Flexography is without doubt the most versatile of all the print processes. No other process can print on such a wide range of flexible materials including label stock and it produces an excellent result in all cases.

Flexographic presses are capable of producing excellent quality impressions on many different substrates and is the least expensive and simplest of the printing processes.

The Flexographic printing process operates by transferring ink from a (soft) plate to the substrate, the raised areas on the printing plate forms the image. The ink is supplied to the plate by an anilox roller, which holds the ink in a number of tiny cells in its surface. To control the quantity of ink a doctor blade meters the ink by running over the surface of the anilox.
The key reasons for the success of flexo can be summarised as follows

The utilisation of gearless servo driven presses, with sleeve systems and the development of higher volume anilox rollers. Improved inks and digital plates have all contributed to flexo being recognised as a truly viable but extremely cost effective method of meeting the demands of the marketplace. This ensures diligent responses to design changes.

Flexo has seen its greatest growth in the past 5 years with over 90% of new machine installations in Europe.(EFTA 2010)