What is gravure printing?

Gravure printing is a printing process in which the image to be printed is etched onto a metal cylinder or plate. This cylinder is then inked, but only the etched areas will hold the ink. The cylinder is then pressed against the paper, transferring the ink to the paper.

Gravure printing is a high-quality printing process, and it is often used for images with a lot of detail, such as photographs or artwork. It is also very durable, so gravure printing is a good option for items that will be exposed to a lot of wear and tear, such as book covers or magazine covers.

Advantages

- Excellent reproduction of continuous-tone images

- Long print runs possible

- High-speed printing is possible

- Wide variety of substrates can be printed on

- Durable prints

Disadvantages

- Expensive to set up

- Time-consuming to prepare printing cylinders

- Not suitable for short-run printing

- Can be difficult to control ink coverage

- Can be hazardous due to the use of solvents and chemicals