Is It Time to Switch from Digital to Flexo?
When it comes to choosing a printing method for your product labels, the two main options you have are digital and flexography (flexo). Digitally printed labels can be less expensive for short print runs, but if your business has grown to require thousands of labels, flexo printing can be a more cost-efficient option for you. In addition to this, flexo labels offer increased durability, special effects, and color precision. Read below to find out if flexography is the best option for you.What is Flexography?
Flexography or flexo is a printing process that uses flexible relief plates made of rubber or plastic to transfer an image to a substrate. Each plate is wrapped around a cylinder and coated with fast drying ink. The substrate is rapidly passed through the press, resulting in high-quality, speedy print jobs.Benefits of Flexography
Cost Efficient While digital printing is often less expensive for short runs (under 10,000 labels) and has small setup costs, it prints much slower than flexo, so at some point, the speed efficiency outweighs the setup costs. When it’s time to print 10,000+ labels, flexographic printing can be much more cost efficient and faster than digital printing.
Durable If your labels need to be heat sensitive, are going to be used outdoors, or need to have a long shelf life, consider using flexo. Flexo printing works with almost any substrate or material. Flexography can also print on heat sensitive materials whereas digital cannot, such as on direct thermal materials.
Special Effects and Inks If you’re looking to add special effects or specialty inks to your labels, flexo is the way to go. For example, fluorescent inks are a flexo forte. Flexographic printing is also best suited for special label effects such as metallized, holographic, or textured labels. Extensive ink options are available to you through flexo printing, including vegetable-based, fluorescent, solvent, water-based, and UV-curable.
Exact Color Match Unlike digital printing, flexographic printing uses the Pantone® Match System (PMS) that allows you to achieve a consistent, exact color match throughout all of your labels. This system is used around the world and allows customers to determine the exact color they want.
If any of the above applies to you, consider flexographic printing for your custom labels! To learn more about custom label printing through ZipTape, feel free to email us at info@ziptape.com, or give us a call at 800.ZIPTAPE.