Today, packaging with sophisticated printing is mainly produced flexographically – the principle industrial printing process worldwide. Flexographic printing can be used for a range of materials, requires only short print preparation times, is low-cost, and produces very good quality print.

The process uses flexible photopolymer plates with a backing layer, a light-sensitive relief layer, and a protective film coating. After a finishing process, the plates are mounted on a sleeve or print cylinder using a double sided plate mounting tape.

tesa’s Softprint® range of plate mounting tapes has been tailored precisely to meet the different printing process requirements. For example, fine dots require a harder printing plate, which, in turn, demands a softer, lower density foam tape. Firmer, higher density foams, on the other hand, are better suited to colour transfer in solid and combination printing.

Printing plates mounted with tesa Softprint® tapes can be mounted smoothly, repositioned easily, and removed simply, all without residue after demounting: advantages which make tesa plate mounting tapes the best possible choice for flexographic printers. tesa Softprint® Steel Master tapes are for mounting onto steel cylinders and tesa Softprint® Sleeve Master for sleeves.

Additionally tesa has a complimentary range of tapes for edge sealing of printing plates, core starting, roller wrapping and flagging and end-tabbing, as well as tesa EasySplice FilmLine for reliable splicing of the low surface energy films such as polyethylene used for many packing applications.