Stickers are everywhere you look. They are on the things that you buy and the things that you drive. Flexographic printing is one of the most popular way to make stickers, like this 2-color quick sprout sticker. First we prepare the artwork, and create color separations for each color. This sticker has a green impression and a gray impression.

After the artwork is ready to print we use computers to send the artwork to a digital plate-making machine that makes this flexible photopolymer printing plate. The flexible nature of the plate is why this printing method is called flexographic. This large flexible printing plate is comprised of many different sticker jobs, so the Quick Sprout sticker is cut out individually.

Once the plates are separated from the large sheet they are put into a job jacket and sent to the printing press. The plates are inspected by the press operator and quickly mounted on small steel cylinders. Fresh vinyl printing stock is loaded onto the printing press and fed into the machine. The steel cylinders with the printing plates are mounted on the press, and carefully adjusted to ensure proper alignment.

Most flexographic presses run a continuous sheet of printing stock. Printing on a continuous roll of stock is referred to as web printing, since the printing stock snaking through the machine can resemble a spiders web. This machine prints the image on the sticker first. Then the stock is cut to the desired size and the extra waste is removed to be recycled. The result is a very large roll of stickers with stickers lined up 2 to a row which is then mounted on this machine where the large roll is split in 2 and wound onto small rolls for easy dispensing.

The job is done and sent to the shipping area to be packaged for shipping. The rolls are put into protective boxes to prevent damage in shipping or storage. A shipping box is prepared and the job is sent via conveyor belt to be labeled for shipment. These stickers will arrive at Quick Sprouts headquarters in 2 days.And that is how StickerGiant makes Quick Sprout stickers on a flexographic printing press.