This is the final part of a multi-post story on flexography for the designer. You can read more of my previous posts on the subject here, here,  here, and here.

Part V – Wrapping Up

I’ve really on just touched briefly on a lot of tricks designers can use to make things easier on press time. The things I’ve blogged about will reduce spoilage and get your designs onto presses faster, as there will be less time taken up by technicians “fixing” your mistakes. And it will create a better looking product for your customer.

Which leaves me to my last bit of advice. Research. Research. Research. The grocery store is full of things that are printed Flexographically. Just about any decent brand name potato chip bag or soft drink label covers everything I’ve written on this subject. Seeing what other people have done with their flexo designs will help you out in making your technical decisions.

Just about every aisle in the grocery store has at least SOMETHING printed flexographically.

You can get more information by following this link. I am in no way affiliated with this organization, but they appear to be one of the few people who have ever posted a great deal of technical information regarding printing and design specs for flexo printing on the Internet. I find some of the information regarding the set up of computer files to be a tad dated, but the rest of the information should give you a clear understanding of the state of flexo printing. It also goes into a great deal more depth into typical line thickness and other press tolerances than I have. It is no substitute for dealing with your specific printer, but will help you out if you are in a bind and need info right away.

Enjoy.