If Only I Could Learn More...

If you are like me, you get frustrated that you can’t learn as much as you’d like. As I get older, I deal with that part of life that we all (will) deal with …. the memory isn’t what it once was. Now, where was I? Oh yeah

A Study of PLA Printability with Flexography

Most products are boxes, bottles and bags. The printability of biodegradable film has not been fully investigated. This study tested the printability on clear and white Polylactic acid (PLA) films, and compared the print qualities to common packaging films like Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Water-based flexo ink was used to test printability on PLA films. The influence of anilox roll and plate screen ruling was also considered. The print qualities were reported as dot shape, tone reproduction, and mottle. This study showed that biodegradable films could achieve similar quality compared to common packaging films. While printed at different screen rulings, clear PLA showed the highest dot gain and white PLA showed the lowest. All tested films appeared to have similar quality in keeping dot shape. In terms of mottle, white PLA appeared to be the worst among the four tested films

Identifying High-Volume Printing Processes

Printing professionals frequently examine printing to see how pieces were produced. They break out loupes and look at the dots. Is it offset or gravure? How about flexo? It is important to be able to distinguish among printing processes through examination in order to determine the key variables to control for quality printing. Further, expertise is established and confidence built when a professional can determine how something is printed

Color Measurement on Substrates with Optical Brightening Agents

Yellow and blue Pantone colors were printed on a substrate with high Optical Brightening Agent (OBA) levels and then measured under different measurement conditions as outlined in ISO 13655. Both colors exhibited large DEOO shifts with lighter screen tints, as more paper influenced the measurement. The Pantone colors were further analysed after being printed on two different substrates with varying OBAs. While the solids were color-matched to a DEOO of less than 1.0, the tints resulted in DEOO values above 7.0 due to more paper influence in the lighter screen tints

Consumer Perception of Tactile Packaging

A choice-based conjoint study was conducted sampling 400 individuals to determine their preference for Soft Touch and raised tactile coatings, which are sometimes called Hi Rise or profile coatings. Soft Touch coatings have a velvety, warm feel to them, and Hi Rise coatings simulate embossing with a glossy appearance to them. Both are considered tactile coatings, engaging the sense of touch. Demographic profile data, level of agreement about statements related to cosmetic packaging and packaging choice set selections were collected. The conjoint sets contained three attributes: design color, tactile coatings, and price. Design choice was split. Approximately half of the respondents preferred a black design and half preferred a white design. There was no statistically significant difference between the design choices. As anticipated, respondents preferred cheaper prices. Regarding the tactile coatings, respondents preferred the Hi Rise coating to no coating at all and to the Soft Touch coating. However, when including the interaction of price, the Hi Rise coating did not support a 5% price increase. It did show evidence of some price increase, but not 5%. The Soft Touch coating was also preferred over no tactile coating by respondents. It showed a statistical interaction effect with price, possibly because of perceived value. Soft Touch tactile coatings were preferred by respondents over no tactile coating, even at a 5% price increase

Consumer Perception of Tactile Packaging: A Research Study on Preferences of Soft Touch and Hi Rise Coatings in Cosmetic Packaging

A choice-based conjoint study was conducted sampling 400 individuals to determine their preference for Soft Touch and raised tactile coatings, which are sometimes called Hi Rise or profile coatings. Soft Touch coatings have a velvety, warm feel to them, and Hi Rise coatings simulate embossing with a glossy appearance to them. Both are considered tactile coatings, engaging the sense of touch. Demographic profile data, level of agreement about statements related to cosmetic packaging and packaging choice set selections were collected. The conjoint sets contained three attributes: design color, tactile coatings, and price. Design choice was split. Approximately half of the respondents preferred a black design and half preferred a white design. There was no statistically significant difference between the design choices. As anticipated, respondents preferred cheaper prices. Regarding the tactile coatings, respondents preferred the Hi Rise coating to no coating at all and to the Soft Touch coating. However, when including the interaction of price, the Hi Rise coating did not support a 5% price increase. It did show evidence of some price increase, but not 5%. The Soft Touch coating was also preferred over no tactile coating by respondents. It showed a statistical interaction effect with price, possibly because of perceived value. Soft Touch tactile coatings were preferred by respondents over no tactile coating, even at a 5% price increase

Printing transparent grid patterns with conductive silver ink with flexography

The printed electronics market, according to market research firm IDTechEx, is slated to grow from $16.04 billion in 2013 to$76.79 billion in 2023. Printing transparent grids with a known printing process such as flexography is attractive to this market because transparent grids are part of the fast-growing touch screen market (amongst others , and flexography offers a lowcost/high-volume print platform that can handle a variety of substrates, high press speeds, roll-toroll (R2R) printing, and the ability to handle different ink rheologies. However, flexography has print characteristics that can be problematic for printed electronics such as high image (feature) gain and the ability to hold fine images (features) in the (relief) printing plate. This study used a “banded” anilox roll, which has multiple volumes and cell counts separated into bands, conductive nano-silver, water-based ink, and a PET substrate and printed on a commercial flexo narrow- web press. The process parameters studied included types of sticky back, anilox cell count/volume, plate imaging, and plate surface morphology. The printed transparent grid patterns were evaluated for conductivity, which was measured with a Digital Multimeter; and transparency, which was measured with a transmission densitometer. The results of the study showed that when the photopolymer plates were imaged at a resolution of 000dpi and with a “flat top dot” (1:1 file - image) exposure technique, the flexo plate was able to hold a minimum of 6.35 microns line width. The 6.35 microns lines were successfully printed on the press and produced the conductive lines. Types of sticky back and different anilox cell volumes have an impact on measured resistance of the grid pattern. $ high modulus, or “¿rm” sticky back tape with a low screen count/high-volume anilox (800 cpi/2.85bcm) resulted in the lowest (\u3c15 ohms) resistance. In addition, the introduction of plate surface texture during the platemaking lowered resistance. The grid pattern shapes of diamond/square and hexagon yielded the best transmissivity (above 92%). The study proved that commercially available flexographic materials and optimized process parameters could improve the printability and performance of transparent grid patterns with conductive inks

Development of MnO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e cathode inks for flexographically printed rechargeable zinc-based battery

A novel roll-to-roll flexographic printing process for rechargeable zinc-based battery manufacturing was presented in this paper. Based on the fundamental operating mechanism of flexography, key criteria for developing functional flexographic printing inks were established, including composite ink rheology (steady-state viscosity and yield stress), ink wettability as well as ink dispersing qualities. A variety of MnO2 cathode inks were developed and analyzed comprehensively based on these criteria. A novel type of aqueous cathode ink based on PSBR polymeric binder showed excellent flexographic printability as well as promising electrochemical performance

Why Aren\u27t We Leaner in the United States?

Lean manufacturing has certainly been a hot topic lately for flexo printers and converters. It is rare to attend a conference or look through a trade magazine without seeing the subject as a central focus. Lean seems mysterious, almost Zen-like, partly because we use Japanese terms like muda, kanban, and kaizen instead of just using English translations. For many, we are just getting familiar with the concepts of Lean. Waste identification and reduction are certainly primary themes. Just-in-Time, 5S, Small-lot Production, and Setup Reduction are all recognizable Lean components. Some have seen improvements in their costs and efficiency, but others have been frustrated with their ability to sustain improvements. So, it begs the questions: Is Lean just another fad? If not, why don\u27t we see the big improvements sustained over long periods as promised? Is this something that only works in Japan? Just how Lean are we in the United States