Suggestions for saving plate making costs in gravure printing

Suggestions for saving plate making costs in gravure printing

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Due to the fierce competition in the market, there are more and more short-run tasks in gravure plastic printing, so that the proportion of plate-making costs often exceeds 50% of the total cost (see Table 1). As a result, there is a need to save on plate making costs.

Table 1: Analysis of the cost of gravure printing and packaging in a cosmetics company

Package name                  Total cost    Plate making fee   Proportion of plate-making costs to total cost

Soap packaging                       34100            16100                               47%

Stand bag                                36400            18400                               51%

6ml promotional equipment   31100            16100                               52%

25ml promotional equipment 33400            18400                               55%

If we further analyze the composition of the plate making costs, we will find that there is a full white version in each set of printing plates. Then, can we start from a plate-saving version with four sets of printing plates?

In theory, the role of the full white version is to use the base color to increase the opacity of the plastic film, so that other colors can be better displayed; thus, the full white version can be used as one. However, in actual use, due to the limitation of the mechanical structure of the supplier's printing press, plates of different diameters cannot be used for one printing machine at the same time, so each set of printing plates must have a full white version of "self". So how do you "saving" the full white version? From an implementable perspective, there are the following options:

1. Change the structure of the printing machine: from the current total motor drive of the printing machine, the shaft drive between the units, to the final unit independent motor drive, so that the surface speeds of the plate cylinders of different diameters are the same.

2. Use a white inner composite.

3. Add equipment: Install a white plate coating device after the existing press.

4. Change the printing process. After printing other colors, the film is printed on white again.

From a technical point of view, the advantages and disadvantages of each program are as follows:

1 Change the structure of the printing press.

Technical feasibility: Since the late 1990s, the latest gravure presses in Europe have been driven by independent motors for each unit.

Advantages: Do not change the original process, do not increase its equipment.

Disadvantages: There are risks and high requirements for the electromechanical level of the printing plant.

2 Use a white inner composite.

Technical feasibility: proved to be feasible after small-scale trial production.

Advantages: no risk, no investment, indirectly increase the number of colors that can be printed on the press.

Disadvantages: high requirements for white composite materials, increased cost; difficult to control color when printing.

3 Add a white plate coating device after the existing printing machine.

Technical feasibility: no difference in co-occurrence process.

Advantages: Indirectly increase the number of colors that can be printed on the press without increasing material costs.

Disadvantages: There is equipment investment; it is difficult to control color when printing.

4 After printing other colors, the film is printed on the machine twice.

Technical feasibility: no difference in co-occurrence process.

Advantages: Indirectly increase the number of colors that can be printed on the press without increasing material costs.

Disadvantages: high equipment loss, long printing time; difficult to control when printing for the first time.

After the above schemes were combined, it was decided to adopt the combination of Option 2 and Option 4, and the specific practices were decided in the production according to the actual conditions of the tasks and the printing press. In the later production, similar short-run tasks saved a total of 6% of the total cost.