| Flexography is a method of direct rotary printing that | | | | stock. Because of its versatility, flexographic printing is |
| uses a flexible polymer printing plate that is attached to | | | | used for a wide range of products from boxes to |
| a plate cylinder. Flexography uses an anilox roll to bring | | | | bags, but the label industry uses flexographic printing |
| ink to the plate. A metering roll or doctor blade system | | | | almost exclusively. |
| is used to remove excess ink from the anilox roll prior | | | | The label industry uses flexography for manufacturing |
| to applying ink to the plate. The plate then prints directly | | | | all types of labels from blank labels for thermal transfer |
| on the material being used. Flexography uses fast | | | | printing, to eye-catching four color process printed |
| drying, low viscosity, solvents, water based inks, and | | | | product labels, and everything in between. Four color |
| UV curable inks. Die cutting takes place in-line, using a | | | | process uses screen patterns of yellow, magenta, |
| rotary cutting die after the printing and any varnish or | | | | cyan, and black that are printed on top of each other |
| overlaminates are applied. | | | | to produce a full range of colors as well as |
| Flexography is the fastest growing conventional | | | | photographic images. Spot printing uses a specific color |
| printing process due in part to major improvements in | | | | or colors to produce a printed image. |
| plate material and the plate making process as well as | | | | Other methods of printing are available to the |
| improvements to inks. Flexographic printing is the main | | | | packaging industry. Due to the speed, versatility and |
| choice of printing in the packaging industry for process | | | | cost, flexographic printing is still the best mode of |
| printing as well as spot colors on a wide variety of | | | | printing in the label industry. |
| materials from board stock to pressure sensitive label | | | | |