The main difference between traditional flexo and digital flexo is that in the process of producing digital flexo, a black laser light sensitive layer is added to the surface of the flexo. The main function of the black film is to replace the film in the traditional flexographic plate making process. The traditional flexographic plate production is to transfer the image data to a phototypesetting machine, and then make a film of the flexographic plate, and the digital flexographic plate making is to place the plate material directly on the flexographic CTP plate making machine, and the image data will be one by one Transferred to the laser, the laser emitted corrodes the black film and makes it volatilize, thereby forming the desired image on the surface of the printing plate. Ningbo XISXI E-commerce Co., Ltd , https://www.xisxipet.com
Then the printing plate is removed from the plate-making machine, and then exposed and developed. Except that the laser-sensitive black film plays a role in blocking UV light, the UV exposure during the production of digital flexo is the same as that of the traditional flexo plate, and the subsequent development is also the same as that of the traditional plate-making. In the VU exposure and development process, the purpose and function of each step are the same, but there are some subtle differences that we need to pay attention to. The first thing to remember is that the dot shape produced by digital flexo is completely different from the dot shape on traditional flexo. Therefore, the dot increase value is also different, and the printing machine also needs to adopt a new process to match.
The contours of digital flexo dots and traditional flexo dots are sharper than those of traditional flexo dots. It is these sharp dots that improve the quality and performance of digital flexo, but the accuracy of the film and imaging technology is eliminated to ensure the consistency of the quality of the printing plate. This is the most important in the process of controlling printing and completing the final print. important. In addition to improving quality, what is more important is that we can control the entire process in the printing shop by digitizing.
What is the appropriate digital flexo technology?
Appropriate digital flexo printing technology requires an outer drum structure and multi-beam laser imaging head, which can accurately and repeatedly make the black film corrode and evaporate. Here can be explained by Creo's ThermoFlex thermal plate making machine, which takes the lead in imaging with multiple beam laser heads and uses laser diodes as the laser light source; these laser heads have different models, according to user needs, the highest Up to 64 laser beams, all flexo CTP suppliers now tend to use multiple laser beam technology.
Why do all flexo CTP suppliers now tend to adopt multi-laser technology? The main reason is that multi-laser beam technology has strong advantages in quality, repeatability, production efficiency and reliability.
In order to obtain high-quality, repeatable images, the ideal imaging system should have perfect mechanical stability. The mechanical stability has a direct relationship with the speed of the imaging drum. In order to obtain the same production efficiency, the more laser beams, the slower the rotation speed of the drum. Therefore, the more laser beams, the better the image quality and repeatability.
Image quality and repeatability are also directly related to the ability of each laser beam to completely remove the photosensitive black film. The main purpose of laser imaging is to ensure complete removal of black film. The equipment providing the Gaussian laser beam has an irregular energy distribution, so the accuracy and consistency of imaging are limited. Creo's thermal plate-making machine uses multiple laser diodes. The technology used can provide continuous energy distribution, so the imaging has high accuracy and consistency.