Three Key Areas for Controlling Corrugated Box Costs

Competition in the domestic corrugated carton market is becoming increasingly fierce, and product price is the main competitive tool. How to seek greater profits within a narrow profit margin, and how carton companies can reasonably reduce production costs, have become the key issue.

Reducing corrugated carton production costs

spontaneous activities have already been widely carried out. In fact, as long as some minor details in the production process are addressed, corrugated carton costs can be effectively reduced.

How to keep the color consistent and the plate position accurate in water-based ink printing on corrugated board, thereby reducing the reject rate, is a topic of common concern among carton companies. The causes of inconsistent printing color depth and

are mainly poor control of water-based ink viscosity; unstable ink transfer; unstable paper feeding; and poor flatness of the board. To keep the color consistent and the plate position accurate in water-based ink printing on corrugated board, the following points must be achieved:

Keep the ink viscosity stable. Ink viscosity is a major indicator that needs to be controlled in corrugated board printing, and it is one of the main factors affecting printing color. Because the solvent in the water-based ink volatilizes during printing, its viscosity will rise; to keep the ink viscosity stable, every

hours, add ink stabilizer once, in an amount of

Keep the ink transfer volume stable. Because printing speed affects the ink transfer state, the printing speed must be kept even and stable, and must not fluctuate. Paper feeding must also be kept even, with no skip-feed occurring. Only in this way can it play an important role in the stability of water-based ink printing color;

Keep the paper feeding state stable. In addition to stable press operating speed, the drop point of manual paper feeding must be fixed. Boards with poor flatness must be properly handled, such as folding back along one side (or both sides) of the transverse crease line; pressing and feeding by hand; etc. The gaps of each paper guide must be consistent; this is an important link in keeping the board running stably, and is also an important method for solving

this phenomenon;

The printing equipment must be kept in good condition. It must be emphasized that the anilox roller and printing plate must be kept clean, which directly affects the printing result. The anilox roller affects ink transfer performance, and the printing plate affects the clarity of printed text and patterns.

As carton printing processes become increasingly diverse and processing speeds continue to rise, the problems exposed in the die-cutting process are growing. Reasonably controlling the generation of waste in the die-cutting process has become

Reducing corrugated carton production costs

is another important link in this.

Addressing insufficient die-cutting precision or an inaccurate die-cutting crease position

The die-cutting crease line position does not match the position of the printed product. The causes of this fault are as follows:

The die-cutting plate itself has errors in its manufacturing process and cannot absolutely achieve the ideal die-cutting crease position. At present, there are mainly two methods of making die-cutting plates: manual plate making and laser plate making. Laser plate making offers relatively high precision, with design and cutting completed by computer and machinery, and is suitable for die-cutting medium- and high-grade packaging. Manual plate making demands a high technical level from the plate maker, and the plate-making machine is affected by various factors such as the plate maker's technical level and experience, so it is suitable for short- and medium-run packaging with low precision requirements. Therefore, to obtain good die-cutting precision, advanced plate-making methods must be selected;

Inconsistent gripper margins on the board. All die-cutting machines themselves produce precision errors; to improve die-cutting crease precision, we must choose a high-precision die-cutting machine. If the gripper margin specification error of the board is large, it may be that the rear register (also called the secondary register) of the die-cutting machine has too small a shift distance, which can be solved by adjusting the rear register and increasing its shift distance;

The die-cutting crease and the printing position are not aligned. The solution is to recalibrate the die-cutting plate according to product requirements

to align the printing and die-cutting crease positions. In addition,

correction can also be done by adjusting the sheet feed side register or the front register

so that the die-cutting crease and the printing position are in register.

Different working environments for die-cutting creasing and printing will cause deformation or stretching of the board fibers, which can also make die-cutting creasing inaccurate. The working environment for die-cutting creasing should be kept as identical as possible (that is, the same temperature, humidity, etc.).

Unclear crease lines

refers to crease lines that should not be there;

refers to the die-cutting crease pressure being too high, exceeding the tolerance limit of the board fibers, causing the board fibers to break or partially break. The causes of this fault are as follows:

Improper selection of the crease line and creasing matrix

When die-cutting corrugated board, the groove depth of the creasing matrix

the board thickness when the corrugated board is compressed; the groove width of the creasing matrix

times the board thickness of the corrugated board

the thickness of the crease line; the height of the crease line

the board thickness when the corrugated board is compressed.

Improper pressure adjustment of the die press. The pressure regulating mechanism of the die-cutting machine should be adjusted, and the pressure of the die-cutting machine should be appropriately adjusted; the thickness of the paper pasted on the fixed backing plate is inaccurate. This is caused by the padding paper being too thin or too thick, and the adjustment method is to re-pad the paper; the paper quality is too poor or the paper's moisture content is too low. Increased brittleness and reduced toughness of the paper can also produce cracking lines, which can be solved by increasing the ambient temperature.

Solving irregular crease lines

The causes of this fault are: improper selection of the creasing matrix groove width. The groove width of the creasing matrix can be re-selected according to the method above; the slit on the die-cutting plate is too wide, so the crease line twists under the pressure of die-cutting creasing. The solution is to replace the cutting plate and use a qualified die-cutting creasing plate.

Solving cracking at the board crease when folding and gluing cartons

When folding and gluing cartons, if the outer side of the board crease line cracks, it is caused by the crease line being too deep or the creasing matrix being not wide enough; if the inner side of the board cracks, it is because the die-cutting crease pressure is too high, causing the paper fibers to break. The solution is to appropriately reduce the pressure of the die-cutting machine, switch to a crease line of slightly lower height, or widen the crease line according to the board thickness.

Solving the problem of scattering in die-cutting

Scattering during die-cutting is mainly related to the plate-making process and the ejector rubber strips (or sponge). The causes of this fault are as follows:

Small and few connecting points in die-cutting. If the job has a complex shape or many jobs are arranged together, and the die-cutting connecting points are small and few, scattering is very likely to occur during die-cutting. The number of connecting points should be appropriately increased; in addition, when making the plate, the length direction of the printed product should be kept consistent with the paper transport direction as far as possible;

The paper-release sponge strips pasted on the die-cutting plate are of low hardness. If the sponge is too soft, it cannot make the paper separate smoothly from the die-cutting blade or crease line, thus causing scattering. It should be replaced with high-quality sponge strips of greater hardness and good elasticity.

With the development of packaging printing technology, commodity packaging that is bright in color, elegant in design, with clear and smooth lines, free of cracking lines, free of color burst, free of fuzz, and free of paper dust, will be favored more by users.

Reducing corrugated carton production costs

In this, it is also very important for the storage of finished cartons to achieve a good moisture-proof effect; besides using some pulp improvers and additives, other factors should also be noted. During warehousing, how to solve the moisture-proof problem of cartons:

Boards that have just come off the production line should be blown with air promptly along the corrugating direction to dissipate heat, so that they cool and set;

When stacking corrugated boards, they should be stacked face-up and face-down alternately (each side

sheets is suitable), the height should be appropriate, and a certain pressure must be applied at the top so that the corrugated board stays flat and does not deform;

The storage warehouse should be on high ground, with smooth drainage on all sides and good ventilation to facilitate air convection;

When stacking in an open shed or in the open air, plastic film must be covered over it, sleepers must be laid underneath, and the height above the ground must be greater than

value="150" unitname="mm">

, the tarpaulin should be well covered, and rainwater must be strictly prevented from soaking it;

Sitting or lying on corrugated board, or placing heavier objects on it, is strictly prohibited to prevent the corrugated flutes from collapsing.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-370001.html