Gravure printing truth telling

In the domestic gravure printing industry, there has been such a saying: "Seven-point version, three-point printing." Although it may be exaggerated, but this shows the importance of gravure printing plate. However, for many people, including many gravure printing plants, gravure platemaking can be said to be a mystery field. They lack deep knowledge and understanding of the gravure platemaking industry. In order to further enhance the communication and exchange between the gravure platemaking factory and the printing factory, the two sides achieved more understanding and cooperation, and jointly promoted the healthy and rapid development of the gravure platemaking industry and the gravure printing industry. We interviewed several well-known domestic concaves. Printing plant and flexible packaging gravure printing plant. Here, Mr. Wang Yu, General Manager of Dalian Dongyang Gravure Printing Co., Ltd. Mr. Xu Weiguo, Chief Engineer of Shanxi Yuncheng Savares Plate Co., Ltd., and Mr. Dai Junli, Minister of Quality Technology of Shannan Southwest Light Industry Co., Ltd. Ms. Zhang Yan from Heilongjiang Longhua Packing Products Co., Ltd. and Mr. Liu Yonghua who has worked in gravure printing for many years expressed sincere thanks!

Plate-making factory, to improve the quality of plate-making

High-quality plate cylinders are the premise and prerequisite for the gravure platemaking factory to participate in the market competition. Digital proofing system and experienced technicians can be said to be the right hand of the gravure plate making factory, and the standardized process management is gravure plate making. The factory is moving toward a reliable guarantee of success.

1. Digital proofing system, the right hand of the plate making factory

At present, there are two kinds of digital proofing systems used in the gravure plate making industry: one is the lRIS digital proofing system, and the other is the EPSON proofing system. In comparison, lRIS digital proofing system is more professional, and its color reproduction performance is better. The IRIS proofs are more exquisite and more realistic, especially the effects of the image hierarchy are more refined, and are generally used for the proofing of high-end products.

The digital proofing system has many advantages and benefits the gravure platemaking factory. Through the control and adjustment of the color management system, the proofs made by the digital proofing system can be very close to the actual OPP standard proofs, and the actual gravure effect can be well restored. Therefore, digital samples can help plate-making personnel to find problems in advance of plate-making, and take corresponding measures to correct and adjust, thereby improving the quality of plate-making and reducing the rework rate; secondly, the application of digital proofing system is more conducive to the control of the entire plate-making process. , And can guarantee the stability of the plate making process and the quality of the roller; In addition, the digital proofing is convenient and quick, which can greatly shorten the plate making cycle and guarantee the delivery time.

In the domestic gravure platemaking industry, Shanxi Yuncheng Savares Plate Co., Ltd. and Dalian Dongyang Gravure Plate Co., Ltd. should be regarded as pioneers of the digital proofing system. Savaras introduced the IRIS digital proofing system as early as 1995, and Toyo adopted the IRIS digital proofing system from 1996. Both companies later introduced the EPSON proofing system.

2. Experienced technicians, valuable assets of the plate making factory

In fact, the digital proofing system only provides a reference standard sample for the gravure platemaking factory. In order to obtain high quality products, it must rely on the handling and adjustment of the operator. For now, there is no ready-made theory or formula for the gravure platemaking industry that can be applied. Many times in production, it still depends on the experience of operators. Therefore, operators, especially color separation personnel, must have a high level of technology and considerable rich experience. Otherwise it is difficult to get the ideal product. This is why some gravure plates mills use color management and digital proofing systems, but they still do not have the root cause of high quality products. Nowadays, more and more jobs are being replaced by spot color alternatives. Spot color substitution refers to using other colors instead of black. green. The colors of magenta and yellow reflect the color and level of the image, such as replacing ultramarine with ultramarine, replacing magenta with red, and replacing black with brown. At present, the phenomenon that many chocolates are packaged in the market using spot color substitution technology is more common, and there are more cases of printing with brown instead of black. This kind of craft is more difficult, and the ordinary digital proofing also basically loses meaning in this, it is very difficult to express the effect of the designed spot color correctly, in this kind of situation, how to guarantee the correctness and reliability of the color separation data and the color of the picture and The correct reproduction of the hierarchy depends on the experience and skill level of the separation staff. Of course, the conditional gravure platemaking factory can use the Cromarin proofing system to achieve spot color proofing, but it is less used because of its higher cost.

General Manager Wang said that in Toyo, when color substitution technology was first adopted, it was necessary to check the suitability of color separation results by means of Cromartin-like samples. Later, through continuous experiments and explorations, it gradually accumulated certain experience and mastered. Some basic rules, and customers are also satisfied with product quality, so now basically no longer rely on Cromartine.

3. Standardized process management, reliable guarantee of success

The standardized management of the platemaking process is very important. The platemaking process involves multiple processes, including order taking, reviewing, color separation, and design. Machining, electroplating. For electric carving and proofing, all processes must be institutionalized and standardized in management and control.

Before making the plate making process, we must understand the customer's printing production conditions and figure out the job requirements. For one thing, from the point of view of the printing process, there are points on the surface and India, and the performance and processing methods of the two are different. Second, the performance of printing equipment, such as the accuracy of overprinting of domestic gravure printing machine. Printing speed, stability, etc. are generally inferior to those of imported gravure printing machines. We must also take this into consideration when we are making plates. We cannot just generalize. Third, the types of film materials used are different, such as OPP film and PET film. Extinction film and pearl film, their respective performance is also different, the printing process and requirements are also different. In addition, the customer's production environment, such as whether the workshop is closed. Whether or not a constant temperature and humidity device is installed, whether it is clean or not, is also very important. The gravure plate-making factory must carry out “personalized” processing of the plate making process in view of these conditions.

