Flexible Packaging
between blister and trapped blister is that the former has the blister or bubble protruding out of the card but most of the plastic is sandwiched between an outer and a backing layer of cardboard. Folding carton often plays a key role in
toy packing; its a versatile choice and can be made from virgin and/or recycled material and doesn’t even need to look like a box in the conventional sense. An example: already cited is the box designed to look like a wardrobe for the dress up rabbit and teddy. Carton can be shaped into a number of geometrical configurations including pyramids and circles. It can be printed using a variety of print processes and used in conjunction with other materials; it can be extrusion coated or laminated; die-cut, creased; glued or interlocked. Some grades can be embossed or foil blocked and can form one of the foundation components of a hybrid paper/board/laminate/blister structure. Technological advances in flexography
have extended process possibilities. Once faced with coarse screens, designers did not have much room to manoeuvre, but that has all changed. Flexography and particularly UV flexo can create cartons and other paperboard items with the wow factor. Improved plate technology allows for smaller well-defined dots, smaller
vignettes and sharper definition. Producing a product efficiently and cost effectively is essential. Inline flexo presses reduce most carton production to a single pass proposition with output quality that compares favourably with offset. Hybridisation, incorporating digital and other processes enhances processing possibilities still further. In setting out and implementing a
design one must never loose sight of the fact that there is a great deal of difference between a design that looks good and one that also prints well. A good design is one that can be printed at high speed and for which acceptable colour saturation can be achieved and maintained across the entire tonal range. The flexographic optimised design should allow for proper traps, colour balance and screening of final proof. Designs that don’t take into account the process being employed don’t necessarily spell disaster but they certainly slow down output and contribute to press downtime, high levels of waste and possible missed deadlines. Pre-press colour communication devices such as the FlexiProof help identity or highlight areas of potential problems or process inconsistencies and are helpful in ensuring both commercial and product viability. The FlexiProof 100 and variants FlexiProof UV and LED UV can be used for colour
matching, determining printability, for instance: gloss, durability, rub and chemical resistance, etc., and for trialling of unfamiliar or new materials. A FlexiProof can in many circumstances be employed in place of a production press for assessing ink/substrate interaction and for deciding whether a design will or will not work with regards to the customers proposal. Other devices, suitable for print
processes such as gravure are also available. The GP100 produces high quality proofs and is designed for press viscosity gravure inks. Gravure is sometimes employed for the
packaging of high value prestige collectibles for adults. Items include collectible dolls, model railways and toy soldiers. The pack often used in situ as a display is regarded as being as valuable as the packaged item. Consumers are advised not to throw the tin, container, perspex or die cut box away as in the past its been shown to affect the value of the product when sold on. The GP100 incorporates a
microprocessor controlled servo drive and employs the same electronically engraved printing plates that are used to great effect on another RK Print Coat Instruments device, the K Printing Proofer.
rkprint.com
convertermag.com
March 2019
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