Printing Plate Preparation for 2-Piece Aluminum Can Manufacturing

The printing plate preparation process is a critical step in the 2-piece aluminum can manufacturing workflow, ensuring that multi-color designs are accurately transferred onto the can's exterior. The following steps outline the process of preparing printing plates for use in the Decorator, which applies the label to the cans:

1. Engraving the Printing Plates: Each printing plate is engraved with the specific design for one color in the multi-color printing process.  The engraving process hardens the material that will result in the image.

2. Washing the Plates: After engraving, the plates are thoroughly washed to remove the material that is not hardened. 

3. Hole Punching for Alignment: The next step is to punch holes into the printing plates. These holes are precisely positioned to serve as alignment guides when mounting the plates onto the printing cylinders in the Decorator. Accurate hole punching ensures that each color aligns perfectly during the printing process, which is essential for maintaining design integrity and quality.

4. Curving the Plates: Since the plates are mounted on plate cylinders, which are round, the flat plates are curved at the edges to assist the operator in installing the plates onto the cylinders.

5. Cutting sharp corners: The final step in the plate preparation process is to cut the sharp corners of the plates, which helps the operator with safety when installing the plates.