What is rotogravure?
Rotogravure is a term commonly used in the printing business. Rotogravure (Roto or Gravure for short) is a type of intaglio printing process; that is, it involves engraving the image onto an image carrier. Images are commonly engraved onto a copper cylinder with rotogravure in order to be pressed onto paper reels. Rotogravure presses are able to produce a wide range of print jobs. They can be as small as labels on envelopes to as large as 12 feet wide rolls of vinyl. The rotogravure press is not restricted to just paper. Materials such as plastic or foil can be printed on.
A printing job on a rotogravure commences when the cylinder is dipped into the ink. As it is immersed, the cells of the cylinder become filled with ink. Each rotational movement of the engraved cylinder causes it to become filled with more ink. Next, the material to be printed on is placed between the engraved cylinder and the impression roller. In this way, the ink from the cell is transferred to the material. The final process is for the material and the newly applied ink to pass through a drying method. The drying process prepares the material to receive another color of ink. Each color on a rotogravure press has its own printing unit.
Besides printing, a rotogravure press also has the capacity to produce saddle stitching. Saddle stitching is commonly used for holding together magazines and brochures. Rotogravure presses can print magazines that have a long run with over one million copies. Because rotogravure is capable of transferring more ink to the paper than other printing processes, it is noted for its remarkable density range (light to shadow) and hence is a process of choice for fine art and photography reproduction.
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