Abstract
The flexo process parameters play an important role in ink transfer and will lead to wastage of inks, substrate, solvents and printed stocks if not monitored and controlled. The work focuses on optimizing the flexo process parameters for 40 microns 3-layer polyethylene (PE) film with Blue Nitrocellulose (NC) ink to reduce overall manufacturing cost while maintaining the print quality for diaper application. An experimental design was conducted for the response Ink GSM (grams per square meter), ?E and Print Mottle with factors such as ink viscosity, anilox volume, plate dot shape and substrate opacity. The data was analyzed through Main Effect, Interaction Plot and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The regression models were developed for the response to validate the predictive ability of model. The process optimization resulted in reduction of Ink GSM, ?E and Print Mottle by 18%, 52% and 1% respectively. The ink consumption reduced by 18.26% with minimized print defects, thereby reducing the overall manufacturing cost.
Highlights
As per Mordor Intelligence Report [1], the growth of flexography printing market will be 2.44% CAGR within a period from 2021 to 2026 which accounts to 124.61 USD billion from 107.42 USD billion
The process parameters considered for experimentation were anilox volume (BCM) and dot shape at two levels while ink viscosity at three levels for both the substrates having mean opacity of 79% and 82%
The analysis of the data was assessed by main effects, interaction plot and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to determine the best combination of flexo process parameters enhancing printability
Summary
As per Mordor Intelligence Report [1], the growth of flexography printing market will be 2.44% CAGR within a period from 2021 to 2026 which accounts to 124.61 USD billion from 107.42 USD billion. The hygiene awareness of Indian mothers, rise in income of common people has led to an exponential growth in diaper market. These diapers are packaged in pouches that are printed on Polyethylene (PE) and Cast Polypropylene (CPP) films using NC based inks by Flexo process. The surface anomalies and print defects, plate fill-ups, frequent machine stoppages, shade inconsistency is one of the major challenges during printing these films. This results in print mottle, uneven print density and ink deposition, thereby depreciating the print quality and degrading the selling potential of the product. This demands for optimization with tight control of flexo process parameters to minimize the total manufacturing cost with improved print quality
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