In recent years, eco-friendly flexographic printing with water-based ink has attracted attention in the field of package printing. FUJIFILM launched a direct laser engraving (DLE) system in the market, which is one of the plate-making methods. It is necessary to control relief shapes, by laser engraving, and surface properties of the plates for higher quality printings. We have studied the laser engraving properties of the plates and plate parameters related to solid density. We inferred that engraving properties are dependent on the laser absorption coefficient, decomposition rate, and calorific value of the polymer. Furthermore, we found that the hardness and surface roughness of the plate are important factors for solid density, as they affect ink uniformity on a print.
