Knowing how much flexographic ink you need for a particular job and making sure you use that ink most efficiently can make a significant difference in your profitability.
It’s important to look at some ways to calculate ink amounts and examine steps you can take to make the whole printing process more efficient.
One word of caution: While online ink consumption calculators are good for estimating, be aware that accurate estimates of how much ink is needed require a thorough production consumption test with the press-ready ink, substrate, image carrier, and press to be used.
Online ink consumption calculators are not hard to find. However, there are differences from one to another. Here’s a quick rundown on a few of them:
Of the three calculators considered here, this one takes into account the most variables, including:
Taken together, these numbers will yield the total ink consumed, in gallons, for a job, as well as the amount of ink, again in gallons, you need to blend.
This company offers an online calculator with the caveat that customers shouldn’t use it to estimate how much ink will be needed to create quotes or generate print runs.
The calculator uses quite a bit less information to provide an ink amount:
For quick, rough estimates of ink requirements, this calculator can come in handy because the needed numbers are fairly easy to come by. However, something closer to the first example will likely yield more accurate information.
Paring the number of variables down even further, Zeller+Gmelin asks for four:
The company also mentions other variables that can change from printer to printer and print run to print run, such as:
Again, this calculator can be helpful for a quick estimate of ink requirements. However, your circumstances can vary widely from what Zeller+Gmelin calls its “approximate best-fit" and you should test it in your own shop before relying on it.
Before getting into specifics about how ink consumption calculation can reduce costs, it’s important to mention that how you manage the ink you use can affect the price of the job.
Using the wrong ink or not blending the ingredients properly for a particular application can lead to problems such as:
Poor ink management can also lead to excessive consumption resulting from:
Comparing actual ink use with the calculated ink requirement can get you started on making necessary corrections. These fixes might include:
Using an ink consumption calculator doesn’t guarantee cost savings. What it can do is help you find any areas where savings are possible. That alone makes the time required to use a calculator well worth it.
The best way to guarantee cost savings during flexographic printing is to work with vendors who you can trust to provide a quality product and a quality process.
At Luminite, we offer services such as in-house surface tension testing, ink coverage calculations, and color management assistance to ensure the quality of your image carrier is supported throughout the entire flexo printing process.
If you're currently experiencing problems with your prints, please reach out to us for a free printing consultation:
(Editor’s Note: This blog was originally published in September 2019 and was updated in October 2022 to reflect current information.)