To achieve the longest printing resistance of the flexo plate is inseparable from its correct and timely maintenance. In daily printing operations, adhere to the correct cleaning, unloading and storage methods, in order to ensure the quality of the flexo plate, so that it can play a good reproducibility and printing resistance. Only by maintaining the quality of the flexo plate for a long time can the service life of the flexo plate be extended while ensuring the printing quality.

To achieve the longest printing resistance of the flexo plate is inseparable from its correct and timely maintenance. In daily printing operations, adhere to the correct cleaning, unloading and storage methods, in order to ensure the quality of the flexo plate, so that it can play a good reproducibility and printing resistance. Only by maintaining the quality of the flexo plate for a long time can the service life of the flexo plate be extended while ensuring the printing quality.

1. Cleaning before use

After the flexographic plate is loaded on the machine, be sure to carefully check the clean state of the surface of the flexographic plate before inking and use clean water or wiping solution to clean the stains on the plate. The stains on the flexographic plate will affect the quality of the printed product.

Stains on flexographic plates can be caused by:

1. Dust and residues in the air or environment.

2. Grease attached during operation.

3. Contaminants remaining or sticking during wiping or storage.

4. Ink or other man-made contamination during plate operation in the previous process.

5. Contamination of wiping tools, antistatic sprays, lubricating oil cleaning cloths or hand creams.

2. Cleaning after use

The flexographic plate should be cleaned immediately after use, because once the water-based ink dries up the conjunctiva, it is irreversibly insoluble in water, which brings great difficulty to cleaning. Excessive cleaning will cause irreparable damage to the flexographic plate.

1. The sleeve (plate roller) removed from the printing machine is placed in a suitable position that can be fixed horizontally; the flexographic plate of the hanging plate is removed and placed in the cleaning rack or automatic cleaning equipment.

2. Strictly take safety protection measures when washing the plate. The operator must wear suitable protective equipment (goggles, masks, gloves, aprons, etc.), and the cleaning work should be carried out in a well-ventilated location.

3. Pour the washing potion over the surface of the printing plate, and use a special washing brush to clean the ink on the printing plate. When cleaning, carefully check the subtleties of all parts of the flexographic plate, especially the ink accumulation between the dots and the anti-white parts, and must be thoroughly cleaned.

4. The strength of the small dots of the flexographic plate is low. When washing the plate, pay special attention to the strength of the force during cleaning to avoid damage to the flexographic plate.

5. After brushing, rinse it well with water, dry the flexo plate with a soft cloth or non-woven fabric, and then blow dry it thoroughly with compressed air and store it according to regulations.

6. Flexo plate cleaning must use a cleaning solvent compatible with the plate material. Compatible solvents will not soften, expand or damage the photosensitive resin plate. Otherwise, it is easy to cause two situations as shown in the following figure, resulting in damage and failure of the flexo plate.

7. It is strictly forbidden to use plate washing liquids (such as acetate) that cause aggressive damage to the printing plate. It is necessary to shorten the time of the plate washing liquid to stay on the layout as much as possible to avoid damage to the printing plate caused by the aggressive components in the liquid. Because the residue of the agent or solvent will deform and crack the printing plate, resulting in increased printing registration errors or even scrap losses.

3. Unloading

Due to the non-standard management, we can often see that the printing staff are rough, dry, stampede, untimely and unclean for the printing plate, which will cause damage to the printing plate, reduce the service life, and lead to the cost of the flexographic plate. Waste, so the working method of unloading must be standardized.

1. Unloading is recommended to be carried out on the plate machine.

2. It is recommended to clean the printing plate before unloading (except when an automatic plate washer is used or the printing plate is scrapped).

3. When unloading the plate, the plate should be removed from the tape first, and then the tape should be removed from the sleeve (plate roller).

4. When unloading the plate, first use a thin plastic sheet to pick up one edge of the printing plate in the horizontal direction (it is not recommended to pick it up from the corner, which may cause the base of the plate to be peeled off from the resin) (it is not recommended to use nails or blades, which may easily cause damage to the base of the plate).

5. Then move the thin plastic sheet back and forth laterally on the edge of the plate until the entire lateral edge of the plate peels off the tape. Peel deep enough to hold the plate with both hands.

6. Start pulling the printing plate from the tape with both hands. The force of both hands must be uniform, do not let the printing plate tilt to one side, the lifting angle of the printing plate should be kept at about 30 degrees, and the unloading process should not be too fast, so as to avoid the printing plate from being deformed due to pulling (one-hand operation is not recommended, it is easy to cause the printing plate to deform).

7. The back (base) of the removed printing plate should be cleaned with alcohol first, and then each printing plate should be separated by a gasket (attached to the delivery of the printing plate). Damage to the printing plate must be avoided during operation.

4. Storage of flexographic plates

The storage of flexographic plates is divided into two situations: unloading storage and unloading storage:

1. Non-unloading storage

1) First clean the printing plate and confirm that no potion remains on the printing plate, and blow dry it with compressed air.

2) Coat the printing plate with black plastic film or paper that can completely block the light, and seal it with tape.

2. Hang version storage

The whole set of versions should be put together, and then attached to the dedicated version according to the storage number.

3. Plate storage after unloading

(1) Plates should be stored in a dry environment, placed flat and separated by foam, while covering or wrapping the plate with black opaque plastic to prevent light-induced performance changes to the plate.

(2) Plate storage should be protected from any external influences, and measures should be taken to reduce the impact of UV light (ultraviolet light) outside the plate making and printing process on the finished plate and the printed plate surface. UV light changes the surface characteristics of the plate, so that the plate is not easy to ink, which affects the ink transfer and leads to unstable quality of the printed product. Therefore, it is recommended to use black plastic to wrap or cover.

(3) Do not pile up more than 15.24cm high, because the weight will cause deformation of the photosensitive resin plate.

(4) Keep the plate between the extreme temperature (4-40 ° C), away from the ozone source, pay attention to closing the door, avoid high temperature, ventilate and stay away from the discharge power.

4. Storage place requirements

Whether the printing plate is unloaded or stored without unloading, attention must be paid to:

(1) Avoid light, avoid sunlight, fluorescent lamps, UV (ultraviolet light) light sources

(2) Keep away from ozone sources (such as motors, corona, UV units, etc.)

(3) Keep away from heat sources (the temperature of the storage place should not exceed 40 degrees) and have good ventilation

(4) The printing plate is recommended to be placed horizontally to avoid curling or folding of the printing plate

(5) Improper storage of plates can lead to poor ink transfer, resin spillage, and ozone cracking.

The above precautions, whether the flexographic plate is unloaded or stored without unloading, must be strictly followed and stored safely.