The work aims to compare the surface characteristics of photopolymer plate and elastomer plate and analyze the factors that affect the ink transfer and image reproduction. The surface characteristics of printing plate were characterized by surface energy, hardness and roughness. Two kinds of plates with the same resolution and screen lines were made. Under the same printing conditions, the ink transfer and image reproduction characteristics of the two plates were analyzed by spectrophotometer and microscope. The surface energy of photopolymer plate was higher than that of elastomer plate, but the surface roughness of elastomer plate was higher than that of photopolymer plate. From the printing results, the photopolymer plate had better ink transfer ability and the ink density was higher, while the screen dot expansion degree of elastomer plate was smaller. When UV ink was used, the printing contrast of photopolymer plate was slightly higher. When water-based ink was used, the printing contrast of both plates was almost the same. In addition, the elastomer plate produced finer lines and text than the photopolymer plate. For certain flexographic plate, the surface characteristics can be studied through analysis, so as to select plates according to reasonable printing process.