Due to the strong visual impact of packaging, especially some high-end packaging products are pursuing a variety of unique artistic effects, in order to unique in the market, therefore, packaging and printing is facing a more severe test. As the saying goes, "inching long, short-footed", different printing processes are also different, so the combination of printing has become one of the popular trends in the packaging field. For example, many high-grade cigarette packs nowadays are the combination of offset printing, gravure printing, flexo printing, and screen printing. In terms of combination printing, cigarette packs can be said to be a good example. You should not underestimate this small cigarette pack. It combines a variety of printing processes, multiple processing procedures and a variety of unique effects in one, you can say It is a masterpiece of modern packaging and printing technology. What is more worth mentioning is that in the printing of cigarette packets, screen printing can be said to be ubiquitous, even an indispensable printing method. Equipment selection is the basis Proper investment is the first step toward success, and it is also one of the powerful guarantees for enterprises to win in fierce market competition. Faced with a wide range of screen printing equipment on the market, we must not blindly purchase, which can be very knowledgeable. Or let us listen to the experience of successful companies. According to Mr. He Yisong, deputy general manager of Dongguan Hucai Printing Co., Ltd., packaging and printing companies generally consider the following factors when selecting and purchasing screen printing equipment. 1. Product structure and positioning Considering the order status of their products, some companies may purchase more than 10 semi-automatic screen printers, and some companies may purchase one or two fully automatic screen printers. This should be considered based on the size of the product, the type of product, etc. Some companies may have many types of screen printing products, but the amount is not very large. In this case, semi-automatic screen printing equipment may have certain advantages. However, some companies have relatively simple varieties, but only six or seven types of products can be considered automatic screen printing equipment, faster. Different products have different requirements for printing equipment. High-end fine products such as cigarette packs have higher requirements for quality and higher requirements for equipment. Automatic roller screen printing machine is widely used in high-end packaging printing in China because of its high speed, high precision, reliable performance, high efficiency, and high-volume printing. Among them, the imported equipment has higher performance and reliability, such as the automatic roller screen printer from Sakurai, Japan. The quality performance of domestic screen printing equipment has also been greatly improved and improved in recent years. For example, fully automatic roller screen printers produced by Shanghai Sanyin Machinery Co., Ltd. are also rated as first-rate. 2. Supporting existing equipment Since screen printing is generally combined with other printing methods, the matching problem with existing printing equipment such as offset printing machines, such as format specifications and printing speed, must be taken into account when selecting screen printing equipment. 3. Optional drying equipment Finally, we must also consider the problem of screen printing drying. Some screen printing machines are equipped with a long drying area, and can also be equipped with a very simple drying belt. This depends on the actual needs of the packaging and printing companies. For example, only UV screen printing can be used, and only UV curing devices can be used. If other types of screen printing inks, such as solvent screen printing inks, are used for printing, then UV curing and infrared drying devices should be considered. Process control is the key Combining printing is a combination of different printing methods. This may seem simple, but it is difficult to achieve. The requirements for equipment, materials, and processes are all high. 1. Quality cost, overall consideration The printing materials used in packaging and printing are quite extensive, including paper, cardboard, cardboard, and plastic films. Different printing materials have different requirements for different printing processes and inks. Therefore, when printing companies design products, they must For the manuscript design style and characteristics, the customer's specific requirements, combined with the characteristics of various printing processes and the specific situation of the enterprise, select the best combination of printing technology. In addition, due to the fact that the cost of screen printing is generally higher than that of other printing processes, cost issues must also be considered when designing products to avoid the high cost caused by one-sided pursuit. In actual production, due to the different circumstances of each company, there are also different styles in the use and display of screen printing features. For example, in the aspect of cigarette package printing process design, the principle of tiger color is that screen printing is generally applied only to high-grade cigarette pack products, and only one screen printing process is considered in the design. Meinung, on the other hand, uses screen printing as a special printing method. Most of the printed packets of cigarettes must be screen printed and may be screened twice or even several times. 