Digital printing machines are the advanced printing machines that print packaging material, such as labels, cartons, and flexible packaging. These machines employ digital images directly to your paper from a computer to print high-quality graphics, text, and images onto packaging substrates.
What is digital printing?
Digital printing machines are more flexible and better than traditional printing machines, they can print smaller quantities at a time and have the ability to print variable data to your material. Here’s what they are best for:
- Printing on demand
- Short runs,
- Custom packaging with full color
Due to their cost-effectiveness, speed, and high-quality printing capabilities, digital printing machines are becoming increasingly popular in the packaging industry.
Let’s learn how digital box printing machines work in the packaging industry.
Process of Digital Printing Machine (Step by Step)
Digital printing machines in the packaging industry work in the following step-by-step process:
Prepress: The process begins with the creation of packaging artwork. To create the artwork for your packaging, you can use software such as Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop.
File Preparation: Once the artwork is finalized, then it gets exported to a format that is compatible with digital printing machines, such as .pdf, .ai, or .tiff.
Printing Setup: After that, set up your printing machine according to the specifications of the packaging substrate, which includes the size, thickness, and shape of the material. Additionally, color management and ink systems are calibrated during this process.
Printing: Once the setup is ready, the printing process begins. The packaging stock is fed into the printing machine, and then the image gets printed onto the substrate using a high-resolution inkjet print head. And then, the ink gets cured using UV light or heat to make sure that the print is durable and ready.
Finishing: After the printing process, the
typically gets coated with a protective layer to enhance its durability and resistance to environmental factors. This layer can be a laminate, varnish, or other protective coatings.
Cutting and Folding: The printed packaging material is then cut and folded into the desired shape, such as a label, carton, or box.
Quality Control: Finally, the finished product is inspected for quality control to ensure that it meets the required specifications and standards.
Overall, digital printing machines ensure a faster, more cost-effective, and more flexible way of producing high-quality packaging materials with customization capabilities that traditional printing methods cannot match.
In my role as a senior editor at TBP, I focus on packaging & printing technique. My research endeavors are aimed at gaining more knowledge about the packaging industry.
