Intelligent Manufacturing In 100% Recyclable Mono Material PE Pouch Printing

There are 9 difficulties in summarizing printing (it is estimated that it would be normal for a printer to summarize and make it up to 99 or 81 difficulties): difficulty in color matching and ink mixing, difficulty in plate and ink changing, difficulty in ink stability, difficulty in adding ink solvents, difficulty in lacking physical strength, difficulty in achieving cleanliness, difficulty in establishing standards, difficulty in learning, and difficulty in data statistics.

1. Difficulty in color matching and ink mixing: The color matching and ink mixing of ink is really difficult. Each printer has different habits, such as the softness and hardness of the scraper installation, the angle and pressure of the cutting blade, the changes in old and new ink, the adjustment of ink viscosity, the amount and ratio of solvents, and constant variables. When printing on the same set of plates, different printers will have different colors, and the same printer can also print in various colors. It is said that the printer is “good at color” and is probably used to seeing various beautiful colors.

2. Difficulty in plate installation and ink replacement: Plate installation and cleaning are acceptable for those of the same specifications, but the most feared printing plate, rubber roller, scraper, ink, ink basin, and film need to be replaced together. When encountering different types of ink, such as switching between inner and outer printing, the color sequence and ink variety are different. After cleaning the ink hopper and knife holder, they are transferred and color and ink are mixed. The unit requires 2-3 people to work continuously for half a day before starting up.

3. Difficulty in ink stability: When printing, there is still color difference even though the color matching of the large barrel is obvious! Accidentally, the viscosity of the ink changed, and the mist and blade threads had to run up and down. The quality was unstable and even scolded.

4. Difficulty in adding ink solvents: Ink solvents are strictly controlled hazardous chemicals, and hazardous chemical warehouses are usually far away from the workshop, which brings inconvenience to the use of this solvent. Nowadays, high-speed printing machines have to run 100000 to 200000 meters per shift, and it is normal to use tons of ink and solvents. A 20kg/barrel of ink is used in dozens of barrels a day. After being pulled to the workshop, the barrel lid is opened, the ink is adjusted, the solvent is added, the mixture is stirred evenly, and the viscosity is measured. After a set of actions, the workshop also needs to take care of the on-site running, emitting, dripping, leaking, and scattering, as well as maintain hygiene. How long can it take to go to the site and use a stopwatch? When encountering several large full plates, one needs to be clear headed and agile to add ink and measure viscosity; Run to the solvent warehouse to extract solvents. Several solvents are extracted and mixed together. It takes no less than half an hour to get off. The machine runs 2-3 times a day, and if it doesn’t dry quickly enough, it will run out of food.

5. Difficulty without physical exertion: Printing work is not easy, and one’s feet carry wind all the way. No matter how far you go in dry printing, loading and unloading hundreds of pounds of film, if you don’t have the strength, you can try printing a film. When it comes to printing PE film, it’s not uncommon for a film to weigh one ton. Without the strength, it’s even difficult to roll a film, let alone move and align the film during loading. Without the strength and effort, you really can’t do it.

6. It’s difficult to be clean: dealing with ink all day long, adding ink here, stirring ink there, ink pump spraying ink, ink tank returning ink, scraper scraping ink, pre printing ink, post printing ink collection, and occasionally wiping off dripping ink. A machine running at high speed can accidentally fly ink, shake ink, scrape and rub ink, making it covered in ink. It’s not easy to wear clean clothes when doing printing work.

7. Difficulty in learning: Adapting to harsh production environments in the printing workshop and having good physical fitness are just the basics for beginners. Entering the gravure printing industry, I started learning from familiarizing myself with equipment, basic material threading, plate loading and washing, film loading and unloading, roll changing, color learning, ink blending, tension control, basic operations, and more. I have been following this process for the past six months. To truly excel in printing, one must also be familiar with color science, lighting science, engineering mechanics, surface chemistry, polymer science, fluid chemistry, aerodynamics, pressure sensing, mechanical principles, dynamic balance, molecular principles, optoelectronic principles, electrical circuits, and more. Do you dare to say that you understand and master printing without thoroughly studying this series of subjects?! It’s really difficult to master all of this knowledge without years of serious and systematic study.

8. Difficulty in establishing standards: Printing standards, such as simply looking at a color, can also vary from person to person, and everyone’s perception of the same color is different. Gravure printing is so difficult to learn, apart from involving too many disciplines, everything else relies on the experience of masters to teach, passed down through word of mouth. The quality of most small and medium-sized enterprises does not rely on indicators but on sensory perception. So many affairs are entangled together, and it becomes a tangled rope that cannot be cut or processed. There are indeed many process parameters involved in printing, and there are also many related variables. How to establish standards without controlling these variables?! Scraper, glue roller, ink, solvent, printing plate, ink basin, drying temperature, drying inlet and outlet air volume, air pressure, voltage, water cooling, surface tension, color matching, machine speed, workshop temperature and humidity, film, etc. Which project does not have several parameter indicators, and which parameter is not related to another parameter?! Not understanding the internal logic of so many parameters can really make a big difference, often solving one problem leads to another new problem, and after working in printing for a lifetime, one can only constantly struggle with problems!

9. Difficulty in statistical data: The ink solvents used in printing are constantly changing, and the amount of ink used is also a variable. It is difficult to determine how much solvent and ink are used for each order every day?! Even if it takes a lot of manpower and resources, you can weigh the weight and know how much new ink is needed, but who can say exactly how much ink and solvent are in the remaining ink?! How to do standardized cost accounting for printing?! The only way is to take a time period (week or month) and calculate the allocation by taking the average of the total amount used during the period. The cost calculated in this way can only be described as extremely rough. When it comes to a serious financial situation, it is likely to be urgent: this is just a big pot cooking porridge, everyone should calculate it evenly!