Rotogravure

Rotogravure is another type of rotary printing technique.
It is an Intaglio process which means that means that the image is incised in the material plate.
It differs from Offset because it directly transfers the image from a plate to the stock and because the image negative is effectively cut out of the plate for printing.

Generally a copper plate is used because it is flexible and a relatively inexpensive metal.
The copper plate is then usually etched away with and acidic chemical to produce the design for printing.

These are the steps for manual intaglio printing:

• Once a copper plate has been made it is inked up and then wiped clean with some newspaper or similar material. 
• When the surface of the plate is wiped it gets rid of the extra ink and leaves ink only in the grooves where the design is etched out.
• The paper or material for printing on is placed on to the plate and rolled over with a heavy roller.
• The ink in the grooves sticks to the paper when the paper is peeled back revealing the printed image. 

The basis for Rotogravure printing is the same as in the steps above except that the copper plate is wrapped around a roller in a rotary printing press. 

This means that it can print really quickly and it can also print loads of copies before the plate will ever show sign of wear.

As with Offset Lithographic printing, Rotogravure is often used to print magazines and newspapers but it can also be used to print much more flexible packaging and thin plastics.