Flexo Printing Offers Important Advantages

Since the beginning of the millennium, the Packaging & Printing industry has experienced some revolutionary changes. Flexographic printing has proved to be the focal point of this renaissance being the fastest growing printing technology. Flexographic printing has affected every segment of the packaging world. Folded carton manufacturing which used to be ruled by offset printing has undergone a paradigm shift towards Flexography. The reason behind this shift is quiet simple; Flexo offers more cost effective and time saving solutions in carton making as compared to offset. Several stages in off-line printing like stripping, cutting, laminating, printing and die cutting can be replaced by a single in-line process of Flexographic printing. Moreover, the labor requirement gives Flexo an upper edge over offset printing. A printing job which requires five people in an offset process can be completed with 30% less people using Flexo.

Flexo carton machines use either rotary or flat cutting tools to form the carton shape. Both dies have applications according to the number of required cartons. The Rotary die system is useful for longer runs i.e. one or more million carton production or for frequently repeated cycles. Whereas, a flat die system is more suitable due to the slower speed for shorter runs of 5,000 to 1 million cartons. There are two significant differences between these die cutting systems. First, rotary dies are far more expensive than flat dies and the setup time greatly favors the flat die system. Moreover, a flat die lends itself to quick job changes as compared to a press equipped with a rotary station.

Besides being an in-line process, Flexo offers other important advantages. U.V. (ultra violet) inks are used mostly to print folded cartons. U.V. inks are environmentally compatible and provide brilliant colors and repeatability as compared to paste inks used in offset. Flexo U.V. inks provide high scuff resistance/supporting product integrity. Another reason behind the popularity of U.V. inks is that they enhance color density and image quality while improving printing efficiency. Solvent based inks are used more with rotary speeds and must be treated as hazardous materials.

The overall reward of producing folded cartons by the Flexo process is increased efficiency resulting in lower carton costs to the end user.

Folding Cartons and the Packaging Process

According to a report of the Packaging Council, paperboard packaging  in the United States is worth about 9 billion dollars and folding cartons are an important part of this packaging sector. There are many key benefits that cartons offer over other packaging materials, which will be explored in following points.


The packaging of a product plays a very crucial role in its sales. Folding cartons can be designed, shaped and colored to make a product exceptionally appealing to the customers. We often experience ourselves attracted to the cookies, sauces, sweets and various other consumer items packed in cartons having eye-catching textures and designs. There is plenty of room for creativity in these packages. Text, names, figures can be carved out and limitless colors and shades can be used to promote a product. Companies also do experiments with the shapes of the cartons to increase their shelf appeal. It is a great artistic endeavor to appeal to the customers to make a purchase. Folding cartons can be a pretty handy tool for the product manufacturers in achieving this goal.


Another important fact about folding cartons is that they are made up of sustainable and widely available resources. This fact helps to keep the manufacturing costs of cartons low. Now a day, as the consciousness towards the environment is increasing among the consumers, the companies look for more recyclable and green packaging options and folding cartons. According to the website of the Paperboard Packaging Council, about three quarters of the paperboard packaging material is recycled and reused. Folding cartons lead to strong, durable and easy to use packaging and they can be readily secured by various tampering proof techniques.


Folding cartons, being an attractive, low cost and reliable option in packaging, definitely adds value to the product. This is the main reason why its popularity is increasing among manufacturers and consumers. The ideas are endless with this perfect medium for creative and inexpensive packaging.