Everything you purchase as a consumer comes with a label. Whether it comes with instructions on how to use a product, nutrition information, or just a design to catch the consumer’s attention, each label has its unique role in the product. With this large number of products today, there is a high demand for label printing services. In today’s article, the experts at label printing in Okemos, MI, are here to explain the details about label printing, including a brief history.
Label printing can be said to be printing custom labels through various methods. These methods consist of digital printing, flexographic printing, and wide-format printing, all yield different results in the label’s look, feel, and purpose. Today, the flexographic method has continued to advance and thrive, and the 1990s brought about a new process of label printing, digital printing. Today, this procedure has evolved with the addition of inkjet technology, creating high-quality, full-color labels with a less labor-intensive process and less waste.
The different methods of labels printing are as follows:
- Flexographic printing is said to be introduced in the late 1800s and was essentially a modified version of the letterpress. Flexo printing, commonly referred to in the label world, implements a rotary printing style, where printing plates are custom made from rubber molds to fit on cylinders. When this type of printer operates, these molds press on the label media leaving behind the desired image. Flexographic printing is at the forefront of the evolution of label printing due to its speed and extensive run capabilities.
- The same as Flexographic, Gravure printing implements a rotary style printing process. Large copper-coated metal cylinders are custom made unique to each job. A print cylinder draws ink from the ink reservoir as the work passes through the press. The media will then be pressed between the print cylinder and the impression cylinder leaving the media engraved with ink, to which it must dry before being passed on to the next color print cylinder.
- Screen printing can be said to be a unique method in the fact that every print is essentially done by hand. Screen printing includes transferring a design made on a stencil using ink and a squeegee. Screen printing can be found in its niche in the clothing industry and quickly became the “go-to” for textile branding.
Like the methods above, label printing in Okemos, MI, technologies, screen printing has a long setup time.
