Vying to Add Value

Future gravure efficiencies may come from image carrier developments, such as a plastic sleeve Chesnut has in the works. For now, Dick Chesnut emphasizes the positive dynamics of prepress, pointing out the cost of prepress for gravure may still be 25 percent more than flexo, but the financial gap between the two is narrowing as flexo prepress costs rise. He stresses most label jobs are printed six to 25 times, and with gravure there is no prepress cost after the first run.