch or angle of the spiral is equal to the
sequently, more flow and velocity control passage width plus the width of one spiral.
can be designed into the roll, resulting in If, for example, four passages are required to
more heat transfer from the substrate. handle the rate of flow, the pitch is figured as
Generally the flow rate will remain in the mentioned and the lead would be four times
laminar flow range and heat transfer will be the pitch. With this control available, the
limited by that condition. designer can increase the coolant velocity
A refinement of the double-bodied cool- and change laminar flow to turbulent flow.
ing-roll design is the addition of a spiral Turbulent flow is desirable since it increases
wound coolant chamber (Figure 5$). The heat transfer most by reducing the coolant
ideas and designs that have come out of this film and agitating, with eddy currents, the
refinement effort over the past few years are coolant itself. In this cooling roll, using
D
of quality printing, especially between the two electrodes (+/–) and every-
in polymer film, paper or cor- thing within the corona field (air, substrate,
rugated processing operations, dust) becomes conductive. When this hap-
and therefore must be ad- pens, electrons begin to flow between the
dressed by press builders and two electrodes. As the substrate is passed
converters alike. between the electrodes, the surface of the
No dust removal system is absolutely per- substrate is charged positively on the side
fect. However, if the problem is addressed at facing the negative electrode and is charged
its source, i.e., immediately where dust and negatively on the side facing the positive
electrostatic charges are produced, it can be electrode. Any dust particles on the surface
controlled, yielding higher production and of the substrate will also be charged in a sim-
quality. The most effective system for remov- ilar fashion Figure 5%.
ing dust from a substrate prior to printing As the polarity of the electrodes change,
uses the electrostatic repulsion principle as the corona field breaks down. The air
explained in the preceding section. between the surface of the substrate and the
The most advanced ionic cleaning systems adjacent electrode functions as insulation.
involve a corona field formed between two Powerful electrostatic fields are formed,
oppositely charged electrodes in a quartz which are charged positive above the sheet
enclosure. The substrate to be cleaned is to be cleaned and negative on the underside.
passed through this corona field, which is The dust particles now show an opposite
generated using an alternating high voltage polar charge, are repelled by the substrate,
(15,000 volts) at high frequency (5,000–7,000 float into the positive field and are sucked
cycles/sec). away by a fan.
5% 5% In electrostatic cleaning,
1 - - - Electrode - - - 2 0v Electrode 0v 3 + + + Electrode + + + as the substrate is
+ + + + + + + + + + + – – – – – – – – – – – passed between the
Ionized Air
Ionized Air
electrodes, the surface
– – – – – – – – – – – + + Dust + +
of the substrate as well
+ + Dust + + + + + + + + + + + + +
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + – – – – – – – – – – – as the dust particles are
Substrate Substrate Substrate charged (positively on
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – + + + + + + + + + + +
+ + + + + + + + + + + – – – – – – – – – – – the side facing the
Ionized Air Ionized Air negative electrode,
– – – – – – – – – – – + + + + + + + + + + +
negatively on the side
+ + + Electrode + + + 0v Electrode 0v - - - Electrode - - -
facing the positive
+ + + electrode.) This causes
dust particles having an
opposite charge to be
– – – repelled and sucked
away by a fan.
Rotating
Electrode
5& A split box film-treating
Idle station treats variable
Roll
Rotating width substrates.
Electrode
Adjustable
Web Shoe
Electrode 5* Adjustable-shoe
electrode stations may
Web be single- or double-
sided stations capable
of handling widths up
5& Web Idle Roll 5( to 144".
Rotating
Adjustable 5( Pressurized film-
Shoe treating stations are
Electrode Electrode specially engineered for
Shoe Type hazardous atmospheres.
Electrode
Rotating
Electrode
Shoe Type Rotating
Electrode Electrode
Idle Roll
Web
6)
Adhesive Laminator
Applicator
Adhesive Applicator
Lamination Nip. If the press has two chill rolls, motor is adequate for this function.
the first may be made into the laminating nip If the adhesive is to be applied by a flexo
by adding a rubber impression roll. If the press print unit, the rubber transfer roll on the
has only one chill roll, another roll is needed plate cylinder must be solvent-resistant and
to form the laminating nip. This roll should be have good release properties.
about 14" in diameter and bored for heating. It To apply the adhesive by gravure in the last
should be driven at the same speed as the chill color station, a gravure roll, rubber impres-
roll, preferably with a variable speed drive. sion roll (plate-cylinder position), doctor
Heating of the roll can be by hot oil or hot blade and change gears for the color station
water, as most film laminations are performed are needed. The web must pass up between
at temperatures less than 175° F. Hot water is the gravure roll (anilox roll position) and the
desirable in that it is cleaner than oil. Also, impression roll (plate-cylinder position).
switching from hot water to cold water pro- Consequently, change gears are required to
vides another chill roll when not laminating. change the direction of rotation of these two
A rubber-covered nip roll is required to sup- rolls. The doctor blade attachment should
ply the laminating pressure. This roll should have adjustments for angle and pressure of
be a minimum of 6" in diameter and covered wiping, and an air or hydraulic motor for
with 80–85 durometer rubber, 1" thick. The oscillation. The attachment is mounted in the
roll should be hydraulically or air operated to area normally occupied by the flexo rubber
apply variable laminating pressures up to a fountain roll. The ink pan must be modified
maximum of 100 lb/in2, and should be located in order to supply adhesive to the gravure
so that the web has at least a 90° wrap on the roll. To cut down on the expense of rubber
steel roll after laminating. impression rolls, rubber sleeves can be
Adhesive Application. Immediately following placed on existing plate cylinders.
the adhesive application station, which is
the last press color station, a 2" diameter Separate Laminator Section
chrome plated steel roll is needed. The pur- The next generation of in-line laminating
pose of this roll is to smooth the adhesive to incorporated a separate and self-contained
improve laminating clarity. The roll should laminating machine in-line with the flexo
be adjustable to the web and driven in press (Figure 6!). It is independent of the
reverse rotation to web direction. A small air press except that it, and the press, use the
same rewind, and the electric drives of the stops, the drying temperatures must be
two machines are connected and employ reduced to prevent damage to the web
necessary web tension controls. The lamina- in the tunnel.
tor consists of a gravure-type adhesive appli- • The laminating station must also auto-
cation station, with a smoothing roll, drying matically open at press stop to prevent
tunnel of sufficient length to dry the web at damage to the rubber impression roll,
printing speed, laminating nip, chill roll(s) as well as the web. Independent control
and unwind equipment for the primary and for closing the nip at press start-up is
secondary webs. With this type of setup for acceptable.
in-line laminations, several precautions must
be taken: For the converter who has a large volume of
• The web travel between the two mach- laminating with printing, the machine arrange-
ines and to the rewind should be as ment shown in Figure 6@ could be used. It
short as possible to prevent loss of web shows the press and laminator completely
control. separated except for electrical and mechani-
• The electrical and mechanical drive sys- cal controls, which can be operated individu-
tems that synchronize the laminator to ally or in tandem. This arrangement allows the
the press must be of the highest quality converter to laminate in-line with printing,
with adequate web tension controls to print without laminating, laminate without
maintain precise control of the web printing, or use both machines at the same
throughout the operation. time but independent of each other.
• The adhesive application station must
be tied into the press functions so that Solid Adhesive Laminating
when the press stops, the nip opens and With the advent of 100% solid adhesives for
the applicator roll continues to rotate. film laminations, the interest in in-line lami-
Automatic or manual controls can be nating has greatly increased. Using the 100%
incorporated for engaging the adhesive solids (solventless) adhesives eliminates dry-
application station. ing requirements and consequently reduces
• The above functions must also be incor- the overall length of the machine. Also,
porated into the laminating machine greater printing and laminating speeds can
drying tunnel controls. When the press be obtained since the problem of insufficient
C
combined sheets have been In those early days, no one anticipated that
used in the packaging industry graphics on corrugated board would evolve
for over a hundred years. In much beyond the most basic techniques.
1871, an American, Albert L. The first flexographic in-line machines, built
Jones, received a patent for in the mid-to-late 1950s, printed one color,
improved corrugated packing paper. From almost without exception black. Compared
the outset, the material was recognized for to other industries (tag and label, cups, etc.)
its strength and cushioning characteristics, corrugated flexo received little recognition
but certainly not for its ability to receive a well into the 1970s.
printed image. None of the printing equip- Printing on combined corrugated board
ment in existence could efficiently print on continued to receive little recognition and
this spongy packaging substrate. seemed to have little potential for producing
high quality, multicolor graphics. When
process printing was mentioned, it produced
BEGINNINGS blank stares, or a rebuffing laugh, at best.
Crude machinery was used to produce Today, the sheet-fed freestanding flexo press
corrugated board and for decades the world for corrugated has developed into a high-
identified brown boxes or shipping contain- tech “marvel,” producing results that rival
ers as replacements for wooden crates. After lithographic label and preprint quality.
World War II, some machinery manufactur-
ers, as well as some board converters, start-
ed to build printing units to complement in- MARKETS FOR FLEXO PRINTING
line corrugated converting operations. The predominant market in the corrugated
Letterpress printing came into existence industry has always been, and remains today,
around the turn of the century and is still the so-called “brown box” market. The major-
utilized today for certain display work. The ity of linerboard produced on paper making
oil-based inks used in letterpress, however, machines worldwide is brown paper, mean-
take many hours to dry and special mea- ing virgin and recycled kraft paper. A figure of
sures are needed to prevent smearing, stick- 90% to 93% may be used to quantify this seg-
ing or offsetting. This method of printing ment of the total linerboard production.
has always been, and still is, a bottleneck in The remaining 7% to 10% is bleached, clay-
corrugated converting plants. The corrugat- coated, often called "mottled white" paper, or
ed industry was truly waiting for the arrival white top sheets. It is this small segment that
of flexography, a means to mark or rotary- is of primary interest to the high-quality flex-
stamp corrugated boxes. ographic preprinter or postprinter. This is not
6^
6^ A typical corrugated
postprint press today
can handle printing
boxes from finished
sizes of 7.5" x 13.5" up
to 104" x 210".
