Gravure Printing

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Gravure Printing

• By Ricky and Calum

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History

• Invented in the Italian renaissance 1300s
• It wasnt until photography was invented that
  gravure came into practical use.
• In 1940 Karl Klic and Samuel Fawcett refined the
  gravure printing process by reworking the
  mechanics into a rotary system. Because they
  couldnt afford a patent for their new technology
  they sold their prints as the old hetogravure
  prints instead of rotogravure. It was a secret
  until someone from the company moved to America
  and publicized the process.

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Intaglio Printing Press

• The Gravure Press is a form of Intaglio printing.
  This is where the print is engraved into a
  cylinder of copper.
• The engravings are tiny honeycomb shaped cells.
• The cylinder turns in a big bowl of ink called an
  ink pan

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Intaglio Printing Press Cont.

• As the cylinder is rotated the excess ink is
  whipped off.
• A paper is fed through the engraved cylinder and
  an impression cylinder which presses the paper
  against the inked engraved cylinder.

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The Process

• The gravure printing press is like a series of
  Intaglio press joined together using multiple
  colour.
• As the stock comes out of the black ink press it
  moves through an electric heater to dry it off,
  and then into the yellow ink press system. The
  process is repeated until it gets through all of
  CYMK to get the final result.

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The Result

• The end result from the Gravure is a high quality
  and accurate print
• has minimal errors
• capable of producing printed images which have a
  continuous tone effect

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Advantages And Disadvantages

• Advantages- Highest quality possible in a
  print.- The printer can work for decades.- Each
  cylinder can make a large number of prints
  without degrading
• -The gravure cylinder can be created with analog
  or digital plating processes.
• -Gravure is the preferred method of producing
  magazines and catalogs
• Disadvantages- Expensive Price - 1 million USD
  for the printer and each cylinder costs 5000.

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The Plates

• The Plates are large cylinder with minute
  honeycomb shaped pieces of copper. The copper
  pieces are placed an equal distance apart Below
  the copper is a thin wear-resistant layer which
  is un-engravable to ensure that it will only get
  into the copper.
• Each plate can make a large number of impressions
  without degrading.

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Material used for the plates

• Copper, Chrome and Nickel Plating .Chrome and
  nickel departments produce the highest quality
  plating in the industry.
• Chrome is the hardest and best quality industrial
  chrome, insuring consistency, durability, and
  print quality.
• Can be reused for the same project .otherwise
  needs to be changed for each different print .

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Gravure Stock

• Gravure has high bulk the paper is 30 thicker
  than SC paper which means you can choose a lower
  grammage compared to other products intended for
  gravure printing. Simply by optimizing the choice
  of paper you can cut both your production and
  distribution costs.

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Gravure Stock Cont.

• Gravure paper contains coating pulp base paper
  from 23g to 80g with ink and special resin, and
  are durable against abrasion and stains, has a
  high flat surface strength, and endures
  temperature changes.
• The stock used can vary from plastic film to
  non-woven cloth, PVC, thin leather, paper,
  aluminum foil, cloth and various soft packages
  with excellent performance.

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Environment

• There are several methods available to address
  pollution prevention and waste reduction in
  gravure printing environments. Each method should
  be evaluated for its practical application, both
  in cost and resource consumption.
• Shallower ink pans, improved doctor blade
  technology results in reduced ink usage. Vapor
  recovery systems can be one of the largest
  contributors to reducing pollution in
  solvent-based operations.

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Environment Cont.

• These systems need to be matched to the specific
  environment and have been successfully carried
  out in many printing companies. In addition,
  alternative chemical solutions can significantly
  reduce pollution.
• Test runs and trial projects should be considered
  when searching for safe alternatives.Printers
  need to develop partnerships with each of their
  major raw material suppliers. Within these
  partnerships there needs to be a clear
  understanding of the printers needs matched with
  materials so a quality finished product is
  achieved. Suppliers have technical assistance
  available to their customers so an acceptable
  product can be manufactured with as little
  pollution and waste as possible.

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Quality of Printing.

• The quality of printing is very high and
  reliable.
• It is very accurate with tone colour and detail.
• It is one of the best printer on the market today
  for printing in mass reels of work e.g Magazines
  flyers.

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Costs of Printing.

• The cost of printing with the Gravure can be an
  expencive way of printing if you only have a
  selective prints to produce .
• To using the gravure to the best advantage. Print
  in mass so you get more for you money.
• If you compare the Gravure to another printer
  that works on similar process you would not
  expect to pay more.
• If you compare to different printing process the
  price may be cheaper but the quality of the print
  will decrease.

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How relevant is the printer

• The Gravure is very important in todays printing
  world .
• About 90 of magazine companies choose to print
  there magazines using the gravure process.
• It is one of the most efficient and effective
  ways to print in a long reel and in mass.
• When printed in bulk the company pays less so you
  pay less for the end product .