The application of gravure printing technology to the production of PE bags is currently the most modern method. Printed polythene bags in Vietnam have very sharp and true colors. Let’s learn more about this printing method with Vn Plastic.
Polyethylene vs Polythene
Polyethylene vs Polythene both have abbreviated names PE or Poly. This type of plastic is widely used in the US, UK, Canada … or developed countries in general. People often use Polyethylene or Polythene to produce packaging items such as plastic bags, films.
Both Polyethylene vs Polythene have the chemical formula of (C2H4) n. Poly Density can be low (LDPE) or high (HDPE). This type of material is usually thermoplastic.
What is gravure printing technology?
First, we need to find out what is gravure printing technology in Vietnam. This method is also known by another name concave printing. A copper-plated shaft about 10 microns thick is used for printing. The content of a printout can be text, vectors or images. This content is deeply etched and is located under the surface of the gravure roller. Items printed this way are mostly in rolls.
Working principle of gravure printing machine
The printing roller is embedded in the ink tray (about ⅓), rotating evenly. At that time, the ink will penetrate the surface of the printing mold, the concave elements on the face of the mold.
A scraper is fixed and will remove all the ink on the surface of the print plate, leaving only the ink in the recessed parts. Thanks to the force of rotation, the ink in the recess on the print roller will be printed on the polythene bags (or any printing material).
Depending on the number of colors the customer wants to print, the polythene bags will go through a drying stage or continue to another color printing roller(s). Vn Plastic can print up to 4 colors on 1 product at the same time. Color code based on Pantone.
Printed polythene bags in Vietnam process
There are few continuous steps to process Printed polythene bags in Vietnam:
Step 1: design the print template
Depends on the needs and ideas of the customer, the supplier will sketch the printed sample and then send it to the customer for approval. Importers can also send ready-made designs to suppliers to speed up the process.
Because of applying gravure printing technology, therefore, the number of printing colors is also limited. Vn Plastic can print up to 4 colors according to the Pantone color palette. Therefore, design templates should be in vectors saved in pdf or svg extensions. If it is a photo, it will be re-analyzed into 4 colors. And the sharpness of the photo will be lost. If you are intending to apply this technology to Printed polythene bags in Vietnam, find an alternative.
Step 2: Make the gravure printing shaft
After the importer and supplier agree on the design of the printed sample, the supplier will go to the second step, which is to make the print. The design will be engraved on the gravure printing shaft.
Step 3: Print on polythene bags
Once the gravure printing roller is available, the supplier will perform the installation and test printing on the polythene bags. If all is up to standard, batch printing is applied.
Cutting printed polythene bags
After successfully printing polythene bags with gravure printing technology applied, move on cutting process. From printed polythene bags roll, people can cut into T shirt food bags on roll, flat bag or block header bag…
Read more: 5 Most popular PE plastic bags in Vietnam
Packing printed polythene bags
Packing printed polythene bags is the final stage to be ready for shipping or storing.
Final thoughts
Vn Plastic has just shared with you information about printed polythene bags in Vietnam applying gravure printing technology. Hopefully with the article, you will get a more specific view of this printing process and technology. If you need more information about the production of plastic bags in Vietnam, feel free to contact us.
Thanks for reading!
