Flexographic Packing Printing Machine

I. Machine Overview

 Flexographic Packing Printing Machine (hereinafter referred to as flexo printing machine) is a core packaging printing equipment widely used in the packaging industry. It adopts flexible relief plates (made of rubber or photosensitive resin) and anilox roller ink transfer technology, which can print high-quality patterns, texts, barcodes and other information on various packaging substrates efficiently and environmentally friendly. As a "green printing" equipment, it is mainly characterized by flexible plates, low-viscosity inks, and wide adaptability to materials. It is the mainstream model in the fields of corrugated carton printing, flexible packaging, and label printing, and is widely used in food, medicine, daily chemical, logistics and other industries. With the continuous development of high-definition flexo technology, its printing precision has been continuously improved, and it is gradually replacing traditional printing processes in some fields due to its environmental protection and efficiency advantages.

Core Definition & Origin

The name "flexographic printing machine" comes from its flexible printing plate — a flexible rubber plate with raised patterns is attached to the surface of the roller. The raised part of the flexographic plate is the printing pattern, which is the core feature that distinguishes it from other printing machines. Essentially, it is a "modern upgraded version" of relief printing, but it has more advantages in environmental protection, material adaptability and production efficiency.

II. Core Features

① Environmental Protection and Safety: The mainstream use of water-based or UV environmentally friendly inks, which do not contain benzene solvents, have extremely low VOCs emissions, meet FDA standards, and can be used for food direct contact packaging. It is in line with the global "double carbon" goal and increasingly strict environmental protection policies, and is the preferred equipment for green packaging production. ② Wide Adaptability to Materials: The flexible printing plate has good elasticity, which can fit various surfaces of substrates and adapt to a variety of packaging materials, including paper (corrugated paper, kraft paper), plastic films (PE, PP, PET), aluminum foil, non-woven fabrics, etc. Especially in the field of corrugated carton pre-printing, flexo printing is almost the only best choice. ③ High Efficiency and Flexibility: The plate making cycle is short, and a set of flexographic plates can be completed in 1-2 days at the fastest, which is convenient for plate replacement and fast order change, and is suitable for small and medium batch orders. At the same time, it has strong online processing capabilities, and can complete coating, die-cutting, slitting and other processes while printing, reducing intermediate handling costs. ④ Cost Advantage: The plate making cost of resin plates is only 1/5 of that of gravure plates, and the machine covers a small area, which is suitable for production environments with limited space. In large-batch production, its unit cost advantage is obvious, and the printing plate has a long service life. ⑤ High Precision and Stability: With the application of high-definition flexo technology and digital electric control color registration system, the overprinting precision can reach ±0.1mm, and the precision will not change during speed up and down. The anilox roller precisely controls the ink transfer amount, ensuring uniform ink layer and stable printing quality.

III. Technical Parameters

Parameter Item	General Configuration	High-end Configuration	Remarks
Printing Color Groups	2-6 colors	8-10 colors (including spot colors, 6+1/7+1/8+1 optional)	Multi-color overlay printing can be completed at one time, meeting the needs of complex patterns
Maximum Printing Width	600-1200mm	1450-2200mm (1560mm/1650mm/1850mm optional)	Adapt to different specifications of packaging materials, customizable
Printing Speed	150-300m/min	300-600m/min (max 400m/min for partial models)	High-speed operation, suitable for large-batch rapid production
Overprinting Precision	±0.1-0.3mm	≤±0.1mm	Digital electric control color registration, high precision and stability
Applicable Materials	Paper, PE/PP film, aluminum foil, non-woven fabric	300-500g thick cardboard, composite film, shrink film, 20-200gsm paper	Wide adaptability, suitable for various soft and hard packaging materials
Ink Type	Water-based, solvent-based ink	UV, EB curing environmental protection ink, full water-based ink	Environmental protection, fast drying, meeting different production needs
Printing Plate Thickness	1.14mm, 1.7mm	2.28mm, 2.84mm, 3.94mm (customizable)	Flexible resin plate, good elasticity and durability
Unwind/Rewind Diameter	Max φ1000mm	Max φ1500-1600mm	Automatic roll diameter identification, reducing cutting loss
Control System	PLC + touch screen, manual color registration	PLC + intelligent touch screen, automatic color registration, remote operation and maintenance, AOI online quality inspection	Intelligent operation, reducing manual intervention, with fault protection function
Function Configuration	Printing + hot air drying + unwinding/rewinding	Online die-cutting, glazing, slitting, laminating, automatic tension control	One-stop production, improving production efficiency

