Gravure printing process knowledge in packaging box printing

In the process of rapid economic development, not only have other professions developed at an unprecedented rate, but our packaging box printing profession has also developed rapidly and is moving in the direction of high speed and automation. So it is necessary for us to grasp the quality control methods of gravure printing, which is of great importance to us (packaging box manufacturers).

The quality of packaging boxes, gravure printing characteristics of the printing skills and a variety of printing-related discipline skills continue to develop, gravure printing gradually towards high-speed and automation of the direction of rapid development.

A, gravure printing process and product quality of the symbolic meaning of what is?

1, the meaning of the gravure printing process

Gravure printing is a direct printing method, that is, the ink contained in the gravure pits directly embossed on the substrate, the thickness of the printed image level is determined by the size and depth of the pits. If the pit is deeper, it contains more ink, and the ink layer left on the substrate after embossing is thicker; on the contrary, if the pit is shallower, it contains less ink, and the ink layer left on the substrate after embossing is thinner.

2, the quality of gravure printing product signification

The quality of gravure printing products refers to the quality of gravure printing products when the order, level, dot, layout, color specific requirements and overprinting requirements and print appearance requirements reach the relevant norms or rules. Gravure products need to pass the rules of the relevant professional standards, and then after a comprehensive review of the quality of gravure products, the product is qualified at this moment.

Second, gravure printing process has what characteristics?

Gravure printing ink carrier is engraved on the printing plate of a pit, the shape of the pit and the original text as one, no ink on the surface of the printing plate. When the printing plate is in contact with the substrate, the ink in the pit is transferred to the substrate’s surface to complete the printing process.

Gravure printing process compared with other printing processes or have some unique features.

1, anti-counterfeiting features

Gravure printing to the original text engraved pit ink, the thickness of the line and the ink thickness level in the engraved plate can be arbitrarily manipulated, not easy to be modeled and forged, especially the depth of the ink pit, in accordance with the printed text through the true engraving has a good anti-counterfeiting effect. Now some enterprises’ trademarks and even packaging have consciously adopted intaglio printing, indicating that intaglio printing is a more viable anti-counterfeiting printing methods.

2、A wide range of applications

General soft materials can be used as gravure printing substrates. Such as plastic, paper, aluminum foil, etc., especially on some easy to extend the deformation of the material, such as textile materials, etc., has a better adaptability, which is not comparable to the letterpress printing and printing.

3、High printing quality

Gravure printing with a large amount of ink, graphics with a sense of convexity, and rich layers, clear lines, high quality. Figure, books and periodicals pictorials, packaging and other factors such as binding clear most of the use of gravure printing.

4, suitable for high-volume printing

Gravure printing plate making cycle is longer, more efficient, high cost. But the plate is durable, so it is suitable for (packaging boxes) high-volume printing. The larger the batch, the higher the benefit, on the smaller batch of printing, the benefit is lower. So the gravure method is not suitable for the printing of small quantities of trademarks.

Third, gravure printing process quality control process

The control of gravure product quality mainly involves three aspects: the control of the printing machine and printing target, the control of the color and tone of the printed material, and the quality control of the printing process.

In the process of gravure production, first of all, the printing machine and printing target should be adjusted to the coordinated. This is related to the basic construction of the gravure ink supply unit and the basic principles of gravure printing. These adjustments such as checking the stability of the cylinder, considering whether the need to replace the appropriate impression cylinder due to the different printing materials, whether the blanket needs to be replaced or polished, the adjustment of the contact pressure of the impression line, whether the ink scraper is replaced due to the size of the gravure cylinder needs to prevent quality problems caused by the equipment in the printing production process. In the actual production process, it is mainly the adjustment of the cylinder and the ink knife on the printing machine to complete the control of printing quality.

The control of printing machine and printing target is extremely important in the quality control of gravure production. It also requires a high level of experience for printing technicians. Most of the printing quality problems in gravure production are caused by the failure to control this point. The essence of filling is to adjust the cylinder and squeegee according to the printing target (substrate). To ensure that the quality of gravure products to meet the relevant specifications or higher requirements.

Fourth, gravure product color and tone control

In the gravure production process, often encounter some of the layout of the color lighter than normal color, and with the increase in the number of prints, this is more serious, and then directly affect the quality of the print. Stopping the machine to investigate, it is found that the graphic part of the layout is worn, the opening of the inking hole becomes smaller and the depth becomes shallower, resulting in a reduced area of the net six ink transfer units. The total ink transfer volume is also reduced accordingly, and the total trend of ink color change becomes lighter, which then greatly reduces the printing resistance of the plate, and seriously affects the color and tone of gravure products. This also makes the connection between the quality control of gravure products and gravure printing plates and gravure printing inks clear and explicit. And it is also clear that the actual production process through the control of the latter can complete the control of the quality of gravure prints.

For gravure printing plates, the key to reducing printing costs, improving production and ensuring quality is to improve the number of prints that each plate can bear (i.e., the resistance to printing).

With the continuous development of the economy, we can see the rapid development of industries such as electronic products, food, beverage, medicine, health care products, cosmetics, toiletries and clothing, the demand for gravure printing products is increasing, in the trend of higher and higher quality requirements, sensing and control skills will ensure quality stability and production qualification, and promote the quality of packaging box printing considerable and reliable. In the future, our gravure printing will develop in the direction of multi-purpose, multi-color, high-speed, automation, linkage and environmental protection, which in turn will greatly improve the printing quality of our packaging boxes.