What Is Gravure Printing? The Ultimate Solution for the Flexible Packaging Industry

In the fiercely competitive consumer goods market, packaging is not only the outer garment of the product but also the silent spokesperson of the brand value. As a company specializing in flexible packaging manufacturing, DQ PACK is well aware that color durability, pattern refinement, and material safety are the pain points that buyers and consumers are most concerned about. Suppose you are troubled by unstable packaging printing effects, substandard environmental standards, or cost control problems. In that case, this blog will take you to a deeper understanding of gravure printing, the core technology that reshapes industry standards, and reveal how we use it to give competitive advantages to products such as baby food packaging, spout pouches, and retort pouches.

What Is Gravure Printing?

Gravure printing is a high-precision printing technology that transfers ink by engraving grooves. Unlike ordinary printing methods, the surface of the printing plate is covered with micron-level pits, and the ink is filled and transferred to the substrate through pressure, thereby achieving a rich color and layered visual effect. This technology is particularly suitable for large-scale production and can perfectly adapt to flexible packaging materials such as plastic films and aluminum foils, making it the first choice for industries such as food and medicine.

At DQ PACK, we use gravure printing technology to produce baby food packaging, which not only presents eye-catching cartoon patterns but also ensures that the ink adheres firmly to avoid shedding problems caused by friction or high temperature, adding double weight to safety and beauty.

Gravure Printing Ink: A Balance between Safety and Environmental Protection

Ink is one of the core materials of gravure printing, and its composition directly affects the safety and environmental protection of packaging. Although traditional solvent-based inks are low-cost, they have VOC emission problems; while water-based gravure printing inks and UV curing inks have become the direction of industry upgrades with their advantages of low toxicity, low odor, and high adhesion.

Our gravure printing inks have passed international certifications such as FDA and EU 10/2011, ensuring that baby food packaging and retort bags will not release harmful substances during high-temperature sterilization or long-term storage. For example, the spout of a stand-up pouch often needs to be bent multiple times, but our ink can remain flexible and not crack, completely solving the risk of leakage.

Gravure Printing Machine: The hero behind efficient production

A high-performance gravure printing machine is the key to ensuring printing quality and efficiency. Modern gravure printing machines integrate modules such as automatic registration, tension control, and drying systems, and can continuously complete 8-color or even 12-color printing with an error control within ±0.1 mm.

DQ PACK’s gravure printing machine is equipped with intelligent temperature control drying technology, which can quickly cure the ink at high speed (up to 400 meters/minute) to avoid adhesion or color difference problems. This advantage allows us to meet customers’ urgent delivery needs when mass-producing retort bags while maintaining color consistency between batches and reducing material loss.

Gravure Printing Process: A Precision Journey from Design to Finished Product

The process of gravure printing can be divided into four major stages, and each step is related to the final effect:

• Printing plate engraving: A copper plate with pattern grooves is made by a laser or electronic engraving machine. The depth of the groove determines the amount of ink, which in turn controls the color intensity.
• Ink coating: The printing plate is immersed in the ink tank, and the scraper scrapes off the excess ink on the surface, leaving only the part in the groove.
• Transfer and drying: The substrate (such as PET film) is pressed with the printing plate, and the ink is cured by the drying system after transfer.
• Post-processing: Lamination, slitting, bag making, and other processes are carried out according to needs to make finished products such as self-supporting bags and retort bags.

We have added an online detection system for baby food packaging to monitor printing defects in real time to ensure that the pattern clarity and hygiene standards of each batch meet customer requirements.

Why choose DQ PACK’s gravure printing solution?

We provide customized inks and process solutions for the anti-migration of baby food packaging, the high-temperature resistance of retort pouches (above 121°C), and the sealing of stand-up pouches. Reduce scrap rate through high-precision printing, and reduce unit cost through large-scale production.

Act now: Experience the excellent quality of gravure printing!

If you are looking for a packaging solution with a high conversion rate or want to seize the market with a more attractive design, DQ PACK provides you with a free sample service! Our baby food packaging, stand-up pouches, and retort pouches all use gravure printing technology to help you achieve the dual breakthrough of “visual appeal + reliable function.”

Click to contact customer service to apply for a free sample immediately and see how gravure printing can empower your products!