Gravure Printing

Constantia Flexibles Labels Division supported Beck's relaunch with rotogravure printed paper labels incorporating UV mark recognition.

Glass, rigid plastic and metal have long been the beverage packaging options of choice, but as flexible packaging continues to invade the marketplace, more beverages are being pouched.

Sonoco announced at its annual shareholders meeting that it will increase production capabilities and support R&D innovation.

Mondi North America has released caps for its spouted pouches that provide a choke-avoidance mechanism.

Komori Corp. announced the launch of the Pepio offset-gravure press line, designed for the manufacture of printed electronics. “First and foremost, Komori is an expert in precision manufacturing, and the entry into the printed electronics marketplace reinforces Komori’s message at drupa 2012 that we are expanding into new markets,” says Kosh Miyao, president and COO of Komori America.

Flexible packaging provider Exopack Holding Corp., the latest news is in the SKUs. This paper and plastic packaging converter, headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., boasts 19 production facilities across North America and the United Kingdom, and supplies approximately 25,000 SKUs to 1,300 diverse customers.

With recent advances in waterborne energy curing resin technology, an elec
tron beam (EB) curing gravure printing process has been developed which allows elimination of VOC emissions and reduces energy consumption while providing outstanding aesthetics, chemical, physical, and functional properties.

This year has made for an interesting economic ride. Few want to say the United States is in the throes of a recession, but even a cursory glance at fuel prices is enough to know that the economy is hurting. Despite the current economic woes in the United States, gravure printers are enjoying continued success. Although customers are always on the lookout for the printer who will cut them a break here or there, gravure printers are riding the wave of flexible packaging, exactly the type of packaging that demands the quality that the gravure process routinely delivers. This is not to say that

Many of us have relayed the line, “it’s the little things,” in response to something we find funny or which made us feel good. It’s the same for your print jobs—“little things” play crucial roles. Critical components of flexographic or gravure print jobs are the anilox rolls or gravure cylinders and the doctoring systems that work to control the ink that lays upon the finished product. Properly installed and maintained doctoring systems also go a long way toward improving your bottom line, as they can directly impact whether or not your rolls or cylinders last as long as they should. “Eighty percent of all

One thing is for sure about gravure—the basic technology remains the same, and the quality has also been second to none. What has been different for gravure in recent years is competitive pressure in terms of improved quality from various sources and printing processes. First, flexographic printing has made, and continues to make, inroads in markets that traditionally have been served by gravure. Second, foreign competition—whether it be outsourcing print jobs overseas, or presses that are cheaper to build and buy, but lack comparative print quality—continues to impact gravure printers as they work to compete in a global environment. The Achilles heel for gravure