Flexo print mistakes: the 12 top CAUSES and their

solutions!
Flexo print mistakes 12 of the most common mistakes that you might
experience in flexo printing and the possible solutions.
1. Ahdesion
2. Blocking
3. Brittleness
4. Dot Dipping
5. Creasing
6. Dark Dirty Print
7. Dot Gain
8. Feathering
9. Foaming
10. Filling in
11. Ghosting
12. Hickeys / Spots
Here is the list of problems that can be encountered during the various
stages of flexographic printing:

Ahdesion.
This happens when the printed layer does not adhere enough to the substrate
and separates from it. In this case the printed material usually does not pass the
mechanical tests performed by the operator such as those with the adhesive
tape, rubbing or wrinkling.

CAUSES SOLUTIONS
Ink is not suitable for your Make sure that ink is suitable for your
substrate. substrate.

Ink is too diluted. Use correct viscosity and ensure a balanced

ink quantity by reducing dilution.

Ink mixture wrong or too weak. Make sure that solvents are suitable to
ensure a good ink layer on the substrate.

Blocking.
This happens when the layers of the printed material get stuck on each other
due to print pressure, though moderate, because of a variation in temperature.
The extent of the problem is only visible after the separation of the layers.

CAUSES SOLUTIONS
Ink does not dry off on the Correct solvent proportion, use fast-drying
substrate. solvents. Check dryers.

Ink dries on the surface and Start with lower temperature. Reduce viscosity for
holds solvent. a thinner ink layer. Check dryers.

The rolled-up reel is too hot. Reduce reel temperature using a cooling system
until ± 5°C than room temperature. Install cooling
rollers or reduce dryer temperature.
Brittleness.
This flexo print mistake is caused by a wrong manipulation of digital flexo
plate both during production and in printing. See again what are the
production steps of the flexo plates in the dedicated page.

CAUSES SOLUTIONS
Temperature or UV exposure too high in the drying Check reel temperature.
or UV-polimerization system causing the substrate Reduce heat and/or
or the ink layer to release some humidity/plastifier. increase air volume inside
the drying chamber.

Bad adherence. Reduce power of UV

lamps.

Dot dipping.
This occurs when some of the engraved dots on the plate are smaller than
the anilox pattern, the inking roller. The engraved dots are dipped inside the
cells of the inking roller so that the ink is not only on the top of the dot, but also
on the shoulders. Therefore these dots transfer to the substrate a higher
quantity of ink than the other dots.

CAUSES SOLUTIONS
Line screen of anilox roller is lower Use anilox with a higher line screen.
than the screen on the plate.

Lack of consistency of minimum Check plate calibration. Reduce screen

dots on the plate: some have count of the plate. Adjust minimum dots
dimensions lower than standard. on the plate according to the minimum
line screen allowed by the anilox.

Creasing.
Wrinkles and creases may occur on the substrate while printing.

CAUSES SOLUTIONS
Defective substrate. Try to smooth out wrinkles towards the edges of
the reel by means of spreader rollers.

Malfunction of the material Check and clean the material guide. Set the guide
guide. and the reels so that they roll up and roll out at
the same distance from the edges, thus avoiding
extreme movements.

Flexophic press machine is Re-align machine, especially the rollers.

not aligned.

Dark Dirty Print.

This is clearly visible for the excess ink transferred on the substrate and for the
saturated colours.
CAUSES SOLUTIONS
Volume of the anilox is too Choose anilox with cells having a lower volume.
high.

Wrong ink viscosity. Check ink viscosity and keep it at correct value
during the print run.

Dot gain is too high. Set pressure to minimum level (kiss print) and/or
use a softer tape.

Dot gain.
This error is visible when the area of the screen dots increases from the plate to
the print. Do not confuse this error with the "dot gain compensation value".

CAUSES SOLUTIONS
Ink volume too high. Reduce anilox volume keeping the colour
balance.

Thickness of the plate too high Check consistency of the plate thickness and
or swelling of the plate. residual solvent that might cause swelling.
Replacement of plate might be necessary.

Wrong tape or air bubbles Change tape. Check for any bubbles beneath
between tape and plate. the tape and re-mount the plate if needed.

Feathering.
Irregular edges around the printed graphic elements occur as a result of high
pressure and a consequent excess of ink that increases the area of the screen
dots printed on the substrate.

CAUSES SOLUTIONS
Wrong pressure on print Set again pressure of all rollers.
unit.

Ink dries on the plate. Clean the plates thoroughly. Increase press
speed. Slow down drying by adding ink retarder.
Ensure that the ink containers are covered.

Wrong setting of the ink Restore the pressure settings between the
dispensing system. fountain roller and the doctor blade system.

Foaming.
This issue occurs when an extra quantity of foam is in the printing unit, inside
the ink trays or pumps.
CAUSES SOLUTIONS
Wrong balance between Add solvent with a high content in alcohol to
solvents. correct the mixture.

Wrong pH or viscosity. Correct the pH value and reduce viscosity. Add

small amounts of anti-foam product.
1:1 ratio between anilox and Reduce the rotation ratio of the inking roller.
inking roller.

Filling.
This is caused by an ink build-up on the surface of the plate and on the dot
shoulders. Filling happens especially on small texts and screened areas.

CAUSES SOLUTIONS
High amount of ink. Use anilox with lower volume.

Particles of pigmented or Inks should be well mixed and free from large
foreign material. particles. Ensure that the pump and the pipes in
the inking system are clean.
Font, graphic elements or Check that all graphic elements are suitable for
screen count not correct. flexo printing, see specifications here to prepare
a correct pdf for your plates with the online
software.

Ghosting.
This occurs when an image is duplicated elsewhere in a lighter version but it
should not appear. This is usually a pattern that is repeated in the layout.

CAUSES SOLUTIONS
Ink pump is too small for the amount Verificare l’efficienza della pompa
of ink required by the images to be oppure sostituirla con una più potente o
printed or by the doctor blade aumentare il tempo di contatto tra
chamber. Anilox is not inked l’inchiostro e l’anilox all’interno della
according to the amount needed. camera racla con racle più distanziate
per favorire la corretta re-
inchiostrazione del rullo in rotazione.

Ink viscosity is too high for the pump. Check and set ink viscosity.

Ink dries up on the anilox before By solvent-based inks the problem

being transferred to the substrate. might be caused by a low viscosity. A
higher viscosity should slow down fast
drying on the anilox.

Hickeys or spots.
This defect occurs when small undesired spots appear on the printed material.
These are usually white, colour less spots surrounding a small amount of ink.
CAUSES SOLUTIONS
Dust on the substrate is transferred to Clean the plate if necessary and use
the plate. cleaning antistatic tools.

Ink spread too high. Slow down or dilute ink to reduce tack.

Coating is not gripping on paper. Check with the paper supplier.