High Volume Printing of Functional Materials, with Special Reference to Flexography and Smart Packaging 

To expand the existing knowledge boundary and translate this into improvements on press, icmPrint (an independent not for profit Research and Technology Organisation) is sponsoring a 4 year EPSRC Engineering Doctorate in the Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating to take the understanding of flexography to the next level.

The objectives of this project are through practical experiments both in the laboratory and on production presses to:

• Establish the impact of different ink curing technologies
• Establish the potential for flexo to volume print smart packaging and large area electronics
• Explore new ways of combining print with new media
• Increase the colour gamut
• Establish the optimum fixed pallet printing
• Print functional materials such as sensor and bio inks
• Improve predictability, consistency and registration (the key to accurate colour reproduction)
• Develop predictive methods