In 2006, Labelpak became the only company in SA to offer its clients the benefits
of flexographic, waterless and digital printing . The differences between the three
methods are as diverse as are their respective advantages and disadvantages.

Flexographic Printing: How it Works
Flexographic printing uses a raised image on a printing plate cylinder to transfer
images to the substrate (as opposed to the silicone rubber-coated printing plate
used in waterless printing). The raised image area picks up ink from the etched roller
and transfers the image to the material when it comes in contact with the impression
cylinder. Flexo plates are usually made of rubber or similar materials.

Advantages and Disadvantages
Flexographic printing is more suited to printing solid colours than waterless printing.
This is due to the fact that the method allows for greater ink quantities to be
applied to the medium (six grams per square metre as opposed to one gram per
square meter in the case of waterless printing). It is the most popular type of printing
for film because of its less expensive printing plates and faster set-up time. The
method is capable of printing long or short runs at high production rates.

Disadvantages of flexographic printing include the fact that the reproduction of
original graphic materials may suffer loss of definition. At Labelpak, original
graphic material submitted for printing are upgraded to ensure the highest-possible
reproduction quality. Flexographic printing does not offer the advantage of zero
percent vignettes. This printing method also uses larger dot-sizes (40 micron)
as opposed to the much smaller dot-size offered by waterless printing (four micron).
Also see Advantages and Disadvantages of Waterless Printing