Printed Packaging
Interesting facts on packaging print
We will gladly produce customised packaging for you as well. For packaging from the DiscMail and DiscBox product series, we can do that as of 1,000 pieces – printed effectively for advertising to your desired templates, refined and made from your selected material. We can also develop wholly new packaging for you, preferably out of cardboard and corrugated cardboard; however, we are also a competent partner for plastic packaging. For more on customised packaging, click the following link...
Bespoke Packaging: Tailor Made Packaging
Print specifications for packaging print
Common print procedures for the packaging area are offset print and flexo print. Digital print also becomes more and more important.
Offset printing
Offset printing is suitable for high-quality prints. Screen widths of 70 lines/cm and finer are no problem in packaging printing as well. Due to the relatively cost-efficient print types, offset printing is also suitable for smaller batches as of 1,000 pieces. The printed materials that can be used for offset printing are also highly diverse: all cardboard and card box types (fine corrugated cardboard), all paper types (from art print to office paper), metallised paper, foils and even tin plate. Using corrugated cardboard for offset printing usually means a flat cardboard sheet that is then laminated to single face corrugated layer. This results in a single wall corrugated cardboard sheet that is ready for die-cut processing.
Four-colour offset printing uses the euroscale colours CMYK: cyan, magenta, yellow, black.
Accordingly, offset print forms in the colour separations CMYK are required. The screen has a width of 70 lines/cm (or finer). The screen point form is preferably ellipsoid. The screen angles are: black (K) = 45°, magenta (M) = 75°, yellow (Y) = 90°, cyan (C) = 105°. The tone value range can be from 10% to 90 %.
Print data is now preferably received as an Acrobat PDF. Of course, they must be set up in a printable resolution. Fonts must be embedded. A printing-compliant proof is required for the printer to know according to which template the colour can be aligned. Remember that the only suitable binding master copy is the offset proof on original material. The proofs named are common in practice; they can simulate offset print. Normal ink-jet or colour laser printer colour prints are unsuitable as master copy.
To tell your graphics designer or advertising agency how to set up the layout, you will
receive a line drawing as indicated above to prepare your order. If shows the packaging
in the unfolded condition from the printed side (= outside, unwound piece cut to size).
If motives reach the edge (crossing brim) 2-3 mm additional cutting allowance must be
added. This prevents ugly white "streakers" that may occur due to differences of the
punching position. Punching fitter differences may be +/- 0.1 mm.
When printing special colours – also called decorative colours – you will require clear information on the desired colour tone. This can be ensured using individual colour samples that are used as mixing templates by the printer. So-called colour charts like the HKS colour chart or the PANTONE colour chart and, more rarely, the RAL colour chart, are more commonly used. In those cases, indicating the colour's number is enough for your printer to know precisely which colour is to be used. Please observe: Always differentiate between colours for coated and uncoated paper!
Flexo printing (relief printing)
Flexo printing is a relief printing procedure that is very common in corrugated cardboard printing. Relief printing means that only the image parts in relief are coloured. Flexo printing is special for its flexible print template using rubber materials. Basically, every office stamp is a very simple flexo printing device.
Flexo printing has many advantages: it is capable of using water-soluble colours. Inline print is possible, which means printing and punching is performed in a single machine run. No high press-on forces are required; therefore, corrugated cardboard can be printed directly as well. This makes flexo printing the most cost-efficient printing method for corrugated cardboard print.
The disadvantages: flexo printing templates (= clichés ) are expensive. Small batches are out of the question. Minimum quantities are about 5,000 pieces. Register accuracy cannot be measured by offset print standards; in multi-colour print, a register difference of +/- 0.5 mm should be considered. At least in corrugated cardboard direct print, screen widths finer than 24 lines/cm are difficult to implement. Therefore, flexo printing is better suitable for printing numbers, text and line logos.
Screen prints must have screen widths up to 24 lines/cm. The tonal value scope ranges from 20% to 75%.
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