I
Repeat orders of medium-to-long runs lend
nents of the flexo printing process themselves especially well to such in-line
remained crude until parallel industries production. Today’s flexo folder-gluer or
started to introduce new plate materials rotary die cutter is generally equipped with
such as photopolymers, cushioning up to four printing units, which can offer
materials, modernized inking systems, more intricate graphics and also accommo-
and mechanically engraved anilox rolls date two-color work. In the case of two-color
(which today are increasingly being replaced work, while two units are printing, two oth-
by laser-engraved rolls). ers can be prepared for very quick job
The most appreciated characteristic of changeovers, especially on small runs.
flexo printing on corrugated is its simplicity. The close coupled printing units of the
The thick, soft, flexible plates, which adjust printer/rotary die cutter and flexo folder-
easily to a relatively uneven substrate, gluer machines have so-called roll-away units
together with the fast-drying inks, allow in- on tracks (Figure 6*) to permit access to var-
line printing to be combined with a multitude ious printing elements for setup or wash-up.
of other converting processes in a single The advantages of producing regular slot-
operational step. ted cartons on a flexo folder-gluer, at ever-
Flexographic printing units, whether on increasing production speeds, are well
flexo folder-gluer machines, or in-line with known and appreciated in the corrugated
rotary die cutters or with platen-type die cut- converting industry. The disadvantages of in-
ters, allow converters to produce boxes, con- line flexo printing at most types of convert-
tainers, regular slotted cartons, and some- ing operations are: dust, frequent printing
times multi-out rotary or platen die-cuts, as plate washing, limitations in print coverage,
an integrated manufacturing step(Figure 6&). and limited placement of graphics to avoid
Floor Track
Motorized Rail
Casters
smearing or rubbing by folding or die-cutting Today, some manufacturers talk about toler-
components. For example, a jam-up on a ances of ±0.010", however, the reality is more
rotary or platen die-cutting line with in-line in the area of ±0.020" during production.
printing may cause production stops requir- The following are short descriptions of dif-
ing printing plate washing and causing sub- ferent feeding principles, all of which can be
sequent start-up waste. found on machines of different models.
Kicker Feeder
SHEET FEEDERS The kicker feeder is the oldest of all feeder
On corrugated sheet-fed presses, the first designs and works best with narrow sheets
element of importance is the feeding unit for in the throughput direction of a machine. It is
the sheets, which must ensure very good still found on so-called “mini-flexo” setups
register accuracy of each introduced sheet. because it is capable of introducing sheets at
Registration tolerances have been in the speeds of 30,000 per hour. A stack of sheets
area of ±0.0625" for many years and have is placed on the vacuum bed and located
steadily decreased for tighter tolerances. against a lead-edge stop plate (Figure 6().
To Printing
Section
Vacuum
Chamber
Cam Roller
Feed Wheels
Feed Rolls
contained off-line process since the late ’70s. ers the combined sheet with the print
For this reason, top-and-bottom printing units liner on the bottom.
were developed to adapt the printing units to • The majority of corrugators have auto-
whatever converting operation already exist- matic down-stackers or up-stackers that
ed. Top and bottom printing are each applica- deliver piles of combined sheets with the
ble in different circumstances. For example: print liner on the bottom.
• On a folder-gluer with an “up-folding” • The majority of pre-loaders deliver the
principle, the printing needs to be on the sheets into the feeders of converting and
bottom of the sheet. printing machines from the top of piles in
• On a so-called “down-folder”, the print- batch form or in a shingle stream. Others
ing is performed on the top of the sheet. deliver sheets from the bottom in a shin-
• On a rotary die cutter with the rotary cut- gle stream, without turning them over.
ting die on the top shaft, printing needs • Most rotary or platen die cutters cut from
to be on the bottom because the creasing the top and therefore need the printing
lines to form a box or container must be on the bottom.
on the inside of the box. • Stitching machines and tape applicators
• Conversely, if the cutting die is on the insert staples or apply box-joining tape
bottom shaft, the printing must be on from the top.
top. The same principles apply for plat-
en-type die cutters. In all of the above cases, printing must take
place on the bottom of the sheet. While all
The quality of flexo printing on corrugated the above scenarios can be overcome, it
sheets, whether performed from the top or would certainly be at the cost of additional
from the bottom, is not truly an issue. Rather, equipment, such as pile turning devices.
the key question is: Which approach is better On a top printer, the printing is done above
aligned with the overall scope of the total the board line (where board dust and debris
corrugated manufacturing and converting cannot fall onto the printing plates) and away
process? One way to address this question is from floor-level dirt (Figure 7#) One major
to begin with the corrugator. Consider the advantage of top printing is that the printed
following: image can readily be seen without removing
• The corrugator, without exception, deliv- a sheet from the in-line process.
Counter-impression Roll
The counter-impression roll is a smooth
der (Figure 7^). The pull bands are placed
steel cylinder located directly opposite the
outside the width of the print blanket, where
print cylinder, forming the impression nip.
they will grip the outside edges of the sheets
The impression roll imparts a light pressure
as they pass through the print station. On
on the back face of the blank as it passes over
large, full-cover images, the pull bands may
the printing plate. The light pressure exerted
be incorporated with the printing plates on
ensures a positive contact of the liner with the
the same carrier sheet. Using pull bands will:
printing plate, necessary for transfer of ink.
• eliminate skewing for square boxes;
The nip with the printing plate also assists in
• eliminate shallow slots for better-
pulling the blank through the press.
closing boxes; and
• eliminate floating in the print station
Permanent-mesh Coupling
for better print register.
The position of the impression roll with
Pull bands are used when small sheets respect to the print cylinder is important to
(less than 22") are run through the machine. the efficient operation of the machine and
The pull bands help to hold the small sheets the print quality on the blank. The gap
in position during the printing process and between the print cylinder and the impres-
advance them to the next station. They are sion roll should allow contact between the
also used when there is not enough printing blank and the printing plate without crush-
7&
Pull-roller
On a flexo folder-gluer, two steel pull-roll
shafts are located in each printing station
(Figure 7*). The purpose of the pull rolls is
to control the blanks and, on the last print
station, to crush the fluted edges where the
two ends of the box are glued together.
Thus, when the blank is folded into a box,
the overlapping parts will not be thicker
than the walls. This procedure allows the
engraved rolls are the most commonly used; boxes to stack flatter when folded. If the
however, use of laser-engraved ceramic rolls fluted edges are not crushed properly, the
is increasing. finished boxes will bow in the middle and
Since process printing on corrugated is will not stack evenly.
finding more and more applications (even on The upper roll has two laterally adjustable
old machines), improvements in print quality collars on the shaft, one for each end of the
are needed. The first improvement necessary blank. The pull collars on the printing station
is to obtain better ink metering through the are serrated, whereas the collars on the last
use of finer (laser-engraved) anilox rolls. In station are designed to crush the flutes on
many cases, retrofits of reverse-angle doctor the edge of the board so that the board edge
blades or even chambered doctor-blade sys- will not spring back into shape.
tems can improve print quality. The long life The nip formed by the collar and lower pull
span of laser-engraved ceramic-coated rolls roll is used to grip and pull the blanks
with blade-doctoring systems seems to offset through the printing station. The nip, or gap,
the additional purchase cost for laser- between the pull collar and the bottom pull
engraved versus mechanically engraved rolls. roll is adjustable. The gap must be set
Because of the very wide spectrum of according to the caliper of the blanks being
graphics printed onto even more variable used. If the gap is too wide, the blanks will
substrates, almost any shape of anilox cell, not be held securely during the printing
widely varied volumetric capacities and process and registration will not be held. If
probably any available screen-angle (en- the gap is too narrow, the blanks will be
graving angle) can be found on different cor- crushed, resulting in reduced box strength.
rugated flexo presses. The distance between pull roller nips dic-
tates what minimum size sheet can be
processed in the throughput direction of the
SHEET TRANSPORT SYSTEMS machine. On a machine with pull roller nips
In order to print correctly, each sheet 18" apart, the minimum sheet throughput
transported through a flexo press must trav- dimension needs to be 18.375", so that it
el at the exact same speed as the circumfer- remains in control between nips at all times.
ential speed of the print cylinder. Since the Any time a print cylinder does not have a
inception of flexo printing, sheet con- print blanket mounted on it, pull bands that
8!
8! Preformed corrugated
blanks are ready to be
converted into a box at
the flexo folder-gluer.
tern applied to the top sheet. This pattern is pull rolls of the last printing station feed the
usually the manufacturer’s logo and name, printed blank to the slotter-creaser section.
along with the product description, instruc- In the creasing and slotting section of the
tions and other basic information. machine, the printed blanks are creased and
The first printing station prints graphics in cut to form boxes (Figure 8#). Creases are
a single color onto the top surface of the impressed into the blank where the box is to
blank. The print station uses a rotary flexo- be folded, and slots are cut out to define the
graphic printing process to print the blanks. box flaps. Glue tabs are also cut out to pro-
An anilox roll and wiper roll meter ink that is vide a way of joining the two ends of the
transferred to the printing plate. To make the cutout box pattern.
print impression, the impression cylinder The creaser/slotter section consists of:
presses each sheet against an inked printing • Creasers (upper and lower shafts);
plate mounted on a print cylinder. A pair of • slotters (lead and trailing); and
pull rolls then advances the sheets on to the • scrap recovery system.
second printing station. The next and subse-
quent printing stations are identical to the The purpose of the creaser heads is to
first. When the subsequent color graphics are impress a line in the sheet between the trailing
placed onto the top surface of the blank, the slots and the lead slots. The creaser section
8$ A cross-section of the
creasing/slotting
process.
8$
consists of an upper and lower steel shaft. The
upper shaft has four rubber-covered female
anvil heads mounted onto it. The lower shaft
houses the male profile-creasing heads.
Creasing is done, from the bottom up, on
the inside of the blank. The male profile
head scores a crease on the blank as it pass-
es between the nip of the two shafts. Each
pair of creaser heads is carefully aligned so
that the crease, or fold line, it produces runs
exactly in the middle of the lead and trailing
slots cut in the blank. These creases form
impressions in the sheet to form the end and run. If the nip pressure is too great, cracks
side panels when the blank is folded into a will occur along the score. If the shafts are
box at the folding section (Figure 8$). too far apart, a weak or non-existent crease
The operator must manually set the gaps will occur. A weak crease results in improp-
between the upper and lower creaser heads er carton folding and possible rolled creases.
according to the caliper of the board being The lead slot knives also advance the blanks
8^
An angled scrap conveyor removes the
cutting waste from beneath the station. On
some machines the creaser/die-cutter sta-
tion is equipped with the powered side roll
Center
Line out so that it can be removed from the flexo
Mark
folder-gluer when not in use.
