Colours are indispensable when it comes to designing and printing attractive, memorable, and engaging labels and packaging. However, not all flexographic printing presses have the same capacity to handle multi-colour designs. Flexographic presses are typically available as one to 12 colours, with single-roller presses suitable only for black and white or greyscale printing. How do you determine the best solution for your print requirements?
CMYK - FOUR COLOUR PRINTING
Most colour combinations can be derived from cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) water-solvent or UV-based inks. Four colour presses feature four separate colour Stations, with one for each ink. Mixing up this spectrum allows for various shades and hues. However, four-roller CMYB colour prints can appear drained, faint, and polarised. They're also prone to developing false-colour distortion, as well as an infamous 'muddy' sheen. 4 colours limit your colour gamut.
Use a four Colour CMYK press if:
- You require high-volume print runs of colourful labels
- Your prints only need a 'good enough' colour impression
- You don't need any extra finishes, spot colours, or post-processing inks
- You don't have much workshop space (rollers take up room)
- You want to save on equipment costs
- You're aiming to be environmentally friendly (less ink, less waste)
- You're working with cheaper paper substrates or thin card.
Up to 2025, typical new install Flexo presses were 6 Colours offering CMYK, a specific Spot Colour and Over varnish facilities. More recently, 8 or 10 colours have become the norm, offering Full Process colour CMYK +OVG orange, green, and violet plus an Over Varnish. Now the Colour Gamet is greatly increased, matching all Pantone colours. via better CAD imaging, modelling, and laser-etching, enhanced flexographic plate techniques to 'full' colour.
Ink manufacturer Pantone estimates that advanced flexographic printing can now match more than 90% of the known spectrum of colours. Photographers, graphic designers (i.e. for artwork, advertising posters), and 'glossy' publications now overwhelmingly favour CMYK-OGV flexo printing, but is an eight or ten-colour press a worthwhile investment for packaging and label printing businesses?
Use a full colour CMYK-OGV press if:
- You want a press that can adapt and scale to lots of different tasks and configurations
- You want the best possible colour finish and range for your clients
- Your client wants premium, eye-catching packaging that stands out from other consumer products
- You want to get ahead of the curve; high-quality flexography is steadily becoming cheaper and easier to run for commercial packaging
FLEXOGRAPHIC PRINTING PRESSES FROM FOCUS LABEL
Do you need versatile flexographic printing machinery, capable of handling a variety of commercial printing requirements? Get in touch with Focus Label. We supply advanced flexographic and hybrid printing solutions to packaging, label and textile printers around the world, and can advise you of the best press configuration for your business.
Image Source: Canva
