Development of Label Printing

Since the invention of adhesive materials by Americans in the 1930s, the industrial and military needs have increased the market demand for such composites, and the scope of adhesive labels has also developed extremely rapidly. Label printing belongs to special printing in the printing industry. In recent years, with the development of new materials, new technologies and new equipment, this type of printing has developed into an independent printing method. At present, it is very common for processors who are specialized in printing and processing adhesive labels in China. This article introduces the status quo and latest development of domestic adhesive label printing for reference in the domestic industry.
First, the basic situation of adhesive label printing in the world According to the reports of professional magazines at home and abroad, as well as participation in foreign label printing exhibitions and foreign participation in label printing training, we understand that the world is currently divided into self-adhesive label printing three conditions:
1. The flexo-based printing method in North America, represented by the United States and Canada, is typical of the use of flexographic printing stickers. The equipment is a unit-type printing unit, mainly based on water-based ink, using circular pressure die cutting. The material processing method is web printing and web take-up.
2. Approximately 50% of the printing speeds of the tabular and flexo plates are represented by Europeans. The case of flexographic printing labels is the same as that of North America, but the abbreviated edition printing occupies a considerable proportion. The use of UV inks is all used in the process of printing, and the devices are mostly stacked or satellite. The material processing method is the same as web printing and web take-up.
3. The printing method mainly based on the printing plate is represented by the Asia-Pacific region. Most of the developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region are relatively backward in label printing. There are only a few equipments that use UV inks in the process of printing, and most of the labeling equipment still uses traditional resin inks. The material processing methods are web, sheet cutting, and web take-up. In addition, sheetfed offset printing labels are also characteristic of the region. In the die-cutting mode, it is basically flat die-cut die cutting.
Second, the basic situation of China's self-adhesive label printing China's label printing of dry goods began in the late 1970s, the main technology, processes, materials are from Japan. With the coastal cities of Tianjin and Guangzhou, the new technology will be absorbed and promoted to the whole country.
After 20 years of hard work, self-adhesive printing has achieved great development in China. From the manufacture of raw materials, the introduction of printing processing technology and equipment, localization and production capacity have a certain scale, Table 1-3 gives an overview of the situation.
Table 1 Basic Conditions of Self-adhesive Materials Market share of enterprise nature % Price Remarks Foreign-funded enterprises 30-35 High-quality and good-service state-owned enterprises 10 Medium-quality unstable townships and individual enterprises 50 Low quality and poor quality Others 2-5 Low imports The quality of garbled paper is not guaranteed. Table 2 The adhesive printing process The printing method The material form ratio % Remarks Ordinary offset printing sheet 30 The Chinese characteristic label printing method Ordinary printing web 50 The VIP and the simple label
UV Print Roll 10 Printing High-grade Color Label Other Reels or Sheets 10 Screen Printing, Flexographic Printing, Die-cutting White Label Table 3 Stickers Printing Equipment Equipment Type Imprinting Ratio % Remarks Sheet-fed Offset Roller 30 is only suitable for manual labeling. Web-Symbol Printing Satellite-type round-pressed circle 5 Printing Medium-to-high-end label Cascade round-pressed circle 1 Very few rounds Flattened 7 Quantity Stepping down Flattening 45 Mainly based on VIP labels The number of web presses for web-based flexo printing presses has gradually increased. 10 Other Product Types Uncertainty The basic situation of domestic label printing can be understood from the above three tables. In recent years, as some foreign label printing plants have entered China, new equipment, new processes, and new technologies have also entered the printing industry. Nowadays, ordinary high-grade labels can be processed in China, and the quality is basically the same as that of foreign samples. The label printed between China and abroad has now been converted into domestic processing. This is one of the main reasons for the rapid development of domestic label printing.
Third, the latest developments in adhesive label printing According to the information from the world's three major label printing exhibitions (Chicago, Europe, Belgium, and Asia, Singapore) and the results of foreign inspections in recent years, we believe that the label printing is as follows: There are several aspects of rapid development.
1. Flexographic printing is the most ideal way for future label printing. Some 80% of developed countries abroad have developed flexo printing labels. As the crew can flexibly combine the machine, in the case of complete spare parts, can print all types of labels, including short live and special labels. Therefore, the flexographic printing method is the development direction of the high-end labels printed by the adhesive industry in the future.
2. UV Flexibility Rapidly Replaces Trend UV Printing Trend Label Printing is characterized by its vivid colors. Since the color of UV ink can be similar to that of UV ink, the flexographic printing is much simpler than the sudden printing, so the foreign printing Plants use UV flexo instead of UV shutters to reduce costs.
3. Combination printing will have rapid development. A printing press can be arbitrarily combined into several different printing processing methods to meet the requirements of different customers. This is the most advanced label processing equipment we have seen at foreign exhibitions. In our daily work, it is often encountered that a label must be printed and processed on several machines. This wastes a lot of manpower and material resources. The combination printing machine can solve such process and equipment problems.
4. New materials, new processes will be widely used Materials, processes, and equipment are also three major elements of the label printing industry. The new material adopts a new process and can be processed on a combination printing machine to produce various types of new label products. Multi-layer labels for the pharmaceutical industry, double-sided labels for the cosmetics industry, and in-mold labels on oil drums are manufactured using new materials and new processes.
The label printing industry is a fast growing industry in the printing industry. Since label machines are linked machines, that is, one country is a raw material entry and the other end is a finished label product, the economic effect is high, and no other equipment is required. . At present, with the prosperity of the market and improvement of the packaging and decoration of goods, the label industry is in a period of rising. I believe that China's self-adhesive label printing will have great development in recent years.