Plywood At the folding section (Figure 8*), adhesive
Form
is applied to the glue tab or to the bottom of
Leading Hand the fourth panel, depending on requirements.
Edge Access
Arrow Hole The blanks are then pulled through the folding
section by a set of vacuum belts. Here, they
first encounter tapered folding bars that start
the first 90° fold of the outer blank flaps. The
into the next section of the machine. final folding occurs in the spiral folding belts.
The flexo section may also have a creas- The formed boxes are transferred from the
er/die-cutter unit. If required by the cus- folding section to the counter/ejector, where
tomer’s specifications, additional cuts or all the boxes are counted and placed into bun-
of the cuts needed (such as hand holes, vent dles (Figure 8(). As the boxes enter the
holes, extra flaps or other types of holes on counter/ejector from the folding section,
the box) may be made in the creaser/die-cut- they drop onto an elevator. As the bundle
ter section. The creaser is used to place height increases, the elevator drops to keep
creases on the blank for folding extra flaps the top of the bundle a fixed distance from
on specialty boxes and displays. the in-feed conveyor. When the bundle reach-
The creaser/die-cutter section is made up of es a pre-set count, a set of trombone fingers
the creaser drum and anvil drum, a set of pull extend down and out, on top of the last box
rolls and the die-cut drum and anvil drum in the bundle. To complete the folding of the
(Figures 8%, 8^ and 8&). The creaser/die cut- box, the belts help in joining the glue tab to
ter makes it possible to score on both sides of the opposite side of the sheet to form the
the sheet or to produce offset scores and slit actual box. Compression is applied to the
scores. It also allows the flexo folder-gluer to overlap panel of the folded box so that the
run unscored blanks off the corrugator. glue tab and fourth panel are bonded togeth-
STACKING
PLATEN DIE CUTTING Off-line printing presses, rotary die cutters,
Today, printer-platen die cutters are gener- platen die cutters and flexo folder-gluers
ally built on the principle of spaced-apart sta- need a means to form piles of finished prod-
tionary printing units (Figure 9)). After the uct or printed sheets. Many press suppliers
printing units are finished, a belt-conveyor or use lay-boy stackers, manufactured for many
vacuum-conveyor transports the printed different applications.
sheets into a platen-type die cutter.
The number of printing units most com- Up-stackers
monly used today is three or four. However, On low board-line machines, either top or
it is possible to go up to five or six colors. bottom printers, an up-stacker is usually uti-
The question of how many units are needed lized. Such stackers, of simple or rugged con-
is not a technical one, but rather a viewpoint struction, consist of belt conveyors with the
of practicality. exit end raised progressively to form a pile
A platen-type die-cutting printing operation from the bottom up to a pre-selected height.
is governed in speed by the platen die cutter. Two-way jogging of the sheets is offered by
The die-cutting/stripping process may be most manufacturers and are equipped with a
intricate and slow, and any jam-ups cause the simple non-stop device. Generally an opera-
entire line to stop, creating downtime, tor is needed to control the operation.
lengthy washing of printing plates and waste
at each restart. On the other hand, platen die Down-stackers
cutting is the most accurate die-cutting On high board-line machines (80" and
process and a virtually unlimited number of higher), a down-stacker is generally utilized.
8*
Upper
Vacuum Belts
Vacuum Box
Trombone
Fingers
Compression
Section
Bundle
Elevator
ven gears throughout the gear train in the machines (the flexo folder-gluer) it was a nat-
press (sheet feeder, feed rolls, pull rolls, ural to transmit the drive from element to ele-
counter-impression rolls, print cylinders and ment by a gear train (Figure 9!). Generally,
anilox rolls) are in constant mesh position. the feeder is the motor-driven unit from
Impression adjustments do not alter the gear which all subsequent elements receive their
positions. Compensation for these adjust- drive-through meshing gears. The simplest
ments is allowed by using the permanent design is to have the print cylinder gear
mesh drive coupling. equipped with a drive gear of a pitch diameter
equal to the printing diameter measured over
Registration the printing plates. When printing units are
The print cylinder can be rotated indepen- closely linked, this gear may mesh with the
dent from the main drive gear, through a drive gear of another printing unit directly, or
motor-driven planetary gear or other ar- more often through an intermediate gear. The
rangement, to place printed colors into the pull-roller shafts that transport the sheets
desired position on the sheet. This position- through the machine must then have a gear
ing is generally called the register adjust- ratio that will produce a surface speed equal
ment. The quality of a machine is judged on to the printing circumference of the printing
its ability to hold register. cylinder. When the press is closed, all the dri-
9! A gear-driven press, is
powered by a main drive
motor, from which all
subsequent units
receive their power.
9! Die-cut
Print #2 Print #1 Feed Section
Impression Pull
Roll Gear Roll
Gears
Fixed Feed Roll Gears
Out Feed
Conveyor
Print
Cylinder
Gear
Main Drive
Anilox Motor
Roll
The printed sheets are conveyed into down- bone fingers catch the first few boxes of the
stackers either by belt ramps or with a vacu- next bundle while the elevator drops and dis-
um conveyor at the sheet-traveling level. A charges the finished bundle into the dis-
suspended pile-carrying platform cycles charge compression conveyor section. Once
downward until a certain pile height is the first boxes are stabilized, a set of auxiliary
reached. A so-called “non-stop device,” fingers extends to allow the trombone fingers
either a roller rack or a belt-type interceptor, to retract and return to their ready position
is then introduced to catch the continuously above the bundle that is accumulating on the
arriving sheets for the next load. auxiliary fingers. The elevator then rises to
In a typical operation the boxes enter the support the accumulating bundle and the aux-
counter/ejector section, where they are iliary fingers retract, leaving the bundle on the
counted, stacked and placed into bundles. As elevator. To gain pile height, down-stackers
the bundle height increases, the elevator may be installed into a floor pit.
drops to keep the top of the bundle a fixed
distance from the in-feed conveyor. When the
bundle reaches the pre-set count, a set of THE GEAR-DRIVEN PRESS
trombone fingers extends down and out, on Since flexo in the sheet-fed post-printing
top of the last box in the bundle. The trom- sector evolved first on in-line, close coupled
9@ Die-cut
Print #2 Print #1 Feed Section
Impression Pull
Roll Gear Roll
Gears
Line
Main Drive Shaft
Print Motor
Cylinder
Gear
Anilox
9@ In a line-shaft driven
press, a rigid line shaft
Roll
drives each print cylin-
der, thus eliminating
accumulative gear play.
T
and quality standards in the nents of the press; and
flexographic printing industry • excessive noise created as a side
today makes it necessary to effect, which often reduces efficiency
consider the importance of of the pressmen.
accurately balancing the vari-
ous rolls and cylinders used in the press. To The cause of imbalance in rolls, although
better understand the problems involved usually obvious, is frequently overlooked.
with an unbalanced cylinder, we must con- Imbalance is caused by the lack of homogene-
sider that balancing is a process whereby the ity in a material, whether it is cast, rolled,
distribution of mass in a roll is altered to forged, extruded or otherwise produced. In
eliminate vibration at the supporting bear- the case of tubular or cylindrical products, an
ings. A roll can be manufactured to very uneven wall section can cause imbalance.
close dimensional tolerances and can be Evidence such as blow holes, slag occlusions
properly designed structurally so that it is a and variations in the crystalline and chemical
rigid integral unit in a static state. Some- structure of a material are indications that the
times, however, in spite of all the care and raw materials used to produce the rolls are
precautions taken, the press in which the roll not homogenous. Variation in the distribution
functions does not perform satisfactorily due of mass due to manufacturing tolerances,
to excessive vibration. In the case of plate which must be allowed on all machine sur-
cylinders, the addition of the plate mass faces, is a major contributing factor.
itself may cause imbalance vibrations. These Any manufacturing tolerances that permit
vibrations often limit the printing speeds the eccentricity or lack of squareness of machine
press is mechanically capable of producing. surfaces with respect to the rotational axis
are sources of imbalance. Non-symmetrical
distortion of a roll while running at its operat-
BALANCING FLEXO ROLLS ing speed can also produce excessive vibra-
Consider the following problems that are a tion. This distortion is generally the result of
direct result of vibrations produced by unbal- poor design, such as too small a diameter in
anced cylinders: relation to face length, or of variations in wall
• excessive printing plate wear; thickness of the material used to manufacture
• excessive bearing wear; the roll.
• excessive roll wear; The need for balancing a flexographic
• reduction of the overall mechanical press roll is evident when we consider that
efficiency of the printing unit, such as the center of mass of a roll will not neces-
uneven impressions; sarily coincide with the rotational axis as
• associated resonant vibration of other determined by its supporting bearings. A roll
parts of the press or its supporting that is not restrained by bearings will natu-
structure; rally rotate about its center of mass.
Table 7
Maximum deflection 5 W L3
Note:
384 E I
• The amount of deflection varies directly
Where: with the load; i.e., doubling the load dou-
W= the total load on the rolls in lbs. bles the deflection.
L = the length of the roll in inches. • Deflection varies directly with the cube
I = the moment of inertia of the roll- of the length; i.e., doubling the face
body cross-section, a function of length while maintaining the same total
the fourth power of the shaft diameter load increases the deflection eight times.
(D4) in inches. • Deflection varies inversely with the
E = the modulus of elasticity of the roll moment of inertia of the cross-section.
material in pounds per square inch. • The moment of inertia of the cross-sec-
GEAR DRIVES
There are many different types of trans-
9% mission gearing, but the most common found
on flexographic presses are the spur, heli-
cal, bevel and worm gears.
Spur Gears. A spur gear has straight teeth,
which are machined parallel to the rotating
axis of the gear, at right angles to the face of
the gear (Figure 9%). It is the most common
type of gear because it is the least expensive.
9% Spur gears have
straight teeth, which are Spur gears are used to transmit power
machined parallel to the between parallel shafts. They are generally
rotating axis of the gear,
at right angles to the
used to transmit power from the plate cylin-
face of the gear. der to the anilox roller.
