Question on Flexo Plate Registration Marks/Bearer Bars

[shorty83]

Hi, I am the prepress person at a narrow web flexo shop. I am about to update the registration marks/bearer bars for our plates. Right now we have color blocks in the bearer bars that are 25%, 50%, 75% & 100% on one side and on the other side there is the color name and circle with the color number with a knocked out stroke around it that they like to use for registration.

They are fine with the marks we have now but the quality Dept. wants to add color bars on the other side of the plates to make sure densities are the same on both sides of the plates. The only problem with this is that there is not enough room with all the other info in the bearer bars to add them. The solution I came up with is to add the color bars just outside the bearer bar on the other side, but then that will add another .25" to the marks and we are narrow web (17" is the widest press) so that is not always an option when we are running wider labels/shrink.

What do you guys think is the ideal press marks or do you have any suggestions?
Thanks!
Molly

 

[tommrz]

We have an ever evolving set of rules for density block placement and register marks at our shop. We also have multiple presses with some requiring special auto-registration marks. It can be a pain sometimes. One thing that has stayed constant was to place density circles, not blocks, inside the waste matrix on special shape labels. Obviously this will not work with RCRs. Sometimes we just have to go and ask the GM what he wants to do. Unfortunately we have not found a blanket solution yet.

 

[arkay_desai]

hi shorty,
normally %age marked are used to check dot gain %age and we use only 50% of each color at both side of bear bar. The reason of using both side is to understand the pressure at operator side and gear side. Also use target marks to understand pressure setting. Hope this may helps u.

 

[shorty83]

hi shorty,
normally %age marked are used to check dot gain %age and we use only 50% of each color at both side of bear bar. The reason of using both side is to understand the pressure at operator side and gear side. Also use target marks to understand pressure setting. Hope this may helps u.

Thanks, Yes I understand what the marks are for. They don't want to get rid of any info that is currently in the bearer bars so I just don't have room for all the marks they want. Especially when the plates are a shorter repeat. I think my only option is to put the color blocks on the outside of the bearer bar on the one side.