The suggestion of saving plate making cost in gravure printing

Due to the fierce market competition, there are more and more short-run tasks in gravure printing. As a result, the proportion of plate-making fees often exceeds 50% of the total expenses (see Table 1). As a result, there is a need to save the cost of plate making. Table 1: Analysis of the cost of a gravure printing and packaging of a German cosmetics company in March 2000. Package name Total cost (RMB) Plate making cost (RMB) Ratio of plate making expenses to total expenses Soap packaging 341001610047% Standing bag packaging 364001840051% 6ml Promotional packaging 311001610052% 25ml promotional equipment 334001840055% If you further analyze the composition of the plate-making cost, you will find that there is a full-bottom white plate in each plate. Then, whether you can proceed from the saving of plate-making costs, four printing plates can be used together with a full-bottom white plate. What? In theory, the role of the full-bottom white plate is as a background color to increase the opacity of the plastic film, so that other colors can be better represented; thus, the full-bottom white plate can be universally used as one. However, in practical use, due to the mechanical structure of the supplier's printing press, different-diameter printing plates cannot be used at the same time for one printing machine, so each printing plate must have its own full-bottomed white plate. How do you save the white version of the "white"? From the implementation point of view, there are the following options: 1. Change the structure of the printing press: from the current total motor drive of the printing press, the shaft drive between the units, to the last unit independent motor drive, so that different diameter plates The drum surface speed is the same. 2. Use white inner composite material. 3. Add equipment: Add a white plate coating device after the existing printing machine. 4. Change the printing process. After printing other colors, the film is printed on the machine and printed in white. From the 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 individual motors for each unit. Advantages: Do not change the original process, do not increase its equipment. Disadvantages: There are risks, and the requirements for the electromechanical level of the printing factory are high. 2 use white inner composite material. Technical feasibility: Proven after a small-scale trial production. Advantages: No risk, no investment, indirect increase in printing machine can print color number. Disadvantages: High demand for white composite materials, increasing costs; difficult to control the color when printing. 3 Add a white plate coating device after the existing printing machine. Technical feasibility: There is no difference in the same process. Advantages: Indirectly increase the number of printable colors on the press without increasing material costs. Disadvantages: There is equipment investment; it is difficult to control the color when printing. 4 After the other colors are printed, the film is printed on the second machine in white. Technical feasibility: There is no difference in the same process. Advantages: Indirectly increase the number of printable colors on the press without increasing material costs. Disadvantages: high equipment loss, long printing time; more difficult to control the first time printing. After synthesizing the above plans, it was decided to adopt a combination of Option 2 and Option 4. In the production, a specific method was decided according to the actual situation of the task and the printing press. In subsequent production, similar short-term tasks save a total of 6% of the total cost. G (Author: Shanghai Publishing and Printing College, Shanghai Henkel Daily Chemicals Service Co., Ltd.) Editor of the responsibilities/ Zhang Sufang