Helical Gear
Helical Gear
Helical Gear
Helical Gears. The helical gear (Figure 9^) ence, helical gears can have finer teeth
has its teeth machined in the form of a helix, (more teeth per inch or centimeter) than
at an angle to the gear body. The angled spur gears used to transmit the same torque.
teeth permit the helical gears to have multi- Helical gears are used to transmit power
ple teeth engaged at the same time, allowing between two parallel shafts. Helical gears are
higher torque loading. Because of this differ- the most common type of gearing used to
Pitch Circle
Bottom
Clearance
Tip Circle
Pitch
Pitch Circle Point Whole Depth
Root Circle
Backlash
For a Spur
Gear
Cylinder
Undercut
plate cylinder closer to the impression drum cylinder shaft and then remove it when the
and anilox roller. This move would force the job is finished. However, temporary mount-
plate-cylinder gear to over-mesh with the ing of plate cylinder gears creates faster
other gears (running under the pitch diame- tooth wear (because the gears are used more
ter), causing vibrations and typically “gear frequently) and increases the possibility of
striped” printing. damaging the gears during the transfer from
To overcome this problem, flexographic shaft to shaft.
printers allow for plate squeeze, by either It is common to see temporarily mounted
increasing the diameter of their plate cylin- gears with excessive wear cause backlash
ders, or by increasing the overall plate and poor register, and succumb to broken
mounting height. The typical plate-squeeze teeth, nicks and other damage marks. Any
allowance is approximately 2% of the overall faults in the plate cylinder gear are transmit-
plate height, including the mounting tape. ted to a second gear on the opposite side of
the plate cylinder, which delivers power to
Gear Mounting the anilox roller. For these reasons, it is rec-
The gears that drive the plate cylinder and ommended that the gear that drives the plate
the anilox roller are mounted on their respec- cylinder be permanently mounted.
tive shafts. The gear driving the anilox roller is A minority of flexographic printers mount
mounted permanently, on a one-way (Sprag) the gear permanently on the plate cylinder
clutch to allow for continuous rotation of the shaft; that gear is used only when the plate
anilox when the print cylinder is stationary. cylinder is printing a job. This method
The gear on the plate cylinder shaft can be reduces the wear and potential damage to
mounted permanently or temporarily. the gears. While it may be more expensive to
Gears are precise parts of the flexographic purchase a gear for each plate cylinder, it
printing system, and if they become damaged saves money in the long run by reducing
or worn they will affect print quality and reg- makeready time, color register and generally
ister. Many presses are equipped with remov- improving the print quality.
able plate cylinders and when several sets of
cylinders have the same diameter, to save Gears and In-line Processing
money on gear sets, some flexographic print- The vast majority of flexographic presses
ers mount the gear temporarily on the plate with diametral pitch (DP) gearing use 10/in
T
chapters of this book, covers occurs. The reasoning behind that is, with
the subject of tolerances and the cooperation of the press supplier, emer-
defines the extremely close gency repairs that now become necessary
accuracy required in all phases can be made with little loss of production.
of the flexographic process in The reasons generally advanced for this
order to produce top-quality printing at opti- type of maintenance, or lack of it, are that
mum press speeds. personnel are not available to carry out a
thorough preventative maintenance pro-
gram, or that it is the cheapest way to keep a
REALITIES OF WEAR ON press running, or both. However, even a cur-
PERFORMANCE sory analysis will show the more obvious fal-
The tolerance requirements spelled out for lacies of this reasoning.
the flexographic press and its various compo- Since press breakdowns hardly ever occur
nents relate to a new press as it is delivered while the press is standing idle or at some
by the press builder to the converter’s plant. A other convenient time, every minor or major
flexographic press is a machine with many breakdown results in unscheduled press
moving parts and even the finest mechanical downtime. The cost for press time alone may
assemblies and materials are subject to con- run as high as $400 or more per hour, which
tinual wear. Continual and uninterrupted does not include the actual cost of produc-
counter-measures are necessary, not only to tion losses, as well as the intangibles, such as
maintain the original accuracies but also to the loss of customer good will due to late
forestall major press breakdowns, which are deliveries, the need to reschedule subse-
almost always due to lack of day-to-day care. quent runs and all the additional irritations
The most effective countermeasures con- that are always part of a press breakdown. It
sist of a program of organized and preven- becomes quite apparent, even at this point,
tive maintenance, an example of which is that the scale measuring the cost of prevent-
defined and outlined in the following para- ing breakdowns rather than curing them is
graphs. First, consider not only the advan- quickly being tipped in favor of prevention.
tages but also the absolute necessity of a There is a further effect of this breakdown
well-organized and conscientiously followed maintenance system that is not as readily
maintenance program. apparent, nor as simple to evaluate cost-wise.
Over the years, however, its corrosive effect
will be many times more costly than even a
BREAKDOWN MAINTENANCE series of breakdowns. All mechanical parts
Many companies still depend upon a sys- are subject to wear, no matter how small they
tem of breakdown maintenance to keep their may be, over any given period of time. Normal
equipment running. The press is run day-in wear is tremendously accelerated by improp-
and day-out with the bare minimum of rou- er or haphazardly performed maintenance.
Pressroom Practices
ON
DO NOT
OPERATE
OFF
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A special thanks to all individuals involved in the writing and editing of the
FFTA FlexSys Training Manuals, which were used as a resource for this volume.
I
small, whether it is corrugated, tag and practices and apply them to every customer
label, or wide-web packaging, the print- request.
ing press is the key element in the graph- Because of the scope of the flexographic
ic reproduction process. The pressroom printing industry, it is not practical to explain
is where all the planning and elements all the procedures used in every printing and
of the flexographic process come together to converting plant in the industry. This volume
ensure that the customer’s requirements are will discuss generic procedures for press-
met, and success is achieved for the customer room personnel involved in narrow-web,
as well as the printer. wide-web and corrugated flexographic print-
Success in the pressroom can only be ing, as well as common principles that can be
achieved when pressroom personnel under- used in every segment of the flexo process.
P
issues are critical concerns for tained in a hair net so it doesn’t become
every flexographic printing com- entangled in moving parts.
pany and for each individual. • Eye protection must be worn during
Printing presses have numerous cleanup to prevent ink or wash-up sol-
pinch points that will cause seri- vent from being splashed into the eyes.
ous injury. Every person involved in a printing Personal eye glasses must meet the
department must be concerned with personal standards for safety glasses. Many reg-
safety and the well-being of the environment. ular glasses do not.
As is true with any discussion of safety, the • Ear plugs or protectors should be worn
intent is not to interfere with the work envi- to minimize noise exposure.
ronment or the company procedures that • Tight-fitting protective gloves should be
have been tailored to meet specific work worn during ink wash-ups to prevent
requirements. The guidelines that have been skin contact.
set up by the management and supervisory
personnel to maintain a safe workplace must
be followed to prevent injury to individuals. COMMON SENSE
Common sense is an important part of
overall safety. This concept is difficult to
PROPER DRESS explain or teach, yet comes very much into
Proper dress is vitally important at the play when working around the press. Some
work site. Personal safety begins with the examples of common sense include:
following basic rules: • Keeping hands away from moving parts.
• Clothing must be relatively tight-fitting. • Familiarization of all pinch points bet-
Short sleeves and regular work pants ween various rolls. A pinch point is re-
are appropriate. Loose clothing could ferred to as a nip and is created by the
catch on moving parts. direction that each roll turns. Use extra
• Steel-toed shoes help prevent foot caution when working near these areas
injury. For extra safety protection, since rags, clothing and fingers can eas-
clamp-on steel boots can be worn. Steel ily be drawn between these rolls and
clamps afford better protection than into the nips;
steel-toed shoes alone. • Using proper lifting techniques (back
• Jewelry such as rings, watches, chains straight and knees bent) as shown in
or long earrings should never be worn Figure .
around machinery since they can easily • Folding rags neatly during wash-ups to
get caught in moving parts. prevent corners from getting caught in
SAFETY SIGNAGE
A press can be very dangerous if handled
improperly. Operators and service personnel
must obey all caution signs and safety
instructions. If not, severe injuries and pos-
sibly death, could result.
There are rules to be followed and signs to
be aware of on the shop floor. The most
important rule on the floor is: Do not run any
of the press sections with their safety guards
removed.
There are many signs used in the industry
that represent different dangers. The Occu-
pational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) regulates signs that are applied to
equipment to warn of any physical dangers.
Signs and colors are used on machines to
point out possible dangers. These labels are
machinery parts (Figure ). used to give personnel a continual mental
• Noting an excessive solvent smell, reminder that a danger is present. Although
which may indicate faulty or insufficient these labels differ from industry to industry,
ventilation. they all have four general headings:
• Asking questions about equipment or Caution signs. Yellow, black and white signs
procedures when points are not clearly indicate a possible danger area or condition
understood. It is easier to answer a that could cause personal injury (Figure ).
question than it is to fix a mistake. Danger signs. Red, black and white signs
• Not smoking on the job. Smoking is an indicate a possible “condition” that could
extreme fire hazard and will not be tol- cause personal injury or damage to the
erated on the work floor and, in many equipment (Figure ).
cases, on company premises. Warning signs. Orange, black and white signs
• Insuring flammable materials are not indicate a possible danger area or condition
close by when operating an electrical that could cause personal injury, such as a
hand tool. Flammable gases or liquids nip area (Figure ).
are easily ignitable. Note signs. Green and white signs indicate
• Insuring careful handling of metal-to- parts or situations needing special attention
metal tasks. A small spark may start a and/or an explanation (Figure ).
WARNING
CAUTION Caution signs, yellow,
black and white in
color, indicate a
possible danger area
SAFETY GLASSES or condition that could
MUST BE WORN To prevent serious injuries:
• DO NOT put hands
cause personal injury.
400
1600
0 800 1200
DO NOT
2000
PSI 400
1600
Lockout switches
0 2000
PSI
2
maintenance. 4 This lock/tag may
3
only be removed by:
Name
Eye-wash stations
should be easily
accessible in the
press area during
emergencies. Lock-Out
Switch
Fire extinguisher
classifications
indicate the type of
fire extinguisher
needed to put out a
fire. ON Letter Picture
Symbol Types of Fires Symbol
Name
Dept.
only be /tag may
remove
d by: For live electrical
Expecte
d Comple
tion
equipment.
