Flexography has almost been exclusively recognized as "printing on corrugated paper" in Japan, although it is the dominant printing system in the US and EU for flexible packaging as well as corrugated paper. However, recent breakthroughs in the flexographic industry have made us realize that flexography can play a major role in flexible package printing. The improvements in the water-based ink for flexography represent one such breakthrough that is drawing considerable attention. Naturally, it is not a simple task for water-based flexo printing to take a certain market share of the flexible packaging market away from the gravure printing industry in Japan, which might be the best printing system for the market. This paper describes the tasks that need to be accomplished to expand the use of flexography, so that it achieves a larger share in the flexible packaging market; some measures are also suggested to achieve this objective.

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Although the developments in the field of gravure printing and cylinder manufacturing over the past five years have not been revolutionary, they have been highly sophisticated. For example, the Helio K6 and K500 twain are capable of accurately engraving cells and offer a very high repeatability. In our study, gravure cell measurements were used to compare a traditional test cut and volume test cut, which proved that the latter had higher accuracy. The New FX system developed by Think-Laboratory improved the laser resolution from 3200 dpi to 6400 dpi. Hell Gravure Holdings deals with three types of laser engraving machines: Digilas, Laserstar, and Cellaxy. This paper also discusses topics related to copper plating using an iridium oxide anode, a diamond-like-carbon surface finish process to replace chrome plating, and zinc plating in an acid solution.

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In recent years, interest in the global environment has increased. FUJI KIKAI KOGYO Co., Ltd. has been working on the development of a gravure printing press that takes environmental issues into account. This paper discusses VOC measures, energy savings, improved capacity utilization, and the initiatives introduced to reduce loss.

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In relation to the performance requirements for packaging materials, there are times when new performance requirements are seriously needed to reflect the present social background. For example, in recent years, these performance requirements for packaging materials have included "concerns for the global environment and human," in addition to the traditional requirements. Against this background, high-performance, high-value-added products are constantly being developed, including packaging films. In this case, a packaging film was recently described as part of an overview of barrier films and environmental films as well as cutting property of enhancement films.

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The surge of interest in environmental problems has led to a demand for reductions in the use of volatile organic compounds and the adoption of environmentally friendly raw materials; in particular, there is a strong emphasis on the greater use of biomass for gravure inks. The progress during the past five years and new topics that have emerged in this field are introduced in reference to articles dealing with environmental issues concerning gravure inks that were published in the Journal of Japanese Printing Science and Technology in 2008, the 80th anniversary of its establishment.

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We will explain the relevant laws and regulations, along with the shipping trends for gravure laminate inks and adhesives. We will also introduce the technology trends and future outlook.

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Packaging materials for wrapping foods and medicines consume a large amount of fossil fuels, which are used in the drying process to produce hot air at a high temperature. The heat pump drying system "WECON" is described here as an energy-saving measure for the drying process. The CO₂ hot air heat pump "Eco Sirocco" (developed by Maekawa Seisakusho Co., Ltd.) is applied as the heat source equipment in WECON. This is a highly efficient system capable of simultaneously producing chilled water equivalent to three times the power consumption (COP: 3) and hot air equivalent to approximately four times the power consumption (COP: 7).In a factory with no demand for cold water, a suitable environment for the production of hot air can be created by recovering the unused energy from well water and the waste heat from various production processes such as exhaust. The hot air was produced and supplied as the dry hot air for the production equipment. The cold water was produced and supplied as cooling water for production processes and air-conditioning. To connect to an existing facility, WECON performs a base operation for producing cold water and hot air. It is a safe and secure system that does not affect the process of production, which allows existing facilities to perform backup operations during failures or other emergencies, along with peak adjustment operations. The operation of a single dry laminator was examined for a year. The primary energy consumption was reduced by approximately 60% by WECON alone, CO₂ emissions were reduced by about 72%, and the running costs were reduced by approximately 75%. Heavy oil consumption was reduced by approximately 23%. The power increased by approximately 5%, and a steady introduction effect could be seen throughout the plant. Out of the total energy of the plant, there was a reduction of approximately 5% in the primary energy consumption. CO₂ emissions were reduced by approximately 5%, and the running costs were reduced by approximately 8%. There was a 164% achievement rate for the plan amount, and the running cost savings showed a high introduction effect.

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It has been said that banknotes appeared in the 10th century. This was 500 years before the invention of letterpress printing by Gutenberg. The birth of banknotes ensured security and convenience in economic activities. In other words, this was the birth of security printing. Since then, special designs have been developed that cannot be duplicated by the technologies of public security printing. These are defined ideologically as security designs. In this first study, I explain the origin of security design features and the "recognition of solemn authority," which developed in the social trends of the Middle Ages through modern times.

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