High Definition Flexography
The latest in digital plate technologies is taking great advantage of today’s anilox roller. As plate screens continue to climb, it is up to the anilox supplier to deliver an engraved roller that supports the plate structure and graphic design. It is critical for the plate and anilox roller to work together to maintain the crisp highlights and mid-tones that are required from today’s CPGs and converters. Current screen rulings are approaching 300 LPI and beyond.
This requires that the dot structure be uniformly supported by anilox cell structure to reduce over inking, bridging, and other print-related defects. The tried-and-true 60 degree hexagonal engraving is still proving best for this task. Nothing to date beats the honeycomb pattern for strength, rigidity, wear characteristics, and all-around dot support.
Having as many cells as possible under the highlight dots is what will lead to clean and crisp reproduction. To properly support the graphics, a rule of thumb for the required anilox cells per inch (CPI) is five to six times the plate screen. This means that a 300 LPI image will require a 1,500 to 1,800 CPI engraving to properly support the graphic reproduction of a one percent dot.
From Internet
