Gravure Or Intaglio Printing
Relief printing transfers ink from a raised surface to paper. The gravure process is just the opposite. In gravure printing, ink is transferred from a lowered surface to paper. The image area of a gravure plate is cut below or into the surface of the plate. Intaglio is another name for gravure. The entire surface of the plate is inked and then wiped clean. This leaves ink in the lowered areas of the plate. Paper is then pressed against the plate and ink transfers to it.
Paper is flexiable. It can bend and stretch to get into the lowered areas of a gravure plate. Kari kleitsch is generally credited with inventing the garvure process is 1879. In 1894, he developed a press that could print from etched copper cylinders instead if flat plates. Within twenty years gravure cylinders were being used to print a variety of products including a portion of New York Times.
Today both flat and cylinderical gravure plate are used on a variety of presses to print Sunday newspaper supplements, magazines, major mail order catalogues, stamps, and even paper money. Much of our printed fabric is also produced by gravure.
Image reversal, like the raised image on a relief plate, the lowered image on a gravure plate must also be prepared reverse. Note the shape of the lowered surface that printed the letter with wrong reading or back wards. The lowered surface was purposely prepared this way so that it would print a right reading image on the paper.
Edity by Vikas
4 April, 2012
