Complete Corrugated Box Printing Equipment Lines Trace a Long History of Development

[ppzhan abstract]

In 2002, the total size of the global packaging industry was US$417 billion, rising to US$563.8 billion in 2009, a compound annual growth rate of 4.4%. Within this, the paper packaging market stood at US$152 billion in 2002, accounting for 36%; broken down further, corrugated boxes accounted for US$80 billion, more than half of the paper packaging market. In 2009, the paper packaging market grew to US$216 billion, with its share rising to 38%. Corrugated boxes have developed into one of the most widely used packaging products in the packaging industry.

Corrugated boxes have a long history of development. Corrugated paper was recorded in the UK as early as 1856; over the course of 150 years, it has become one of the main materials for making packaging containers, remaining in lasting use and growing rapidly to this day. China's corrugated box packaging got off to a relatively late start: corrugated packaging technology was introduced into China in 1920, and in 1954 the Ministry of Commerce issued a document promoting its use nationwide; thereafter it gradually developed into a complete and rational industrial system.

Overview of the development of the corrugated box printing equipment industry; the global packaging industry is growing steadily. According to statistics from the World Packaging Organization (WorldPackagingOrganization), in 2002 the total size of the global packaging industry was US$417 billion, rising to US$563.8 billion in 2009, a compound annual growth rate of 4.4%. Within this, the paper packaging market stood at US$152 billion in 2002, accounting for 36%; broken down further, corrugated boxes accounted for US$80 billion, more than half of the paper packaging market. In 2009, the paper packaging market grew to US$216 billion, with its share rising to 38%. Corrugated boxes have developed into one of the most widely used packaging products in the packaging industry.

China's packaging industry has developed rapidly. Up to 2009, the total output value of China's packaging industry sustained rapid development at an average annual growth rate of over 18%. Among the 42 major industries in China's national economy, the packaging industry jumped from 41st place in the early 1980s to 14th place. Within it, the corrugated box packaging industry maintained a relatively fast growth rate.

Complete sets of corrugated box printing equipment have developed alongside the corrugated box packaging industry. They evolved from early letterpress (relief) printing, offset printing (planographic), and water-washable rubber-plate printing to today's flexographic water-based ink printing. Flexographic water-based ink printing presses have been used for corrugated paper printing abroad for quite a long time; in China, because the corrugated box packaging industry started relatively late, complete sets of corrugated box printing equipment have only about 20 years of application history in the country.

After evolving into water-based inline paper-feeding printing, slotting, die-cutting and folder-gluing production lines, complete sets of corrugated box printing equipment are mainly characterized by high machine speed, automatic or semi-automatic paper feeding, direct printing on the surface of corrugated board, fast-drying water-based inks, and one to six colors printed in a single pass, which improves production efficiency. They also link multiple processes—printing, slitting, creasing, box gluing and so on—completing them in a single pass, reducing labor and labor intensity. With water-based inks, the ink rollers can be cleaned with tap water, making the process convenient and pollution-free. This represented a leap in the development of carton printing technology.

After developing into the current new generation of water-based inline paper-feeding slotting, printing, die-cutting and folder-gluing production lines, corrugated box printing equipment now uses fully automatic computer-controlled high-speed multi-color printing, slotting and die-cutting machines and giant ultra-large fully automatic platen die-cutting machines. The bottom-printing machine adopts computer control, leading-edge paper feeding, and vacuum-assist printing transfer; a rubber roller and dual-doctor-blade compatible ink doctor system; a precision linear guide cross-slide system in the slotting section; and the die-cutting section uses constant displacement with automatic speed-difference compensation to ensure consistent line speed. Keyless connections are used throughout the drive and conveying linkages for long-term transmission accuracy.

— This article is reposted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362111.html