Whether gravure or flexo printing is used in packaging printing - how to find the balance of costs

(Base for rotogravure-Gravure and flexo in package printing, wher is the real cost balance?) Many people in recent years have said that the advantages of flexographic printing have led to a rapid increase in packaging and printing production. Magazine articles, symposiums, and international trade fairs have all raised issues related to flexo printing. In people's minds, flexo printing is cheaper than gravure printing, such as cheaper flexo presses, less labor requirements and quick job changes, and the ability to quickly and efficiently shorten the delivery time for customers. Ask for a response. The actual cost of flexo printing need not be questioned. Flexo printing is known for its high quality and high speed in the flexible packaging field. However, there is still a lot of debate about whether to use flexo or gravure printing. We cannot use the phrase flexo printing to provide the latest technology at the lowest price. In fact, the quality of flexographic printing is at best the same as that of gravure (and the cost is higher). Therefore, it is very important to analyze the cost-effectiveness of flexo printing. Let us use a fair point of view to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of these two printing processes. In fact, some machines are designed with a flexographic printing unit and a gravure printing unit so as to have the advantages of two printing modes. But the best quality of flexographic printing cannot be compared with the quality provided by the best intaglio printing. This basic fact cannot be changed within a foreseeable time. Achieving consistent quality is the main difference between flexo and gravure. Printing process cost analysis The cost structure of any package printing, apart from the cost of the packaging material itself, consists of the following three factors: Cost per hour for machine operation; Cost of copy-for-imprint printing; Image carrier cost (flexo printing plate or sleeve/ Gravure printing roller). The operating cost per hour of the machine includes many elements. The factors involved in the flexo and gravure printing are similar, such as energy supply, floor space needed, pre-press preparation, machine maintenance, and administrative expenses. These elements are This is an uncertainty. The other major cost of the hourly machine cost is depreciation, which is based on the cost of the machine and the labor cost. Depreciation is a great cost element. Flexographic equipment is cheaper than gravure equipment is a common assumption error. An analysis of prices by a company that produces both types of presses and hybrid presses shows that the gravure press is 30% cheaper than comparable flexo presses. And it's true whether it's standard or advanced. Flexo and gravure printing machines are generally the same in the operator's equipment and requirements, requiring two operators to open a machine. Since it is known that the cost of a flexographic printing press is higher than that of a gravure printing press, and the staffing and requirements are the same, it can be seen that the flexographic printing press has a high cost per hour for the machine. To take a step back, first assume that the cost per unit of time for both devices is the same, and we will also be surprised by the conclusions reached. The copying cost includes the output of continuous sun-imposing and proofing (flexo printing compensates for dot gain), and flexo and gravure all require about USD 198 per color. In most cases, an eight-color flexo job can be obtained by seven-color gravure printing because the latter has the ability to print high quality screens and hues with a common cylinder. To take a step back, let us once again ignore the benefits of gravure, assuming that both printing methods use the same number of ink colors for printing. Based on this many assumptions, we conclude that the cost difference between the flexographic plate and the gravure cylinder determines the monochromatic cost of the two printing methods. Before discussing the details of the cost of the image carrier, let's take a look at the performance of the printing press. Printing Performance Every packaging and printing plant has its own operating procedures and organizational structure, so the cost of each process is discussed. But we can see: Any center-printing type flexographic printing press, even if it is fully automatic or equipped with powerful components, it will take more time and effort than the gravure printing press in changing jobs. A ten-color flexo press usually requires two and a half to three hours for a job, while a ten-color gravure press takes only one and a half hours. The gravure press is a simple mechanical press consisting of four basic printing units: Engraving cylinder ink fountain squeegee impression cylinder These simple constructions bring a high level of copyability and greatly reduce the need for replacement work. Time, faster printing, even high efficiency when printing short runs. Now, on-line processing operations, such as cold-press sealing, have become a routine need. When printing with a flexographic printing press, it usually requires careful control, so the running speed is very low. Experience in some printing plants in Europe and the United States is that a typical eight-color gravure printing can be completed in eight hours, while a flexo printing