Solutions to Problems with Printed Packaging Materials

How to Solve Problems with Printed Packaging Materials

To solve a problem in printing, you must first have a clear understanding of it: what the problem looks like and how it differs from other problems; second, you should understand what causes it and how those causes relate to one another. (For example, which is the main cause and which is the secondary cause, and whether they are independent or related.)

The problems described below all share one thing in common: they are problems that can be observed with the naked eye or with the aid of a microscope.

Generally, problems fall into two categories: errors at the edges of the image and errors in the image area. Errors at the image edges mean that the edges of the image do not match the original; errors in the image area refer to problems on the surface of the image. (Note: the problems that arise in screen printing are not limited to these two categories. Registering and aligning the image, adjusting the ink volume and post-press finishing all affect print quality.) Generally, four characteristics can be used to identify, compare and classify image problems, as follows: Position, which refers to where the problem occurs in a continuous run of printed products relative to the whole image. If the position is shown as "same", then the problem always occurs in the same place.

Other possible cases are "various position" (different positions) or outside the printing area, or close to (not exactly) the same position. Direction, which refers to the orientation of the problem relative to the printing variables. For example, when the angle between the image and the mesh line is 1°-10° or 80°-89°, the sawtooth edge phenomenon is most pronounced. Direction also refers to squeegee scratches, squeegee length and the direction of the image edge. Size, which refers to the size of the image in which the problem appears relative to a qualified printed product. For example: scuffing makes the image larger, while edge loss makes it smaller. When the image varies irregularly from print to print, "random" can be entered in the table.

Frequency, which refers to how often the problem occurs on printed products. Some problems are always present, such as ghosting; some occur only occasionally, such as ink lines; and some appear continuously over several printed products and then disappear, in which case "both" can be entered in the table. These four characteristics explain why it is better to solve a fault during printing than afterwards. Unfortunately, if printers do not understand the differences between defects, it is very difficult to identify the problem and solve it. Besides the above four characteristics, every fault has one or more features that make it easy to recognize

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-369990.html