Gravure Printing Process Introduction

1. Introduction to Gravure Printing

Gravure printing is one of the four major printing methods. It is a direct printing process, where the ink contained in the recessed cells of the gravure plate is directly transferred onto the substrate to form the printed pattern.

2. Printing Principle

The printing plate for intaglio printing is composed of a series of indentations that correspond to the graphics and text of the original manuscript, along with the surface of the printing plate. During the printing process, ink is filled into the indentations, and the ink on the surface of the printing plate is scraped off using a roller. There is a certain pressure contact between the printing plate and the substrate, transferring the ink in the indentations onto the substrate to complete the printing.

3. Printing Features

As a type of printing process, gravure printing occupies an extremely important position in the fields of printing packaging and graphic publishing, thanks to its advantages such as thick ink layer of printed products, bright colors with high saturation, high printing plate durability, stable print quality, and high printing speed.

4.Printing applications

Previously, intaglio printing was mainly used for the printing of valuable securities such as banknotes and stamps; with the development of domestic intaglio printing technology, it has also been widely applied in packaging printing, flexible packaging, and pharmaceutical packaging.

5. Printing Process

1). Film surface treatment
Due to the smooth surface of plastic films and their poor ability to adhere to ink, before printing, it is necessary to remove the "sharp edges" that are invisible and cannot be seen, which helps the ink and adhesives to adhere.

2).Re-pressing

During the re-pressing operation, it is crucial to ensure that the printing plate is protected from being damaged. The edges and the sliding rules at the mouth need to be aligned precisely. Also, the printing plate cylinder must be securely fastened to the printing machine to prevent it from loosening during the actual printing process.

3). Adjusting the rules
After all the preparatory work before printing is completed, carefully calibrate the printing plate, check the paper feeding, paper conveying, paper collection, and the operation of the push-pull rules, and make appropriate adjustments, correct the pressure, adjust the ink supply volume, and adjust the wiping knife.

4). Formal Printing

During the formal printing process, it is necessary to frequently check samples to ensure that the halftone patterns are complete, the registration is accurate, the ink color is bright, the viscosity and drying time of the ink are compatible with the printing speed, and whether there are any defects such as creases, knife lines, or broken knife edges on the printed sheets due to uneven ink scraping by the ink knife.