Flexo Printing for Flexible Packaging: Colour Consistency and Cost Efficiency at Scale

Flexographic Printing 101

Established brands already know that colours, materials, and the quality of product packaging can directly influence a consumer’s perception of your brand regardless of what’s inside. With limited room on store shelves, winning brands have to think creatively to create packaging that stands out while staying cost-effective. Flexographic printing (or flexo printing) is one way that brands achieve this feat.

What Is Flexography or Flexographic printing?

Flexographic printing is a high-speed, high-volume printing process that uses flexible relief plates to apply ink to a wide range of materials, including plastic films, paper, and metallic substrates. This makes it ideal for flexible packaging like pouches, wraps, and labels.

Unlike traditional offset printing, flexo can print on non-porous surfaces, dries quickly, and supports large production runs, making it a preferred method for food and beverage, and other consumer product brands, especially at large scale.

Flexo is Best when Colour Accuracy Is Crucial 

Consistent colour isn’t only about aesthetics, it’s about brand recognition and most imporantly, consumer trust.  Shoppers will subconsciously associate specific colours with specific brands so if your packaging colours change from batch to batch, it can lead to confusion, mistrust, and even lost sales. Think of Coca-Cola's red, when you see it, you instinctively know it, and when it's off, you'd know that too. 

Flexographic printing delivers consistent results at Associated Labels and Packaging by using precision tools and expert practices to ensure colour stays consistent whether you're printing 5,000 or 5 million units.

Colour Consistency in Flexography is achieved through: 

• Pantone Matching System (PMS): We rely on PMS to ensure the colours you approve are exactly the colours that get printed.
• X-Rite EXACT Spectrophotometers: These tools measure ink density and colour accuracy in real time during the print run.
• Custom Ink Mixing: Our in-house technicians formulate inks to your exact specifications using advanced software like the Ink Formulation System (IFS) and Colour IQC Print.
• Press-Side Monitoring: Operators monitor every run and make live adjustments to prevent colour drift.

At Associated, we follow set process colour density standards to ensure maximum precision. The result? Flawless, consistent colour, no matter the scale of your packaging project and with the added peace of mind of our quality assurance promise, as our inks all must pass to a Delta E of +/- 2 points before we consider it passing. 

Flexographic Printing Is Ideal for Large Runs

Flexography is built for efficiency at scale. Once the press is set up, it can run massive volumes at high speed with minimal waste. This makes it especially cost-effective for brands with:

• High product turnover
• Long shelf-life SKUs
• Distribution across multiple regions

The more you print, the lower your per-unit cost. Plus, you avoid the complications of frequent reorders or mismatched colours between batches.

What Makes Flexo Printing the Smart Choice?

• It’s fast
• It’s cost-efficient for large volumes
• It delivers exceptional colour consistency
• It supports a wide variety of materials used in flexible packaging

At Associated Labels and Packaging, we handle everything in house and under one roof, from plate-making to lamination and varnishing. 

That means:

• Faster turnaround times
• Tighter quality control
• Better integration between design, ink, and production

With eight advanced flexographic presses, including our 52” W&H press, we’re equipped to handle your job, no matter how large, with speed and accuracy.

Ready to Explore the benefits of Flexo? 

If you're considering flexographic printing for your flexible packaging, our team can walk you through the process, help answer your questions, and provide a tailored solution for your brand. Contact Associated Labels and Packaging today to explore how flexo can help you create consistent, standout packaging, every time.