OFF
Fire
Health Reactivity
Special
Special Hazard Reactivity
—
W - Water Reactive 4 - May Detonate
OX - Oxidizer 3 - Explosive
- Radioactive 2 - Unstable
1 - Normally Stable
0 - Stable
S
is different from machine to job. If planned from job to job, color strategies
machine. This variation is due to will alleviate unneeded wash-ups and reduce
the wide variety of presses used changeover time.
in the market today. For this rea- Anilox Roll Requirements. If the operator can
son, this section will focus on set up a job to take advantage of existing
the basics of set up that are common to most anilox rolls, less time will be spent on
narrow-web printers. changeovers.
The first step to setting up any job on the Drying Capacity Between Ink Stations. With
press is to read the job jacket (Figure ). large solid ink coverages, it may be neces-
A job jacket is a folder or envelope that sary to leave an open print station between
stores valuable information about the job to colors. This additional web travel length
be run. In many cases a prepress proof, art allows extra drying time for the ink to dry
or a sample from a previous pressrun will be thoroughly.
in the job jacket. The operator must visualize
the final product and how it will be used by Prepare the Dies
the customer by reviewing the information The first step of set-up is to locate all tool-
on the job jacket and sample. Afterwards, ing required for the job. This process begins
the operator can develop a set-up plan. by locating the necessary dies. Care must be
taken to avoid nicking the sharp cutting edge
of the die. To avoid blade damage do not
PRESS SETUP wear rings when handling dies.
In the next section, we’ll discuss the pro- Operators should wipe the shaft and bear-
cedures for setting up the press: ers clean and check the blades for built-up
adhesive, ink and dust before the die is put
Select the Print Stations into the press.
Generally, art is designed to print the light- All foreign material must be removed prior
est color first and darkest color last when the to use. Extreme care must be used when
job is to print on the face of the substrate. In cleaning the blades on a die. A clean rag and
order to hide the areas where two colors solvent may be used.
overlap for registration (trap), the darkest A wooden or plastic paint stick may also
color must print on top of the lightest. The be used to scrape away any debris. A metal
operator must keep this technique in mind, object should never be used to clean a die.
and also consider the following items, when
determining which print stations to use: Inspect the Mounted Plates
Existing Colors in the Press. It is important to Mounted-plate cylinders should be brought
think ahead and plan a strategy for all the jobs to the press area and readied for placement in
being printed, not just the present one. In the assigned print stations. Plates should be
some cases, existing colors from a previous checked against the design on the prepress
STOCK
HERE
OVERLAMINATE YES NO
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
OTHER OPERATIONS
REWINDING AMOUNT PER ROLL CORE SIZE SHRINKWRAPPING AMOUNT PER PACKAGE
BURSTING FINISHED SIZE
TRIMMING FINISHED SIZE
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
SHIPPING SHIPPING LABEL OLS PLAIN OTHER CARTON SIZE AMT. PER CTN.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
CARRIER
JOB NO.
There are three methods of exerting downward force to hold the die bearers firmly against the anvil roll.
Each method uses a bridge that is held on top of the press frame at each side by pins or bolts. Threaded
rods run through the bridge and apply pressure to the die when screwed down.
Method 1: The screws apply pressure directly to the die bearing blocks. The pressure, in turn, presses
downward on the shafts of the die to hold the die against the anvil roll (Figure ).
Method 2: An assist roll is added to the assembly. An assist roll has some form of bearing on each end. Some
are removable and some are in a fixed position (Figure ). The assist roll assembly is placed in the same
slots as the die blocks, and its bearers ride on top of the die bearers. The bridge is fixed in position and the pres-
sure screws are screwed down to apply pressure on the assist roll shafts. The pressure exerted tends to be dis-
placed through the bearings on the assist roll. This displacement puts pressure directly on the die bearers.
Method 3: This method utilizes a tractor-style hold down and is similar to the assist roll method. The main
difference, however, is that the pressure is brought directly over the bearer on the die, not through the bear-
ings (Figure ). Hydraulic die pressure gauge assemblies are available to use in place of the pressure
bridge. This system allows operators to observe the force applied to the rotary die, calibrated in pounds of
force. The assembly also enables the operator to make adjustments more consistently, as well as maintain
the minimum die pressure throughout the press run (Figure ).
Pressure Screw
Pressure Screw Bridge
Bridge
Tractor
Assembly
Bearing
Rotary Die
Block Rotary Die
Bearer
Anvil Roll
Pressure screw applies pressure to the die bearing blocks. Tractor method of applying pressure.
0
1600
Pressure
Gauge
2000
PSI
Assist Roll
Assist Roll
Bearer Wipers
Bearer Wipers
Anvil Roll Anvil Roll
Assist roll used to apply pressure. Hydraulic-pressure gauge and felt wipers.
Table 1
hose into the pan. Start the pump to ensuring that the
0
ink is at running
begin circulating the ink through the
parameters is to test
ink distribution unit. the viscosity using a
6. Check the ink’s pH and viscosity if using Zahn cup.
°
90
blade eliminates the Anilox Roll
down until it touches the anilox. As the
need for a fountain roll.
blade is tightened to the anilox, the operator
will notice that the ink will meter from the
center of the anilox roll outward to the ends.
When the ink is metered off of the ends of
Fountain
Roll the anilox roll, the wipe is set. Similar to the
procedure for setting fountain-roll pressure,
the doctor blade should be backed out and
brought back in to the anilox several times
in order to set the wipe with the minimum
Plate
Cylinder amount of pressure. Over tightening the doc-
Metering
Doctor Blade tor blade can cause the blade to fold under
Ink “Out” the pressure, causing the ink to dry due to
Return
the friction and heat buildup behind the
Anilox Roll
blade. If ink drying occurs, the dried ink pig-
Reservoir
ments can cause damage to the anilox roll.
Ink “In” Once the ink is metered correctly, the ink
Supply
fountain covers should be placed on the foun-
Containing tains. The covers reduce the amount of amine
Doctor Blade
or solvent evaporating out of the ink and help
keep the ink more stable during the pressrun.
If the press is equipped with a chambered
doctor-blade assembly, install the assembly
ity parameters, the anilox roll may be inked. before the pump is turned on. The ink wipe
When using a two-roll system, the fountain should be set in the same manner as a single
roll is adjusted to squeeze against the anilox blade, and there is no rubber roll to set
roll. Once the press is started, the rubber roll (Figure ).
is adjusted to evenly squeeze the ink off the
anilox using the minimum amount of pres- Set Impression, Inking
sure. This pressure setting is checked by back- and Registration
ing the fountain roll off until the operator can The following procedure details a typical
see the nip flood with ink. Then the operator impression, inking and registration setup:
squeezes back in with both sides of the rubber 1. With the press running at a slow speed,
roll, making sure they are even, until the flood- start with the last color to be printed
ing on the surface goes away. By doing this and achieve the correct impression
several times, the ink wipe is set. On many and ink settings. First, turn down the
narrow-web presses, a doctor blade is used in impression slightly so the plate comes
conjunction with the rubber fountain roll. In into contact with the web.
this case, the doctor blade must be set to 2. Turn in the anilox-to-plate adjustment
meter the anilox roll (Figure ). to begin inking the plate. While looking
When setting a station with a doctor blade, at the print on the web, make adjust-
FANFOLD FOLDING STRAIGHT PERF TEARS CORRECTLY (NOT TOO HARD/NOT TOO EASY)
CUTTING CLEAN HINGE FOLDING CORRECTLY PINFEED HOLE ALIGNMENT
POSITION OF FOLD SPLICES REQUIRED NO SPLICES SIZE OF FOLD
WRITE ON VARNISH
PRIMER UV CURING TAPE TEST RUB TEST
COMMENTS:
I HAVE MADE ALL THE APPLICABLE CHECKS AND APPROVE THIS ORDER FOR START-UP.
OPERATOR SUPERVISOR
based inks), or pH and viscosity (water- running viscosity for that ink, printing
based inks), must be maintained. defects may occur.
When doctor blades or chamber blade sys- Controlling Ink Viscosity and pH. Viscosity
tems are used, high viscosity inks will cause checks should be completed every 10 to 15
ink starvation by not reloading the anilox minutes when using solvent-based inks.
cells. The print will not be consistent and the When using water-based inks, pH and vis-
color variations in the product will not be cosity should be checked every 30 minutes.
acceptable to the customer. If the ink is run- It is important to check pH first, followed by
ning at a lower viscosity than the viscosity of viscosity, when using water-based inks
the color match, the color will get lighter. If because the viscosity is affected by the pH
the viscosity gets too close to the minimum level. Solvent inks require more frequent
S
varies from machine to machine. potato chip bag is surface printed to keep
This variation is due to the wide the ink from coming into contact with the
variety of presses used in the chips; bathroom tissue is reverse printed so
market today. For this reason, that after packaging the ink will be against
this section focuses on the the tissue to help protect the ink and
basics of setup that are common to most enhance the gloss of the package.
wide-web printers. Surface-printed colors are placed in the
press so that the lightest colors are printed
first, and the darkest colors last. Reverse
PRESS SETUP print orders are just the opposite. This rever-
The first step in press setup is to review the sal is to facilitate trapping the lighter colors
job jacket (Figure ), job history sheet and with the darker colors. All print stations may
any supporting material such as prepress not be required for a given job. The operator
proofs and previously printed samples of the must determine which stations to use based
job. From this information, the press opera- on existing colors in the press, colors need-
tor and press assistants must visualize how ed for upcoming jobs, anilox rolls that are in
the job must be set up to meet the customer's each printing station, and the drying capaci-
requirements. ty needed between print stations. Large ink
In many cases, a mounter proof is sup- coverages may need to pass through several
plied. This should be inspected to ensure between-deck dryers to dry the ink properly
that the printing plates are not defective, reg- before the next ink color is printed.
istration between colors is correct, and The print cylinders must be inspected for
makeready is not needed on the print cylin- damage to the plates, and to ensure that the
ders to compensate for plate height varia- design on the plates matches the information
tions. on the job jacket and supporting material.
STOCK
HERE
OVERLAMINATE YES NO
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
OTHER OPERATIONS
REWINDING AMOUNT PER ROLL CORE SIZE SHRINKWRAPPING AMOUNT PER PACKAGE
BURSTING FINISHED SIZE
TRIMMING FINISHED SIZE
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
SHIPPING SHIPPING LABEL OLS PLAIN OTHER CARTON SIZE AMT. PER CTN.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
CARRIER
JOB NO.
