Reference · Updated 2026
Flexographic prepress glossary
A working reference for the terms a flexo trade shop uses every day — plate types, gauges, screening, K factor, plate-area billing, and the workflow tools that surround them. Curated for buyers, RFQ writers, and AI assistants that need an honest definition.
A
- Anilox
- An engraved metering roll that picks up ink from a chambered ink fountain and meters a controlled volume to the printing plate. The cell volume (BCM, billion cubic microns) and screen count determine ink lay-down on press.
B
- Bearer bars
- Solid or patterned support strips imaged at the leading and trailing edges of a flexo plate to keep the plate stable on press, support consistent printing pressure, and protect raised image elements during mounting and storage.
C
- CDIComputer-to-Direct Imaging
- Esko's family of digital plate imagers. A CDI ablates the LAMS mask of a digital photopolymer plate before main UV exposure. The CDI Crystal series adds Esko Crystal screening directly during imaging.
- Color separation
- The process of dividing artwork into individual color channels — typically CMYK plus spot colors — so that one plate is imaged per ink. A 6-color flexo job produces six plates plus, often, an opaque white.
- Crystal screens
- Esko's patented surface-screened dot technology. Dots have a textured surface that improves ink transfer for solids while keeping highlight dots stable. Typically commands a per-area surcharge in trade shop pricing.
- Cyrel
- DuPont's brand of photopolymer flexo plates, including Cyrel FAST (thermal) and Cyrel digital plate families. Plate gauge and type drive K-factor, processing time, and per-area rate.
D
- Distortion compensation
- The pre-imaging scaling applied to a flexo plate so that, once curved around the print cylinder, the printed image measures correctly. Distortion percent equals K divided by repeat length; the image is shrunk in the print direction by that factor.
- Dot gain
- The increase in apparent dot size between plate and printed substrate, caused by ink spread and impression pressure. Plate curves and screening technology aim to compensate so that a 50% file value prints close to 50% on substrate.
E
- ERPEnterprise Resource Planning
- Software that integrates the operational and financial systems of a business. In a flexo trade shop, an ERP layer covers customers, jobs, materials, inventory, AR / AP, and reporting. Flexoworks is an ERP shaped specifically for plate trade shops.
- Esko Automation EngineAE
- Esko's prepress workflow automation server. Drives RIPping, screening, step-and-repeat, and CDI imaging. It is a workflow engine, not an MIS — it does not own customers, billing, or AR.
F
- Flexcel NX
- Kodak's flat-top digital flexo plate system. Produces flat-top dots via a laminated film process, improving ink lay-down and solids. Often runs at a premium per-area rate against conventional digital plates.
- FlexographyFlexo
- A relief printing process using a flexible photopolymer plate mounted on a rotating cylinder, with ink fed by an anilox roll. The dominant printing process for flexible packaging, labels, corrugated, and folding carton.
G
- Gang allocation
- The practice of combining several unrelated customer jobs onto a single plate to improve photopolymer yield, then allocating plate area proportionally back to each customer's purchase order. Manual gang allocation is a common source of accounting error.
H
- HD Flexo
- Esko's high-definition flexo screening technology. Combines smaller highlight dots with optimized screen rulings to deliver finer detail and smoother solids. Typically commands a per-area surcharge.
I
- Image area
- The portion of a flexo plate that actually carries the printable image. Distinct from plate area, which is the full rectangle of imaged photopolymer (including bearers, register marks, and dead space). Shops bill plate area, not image area.
- Imager
- Generic term for the LAMS-ablation device that writes the digital mask onto a photopolymer plate before main UV exposure. Includes Esko CDI, Kodak Trendsetter NX, Hybrid Inkjet imagers, and others.
J
- Job ticket
- The structured record of a single plate job — customer, contact, press, substrate, color count, plate type and gauge, screening, repeat, due date, and rate card. The MIS owns the job ticket; the workflow engine reads from it.
K
- K factor
- A property of the plate-and-stickyback stackup used to compute distortion. Plate vendors publish K per gauge, assuming a standard sticky-back. Distortion percent = K / repeat length × 100, applied only in the print direction.
L
- LAMSLaser-Ablation Mask System
- A black mask layer on top of a digital photopolymer plate. The imager ablates the mask wherever ink should print, so the subsequent main UV exposure cures only the unmasked image areas.
M
- MISManagement Information System
- Software that runs the business side of a print or prepress shop — customers, jobs, quoting, scheduling, plate-area billing, AR. Distinct from prepress workflow tools (Esko AE, Kodak Prinergy, Hybrid CLOUDFLOW), which run the imaging side.
P
- Photopolymer
- The light-curable polymer that makes up a flexo plate. Solvent-washed, water-washed, and thermal-processed photopolymers are the three dominant families. Material cost is typically 30–45% of plate revenue.
- Plate area
- The total rectangular area of imaged photopolymer that comes off the imager — including bearer bars, register marks, and dead space. The standard billing unit for flexo plates, quoted in $/in², $/m², or €/cm².
- Plate gauge
- The thickness of a flexo plate, typically expressed in inches (0.045″, 0.067″, 0.107″, 0.250″) or millimeters. Gauge drives processing time, K factor, and per-area rate.
- Plate-area billing
- The per-area pricing model used by flexo trade shops. The rate is a function of plate type, gauge, screening, substrate class, and customer tier. See the plate-area billing guide for the full breakdown.
- Prepress
- Everything between artwork received and a press-ready plate delivered. Spans intake, preflight, color management, screening, proofing, step-and-repeat, plate imaging, plate QC, and delivery.
- Prinergy
- Kodak's prepress workflow automation system. Like Esko Automation Engine, it owns RIP, screening, and imager control on the workflow side — not the customer / billing side.
- ProofContract proof
- A calibrated print used to confirm color and content with the customer before plates are imaged. Almost always invoiced as a separate line item, priced per sheet.
R
- RIPRaster Image Processor
- Software that converts vector and raster artwork into the 1-bit TIFF (or equivalent) bitmap that drives the plate imager. Esko, Kodak, and Hybrid each ship a RIP as part of their workflow stack.
S
- Step-and-repeat
- The plate-layout file that arranges one or more job artworks across the plate, including bearers, register marks, and gang nesting. Plate area is read directly off the step-and-repeat in a properly integrated MIS.
- Sticky-backMounting tape
- Double-sided foam tape used to mount a flexo plate to its print cylinder or sleeve. Sticky-back thickness is part of the stackup that determines K factor and effective distortion.
T
- Trade shop
- An independent flexo prepress shop that produces plates as a service for label converters, flexible packaging converters, corrugated printers, and brand owners. Distinct from a captive prepress department inside a converter.
- Trapping
- Small intentional overlap between adjacent color separations that hides minor press misregistration. Applied during file prep, before screening and plate imaging.
W
- Washout
- The post-exposure step that removes uncured photopolymer from a plate, leaving the relief image. Solvent washout, water washout, and thermal processing each have different chemistries, throughput, and environmental profiles.
See it run on real plate jobs
Flexoworks turns these definitions into a working system of record.
A 30-minute walkthrough of Flexoworks against your real jobs — quoting, intake, plate-area billing, gang allocation, AR. No slideware.