Surface functionalization of flexographic printing forms using a femtosecond laser for adjustable material transfer in MID production processes

Transferring a defined amount of material can have many advantages. In this work, laser-generated microstructures are inserted in plain flexographic printing form material using a femtosecond laser to control the wetting behavior. The results are transferred to a printing form, which is functionalized by inserting these microstructures in the material transferring areas. In this paper, different structures and their effect on the printing results are investigated. Through functionalization of the printing form, not only can the transferred amount of material be adjusted, but also the cross section shape of the printing result. Further, after laser processing and printing, the printing form shows no relevant wear or chemical instabilities.