Narrow offset printing (below)

Offset printing provides another printing effect for manufacturers and their customers to evaluate and select. This process differs from flexo printing in that print quality is often useful in an image-oriented industry.

Wet offset printing and waterless offset printing

There are two kinds of offset printing: wet offset printing and waterless offset printing.

Wet offset printing, water is transported onto the plate through a damp roll. With water on the plate, ink cannot be printed on the substrate. Waterless offset printing, water is not part of the process. Instead, the edition is configured differently. The plate is still aluminum, but it has a silicone layer and another material layer. The area directly contacting the silicone layer shows the ink. With this configuration, the printer does not leave the impression of a standard offset printing plate, so there will be no point here. However, the life of the plate is somewhat short because it is a fragile sandwich.

When starting a new task on wet offset printing, material waste is several times higher because people find that the balance between water and ink corresponds to the correct production speed. Waterless offset printing and flexographic material waste are almost the same.

According to Kyle Knight, operations manager of Shelton, CT, USAfacility of CCLLabel, a printing company based in Flamingo, USA, “Waterless offset printing is similar to letterpress printing. Maintaining constant temperature and humidity in waterless printing is critical.”

Offset printing cost

There are several factors involved in comparing the cost of offset printing and flexo printing. An offset press is usually more expensive than a flexo press. Offset equipment is generally 30% to 40% more expensive than equivalent flexographic equipment. This is mainly due to the higher costs incurred by the structural design of the ink and dampening units.

Although offset presses cost a lot more than comparable flexo presses, the printed materials are much cheaper. Compared to flexo printing, consumables for offset printing are much cheaper. The cost of making a flexographic plate is more than 10 times that of making the same offset plate. In addition, along with the improvement of the quality of flexo printing, the cost of flexographic plates is also rising, but the cost of various quality offset printing plates remains unchanged.

The cost of offset printing solvents can be greatly reduced. In Europe, flexo companies generally use solvent inks, which is a great cost advantage for offset printing.

Landberg, sales and marketing director at Nilpeter, said: “The production cost for an offset printing plate of the same size is about $6, and the cost of a flexo printing plate is about $60.” However, he believes this cost advantage Rely on the difference between India and India in the offset and flexo. He said: "Although the cost of flexographic printing is higher, the total investment is lower. Therefore, the cost of offset printing is lower than that of flexographic printing, but offset printing is also more wasteful. The cost of printing 2,000 meters of offset printing is lower than flexographic printing. But for short-lived work, it is more cost-effective to use flexo."

Printers need to remember that training operators to use offset presses is another factor. How to make your operators have a good grasp of the machine is a challenge. This process is different from flexo and needs to adapt to something new. For offset printing, it mainly means that the operator can adjust the color on the machine instead of just installing an anilox roller. In other words, the operator needs to understand this responsibility.

In this regard, Landberg mentioned: “We usually provide a week of compact training. However, all our offset printing customers receive training that combines other printing processes and offset printing. This includes flexo printing, screen printing, Gravure printing, punching and embossing, laminating, offset printing, die cutting, singling and stacking papers are all designed to allow customers to master all processes, not just flexo or offset printing."

Why use offset printing?

Most recent press manufacturers are interested in offset printing. This may explain the current market structure. With the development of information digitization, more and more investment in offset presses has become a trend. Digital printing and offset printing share the same workflow, and the same data can be used for digital printing and offset printing. Both technologies share the same prepress management environment, which allows them to achieve the same print quality and share the same standards.

Market pressure is also a driving force in the pursuit of offset printing. The printer manufacturer's customers demand higher quality and greater flexibility. If you want to succeed in this market, you must be unique and consider issues beyond your own. Offset printing is a solution to this problem. Printer manufacturers are interested in offset printing because label printers have found limitations in flexo printing, or have found that higher costs are required to achieve the required quality.

In response, Landberg said, “This is an end-customer-driven market led by a globally renowned brand. In addition to more suppliers looking into the high-end areas, Nilpeter also introduced offset printing to the label industry in 1994.”

Pressure sensitive applications

Because offset quality is higher than flexo, the most common pressure sensitive applications for offset printing rely primarily on the storage industry for packaging standards. The well-known brand manufacturers of health, skin care and red wine labels are demanding products. They have seen an opportunity to distinguish their products on the shelves by offset printing. Many of these label design elements tend to have a higher number of screen prints and lower dot spreads.

Another application of offset printing by printers is the requirement for a wider range of substrates. Landberg mentioned the use of offset red labels, health skin care products, cosmetics and some pharmaceuticals. "For pharmaceutical products, the quality of packaging text is far more important than the standout nature of the consumer, because the text must be accurate and easy to read."

Wide range of applications

Flexo printing is dominant in the pressure-sensitive label market, especially in North America (the second is Europe that has already won the top marks), but at the same time, the share of offset printing is also growing. Today, many printers already use offset printing pressure-sensitive labels. At least 30 to 40 offset prints are combined with flexo and gravure printing each year for such production. And the number will increase.

Landberg believes that offset printing will become more and more common. He said: "The continuous improvement of global brands on high quality and value-added requirements has also formed a second further subdivision. The rapid growth and innovation of the label in the field of wine, many beautiful labels also follow Rear."

According to the relationship between technology and economic convenience, offset printing in the global printers has further increased, and offset printing has also been introduced to achieve a certain level of technology. It is believed that in the future, the number of printers using offset printing will continue to grow, because this technology can enable any print and demand, including the most complex requirements, to be realized in the market. This also includes customers’ individual vision and business methods. change. When you have a press that can do flexo or other processes, it is a problem for the graphic designer to satisfy the best print quality. Offset printing is another weapon for this issue.