Question: How do you print on your Plastic Corrugated?
Answer: There are several options for printing Plastic Corrugated.
The best and highest graphic images are created by Digital Printing.
We have a state-of-the-art Large Format / High Speed Digital Printer that was manufactured in Germany. It is capable of printing full color photographic quality four color process printing on our material. This allows us to print our Plastic Corrugated with everything from simple one-color instructions or logos that may be needed for many applications to the full graphics required for the more detailed projects.
Another advantage of Digital Printing is art can be reproduced from a digital file and used directly on the print press. This eliminates the costs and need for negatives, screens or print plates that are required for other forms of printing. It is by far the fastest way to go directly from art to print in the fewest steps with the highest resolution possible.
New digital inks adhere very well to plastic corrugated and give bright long-lasting results for the print images that may be required for the project. Taking any photo or artwork to full reproduction in large format if required is easily accomplished at a lower cost than any previous methods.
Our Indiana facility is one of the only manufacturing centers offering in house digital print as an option for plastic corrugated finished products.
Another commonly used print process for plastic corrugated is Silk-screen printing.
Silk-screening uses large screens that have been produced by burning and image on to a mesh screen that allows ink to pass through the screen when pressure and ink are applied to the screen with a squeegee. This practice is more commonly used in our manufacturing facilities for simpler one- and two-color applications that are better suited for this type of application. Prior to Digital printing four color process work was also accomplished with silk-screening but was more time consuming and producing full color process work was more expensive and slower using this process.
Silk screen inks adhere very well to plastic corrugated and offer dense deep color when applied correctly. This is a very similar process to many of the shirts you will see with a heavy rubber feeling decal or logo that has been printed on them.
The least common process used on plastic corrugated is Flexographic printing.
Flexographic printing is when ink is applied to a rubber stamp or “print plate” and then the stamp is applied to the plastic corrugated. This process had two disadvantages. It does not have the dense high impact deep colors of the other two processes, nor does it have the adhesion qualities of either Digital or Silk-Screen print work.
Flexo-printing is more commonly used in simpler applications on plastic corrugated with extremely high volumes and a lower print quality is acceptable for the project.
So, when it comes to printing anything on plastic corrugated from a simple yard sign to a complex retail display it pays to ask the experts on what the best printing option for your project.
