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Cale Polkinghorne
Historical Background
Italian Renaissance 1300s. Engravings and etching into soft copper. A channel or sunken area is left, this holds the ink. Intaglio is the term used to describe gravure printing (Italian for printing in a sunken surface)
Roto Gravure
Roto means Round. Term used for Industrial Intaglio. Roto Gravure is printing from a cylinder. Web Fed Slitter ( devise used to cut sheets at the end of of the press)
Gravure Industry
Simplest of all printing systems. Fastest press start up. Very little paper waste (half the paper waste of lithography). Speed is extremely high. 45,000 copies an hour.
Some run 20 million copies without cylinder wearing out. Highest quality image.
Industry Organization
3 types of printing
Packaging Printing
Publication Printing
Specialty Printing
Diffusion-Etch Process
Image exposed much like developing a plate for regular offset printing except negative in transferred. Acid Bath Copper cylinder Cylinder then chromed (prolong life)
Direct-Transfer
Electromechanical Process
Replaced chemical engraving Basically Done by a computerized mill that etches a digitally scanned image.
Laser-cutting Process
Chemically etched holes are made. Plastic is used to cover holes. Same process as electromechanical is used except a laser does the cutting instead of a tool bit.
Well Formation
Gravure Transfers from small wells that are etched or cut in the cylinder Cylinder rotates through a fountain of ink Excess ink is wiped off by a doctor blade
Depth
Bottom
Obviously the bottom of the well
Opening
Bridge
Well Design
Conventional
Wells have exactly the same opening size Amount of ink is controlled only by the depth of the well
Lateral hard-dot
Can create half tone images Well opening sized differ Well depth stays the same
Cylinder Construction
Most cylinder cores are made of steel Some companies prefer aluminum
Cylinder Design
Axis (center line of shaft) Shaft (what the cylinder spins on) Diameter Circumference (one impression) Face Length (printing width)
General Info