Printing

Our printing capability includes rotogravure up to 9 colours with cold seal and flexography up to 10 colours with cold seal. Substrates include PE, BOPP, CPP, PET, nylon, foil & paper.

Flexographic Printing

Aperio have two types of printing presses used for flexographic printing. These are the stack type and central impression cylinder (CIC). Both types employ a plate cylinder, a metering cylinder known as the anilox roll that applies ink to the plate, and an ink pan. Some presses use a third roller as a fountain roll and, in some cases, a doctor blade for improved ink distribution.

The Process

In the typical flexo printing sequence, the substrate is fed into the press from a roll. The image is printed as substrate is pulled through a series of stations, or print units. Each print unit is printing a single colour.

Rotogravure Printing

Aperio offer Rotogravure printing. Rotogravure is an intaglio printing process that is commonly used for printing packaging materials.

The Process

Rotogravure uses a depressed or sunken surface for the image. The image areas consist of honey comb shaped cells that are etched or engraved into the surface of a copper plated steel or aluminium cylinder. The un-etched areas of the cylinder represent the non-image or unprinted areas. The surface is normally plated with hard chromium to improve its wearing properties
 
The cylinder rotates in a bath of ink. As the cylinder turns, the excess ink is wiped off the cylinder by a flexible steel doctor blade. The ink remaining in the recessed cells forms the image by direct transfer to the substrate as it passes between the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder.