Why is packaging increasingly inseparable from printing?

In the information-rich era, the comprehensiveness of printing is also a very important part. As a form of expression, many information disappears soon after it appears, but printed materials still have preservation value. Printing is a form that appears as a means of copying articles, paintings, etc., and it is also a means of conveying historical and cultural information.

Printing is fast, convenient, and can be mass-produced. There are three printing methods: relief printing and flat printing.

The original purpose of packaging is to protect the product. What role does printing play in packaging as a confirmation and identification method?
(1) Identification role. It is easy to identify, not easy to make mistakes, and can be selected. It is easy to understand and has a large and small font.
(2) Provide product information. This includes product name, special characteristics, raw material origin, ingredients, nutrition, and preparation methods.
(3) There is a product guarantee. This includes production date, expiration date, manufacturer and address, storage method, etc.
(4) There is a product safety indication. Including prohibited items and precautions.
(5) There is a function to prevent counterfeiting. Use secret marks and special printing methods to print for anti-counterfeiting.
(6) Increase purchase motivation. Including printing design, special printing, printing effect, and display effect.
(7) Convenience in sales and circulation. Including the expression of barcodes.
(8) Hygiene expression. Such as the marking of additives, storage methods, etc.
(9) Ensure the strength of the material. Consider the phenomenon of the printed paint not falling off during the circulation process.

The characteristics of letterpress printing are:
(1) Very suitable for printing pictures, texts, and lines.
(2) Due to the strong force, it can achieve better results on glossy paper.
(3) Very suitable for printing on rough paper.
(4) Due to the strong force, color printing has a hard texture.

The characteristics of flat printing are:
(1) It is a relatively soft printing material, so it is very suitable for printing whether it is rough or hard.
(2) It can give full play to the bright and rich tones, especially suitable for color printing.
(3) It emphasizes the outline of the text, and very thin and small characters can also be printed well.
(4) It is easier to make plates than other forms.
(5) There are relatively more types of printing inks.
(6) The consumption of printing ink is relatively small, and it does not emphasize texture.

Gravure printing is generally used as engraved gravure and photo gravure printing. The former is copperplate engraving, so the cost is higher. Since it is difficult to forge and fabricate, it is generally used in the printing of banknotes and securities. Its characteristics are:
(1) It can also be printed on very thin paper.
(2) The rich layers of the photo can also be expressed.
(3) The color tone is very rich and can faithfully reflect the original.
(4) Since it is very durable, high-speed printing is very easy to achieve, and a large amount of printing can be done in a short time.
(5) It is very suitable for printing on soft packaging and plastics.
(6) It is relatively difficult to produce delicate text and small details.
(7) The plate making cost is relatively high.

There are many other printing methods, such as screen printing, also known as perforated plate printing. Its characteristics are:
(1) Since a large amount of ink is used, it has a strong feeling.
(2) It is very suitable for printing a variety of small quantities.
(3) Various materials can be printed.
(4) Since the plate material is soft and elastic, it can also be printed even if there are protrusions.
(5) Plate making is relatively simple, so it is relatively cheap.
(6) The accuracy is relatively poor.
(7) The layout cannot be printed too much.

Due to the popularity of computers, DTP (as layout typesetting) work can be produced by computers, so this aspect of performance has become much more convenient, and it has also facilitated printing production.