Types of Printing Explained

Types of Printing Explained


FLEXO INK STAMP PRINTING


  • Flexo-Ink printing is a technique that uses a rubber plate to stamp the image of your logo or artwork on the box or bag. You can ink print on a broad assortment of our in-stock bags & boxes.
  • Simple logos, limited to one or two colors, are recommended with Flexo Printing.
  • Flexo Printing uses a rubber stamp pressed onto the bag's surface or box to apply the Ink.

Flexo Ink Printing Example

 

  • Bounce Factor: Since two-color printing requires each color to be stamped at separate times, a slight bounce factor (or movement allowance) of 1/4 inch may occur between your logo's colors.
  • Ink is not an opaque substance, and you can see through it. If you print Ink over a vibrant or dark color of the box or bag, it will appear different in shade or color. Samples of your Ink will require approval before production begins.

FOIL HOT STAMP PRINTING

Foil Hot Stamp Printing

Foil Hot Stamp Printing is a method that uses color foils with heated metal plates to stamp, which seals the image of your logo onto the packaging.

  • Foils are solid and opaque, which means that, unlike Ink, you can't see through them. Foil printing offers more vibrant and crisp colors, especially when printing on color base boxes or bags.
  • Foil Hot Stamp Printing uses a heated metal plate to stamp the foil against the packaging.
  • Both glossy and matte laminated surfaces can be Foil Hot Stamped easily.

Hot Stamping on Packaging Example


 

  • Only one or two colors can be printed with this method, and each color needs its own metal plate and prints separately.
  • Foil printing can possibly overlap if you have a second color. The overlap needs to be minimal so that the foil does not cause damage or flaking while printing the second color on top of the first color.
  • Bounce Factor: Since two-color printing requires each color to be stamped at separate times, a slight bounce factor (or movement allowance) of 1/4 inch may occur between your logo's colors.

SCREEN PRINTING

Screen Printing

Screen Printing is an Ink based printing application where your logo design is applied using a film onto a fine mesh screen pushing the Ink through which transfers the image to the surface of the product.

  • Screen Printing provides a tighter registration, which means it has a more precise and crisp print than Flexo Ink Printing.

  • It is often used on fabric, such as T-Shirt printing. For packaging, it is used on canvas and non-woven bags, paperboard boxes, and paper bags. 
  • Up to three colors can be Screen Printed since this is more of a precise method and has less movement when printing. Each color is printed separately and requires it's own Screen.

Screen Printng on Packaging Example


  • Ink is not an opaque substance, and you can see through it. If you print Ink over a vibrant or dark color of box or bag, the Ink will appear different in shade or color. Samples of your Ink will require approval before production begins.
  • Bounce Factor: Since two or three-color printing requires each color to be printed at separate times, a slight bounce factor (or movement allowance) of 1/4 inch may occur between the colors of your logo.

DIGITAL PRINTING

Digital Printing

Digital Transfer Printing (aka Digital Printing) uses a heat transfer technique where the image is printed on a heated material and then pressed onto the product. Digital printing uses 4 Color Process (CMYK), allowing for printed photographs or full-color images.

This method of printing gives the tightest registration of printing on a surface. The individual ink dots that make up your image are extremely close together and "tight," which makes the colors and edges of your image or logo appear more crisp and tight than Flexo Ink Printing.


Canvas, Non-Woven, Cotton, PET Plastic, and Paper Boxes and Bags can be printed using Digital Printing.
Items on our site that can be printed by this method are limited to the manufacturers that offer it.


Four-Color Process Digital Printing Mixes all of the colors together based on the colors: CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black), similar to a laser printer. Exact PMS spot colors can not be matched with Digital /4 Color Process Printing.


Ink is not opaque, which means colors will naturally change when printed on various substrates and colored backgrounds.  This is especially noticeable when printing a light ink color on a darker surface.


Digital Printing on Packaging Example