PREPAID COLLECT COD
SHIP FROM: OLS OTHER SHIP TO:
the gears must be placed to provide the cus- hardware must be installed in the correct
tomer with the correct wind for end-use sequence. At this point in the setup
applications. In some cases, gears are not sequence, the operator or assistant should
interchangeable and the correct gear posi- place the bearers, gears, bushing and regis-
tion is determined when the job is mounted. ter control mechanisms on the plate cylin-
In this case, the operator needs to check the ders. Some cylinder hardware setup should
gear and rewind numbers. be performed during the previous pressrun
to help reduce downtime.
Install Cylinder Hardware
After the gear side of the plate cylinders is Change Anilox Rolls
determined, the necessary plate-cylinder In many cases, anilox rolls must be
Prin
the copy to be reproduced on the press.
Re ing
Wa
R ing
Thisads
e
t
t
Wa
Prin
Prin
Re ing
Wa
Re ing
Thisads
t
t
Wa
Prin
FANFOLD FOLDING STRAIGHT PERF TEARS CORRECTLY (NOT TOO HARD/NOT TOO EASY)
CUTTING CLEAN HINGE FOLDING CORRECTLY PINFEED HOLE ALIGNMENT
POSITION OF FOLD SPLICES REQUIRED NO SPLICES SIZE OF FOLD
WRITE ON VARNISH
PRIMER UV CURING TAPE TEST RUB TEST
COMMENTS:
I HAVE MADE ALL THE APPLICABLE CHECKS AND APPROVE THIS ORDER FOR START-UP.
OPERATOR SUPERVISOR
MIN
pressrun. It is important, however, to check
SE
C
/10
the viscosity manually (Figure ) when
0
using these controllers to ensure that the
they are working properly.
Water-based inks should be run in a spe-
cific pH range to keep them working effi-
ciently. The pH range varies by ink manufac-
turer and the requirements for the job.
Generally, water-based inks are in the pH
range of 8.0 to 9.3. When the pH of a water-
based ink falls too low, the ink will begin to
body and thicken, eventually causing rewet-
ting problems and dirty printing. If the pH is
too high, the viscosity of the ink will be too
low, causing drying or blocking problems.
Color variations and print defects caused by
pH levels can be eliminated by maintaining
pH within its recommended range.
A pH meter is the instrument used to read
pH levels (Figure ). These instruments
higher percentage of the fast solvent than the should be calibrated to a buffer solution with
solvent in the system. For example, if the ink a known pH on a regular basis. Similar to vis-
system is 10% normal propyl acetate and 90% cosity controllers, many presses have auto-
normal propyl alcohol, the acetate is the fast matic pH controllers that check pH and add
solvent and will tend to evaporate faster than predetermined amounts of stabilizer or amine
the alcohol, which is the slow solvent in the to maintain the proper pH level in the ink.
blend. The make-up solvent should be a slight- Operators should double-check these devices
ly higher concentration of acetate to keep the by reading the pH manually to guarantee they
ink stable, as well as maintain the viscosity are working properly during the run.
during longer runs.
To control viscosity in water-based ink Adding Ink to the Fountain
systems, water and amine are used. A stabi- During longer runs, the press operator
lizing varnish may also be used. Stabilizing may be required to add ink to the fountain or
varnish is a water and amine combination pump. This requires specific attention to
that has been premixed to the correct per- detail. The following procedure details a typ-
centages for the ink system being used. An ical ink addition procedure:
addition of stabilizing varnish should lower 1. Double-check the ink to be added for
the ink viscosity while maintaining the pH of correct color. Do not assume that an
The optimum level should be determined During the pressrun, print registration may
before the production run. It is based on the change and could be caused by the following:
amount of ink coverage for a given color, • incorrect web tension between in-feed
which depends on the ink coverage for the and out-feed ends of the press;
job being printed. The big print areas that use • rewind roll tension is too high;
more ink will require the ink pans to be filled • web splices offsetting the web;
more often than those that use little ink. Add • rolls of stock varying from roll to roll;
fresh ink each hour to a low coverage area • baggy edges on the rolls of stock mov-
rather than filling up the fountain and adding ing the web to one side; and
only solvent or stabilizer for the whole shift. • web thickness and adhesive coating
Fresh ink helps maintain the correct balance vary on rolls.
between colorant, resin and solvent (water
and amine for water-based ink). Inspecting a print sample is the most accu-
Ink loses printability and flow characteris- rate check of print quality. Operators should
tics if only solvent (water and amine for not rely on checking print quality on the mov-
water-based inks) is added over a period of ing web alone. Samples of the printed product
time. This loss is due to the depletion of the must be checked visually with a magnifier for
colorant and the resin in the ink. poor registration, poor ink lay, color drifts,
For the ink to work properly, and to color match, and ink adhesion or cure. The
avoid printability problems, press opera- operator should be looking for variations in:
tors must know the following about the • print registration (Figure );
inks they are using: • the cleanliness and sharpness of the
• upper and lower working viscosity print;
limits; • ink or impression misses;
• solvents and additives to be used; • ink picking;
• range of pH for water inks; and • flaws due to plate lift, lint or other
• maximum pigment load the ink can causes; and
handle. • print quality.
A color-drift check
is accomplished by
placing consecutive
samples in a row on a
white background.
basis to ensure consistency throughout the dyne level of around 30 or higher depending
run. If a densitometer or spectrophotometer on the surfactants being used. In order to
is being used when the job is set up, and dur- have good ink transfer and adhesion, the
ing the initial color match, it should be used film being printed should have a dyne level
during the pressrun. Samples from each approximately 10 levels higher than the ink
printed roll should be evaluated. being used.
Color-drift checks are performed by laying Flexographic printing on film generally re-
consecutive samples in a row on a white quires that the film be treated, which changes
background (Figure ). the surface of the substrate so that the ink can
Ink-adhesion tests are performed by adhere. The amount of treatment on a film is
putting cellophane tape firmly onto the measured in dynes with a special solution
printed image and pulling slowly upward using pens or liquids (Figures ).
from the image for half of the length of the
tape. The remaining tape is pulled quickly off Quality Awareness
the other half. The tape is then examined to The flexographic printing process requires
see if it is free of ink. consistent and careful monitoring during the
Solvent-based inks typically have a dyne pressrun. There are no assurances that a job
level of about 23. Water-based inks have a printing well presently will be doing so in five
T
crew before press setup:
flexographic press setup, run Shop orders. Sometimes referred to as job
and cleanup vary depending on instructions, work orders or job jackets, this
the press manufacturer, the age order contains all of the instructions needed
of the press and the different to produce the finished product to the cus-
methods used by printers. For tomer’s specifications.
this reason, this section focuses on the Print card. Sometimes called a print copy, this
basics of setup that are common to most card is a part of the shop order. It contains
corrugated printers. specific instructions for the job being print-
ed, and provides information on dimensions,
position, color and quantity (Figure ). In
PRESS SETUP most cases, the card also contains a graphic
Corrugated press crews typically make layout of the job.
several setups each day. Each setup must be Printing plates. Plates should be at the press
made in the most time-efficient manner pos- site and checked against the copy to be
sible. In order to achieve a high level of effi- printed.
ciency, it is important for the crew to look Ink. Ink should be at the press site and
ahead to future orders. Looking ahead allows checked for the proper color and quantity.
crews to coordinate the colors being run Stock. Stock should be at the press site and
from print station to print station and the checked against the work order for size,
type of board being run. This coordination flute and test. Board test refers to the prop-
creates better efficiency because the press er liner, medium weights of stock and flute.
should not need to be broken down as much,
and only the stations to be changed need to Once the crew has determined that these
be washed for the next order. Crews must items are at press side and meet require-
plan ahead to have the next order’s ink, stock ments, the press setup may begin. All safety
and other materials ready before the existing lockout devices must be in the proper posi-
run is finished. Running a corrugated press tion before beginning the setup.
requires good communication and thorough
planning between the crew members. Set the Feed Mechanism
The press setup is initiated by the setup of
Supply Assurance Precheck the feed mechanism. The basic height of the
A supply assurance precheck should be feed table is fixed in relationship to the bot-
completed prior to press setup. The follow- tom feed roll, the pull roll collars and the
ing items detail a typical precheck. All items print cylinder with the plates attached.
should be available and reviewed by the First, the side-hopper feed guides and
REMARKS
MASTERS FOR DIES LOCATED AT
PE PRP
RE
JOB#
Side Guide
Side Guide
Backstop
backstops must be set. Many corrugated have measurement tapes or scales attached.
presses set up over center, meaning that the They are adjustable on this bar from the cen-
length of the sheet to be printed is in the cen- ter of the machine to either side and are
ter of the press. The feed (side) guides are locked by means of a screw-handle device.
mounted on a bar across the feed table and Feed guides should be positioned on the
In this mounting
system, a hooked edge
on the plate carrier is
fitted to a clamp on
the cylinder to provide
a strong fit. A clamp
Carrier
Sheet at the trail end of the
carrier sheet provides
Tension Clamp additional support.
cylinder. Scribe lines on the plate cylin- the sheet and away from any printed copy.
der are also used to position plates that Running pull roll collars over the printed
are premounted on a carrier that has a image may cause ink smearing on the board.
center mark. The center mark on the car-
rier is positioned to a cylinder’s center Set the Ink Distribution System
scribe line and adhered. The ink distribution system should be set
• The plate cylinder is magnetized and the up to maintain a constant, uniform supply
plates either have a metal backing or are of ink during the pressrun (Figure ).
positioned on a metal carrier. The mag-
netism of the plate cylinder holds the Ink the Print Stations
plates in position without the use of tape The next step in the setup procedure is to
or straps. ink up the print stations. The following pro-
• The plate cylinder uses a clamping system cedure details a typical print station inking:
to hold the mounted plates. The plates are 1. Double-check the color in the ink con-
premounted on a carrier that has a tainer to verify that it is the color to be
hooked lead edge. This edge is attached to placed in that print station.
a bar and clamp mechanism on the lead 2. Circulate the ink in the ink pump
edge of the plate cylinder. The trailing through the supply hose back into the
edge of the carrier is then attached to the pump to remove air from the system.
plate cylinder with straps, clamps or tape 3. If an ink pan is being used, align the ink
(Figure ). pan and lock down the hold-down
mechanism. Ensure that the pan will
Set the Pull Rolls not rub on the ends of any rolls or the
The purpose of pull rolls is to control the surface of the plate cylinder.
movement of the sheet from one print sta- 4. Connect the return hoses from the ink
tion to the next without slippage or change pan to the ink pump, making sure they
in board speed. These rolls control the print- are routed around any moving parts. If
to-board register throughout the press. using submersible pumps, return hoses
The operator can set the pull rolls either must be slightly submerged in the ink
manually or with a motorized system. The pull of the ink-pumping unit to help avoid
rolls are set in a position to ride on the ends of foaming with water-based inks.
