News
Edwards Engineering Announces the Rotakote® Gravure Cylinder System
- Lower costs
- Durability and Stability
- Reduced Lead Times
- Cylinder Stock Utilisation
- Reduced Storage Needs
- Extensively Tested
Introduction
Taking costs out of gravure and reducing lead times whilst improving levels of service and quality are now the key challenges facing the gravure printing industry. 'Rotakote' Gravure cylinders offer both printers and engravers the opportunity to meet these objectives.
Throughout the world thousands of redundant steel cylinders are held by printers in their warehouses waiting for a new print design to come along with a repeat size similar to that of a stored cylinder. This inevitably represents costs to the printer in under utilisation of stock and the need for extensive storage facilties, made worse by the need to order further new steel cylinders on a regular basis.
Edwards Engineering have developed a process whereby the redundant steel cylinder can be continually reused by coating the cylinder with a variable thickness layer of robust plastic onto which the engraving copper can be plated. This unique patented process offers the immediate potential for resizing redundant cylinders. The lead-time savings within the manufacturing process are also very significant compared with ordering of new steel bases. The fact that the process cost will represent a considerable saving against the price of purchasing a new steel cylinder is equally important. If the plastic base is used again for a second smaller size then the cost saving is dramatic.
The 'Rotakote' Gravure cylinder has been extensively tested and printed with a number of gravure printers to date and reports clearly show that it performs on press in an identical manner to its steel equivalent. The 'Rotakote' Gravure cylinder will perform perfectly using all electronic engraving, acid or electrolyte copper "etch" systems. In fact it is fair to say that, once copper and chromed, you would find it impossible to spot the difference between a 'Rotakote' Gravure cylinder and traditional gravure cylinders.
The process of coating the steel with plastic and then plating copper onto the machined surface is a patented process and Edwards Engineering has invested in a purpose built manufacturing unit, to supply the UK and Northern Europe. Outside this area there will be opportunties for interested companies under license, to operate the process and develop their markets.
The 'Rotakote' Gravure cylinder has been developed by Edwards Engineering with support from Dow Hyperlast one of the worlds leading developers of high technology polymer solutions. In 2003 the 'Rotakote' Gravure cylinder was awarded the Gravure Association of America's Golden Award for Supplier Innovation.
Specifications
Composition
The product uses an exisiting stock gravure cylinder, which is coated with a specially formulated plastic varying in thickness from 10mm to 80mm (size is not crucial). The plastic can be turned to the required size in a matter of minutes and is then plated with engraving copper in a normal plating bath.
Manufacture
One of the key advantages of the 'Rotakote' Gravure cylinder is that once the plastic coating has been applied, apart from turning to size and preparing the surface to receive the copper, it is processed through coppering, engraving, chroming and proofing in an identical manner to a steel base. The engraver does not need to operate two processes.
Performance
Extensive trials and production print runs with UK, Europe and the US printers have confirmed identical press performance to that achieved with steel cylinders. Lay of ink, tonal values and text quality results have been identical. The 'Rotakote' Gravure cylinder looks like a steel cylinder and performs like one, throughout extended life trials. A number of major Gravure Printers within the UK have printed very successfully using the 'Rotakote' Gravure cylinder.
Benefits
Cost
Production costs of coating redundant steel cylinders are reduced, along with ongoing storage costs, as a result of improved cylinder utilisation.
Lead Times
Orders can be immediately actioned by taking redundant steel cylinders from stock into manufacture. No future orders will be lost to flexo because of the lead-time on new steel cylinders.
Manufacturing
Licenses are available on a worldwide basis through the agreements between Edwards Engineering and Dow Hyperlast.
Investment is realistically priced within the current gravure market place and the 'Rotakote' Gravure cylinder has been designed to integrate with your existing equipment and work flows.