The development trend of printing

Current Development Status

With the development of commodity economy and science and technology, printing processes such as planography, letterpress, gravure printing, as well as special printing processes will all advance. Different printing processes feature distinct characteristics and applicable scopes. They will coexist for a long time, complement each other, and occupy an important position in packaging printing.

1. Planography will remain the dominant force.

   Planography features simple plate making, lightweight plates and quick plate mounting, enabling fast production of large-format color printed products with high quality and accurate overprinting. It is especially suitable for products with both images and texts. In recent years, planography has continuously integrated advanced high technologies including optics, chemistry and computer technology, reflecting the contemporary high-tech level.

2. Letterpress printing technology will achieve breakthroughs.

   As a traditional printing process in China, letterpress printing boasts a sound technical foundation, low investment and quick implementation. It adapts to small-batch, small-format and special-specification packaging printing. It has low requirements for paper and ink materials, and allows wide adjustment of printing pressure and ink volume control to achieve ideal printing quality with a broad application scope.

3. Gravure printing will maintain steady development.

   Gravure printing has always been advantageous for high speed, wide width, low consumption and less downtime, and can produce optimal printed products on various printing substrates.

4. Screen printing will become more dynamic.

   As a representative of stencil printing, screen printing in China has long been dominated by workshop-style production and was once regarded as only suitable for line and large color block products. Amid today’s technological revolution, modern screen printing equipment, materials and processes have injected new vitality into screen printing.

With the rapid development of science and technology, packaging printing technology is constantly integrated with emerging technologies and interdisciplinary subjects, achieving innovations and breakthroughs in strategic high-tech fields. Many new technologies have emerged, such as electrostatic printing, inkjet printing and digital printing technology. Meanwhile, judging from the current development trend of printing technology, printing machinery manufacturing in China is rapidly moving toward high automation, linkage, intelligence, digitalization, networking, and multi-color & multi-functionality. Modern cutting-edge technologies have been widely applied to new printing equipment, including computer remote control, automatic plate mounting, digital control for automatic registration, automatic fault monitoring and display, shaftless technology, servo technology, ion spraying technology, optical fiber transmission technology, etc. For example, the application of harmonic drive technology in printing presses features multi-tooth meshing, large transmission ratio, small size, light weight, high bearing capacity, high transmission efficiency and stable transmission rate. It helps improve the speed and working accuracy of printing presses, balancing both printing production efficiency and product printing quality. Development Trends

1. Development direction of planography

   Major international research topics of planography include direct plate making, direct printing, waterless planography and frequency modulation screening. Most foreign sheet-fed multi-color offset presses adopt ink and color remote control, automatic plate mounting, automatic registration devices, as well as full-process production control and fault diagnosis. China started relatively late and needs to strengthen R&D of a new generation of integrated multi-color offset presses. In addition, the quality of domestic printing materials (paper, ink, photosensitive materials, blankets) needs to be improved.

2. Development trends of flexographic printing

   Since the signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1995, the control of CFC emissions has become increasingly strict, and solvents such as trichloroethane and tetrafluoroethylene have been restricted. To make flexographic printing environmentally friendly, there are two development paths: the development of new eco-friendly plate washing solvents, and the development, manufacturing and application of water-developable flexographic plates. Meanwhile, thinner plate materials will also be a development trend of flexographic printing.

3. Development trends of gravure printing

   Gravure equipment requires large investment and high plate making cost, so it is only suitable for long-run products. Its application is limited due to toxic substances contained in gravure ink. If these shortcomings can be solved, gravure printing will achieve further development.

In recent years, advances in gravure plate making technology have greatly shortened preparation time and enhanced its competitiveness in medium and short-run markets. It is expected that future development of gravure printing will mainly focus on:

full-automatic gravure cylinder electroplating;

application of filmless electronic engraving;

development of photopolymer thin web gravure and wrap-around gravure mounted on cylinders;

digital rapid proofing;

gravure presses moving toward multi-purpose, multi-color, high-speed, automatic, linked and eco-friendly performance;

application of water-based gravure ink and effective control of residual solvent in solvent-based ink.