WiperRoll
Ink Pan
Return
Pump
Filter
Air
Supply
Ink
Bucket
5. Connect the supply hose from the the fountain roll is adjusted to squeeze against
pump to the ink-distribution system. the anilox roll. Once the press is started, the
6. Pump the ink into the distribution sys- rubber roll is adjusted to evenly squeeze the
tem. ink off the anilox using the minimum amount
7. After the ink has been pumping for a of pressure. This pressure setting is checked
time, check the pH and viscosity. These by backing the fountain roll off until the oper-
measurements are done to ensure that ator can see the nip flood with ink. Then the
the ink is at its running parameters be- operator squeezes back in with both sides of
fore the pressrun begins. If the ink does the rubber roll, making sure they are even,
not meet specifications, it should be until the flooding on the surface goes away. By
adjusted and rechecked until it does. doing this several times, the ink wipe is set.
When setting a station with a doctor blade
Set the Fountain Roll (Figure ), the doctor-blade assembly is
and/or Doctor Blade set into its holder and then slowly tightened
Once the ink is in the fountain and is with- down until it touches the anilox. As the blade
in its recommended running pH and viscosi- is tightened to the anilox, the operator will
ty parameters, the anilox roll may be inked. notice that the ink will meter from the center
When using a two roll system (Figure ), of the anilox roll outward to the ends. When
A chambered doctor-
blade system must be
installed before the ink
pump is turned on.
the ink is metered off of the ends of the
anilox roll, the wipe is set. Similar to the pro-
cedure for setting fountain roll pressure, the Containing
Doctor Blade
doctor blade should be backed out and Anilox Roll
brought back in to the anilox several times in Ink “In”
Supply
order to set the wipe with the minimum
Reservoir
amount of pressure. Overtightening the doc-
tor blade can cause the blade to fold under
Metering Ink “Out”
the pressure, causing the ink to dry due to Doctor Blade Return
Automatic Wash-ups
Automatic wash-up systems are built into
some machines. They have a fixed sequence
of operations that are done automatically
for the operator. The system may be used
solution and wipe the inside and out- during setup, between orders, or at the end
side of the assembly. Also wipe both of a run or shift.
sides of the blade. Light pressure will When the automatic wash-up system is
reduce the chance of the blade cutting engaged, the ink is automatically drained
through the rag. from the system into the ink bucket and
2. Check the condition of the doctor saved for future use. After the ink is drained
blade. Carefully remove blades that from the inking system, the press operator
show excessive wear or damage. removes the ink bucket from the platform.
Properly dispose blades. Water or clean-up solution is then automati-
3. Continue cleaning the blade assembly cally circulated, and often pressure sprayed,
with a soaked rag until most of the ink throughout the entire system.
on the assembly is gone. Complete a Water and ink residue is then removed
final pass with a clean damp rag to from the inking system automatically. The
remove any last traces of ink. residue is dumped into the plate waste
drainage system for treatment (Figure ).
Ink Pan Cleanup Automatic wash-up systems basically per-
After washing the doctor-blade system, the form the same steps listed in the section
ink pan must be cleaned. The following pro- describing manual wash-up of the ink sta-
cedure details a typical ink pan cleanup: tion. It is important to remember that auto-
1. Put the pan into position for washing. matic wash-up systems do not scrub the
Scrape any liquid ink into the drain anilox roll, and therefore, do not eliminate
hole. this cleanup step.
2. Place a rag at the bottom of the ink pan
and saturate it with cleaning solution. Mark Ink Containers
3. Pass the damp rag over the entire inte- The containers holding the ink used during
rior of the ink pan to rewet the dried the run should be marked with the correct
ink. Concentrate on areas where ink ink color or number. Any additives, bases or
buildup exists, rewetting the rag as solvents that were added to the ink, and their
needed. quantities, should be noted on the contain-
4. Wipe the ink pan dry using a second ers. Container labels are often covered by ink
rag when all ink buildup is removed. spilling down the side of the bucket. If a spill
BINDING
■ Intermittent dark 1. Irregular web tensioning, substrate 1. Reduce web tension. Clean and lubri-
lines of varying moving independent of plate move- cate driven and undriven rollers.
widths running in ment. Check web tensioning mechanisms
the web direction of for proper operation.
printed image.
2. Gear bottoming off pitch line. 2. See defect “Gear Marks.”
3. Intermittent plate slur. 3. Run bearers.
4. Excessive ink viscosity. 4. Reduce ink viscosity.
5. Noncompressible stickyback. 5. Use cushioned stickyback.
6. Low durometer plate materials. 6. Use higher durometer plate materials.
BLEED
■ An under color wet- 1. Under color drying too slowly or over 1. Improve under color drying rate by
ting into an over color drying too fast. reducing viscosity and/or ink film
color in a trapping thickness. Use a faster or slower sol-
or overprinting vent as required. Adjust or check
application. between station dryers. (Preceding
■ Diffused or migrat- colors must be dry enough to receive
ing colors in a subsequent colors laid down.)
dried/cured ink film. 2. Poor physical property resistance. 2. Use proper ink formulation and pig-
ment grade selection.
BRITTLENESS
■ Ink film/substrate 1. Excessive heat or UV exposure level 1. Control web temperature. Reduce
breaks or cracks in drying/curing system causing a heat and/or increase volume of air
when flexed. release of moisture and plasticizer through drying chamber. Reduce UV
from substrate or ink film. lamp power.
COLOR STRONG
■ Excess ink transfer 1. Excessive ink viscosity. 1. Reduce ink viscosity.
to substrate. 2. Excessive pigment load. 2. Add extender.
■ Excess color 3. Incorrectly specified anilox roll. 3. Select anilox roll with lower cell vol-
strength. ume.
4. Incorrectly specified fountain roll. 4. Select fountain roll with higher
durometer.
5. Light setting of fountain roll nip. 5. Increase fountain roll nip pressure.
6. Doctor blade incorrectly set. 6. Adjust doctor blade to parallel with a
minimum pressure setting.
COLOR VARIATIONS
■ Inconsistent color 1. Lack of viscosity and/or pH control. 1. Maintain viscosity and/or pH control.
throughout a press- 2. Inconsistent press speeds. 2. Maintain consistent press speed.
run.
3. Variation in ink batches. 3. Mix adequate amount of ink.
4. Color contamination. 4. Improve cleanup procedures.
COLOR WEAK
■ Lacking color 1. Excessive ink viscosity reduction. 1. Add fresh ink to restore viscosity.
strength and body. 2. Excess extender varnish. 2. Add pigment concentrate (toner).
3. Ink settled out. 3. Thoroughly mix ink in container
before adding to fountain.
4. Plugged anilox roll cells. 4. Thoroughly clean anilox roll.
5. Incorrectly specified anilox roll. 5. Select anilox roll with higher volume.
6. Incorrectly specified fountain roll. 6. Select fountain roll with lower
durometer.
7. Tight setting of fountain roll nip. 7. Decrease fountain roll nip pressure.
8. Worn anilox roll. 8. Replace/refurbish anilox roll.
BLOCKING
■ Undesired adhesion 1. Improper ink drying. 1. See defect “Drying Too Slow.”
between two 2. Excessive pressure in rewind. 2. Reduce rewind tension.
surfaces.
3. Excessive weight in stack. 3. Reduce stack height.
4. Softening of pre-applied coatings. 4. Use solvents that do not attack prior
coatings.
5. Web rewound too warm. 5. Reduce web temperature by chilling
within ±10° of room temperature or
reducing dryer temperature.
6. Web rewound with excess surface 6. Avoid rewinding excess surface
moisture. moisture on web prior to rewind.
DOT GAIN
■ An excessive 1. Excessive ink volume. 1. Reduce anilox roll volume to a
increase in the size minimum while maintaining color
of a halftone dot requirements.
from film to the 2. Excessive plate thickness. 2. Use thinner plates.
printed image.
3. High density stickyback. 3. Use cushioned stickyback.
4. Low ink viscosity. 4. Increase ink viscosity.
5. Excessive pressure settings. 5. Reduce pressure settings to a mini-
mum.
6. Poor ink metering application. 6. Use bladed ink metering application.
7. Damaged or worn press components. 7. Check and replace damaged or worn
gears, bearings or cylinders.
8. Dirt on impression and/or plate 8. Clean impression and/or plate cylin-
cylinders. ders.
FEATHERING
■ Irregular string-like 1. Excessive pressure settings. 1. Use minimum pressure settings for
edges around print, plate and anilox.
often on trailing 2. Incorrect solvent balance. 2. Use correct solvent balance.
edges.
3. Uncontrolled ink viscosity and/or pH 3. Maintain proper ink viscosity and/or
range. pH range. Use fountain covers.
4. Improperly set ink metering applica- 4. Readjust pressure settings of foun-
tions. tain roll nip or doctor blade assembly.
5. Poor shoulder angles on plate. 5. Use a steeper shoulder angle on the
plate with consideration for support.
6. Dust on the substrate transferring to 6. Use web cleaning devices when nec-
the plate. essary.
7. Excessive static electricity present. 7. Use static eliminator bars.
8. Dried ink on plates from startup or 8. Wash plates thoroughly after color
previous run. OK and when order is completed.
FOAMING
■ Ink foams in 1. Excessive agitation of ink in fountain. 1. Reduce flow rate of ink pump.
fountain. 2. Lack of defoaming agent in 2. Add defoaming agent to ink.
formulation.
