Flexo printing has become the fastest growing and most promising printing process in the printing industry today, and it has grown rapidly at a rate of nearly 5% per year. Green, environmental protection and non-pollution are becoming the mainstream of printing industry development. With the characteristics of low investment, high efficiency and wide application range, flexo printing has become the preferred printing solution for various packaging products. Flexo Printing Development Overview Flexographic printing is a type of letterpress printing. Originally referred to as flexographic printing, flexographic printing originated in the United States in the early 1920s. Due to its toxic use of aniline dye inks, it has not been developed. Since then, the ink factory began to use acceptable color agents, and was renamed the Flexographic Process at the 14th Packaging Conference in the United States in 1952. In the 1970s, with the advancement of the material industry, especially the advent of polymer resin plates and cermet anilox rollers, the development of flexographic printing has made a qualitative leap. It has become the fastest growing printing method in the world. Especially in the United States, it has been fully developed. Both the printing press manufacturing technology and flexo printing application technology represent the highest level of flexographic printing. Cigarette packs, trademarks and stickers will require more flexo printers Most of the merchandise packages seen in the US domestic market are almost all flexographic products. According to statistics, the current market share of flexographic printing in the United States accounts for 70% of flexible packaging printing, 85% in label printing, 98% in corrugated printing, and 25% in carton printing. It also accounts for 60%, 35%, 85% and 3% respectively in Europe. In the United States, even 20% of newspapers are printed in flexo. These figures are enough to prove the strong vitality of flexographic printing. Flexographic printing is the most promising printing technology for packaging and printing. Although its application in China still lags far behind international developed countries, the application field is also rapidly expanding. The introduction and development of flexographic printing in China began in the 1970s. Now it has been able to manufacture flexographic printing presses and their substrates and various flexible printing inks. In particular, water-based inks and water-based polishes have achieved large-scale production. They can be used to apply monolithic water-based coatings to other types of inks to prevent the volatilization of toxic solvents and to directly contact foods to ensure food safety and hygiene. In the printing process has also accumulated a wealth of experience, has been able to print no less than the traditional process of print, and in Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co., Ltd. and other famous brands in the label printing, to achieve international standards and move closer to the highest international standards. In the past 20 years, the development of China's flexo printing technology has achieved certain achievements. In particular, the introduction of advanced flexographic printing presses has enabled the number of flexographic presses in China to reach 1,000 units, more advanced satellite flexographic presses and many more. The proportion of functional unit flexo presses has also increased significantly. At present, there are more than 10 companies that can provide flexographic printing machines in China, such as Xi'an Black Bull, Shaanxi Beiren, Beiren Fuji, Qingzhou Yigao Hair, Shanghai Ziguang, Shanxi Taihang, Wuxi Baonan, Wenzhou Shenli, Rui'an Yuehua, Rui An Donghai, Guangdong Samsung, Xianyang Hefeng and others. From the quality point of view, the printed products made by domestic flexographic printing presses have been tested and evaluated, especially after the evaluation by users, and they have been able to fully meet the requirements of general packaging and printing, which is equivalent to the medium and high level of imported flexographic equipment in general. However, from the price point of view, the domestic six-color unit type flexo press has obvious price competitive advantage. According to statistics, at present, domestic use of flexo printing accounted for 30% of the cigarette pack industry; 15% for all types of trademark labels; 35% for stickers; 20% for other types of printing. Flexographic Technology Advantage Flexo printing has many unique advantages and has been rapidly developed in various countries in recent years. With the birth and development of various new technologies, new materials and new equipment, the application range of flexo printing has also increased. Especially in the packaging field shows its unique advantages. From the point of view of printing quality and application fields, flexographic and gravure have more similarities. Here we compare the use of CI flexo and gravure: Comparison of CI Flexo and Gravure (Sheet Courtesy: CS PlastMach) It can be seen that flexo printing has unique advantages in terms of environmental protection and low cost. As people attach importance to environmental protection, continuous improvement of flexographic technology and new market demand growth, especially due to the efforts of people engaged in flexographic printing, the current level of flexographic products has further increased, making the scope of flexographic printing applications have been rapidly expanded. . (to be continued)