machine needs ten hours for printing because of the long replacement time and the slow printing speed. Therefore, even if the poor quality of the flexo product, quality instability, and high waste are not taken into consideration, the cost of the machine per hour is USD 450, and the additional two hours of work in the eight-color print job requires an additional USD 112 per color. In addition to ink, we must also consider the cost of the ink. The cost of ink in flexo printing is higher because of the more concentrated use. However, the new superbase gravure ink significantly reduces the demand for ink. The initial results showed a 25% reduction in the use of inks and solvents. The design of the ink system has been improved. Some gravure ink systems require only 7 liters of ink for circulation, while flexographic printers require 15-20 liters of ink. Therefore, the management of ink costs is greatly reduced, especially in the case of short-lived. Flexographic Plate Costs and Reuse Some European printers and print buyers analyzed the cost of flexographic printing plates in accordance with international practice, indicating that the cost of printing for each color is at USD 198, the total cost (including printing plates) The cost is USD 340 per color, that is, the cost per printing plate is USD 145. But what is the reuse of printing plates? Cleaning and removing the flexographic plates is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process with high labor intensity. Stored plates may be deformed, hardened, and embrittled and have a limited lifetime. Plates that contain a large number of continuous lines in their design cannot be preserved because the connections of the lines are easily damaged when the plates are being transported. In terms of experience, 50% of printing plates can be reused, so the reprintable printing plate cost can reduce the cost from USD 145 to USD 70 per color. Thin-walled flexo sleeves For companies with a large number of short-lived prints, thin-walled sleeves mounted on the shaft back allow the plates to be reused. The plate is placed on the sleeve for reuse. The average cost of a thin-walled sleeve is USD 125, and in each design a sleeve is required for each color, which extends the lead time by at least two weeks. Installation of a flexographic plate mounting plate requires a lot of skill. Experienced operators typically take 20 minutes to prepare the platen and install the plates. The eight-color process takes a total of 2 hours and 40 minutes to complete. In comparison, the eight-color gravure printing machine only takes 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete the prepress preparation. Some image carriers in flexographic printing can be imaged directly on the cylinder, shortening the time difference from gravure. Therefore, the advantages of gravure printing costs are not included in the analysis report. It should also be noted that the cost of each flexographic mounting tape is USD 11.50 per color, which is an important consumable; the cost of each anilox roller is above USD 4050. The replacement time of the anilox roller includes the time when the flexo machine is changed and cleaned, and it can be assumed that the replacement cost is equal to the main cost of the gravure. The cost of the gravure cylinder and the average cost of the gravure cylinder (in Europe) is USD 567 per color, and flexo is USD 198 per color. Therefore, the cost of preparation and engraving of the drum is approximately USD 369 per color. However, a gravure cylinder can reach 5 million rotations. According to the short-lived experience, eight rollers need to be remanufactured after printing, which means that the cost of remanufacturing the roller per print is USD 46 per color. The true cost per color Table 1: Comparing the true cost per color Flexo printing costs Photocolumn cost per color printing 220 Per color printing 220 printing plates 160 Plating or engraving drum 410 per color printing plate 380 Per color roller 630 Reusing printing plate costs (50%) 80 Remake (above 1/8) 52 Installation 13 Extra time cost 125 Printing cost (average) 218 ​​Printing cost (average) 52 The true cost per color for flexo and gravure shown in Table 1 is Differently, machine hourly expenses are ignored (though they are high in flexo). Table 2: Comparison of the cost of a print-and-live six-time printing number of times flexo cumulative cost/cumulative per-gravity cumulative cost per phase/per color 1 518 518 630 630 (-112)2 218 736 52 682 543 218 954 52 734 2204 218 1172 52 786 3865 218 1390 52 838 5526 218 1608 52 890 718 In Table 2 a comparison is made of the average cost of prints for an eight-color print using different patterns of six prints. We see the disadvantages of gravure in the use of average cost, but we also see that it does not need to remanufacture the roller. However, despite this, we still see gravities scoring first. In the first printing competition, we saw a total of 518 flexographic printing costs per color, and a gravure of 630, with a difference of 112 in each color, and flexo printing dominated. In the second printing competition, gravure printing dominated, with a cost difference of 54 per color. After six printings, the gravure is in a favorable situation. The cost per color is 718, which is roughly equal to 6000 for each print job. As a result, more and more prints are printed by economic gravure printing, the choice of printing process.