3. Contaminated ink. 3. Replace with fresh ink.
4. Excessive ink viscosity. 4. Reduce ink viscosity.
GEAR MARKS
■ Parallel lines of 1. Gear bottoming off pitch line. 1. Adjust overall plate package thick-
misprint. ness to pitch line.
GHOSTING
■ A faint image of 1. Ink starvation. 1. Change diameter of plate cylinder or
design transferring change speed differential of fountain
to the printed image roll to anilox roll. Change anilox roll
or non-image area. specification to a higher volume.
Increase ink flow to chambered
doctor blade.
2. Improperly cleaned metering roll. 2. Thoroughly clean anilox and/or
fountain roll.
HALO
■ An unwanted line 1. Excessive pressure settings. 1. Use minimum pressure settings for
surrounding a plate and anilox.
printed image. 2. Plate cupping. 2. Make new plates and new plate
■ Printed image matrix or engraving. Avoid cupping.
appears double- 3. Plate durometer too hard. 3. Use recommended plate durometer
edged. for printing given materials.
4. Stickyback too thin or too firm. 4. Use compressible stickyback.
5. Plate cylinder running out of round. 5. Check plate cylinder for T.I.R.
6. Excessive plate grinding. 6. Reduce amount of plate grinding.
INK MOTTLING
■ Spotted or irregular 1. Excessive reduction of ink viscosity 1. Add fresh ink and maintain optimum
appearance of solid and/or pH level. viscosity and/or pH range.
print area. 2. Excessive anilox roll cell land areas. 2. Examine condition of anilox roll cell
lands. Replace anilox roll if necessary.
3. Contaminated ink. 3. Replace with fresh ink.
4. Mottled pattern in surface of plates. 4. Remake plates if mottled appearance
is evident on surface. Examine plate
mold for like pattern of mottle.
5. Foreign matter collecting on surface 5. Wash plates thoroughly.
of plates.
6. Dirty or pitted impression cylinders. 6. Clean impression cylinders thorough-
ly of inks, waxes and all other foreign
matter.
7. Uneven or irregular substrate 7. Increase opacity of the ink. Reduce
surfaces. durometer of plate material.
8. Ink lacks proper flow characteristics. 8. Consult ink supplier for
reformulation.
MISREGISTER
■ One part of design 1. Plates not mounted in register. 1. Remount plate in register.
not correctly posi- Review plate mounting and make-
tioned with another. ready procedures.
2. Incorrect web tension. 2. Adjust tension controls appropriately
for substrate being printed.
3. Incorrect drive-roller adjustment. 3. Check drive roll parallel for constant
side-to-side pressure and center
wear condition.
4. Excessive web temperatures. 4. Reduce dryer temperatures.
5. Failure to center press register 5. Center individual advance/retard run-
compensators before putting job in ning registers and side-to-side regis-
press. ter compensators before manually
keying in job register.
6. Idle rolls dragging or running 6. Replace or lubricate idle roller
intermittently. bearings.
7. Press out of alignment. 7. Realign press.
8. Gauge variations in substrate. 8. Replace substrate.
ODOR
■ Undesirable odor in 1. Retained solvents, amines or 1. Balance solvents and check for prop-
printed substrate. monomers. er solvent use. Use correct UV ink
chemistry. Check and adjust main
dryer/UV lamp operation. Increase
between station dryers/UV lamps.
Reduce press speed to increase
dryer/UV lamp dwell time.
OFFSETTING OR SET-OFF
■ A transfer of ink 1. Ink not dry at rewind or stacker. 1. See defect “Drying Too Slow.”
to the side of the 2. Trapped solvents or amines. 2. Reduce ink film to minimum accept-
substrate opposite able thickness.
where it was
3. Excessive pressure in roll. 3. Reduce rewind tension.
printed.
4. Excessive weight in stack. 4. Reduce height in stack.
5. Films treated on both sides. 5. Run minimum rewind tension. Apply
offset powder to web before rewind-
ing. Overprint with non-blocking var-
nish if necessary.
6. Films with plasticizers subject to 6. See No. 5.
migration.
PICK-OFF/INK
■ Ink transferring to 1. Ink drying too slow. 1. See defect “Drying Too Slow.”
subsequent plates Increase between station dryer tem-
and rollers. perature and/or air flow.
2. Excessive plate impression setting. 2. Use minimum plate impression
pressure.
PLATE SWELLING
■ Plate dimensionally 1. Inks or solvents not compatible with 1. Check inks and solvents being used
larger and softer. printing plates. for compatibility with your ink and
plate suppliers.
2. Residual solvent left in plate from 2. Increase plate processing drying
processing. time.
SOURING INK
■ Ink exhibits a 1. Excessive moisture in ink due to high 1. Add normal propyl acetate. Keep
thixotropic state humidity levels. fountains and reservoirs covered.
with a loss of flow
and tendency to
curdle.
STRIATIONS
■ Parallel thin lines or 1. Excessive ink transparency. 1. Reformulate for greater opacity level.
bands present in 2. Excessive ink viscosity reduction. 2. Replace or add fresh ink.
solid print areas.
3. Plugged anilox roll. 3. Clean anilox roll.
4. Worn anilox roll. 4. Replace anilox roll.
WRINKLING
■ Wrinkles in sub- 1. Baggy substrate. 1. Tape rollers at web edge to draw out
strate. wrinkles.
2. Equipment misalignment. 2. Adjust all roller alignment.
VOLUME 6 233
F fountains, 14, 124, 136, 148, 184, 188
film treating, 202 drying, 23, 60, 80-82, 91, 92, 100, 122-123,
corona discharge, 90 126, 175, 182, 225
stations, 90 cleanup, 147, 148, 151, 169, 171, 176, 178,
190, 191, 203-206, 218-220
flexo folder-gluer, 102, 110, 112-113, 116-117, UV curing, 23, 95-96, 190, 224, 225
118, 120, 121, 134-139
pH, 185-187, 198, 214-215
flexo rolls viscosity, 185-187, 198, 200, 201, 213, 214-
balancing, 128, 129 215, 225, 226, 228, 230, 231
deflection, 131
in-line press, 10
forces on bearings, 129-130
modulus of elasticity, 131-132 J
total indicated runout (TIR), 131 job jacket (job history sheet), 178, 194
folding-carton press, 10 L
laminating, 92-95
freestanding off-line press, 124
solid adhesive laminating, 94
G
line shaft-driven press, 120-121
gear backlash, 135, 140
lockout switch, 171
gear-driven press, 109, 119-120, 122
N
gear drives, 132
bevel, 134, 148 narrow-web presses, 12-33, 177-192
central impression, 139-140 advantages, 4
digital-servo, 140-141 air shafts, 59
helical, 133, 148 anilox rolls, 177, 178, 181, 184
line-shaft, 140 cleanup procedures, 198-200
spur, 132 delivery system, 32
worm, 134 die-cutting stations, 24
cutting modes, 28
gear mounting, 138-141 shapes, 28
tooling, 28-29
gear pitch, 134, 136, 137, 139-140 waste removal, 31
circumferential, 137, 139, 157, 159
die installation, 179
diametral, 137, 138-139, 153-156
drying and curing
module, 137, 139, 158-163 UV curing, 23
gear train laminating/varnishing, 23
pitch diameter, 136-138, 139-140 dry registration, 181
repeat length, 136-137, 139 edge guides, 181
fountain roll, 183
H impression (setting), 184
hazardous material in-feed tension control, 20-21, 48
labels, 144 ink distribution, 183
disposal of, 175, 191, 206 inking, 184-185, 187-188
I plate cylinders, 13, 21-23
ink plate mounting/inspection, 181
adding, 183, 187-188, 200-201, 215-216 print stations, 21, 177, 181, 183, 190
adhesion tests, 189, 200, 202 automatic register systems, 22
distribution unit, 183, 196, 209-210 registration adjustment, 21
drying, 100, 124-125, 126, 177, 184, 187, repeat length, 21
197, 200, 213, 214-215, 221, 223, 224, 225, products printed, 18-19
229, 230, 231 quality checks, 188
ink station, 105, 122, 173, 175, 178, 215, register systems, 22
220 registration (setting), 184
transfer, 108, 111, 137, 149, 195 rewind tension, 52
metering, 25, 110, 112-113, 114, 184, 194, setup process, 177-189
212-213 setup stock, 181
plate mounting, 107, 127, 136, 138, 181, 228 rewind guiding, 71-72
platen die cutting, 102, 103, 108, 112, 115, rotary die, 13, 14, 23, 24-25, 28, 29, 30-32
plate-squeeze allowance, 121, 137-138 rotary die cutting, 26, 28-30, 102, 106, 112,
117, 121, 127
powder spray systems, 91-92
S
postprinting, 98, 99-100, 108, 122, 123, 125,
127 safety signage, 170
VOLUME 6 235
substrate, 48, 54, 98, 99, 102, 109, 110, 123, W
125, 126, 177, 179, 181, 189, 203, 213, 216, web guiding systems
221, 222, 226, 229, 230, 231, 232 automatic, 64
cleaning, 85, 89, 97 hydraulic, 64
ionic, 89 mechanical, 64
corona field, 89-90
wind, 193-194 web position control, 65
dryers edge guiding, 71
warm air, 124 fixed sensor center, 62, 65
infrared, 124 line (pattern) guiding, 65
T moving sensor center, 65, 71
tag-out, 173 offset pivot guides, 67, 70
steering guides, 67-69
tension control, 43-48, 94 entry spans, 67
bowed roll, 49 unwind guiding, 64, 65-66
cooling drum, 49-50
web tension, 34, 38, 40-43, 47-49, 54, 56
dancer, 40-41, 48-50, 55
in-feed, 47, 49 web viewers
rewind tension, 52, 53, 71 bent-web viewing, 75
automatic system, 39, 47, 50 oscillating mirror, 73
dancer-roll system, 40-41 rotating drum mirror, 74
“draw” control system, 39 stroboscope, 73
manual system, 38-39, 47
video scanning, 75
semiautomatic system, 45-46
optical encoder, 78
tension transducer system, 41-43
print mark sensor, 78
splicing, 45-47 proximity sensor, 78
taper tension (see also rewind system configuration, 76-77
equipment), 38
taper torque, 38 web width, 3, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69-70, 74, 75,
torque, 36-37, 38-40, 42-43, 52, 54-57, 90
58-60 narrow-web, 3, 12, 16
unwind tension, 47-49 wide-web, 3, 10