IV. Working Principle

The working principle of the flexographic printing machine is simple and efficient, which can be divided into 5 core steps: ① Ink Transfer: The ink is evenly transferred to the anilox roller, and the anilox roller precisely controls the ink transfer amount through the uniform mesh holes on its surface (the key to uniform ink layer). ② Plate Ink Loading: The flexible relief plate (with raised patterns) is in contact with the anilox roller, and the ink on the surface of the anilox roller is transferred to the raised part of the printing plate (the non-raised part does not carry ink). ③ Substrate Feeding: The packaging substrate (paper, film, etc.) is fed to the printing unit through the automatic feeding system, and the tension is adjusted to ensure that the substrate is flat and does not deviate. ④ Pattern Transfer: Under the action of a certain pressure, the printing plate transfers the ink on the raised part to the surface of the substrate to complete the printing of patterns and texts. ⑤ Drying and Finishing: The printed substrate is sent to the drying system (hot air/infrared/LED-UV curing), so that the ink is quickly fixed to avoid smearing; finally, it is collected after finishing processes such as die-cutting and slitting (if equipped with online functions).

V. Application Fields

 Relying on the advantages of environmental protection, wide material adaptability and high efficiency, flexographic printing machines are widely used in various packaging fields, covering many industries: ① Food and Beverage Industry: Printing of snack bags, beverage labels, food cartons, aluminum foil packaging, non-woven food bags, supermarket handbags, etc. ② Pharmaceutical Industry: Printing of medicine boxes, medicine bottle labels, medical aluminum foil packaging (batch number printing), etc. ③ Daily Chemical Industry: Printing of shampoo bottle labels, daily chemical flexible packaging, cosmetic outer packaging, etc. ④ Logistics and E-commerce Industry: Printing of corrugated cartons, express labels, logistics packaging bags, vest bags, etc. ⑤ Other Fields: Printing of heavy packaging bags, valve bags, clothing bags,不干胶 labels, shrink film packaging, etc. It is especially suitable for scenarios that require green production, fast order change and multi-specification material printing.

VI. Core Components

① Feeding Unit: Including automatic unwinding device, constant tension control system, dust and static removal device, which ensures flat and stable feeding of substrates and reduces printing errors caused by deviation or dust. ② Printing Unit: Composed of flexible printing plate, anilox roller, pressure roller and color group drive system. The anilox roller is the "heart" of the flexographic printing machine, which is responsible for precise ink transfer; the flexible printing plate is the core part of pattern transfer; the servo drive ensures stable operation of each color group and accurate overprinting. ③ Drying System: Hot air/infrared/LED-UV curing device, which can quickly dry the ink to avoid ink smearing and improve production efficiency. The high-end configuration adopts HTPP-control temperature control technology, which saves more than 60% energy. ④ Post-processing Unit (optional): Including online die-cutting, slitting, glazing, laminating and other devices, which can realize one-stop production and reduce intermediate processing links. ⑤ Control System: PLC + touch screen, with functions such as automatic color registration, tension control, order parameter storage (up to 999 orders), remote operation and maintenance, and fault alarm, which simplifies operation and ensures stable production quality.

VII. Common Faults & Solutions

① Tension Abnormality (turbidity, deviation, jamming): Check the constant tension control system, adjust the tension to the recommended range, clean the dust and static on the substrate surface, and replace the wrinkled or uneven substrate. ② Ink Blockage (uneven ink layer, missing print): Clean the mesh holes of the anilox roller with a special cleaning agent, stir the ink to adjust the viscosity, and replace the blocked ink pipeline. ③ Overprinting Deviation: Reinstall and fix the flexible printing plate, check the operation of the color registration system, and adjust the pressure between the printing plate and the anilox roller. ④ Ink Smearing: Check the temperature of the drying system, increase the drying temperature or slow down the printing speed, and replace the ink with faster drying speed. ⑤ Equipment Shutdown: Restart the equipment, check the PLC error code, troubleshoot the fault of the control system or motor, and contact after-sales service if necessary.

VIII. Daily Maintenance

① Daily Inspection: Before starting the machine every day, check the operation status of the feeding unit, printing unit and drying system, clean the dust and ink residues on the surface of the machine, and ensure that the ink is not precipitated. ② Regular Maintenance: Clean the anilox roller and printing plate once a week, lubricate the transmission parts, and check the wear of the pressure roller and nozzle. ③ Ink Maintenance: Stir the ink regularly to avoid precipitation, and replace the ink that has been used for too long in time. ④ Equipment Shutdown: After shutdown, clean the ink pipeline and printing unit, turn off the power and air source, and keep the machine clean and dry.