Flexographic printing
We offer affordable flexographic printing on carrier bags
for orders of between 1,000 and 30,000 pieces. These are usually simple, single-colour designs. We are able to print a maximum of two colours in a single design, provided there is no requirement for close registration.
Flexo printing is only possible on white and brown kraft paper bags, not on coloured kraft bags, luxury laminated bags or bags with drawstring handles.
Flexographic printing – a brief description of the technology
| Price | from 0.90 Kč/piece |
| Delivery time | delivery from 2 t days |
| Quantities | print runs from 1,000 to approx. 30,000 pieces |
| Suitable for bags | white and brown kraft paper bags with flat or twisted paper handles |
| Submission of print data | vector graphics (curves) – PDF, AI, EPS, CDR |
| Services for you | we will prepare and send you a preview of the print on a bag template in PDF format FREE OF CHARGE |
| the printing plate will be stored by us for future use | |
| we offer basic colour shades FREE OF CHARGE * | |
| Additional printing costs | one-off payment for the printing plate |
| surcharge for using a colour shade other than the standard one |
* Basic colour shades FREE
OF CHARGE** We offer these colours from the PANTONE U colour chart to our clients FREE OF CHARGE.
Other shades from the PANTONE U colour palette are subject to a charge of 800 Kč excluding VAT.
Advantages of flexographic printing
- Printing speed
- Suitable for printing large quantities, up to tens of thousands of bags
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Low printing cost from 0.90 Kč per item
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Suitable for printing on white and brown kraft paper bags with flat or twisted paper handles
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Printing in 1 or 2 colours (without the need for close registration of both colours) at a low cost
- Delivery from as little as 2 t weeks
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FREE reuse of the printing plate
- FREE print preview
Disadvantages of flexographic printing
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Cannot be printed on coloured kraft bags, laminated bags, drawstring bags or cotton bags
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Not suitable for printing complex designs with tight registration
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Limited print area; a margin of 2 cm must be maintained from the edges and the bottom of the bag, and 8-9 cm from the top
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Printing on the reverse side is limited to a dimension corresponding to the depth of the bag
Further technical information on flexographic
printing – Flexographic printing requires the production of a printing plate, which is not normally included in the price (it is FREE for orders of 10,000 items or more). Its price depends directly on the size of the print area; we charge per cm²
– the price of the printing plate is in the region of a few hundred crowns, and its reuse is FREE –
we will need your print data in vector (curves)
. We will then be happy to provide you with a FREE preview of the print directly on your chosen bag
. Printing is applied to the front and back (the back excludes the bottom section where the bag’s gusset is folded); it is not possible to print right up to the edges of the bag
Print area
Each bag has a designated print area. Generally, however, it is necessary to leave a margin from the sides and the top and bottom edges of the bag (where the tab is located inside the bag). For flexographic printing, the design must be positioned on the reverse side of the bag above the folded base.
Designs unsuitable for flexographic
printing We normally print on stock paper bags using a single solid colour. This is because multi-colour printing is prone to inaccuracies.
Printing is carried out on finished, pre-assembled bags. These have an uneven surface due to the folds and the glued handles. If two colours were used, the colours would not register correctly due to the unevenness of the surface and the movement of the bag within the machine. The misalignment (the shift of the colours relative to one another) can be as much as several centimetres in any direction.
Single-colour printing is the safest option.
What flexographic printing is not suitable for, and what other solutions we offer:
- Printing on coloured bags, bags with fabric handles, luxury laminated bags and cotton bags – in these cases, it is better to print the bags on our screen printing) machines
– Precise registration of two or more colours, full-colour CMYK printing on paper or fabric bags – we recommend choosing digital printing.
- Printing of colour photographs – this involves a different type of artwork; for this kind of artwork, we offer the latest digital printing on bags
for this – Printing in runs of tens to hundreds of thousands of pieces – for such quantities, we offer bespoke production.
Do you need printing right up to the edges of the bag, the sides, the base, etc.? – We can offer this too; simply send us your requirements and the print data or a preview (if available), and we’ll offer you the best solution for the job.
Did you know that flexographic printing is one of the cheapest printing technologies? To enquire about printed bags, click here:
**Vector and raster
graphics**Raster (bitmap) graphics
Have a fixed resolution (number of pixels). If you zoom in on a raster image, you will see individual squares (pixels). In short, the image loses its sharpness and becomes ‘pixelated’. You’ll find this type of graphics in photographs and images saved in formats such as .JPG, .PNG, .TIF, .GIF, etc.
Vector graphics (curves)
Unlike raster graphics, vectors do not use pixels. Instead, the image is defined by mathematical formulas. It can be enlarged or reduced infinitely, and the image will always remain perfectly sharp. Vector graphics are typically found in formats such as .PDF, .AI, .CDR, .SVG, …
Converting from raster to vector is complicated.
Whilst converting from vector to raster is instantaneous, the reverse process – vectorisation – presents a technical challenge.
Automated software tools are unable to interpret pixels perfectly, which often leads to inaccurate, jagged and distorted results. To achieve professional quality, therefore, a graphic designer must manually redraw the original raster image using vector curves.
