Details:
Summary:
Commercial pressure has forced improvements in the reduction of press down time, due to cleaning of flexographic printing plates during the print run. One restraining factor for the flexographic printing process has been the lack of predictability and consistency. It was perceived that in order to make a significant improvement to flexographic printing efficiency, a reduction in the number of press stops due to plate cleaning would be desirable. The aim of the experiment was not to define the optimum printing condition. The experiment was designed to improve the understanding of the characteristics and properties of the interaction of several of the key components used during the printing process. By identifying the optimum characteristics of key interacting factors affecting printing consistency, it was thought that production efficiency would be improved. Investigations into the complex interactions of many variable factors that take place during the printing process were carried out. Various statistical methods were employed for the design of the experiment and for the interpretation of experimental data generated. A two level factorial experiment was designed to include all of the key components used in normal production. Due to the experiment being conducted in a print-works, time restrictions were applied which meant that a fraction method of experimenting was preferred. Some components such as the print units used and the printing pressure were kept constant. Other factors such as ink, Anlilox roller, plate and press speed, were varied. The conclusions from the experiment are reported and highlight the preferred properties for each of the key components used in the experiment, which deliver improved printing performance and consistency.