DIY Flexographic Printing

Stand out from the crowd with your hand-printed product packaging.

Flexography is used to print images and text on packaging like wrappers, boxes, cartons, sacks, cups and other containers. For a home crafter or a small business owner, small-scale flexography is a good way to brand and decorate the packaging for the fruits of your labor. Creating your own unique labels for can make your product stand out on store shelves. It is not possible to reproduce the quality of large-scale printing presses at home, but you can still put great-looking text and images on your products' packages.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil
• Paper
• Thin cardboard
• Craft knife
• Tape
• Ink, markers or paint, appropriate for packaging material
• Paintbrushes

Instructions

1. Draw a plan for your packaging using a pencil and paper, making sure the design will fit comfortably on your product. This can include your logo, the product name, price, instructions for use and other important information. Some examples of handmade packaging include a cardboard tag for a clear bag that holds baked goods, cardboard boxes for cards or cards to attach to jewelry.

2. Create a stencil for your packaging label by re-drawing or tracing the label onto the thin cardboard. You can create a separate stencil for the label's text, or hand-letter the text on the packaging.

3. Cut out the stencil with the craft knife, paying special attention to cutting out letters clearly, if you are stenciling the text. Remember the open areas in the stencil will create the image on your packaging.

4. Place the stencil on top of your packaging material, and position it where you would like the label to appear. Tape the stencil in place, and paint over it with paint and brushes or spray paint. You can use multiple colors by blocking certain openings in the stencil with paper between paint layers. Let the paint dry thoroughly between coats.

5. Remove the stencil, and allow the paint to dry thoroughly. If needed, hand-letter any text with markers on the packaging after the paint dries. You can also free-hand paint additional details or embellishments, after the stencil is removed.

6. Repeat Steps 4 to 5 using your stencil on the remaining packages.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your packaging design simple at first, as you master home flexography.

• Select spray paint or regular paint that works well with your material. If needed, select waterproof or odor-free paint to maintain the quality of your project.

• Ensure your labels meet any legal or regulatory requirements for your specific product.

• Use care when cutting with the craft knife.

• Paint packaging before filling it with your product.

References

• Printers' National Environmental Assistance Center
• moms-work-online.com: Labels for Handmade Products