Mr. Wang emphasized that the stability of the customer's printing process is also crucial, otherwise it is difficult to obtain a stable and consistent product. In general, a large customer or a printing plant with a certain scale has relatively stable production conditions and process control. Therefore, it is also possible to stabilize a corresponding electric engraving process curve for the specific customer, and then specify the different jobs. Requires some corresponding fine-tuning during the plate making process.

Xu Gong pointed out that some customers are limited by the printing equipment and production environment, and often have poor ink transfer rates. The phenomenon of small outlets in the high-light and shallow-net parts is lost, but customers want to print qualified products even under such production conditions. Therefore, they may ask the plate-making factory to help them solve problems. When encountering this type of work, some necessary measures can be taken when making electric carving documents. For example, some customers have less than 3% of small outlets that cannot be printed, and they must consciously avoid 3 when encountering a large area of ​​high-gloss small outlets. % Smaller outlets below %, properly increase the value of outlets in highlights, to ensure that customers will not be screened when printing.

Proofing is also an important part of the process control of the gravure plate making factory. For example, the brand and grade of the ink used for proofing, the viscosity of the ink, the proofing speed, the proofing pressure, and the temperature and humidity control of the proofing room must be standardized. At present, the common practice of gravure plate making factories in proofing is to select different grades and quality inks for the different requirements of customers at different levels. According to Wang, the ink used by Toyo in proofing is roughly divided into high and low grades. In general, large customers or high-end products use high-grade ink for proofing, such as D, C, and Dalian Schmidt's inks; For small customers or ordinary products whose requirements are not too high, low-grade inks are used when proofing, which can avoid the effect that the printing factory can not achieve with high-grade ink proofing by the plate-making factory when printing with low-grade ink; second, the plate-making factory can also Save some costs.

Printing shop, what is needed is full service

With the ever-increasing competition in the market, the end customer’s demand for printing plants is also getting higher and higher. This will inevitably lead to a corresponding increase in the requirements of the printing factory for the gravure plate making factory, and hope that the gravure plate making factory must be able to provide comprehensive A full range of services. In this regard, Dai Junli, Ms. Zhang Yan and Mr. Liu Yonghua have deep feelings. They stressed that the printing factory not only attaches great importance to the commitments made by the gravure plate making factories in terms of quality, price, and delivery date, but also hopes to be convenient and reliable. After-sales service and technical support, and this is increasingly important.

1. Quality excellence

Prior to platemaking, gravure platemaking and printing plants generally conduct technical exchanges. In particular, for some difficult-to-live jobs, gravure platesetters must organize special reviews to determine the production conditions and product specific requirements of customers. The best route to meet product requirements.

Wang Zong said that certain specific areas are often prone to color shifts, such as shallow meshes in high-light areas and brown multicolors. Light white (such as milk cups), gray three-color superimposed, etc., in the face of such jobs, the plate-making plant must be cautious: First, the area of ​​the original prone to color drift special treatment; Second, select a reasonable The number of electric carving lines and the electric carving angle try to avoid the range where color drift easily occurs.

Xu Gong pointed out that for some of the more special fine work pieces, such as special small but must ensure a clear pattern, must take special plate-making process, such as carving. Laser engraving and so on, not only the number of engraving lines and angles should be reasonably configured, there are special requirements for color separation, and the requirements for machining are also high, like the heart, coaxiality and so on.

2. Technical support is increasingly prominent

When a printing company encounters difficult problems in the printing process, it usually seeks technical support from the gravure platemaking factory to jointly research and formulate solutions. In fact, in the actual production process, there are many factors that affect the quality of printing. There may be problems with the print version, or the process control of the printing factory may be inappropriate. Therefore, the root cause of the printing fault is properly judged and found to solve the problem. key. This puts higher requirements on the technical service personnel of the gravure platemaking factory. It requires that they must understand and even be familiar with the printing process in order to better communicate and communicate with the technical personnel of the printing factory, analyze together, and find out the crux of the problem. Where and take appropriate measures to eliminate, improve their own service quality.

When talking about this point, Wang Zong is very confident and proud, he said, many of Dongyang's technical staff and middle and senior management personnel are from Dalian Dafu Plastic Color Printing Co., Ltd. They all have considerable experience in printing and printing; It also attaches great importance to the training of technicians and sends them regularly to the practice of enrichment, allowing them to experience and understand the printing process. Therefore, in addition to the techniques and knowledge of plate making, the technicians of Toyo often have a certain degree of certainty. The printing production experience, relatively understanding of the printing process, and has a certain ability to judge the failure of the printing. Therefore, it is easy to point out or find the cause of the printing failure. This is also a unique advantage of Toyo, which is unmatched by many other gravure plate making plants.

In addition, according to Wang, Dongyang has also provided “online services” for its large clients. For example, Dalian Dafu Plastic Color Printing Co., Ltd. is the largest customer of Toyo, and both companies are part of the Dalian Shengdao Group, each of which is generally rich. When the new product is proofed or printed, Toyo must send technical personnel to conduct on-site tracking in the past, find problems in time, and jointly discuss solutions.