2. Production process, reasonable arrangement The more types of processing involved in the product, the entire production process will go through a variety of types of printing presses and processing equipment. At this time, it is necessary to rationally arrange the production and processing of the product to meet the product design requirements. The main concern here is the quality and accuracy of various printing and processing processes. Offset and gravure products are of good quality and high precision. Therefore, offset and gravure printing are generally arranged first, followed by screen printing. Also consider the performance of the ink, which is important for color-sequencing arrangements. Because the inks used in different printing processes may vary greatly in performance, it is necessary to take this into account in combination printing. For example, the opacity of screen printing inks is often much larger than that of offset printing inks, and if it is designed to be offset first , And then use screen printing for overprinting, screen printing ink with strong hiding power will cover off part of the offset printing graphics. Mr. Nie Xiaoan from Zhejiang Meinong Screen Printing Co., Ltd. cited a typical example: When Mino printed the fine “Lushan†cigarette packet, it first used offset printing to print fine patterns, followed by indentation and indentation, and then realized by screen printing process. A large area of ​​pearlescent fission effect. 3. Precautions (1) The problem of overprinting between various printing processes, especially the overprint processing between screen printing and other printing processes, deserves more attention. In this regard, the principles and strategies adopted by the printing companies are basically the same, that is, they can be superimposed and superimposed as much as possible to avoid overprinting; if overprinting is unavoidable, they should not be designed as very detailed overprints. (2) Control points for screen printing process. The tension of the stretch net and the pressure of the scraper should be appropriate, otherwise the net version may be easily deformed, resulting in inaccurate overprint of the graphic and text, which may affect the product quality. (3) Pay attention to the problem of paper deformation after various printing processes and processing procedures. In combined printing, the paper may undergo large deformation after undergoing multiple machines and multiple drying processes, which not only adversely affects the overprint but also may increase the difficulty of the subsequent processes. In this regard, the production cycle should be shortened as much as possible. Screen printing should be carried out as soon as possible after offset printing or gravure printing. The longer the storage time, the greater the amount of deformation and the more unfavorable the overprinting. (4) Control of temperature and humidity in the workshop. The temperature and humidity of the workshop have a certain influence on the performance of the printing materials, the control of the printing process, the overlay accuracy, and the product quality. The workshop is closed as far as possible, and a constant temperature and humidity system is installed to keep the temperature and humidity of the printing workshop constant. Sharing the joy of success Regarding the adoption and application of screen printing technology, although the various printing companies have different strategies and styles, they all come to the same goal. Each of them has experienced various advantages brought by screen printing and experienced the joy of harvesting success. Screen printing process can achieve a variety of special effects, such as ice, refraction, matte, pearlescent, etc., the use of a variety of effects to make the product novel and unique, gorgeous, and greatly enhance the product quality. The use of various ingenious screen printing techniques has become a major feature of Mino, and has won more customers and broader market space for Mino. For example, when Mino printed a certain brand of cigarette packets, it adopted a special water-change security screen printing ink, which made Mino to stand out in the fierce competition. In recent years, Hucai has made remarkable development. As far as cigarette pack printing is concerned, most of the current key customers are cigarette factories with an annual output of 300,000 boxes. Screen printing has contributed to this, and last year the company developed new ones. With the rapid growth of the number of cigarette packets, the existing four fully automatic roller screen printers have been unable to meet such a large amount of business demands. Therefore, the company recently ordered one full-automatic roller screen printer from Japan Sakurai. . In a word, the application of screen printing technology has not only greatly improved the product quality, but also has played a positive role in the development of the company's business, and it has also helped establish the image of the first-class enterprise. I believe that with the improvement of equipment and materials and the improvement of process technology in the future, the screen printing industry will surely achieve greater breakthroughs and development. Let us wait and see!
Source: Printing Technology