Flexographic Printing
Charta can reproduce very sophisticated design requirement for your brand:
- From one to six colours
- Colour accuracy
- CMYK process
- Photographic or illustrated graphics
- Intricate graphic detail
- Solid colours and fine screens
- Metallic inks
- Over-gloss
- Die-cutting
In the Showroom
section of this website is a range of printed examples and in Printing
Potential a series of illustrated models explain the finer points of quality
printing possibilities.
Corrugated board, by its construction, has 'give' when pressure, such as from
printing plates, is applied. The flexographic process is designed to enable
printing without crushing the corrugated board. (This is unlike other methods of
printing where the single sheet of paper passes between two rollers, under high
contact pressure, one of which applies the ink.)
Flexographic plates are made from rubber or a polymer material and are
flexible. The surface is engraved or etched so the areas which carry the ink are
higher - like a rubber stamp. The inked surface delicately contacts the print
surface to lay down the colours.
The high
relief plate surfaces, being flexible, compress slightly on contact and leave
slight traces of colour beyond the defined print area. Our new printer
technology and carefully maintained printers ensure this effect is negligible.
What this does mean however is that artwork must be prepared to suit the
process.
The printing of one and up to six colours, the application of over-gloss and
the final die-cutting step are all done in one pass on the machine. This ensures
very tight registration for each.