Gravure Printing Ink - Gravure Ink

Common products produced using gravure printing include:

• Food packaging
• Wallpaper
• Wrapping paper
• Furniture laminates
• Paneling
• Greeting cards
• Magazines

Process Overview

Gravure printing is primarily used for long-run, high-quality printing applications where sharp detail and consistent image quality are essential. Compared to other printing methods, gravure requires a significantly higher upfront investment. While a lithographic press may cost approximately $100,000, a gravure press typically costs $1 million or more. Similarly, gravure cylinders can cost around $5,000 each, compared to roughly $15 for a lithographic plate. However, gravure cylinders have an exceptionally long service life and can produce millions of impressions without image degradation, making them cost-effective for high-volume production.

The gravure printing process originated in the early seventeenth century with the development of intaglio printing, which replaced woodcuts for illustrating high-quality books. Early intaglio printing involved etching images into metal plates, inking them, and pressing them onto paper. Modern gravure printing—still considered a form of intaglio—relies on ink filling engraved depressions on a polished metal surface.

Today, the dominant gravure method is rotogravure, which uses high-speed web presses equipped with engraved cylindrical image carriers. Other gravure press types remain in limited use, including rotary sheet-fed gravure presses for high-quality pictorial printing, intaglio plate presses for specialty applications such as currency and fine art, and offset gravure presses for printing on irregular surfaces, films, and plastics.

Modern gravure printing almost exclusively uses engraved copper cylinders protected by a thin chromium electroplated layer to reduce wear. These cylinders vary widely in size, ranging from a few inches wide for specialty products to over 20 feet wide for large-scale production. Publication gravure presses typically range from six to eight feet in width, while packaging presses are generally narrower. Product gravure presses show the greatest variation, depending on the material being printed.

Gravure printing is an intaglio process, meaning the image is formed by ink held in recessed cells etched into the surface of a cylinder. These honeycomb-shaped cells carry ink while the raised areas remain uninked. As the cylinder rotates through an ink bath, excess ink is removed by a flexible steel doctor blade.

The ink retained in the engraved cells is transferred directly to the substrate—such as paper, film, or plastic—as it passes between the gravure cylinder and the rubber-covered impression roller. This direct transfer method produces exceptionally sharp and consistent images.

The major operational stages in gravure printing include:

• Image preparation
• Cylinder preparation
• Printing
• Finishing

Gravure Inks – Solvent-Based and Water-Based

Gravure inks are low-viscosity fluids designed to flow easily into the engraved cells of the printing cylinder and transfer cleanly to the substrate. After printing, the ink must dry rapidly before reaching the next print station. This is achieved using gas-fired or electrically heated dryers, which evaporate solvents or water from the ink.

High-volume air dryers are placed after each print station to prevent smearing or ink transfer between layers. The solvent-laden exhaust air is typically processed through solvent recovery systems or vapor incinerators. Many recovery systems use activated carbon beds to absorb solvents, which can later be reclaimed or destroyed. Recovery efficiencies often exceed 95 percent.

Water-based gravure inks, commonly used in packaging and product gravure, require higher temperatures and longer drying times due to water’s lower evaporation rate. While environmentally favorable, water-based inks may still require pollution control systems and are subject to performance limitations at very high press speeds.

Gravure Press Design and Equipment

Web-fed gravure presses account for the majority of publication, packaging, and product gravure printing. These presses are typically custom-built machines designed for specific production requirements and feature multiple automated print units.

Other gravure press configurations—including sheet-fed, intaglio plate, and offset gravure presses—are used for specialized printing applications where unique substrates or image requirements exist.

Web-Fed Gravure

Web-fed gravure presses are used across several categories, including publication, packaging, product, label, and folding carton printing. Although the end products differ, the fundamental gravure printing process remains consistent.

Publication Gravure

Publication gravure is optimized for extremely long press runs required for mass-circulation magazines, catalogs, directories, and inserts. It remains competitive due to its ability to deliver high-speed, high-quality color printing on lower-cost paper while supporting variable page sizes and complex folding operations.

These presses often contain up to ten printing stations and can print both sides of the web in a single continuous operation. Web widths may exceed 120 inches, allowing production of large-format publications.

Publication gravure relies heavily on solvent-based inks, particularly toluene-based formulations. Water-based inks have seen limited success in this segment due to challenges maintaining print quality at very high press speeds.

Packaging Gravure

Packaging gravure presses are used to print folding cartons and flexible packaging materials. In addition to printing, these presses often perform cutting, creasing, folding, laminating, and varnishing in a single continuous process.

Packaging gravure typically prints on one side of the substrate and may include additional print stations for metallic inks, coatings, or foil laminations. While image quality remains important, functional accuracy often takes priority over fine detail.

Packaging gravure inks are commonly alcohol-based, with increasing adoption of water-based inks for lower-speed and non-process printing applications. However, limitations remain at higher press speeds.

Product Gravure

Product gravure is used to print continuous decorative patterns on textiles, wall coverings, floor materials, plastics, and laminates. In textile applications, gravure heat transfer printing uses sublimation dyes to transfer images from paper to fabric through heat and pressure.

Both water- and solvent-based inks are used in product gravure, depending on substrate type and performance requirements. While water-based inks are effective on heavier materials, lightweight papers may experience distortion or curling.

Image Preparation

Image preparation begins with customer-supplied artwork, either camera-ready or digitally produced. Images are captured using scanners, cameras, or computer systems and assembled through manual or digital processes. Proofs are created to verify image accuracy, positioning, and color before cylinder engraving begins.

Cylinder Preparation

Gravure cylinders are manufactured from steel or aluminum bases that are copper-plated and polished to precise diameters. Even minor variations—measured in thousandths of an inch—can affect print registration. Cylinders are highly sensitive to damage and require careful handling and storage.

Reprinted with permission from pneac.org/