Abstract
The print quality of prints performed with flexographic printing technology is influenced by various parameters such as viscosity of the printing inks, printing substrates, plates, anilox rolls, etc. The aim of this work is to analyze the influence of ink viscosity, printing plate and printing base on selected properties of print quality, such as optical density of full tone area and the increase of tonal value (TVI). Additionally, the printed dots on 5, 15, 30, 50 and 75% of half tone area were investigated using digital microscopy. The least square fitting method in a matrix form was successfully used in order to confirm the influence of printing process parameters on print quality. The results obtained reveal the significant influence of the printing plate and printing substrate characteristics and the lesser influence of printing ink viscosity for 40–100% coverage area. The values of the optical densities of full tone areas are mainly influenced by the properties of the printing plate and the printing base. Furthermore, the optical density decreases when the value of flow time decreases, which is related to the lower thickness of dried ink film. The TVI on light tones (0 to 20%) is mainly influenced by the ink viscosity.
Highlights
Flexographic printing is a fundamental, well-established roll-to-roll printing technique used for printing products such as flexible packaging, multiwall bags, labels, corrugated packaging and even printed electronics, printing with ZnO inks and as well as gas and biosensors [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
We have analyzed the influence of selected printing conditions on the print quality of a printed plastic substrate
The objective of the present work was to analyze the influence of the printing ink viscosity, printing plate and printing substrate on the quality of the print expressed through optical density and tonal value increase (TVI) changes
Summary
Flexographic printing is a fundamental, well-established roll-to-roll printing technique used for printing products such as flexible packaging, multiwall bags, labels, corrugated packaging and even printed electronics, printing with ZnO inks and as well as gas and biosensors [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. The following printing substrates may be used: paper, corrugated cardboard, and nonabsorbent materials such as plastic and biodegradable films and aluminum foils. This technology requires, in most cases, flexible, raised-image printing plates (rubber or photopolymer) and low-viscosity and rapid-drying fluid inks [11]. The ink is transferred from the anilox roller onto a photopolymer printing plate, placed on a plate cylinder. In this stage, the printing ink is subjected to both shear and extensional stresses [7,12]. The printed image is consolidated by the drying of the ink
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