JP7809331B2 - Method for plate matching of gravure printing cylinders - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a method for verifying whether the cylinder used in gravure printing, on which the printing plate is made, matches the manufacturing specifications for the printed product.

In gravure printing, a cylinder with an intaglio surface (cell) on its outer periphery is rotated, and the base paper, such as film, that will become the printed product is pressed against this cylinder, causing the ink held on the intaglio surface to be absorbed and transferred to the surface of the film or other paper.

A single gravure printing press uses many cylinders, and many gravure printing presses are in operation in a printing factory. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the correct cylinder is selected and to check that it matches the manufacturing specifications of the printed product to be printed.

In the past, for this matching process, an identification label displaying a unique code such as a QR code (registered trademark), data matrix, or POS code was attached to the cylinder's plate cover, and the code on the identification label attached to the plate cover was read with a handheld scanner to match it with the identification information registered in the manufacturing specifications for the printed product.

Another method has been to use RF tags instead of identification labels.

On the other hand, one method of managing cylinders used in gravure printing has been proposed, which involves attaching identification marks to the ends of the cylinders or the outer surface of the shaft (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-216335

However, the method of attaching an identification label to the plate cover of a gravure printing cylinder mentioned above occasionally resulted in accidents such as printing on the wrong cylinder despite the verification process being carried out due to incorrect label attachment or incorrect cover placement.

Furthermore, with the RFID matching method, there was the problem of having to pay for new RF tags as the number of cylinders increased.

Furthermore, problems arose, such as RF tags being unable to be read when attached directly to metal gravure printing cylinders, getting in the way when attached to the surface of the cylinder, and peeling off when attached to the end of the cylinder because the tag is buried in ink.

To address this issue, methods such as installing a plastic base inside the cylinder were tried, but this resulted in poor detection sensitivity and problems such as the base peeling off due to the solvent and ink that enter the cylinder during printing.

In addition, if the cylinder base material is reused after printing is dropped, the RFID data must be rewritten and reattached, which is a hassle.

Furthermore, with RFID, there is a risk of tags being attached incorrectly or falling off.

On the other hand, the invention described in Patent Document 1 is a means for identifying the cylinder base material itself, i.e., a cylinder base material that has been scraped and reused, and cannot be used as a means for identifying the cylinder from which the printing surface is made, which becomes a different cylinder each time printing is performed on a single cylinder base material.

The present invention was created with the aim of providing a method for plate matching of gravure printing cylinders that solves the above-mentioned problems.

In other words, the method for plate verification of gravure printing cylinders of the present invention involves directly marking a unique code by engraving it in an area within the printing range on the intaglio surface of a gravure printing cylinder that corresponds to an area that will become a non-product portion of the printed product to be printed, and then reading the code as identification information using a handheld scanner or handheld terminal with direct marking scanning capabilities, and verifying the read identification information against the identification information registered in the manufacturing specifications of the printed product.

Furthermore, the invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the method for plate verification of a gravure printing cylinder, the unique code is a QR code (registered trademark), data matrix, POS, character string, etc.

Furthermore, the invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the method for plate verification of a gravure printing cylinder, the engraved code is provided in a non-product area 10 to 20 mm from both ends of the base paper of the printed product to be printed.

The plate verification method for gravure printing cylinders of the present invention involves directly marking a unique code on the intaglio surface of the cylinder as a QR code (registered trademark), data matrix, POS, character string, etc., by engraving. This code is then read as identification information using a handheld scanner or handheld terminal with direct marking scanning capabilities. This prevents mistakes that occur when affixing identifying markings, such as plate covers or RFID tags, to cylinder covers or cylinders, a method of identification used up to now.

On the other hand, the code is placed within the printing range on the intaglio surface of the gravure printing cylinder, in an area that corresponds to the non-product area of the printed product to be printed. This eliminates the problem of unnecessary design if placed within the product, or the problem of transfer to the printing impression cylinder and contamination of the impression cylinder or the generation of foreign matter if placed outside the printing range.

Furthermore, the code is engraved within the printing area on the intaglio surface of the cylinder, i.e., it is applied when the plate surface is being made, so it is easy to implement without incurring additional costs even when creating a new cylinder made from cylinder base material.

1 is a plan view of a cylinder used in the method for plate verification of a gravure printing cylinder of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a plan view showing a schematic representation of a cylinder used in the gravure printing cylinder plate matching method of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 in the figure denotes a known gravure printing cylinder, on whose surface an intaglio surface 2 for holding ink is made.

In the diagram, reference number 3 indicates the printing range. In gravure printing, the base paper, such as film, that will become the printed product is pressed against cylinder 1 and the ink held on the intaglio surface is absorbed and transferred to the surface of the film or other paper, resulting in printing; the final printed product is obtained by cutting the printed base paper. Therefore, the area of intaglio surface 2 that corresponds to the product area used in the printed product is the area indicated by reference number 4 in the diagram. Non-product areas are generated on both ends of the base paper, which are cut and discarded after printing; the areas of the intaglio surface that correspond to these are the areas indicated by reference numbers 5, 5 in the diagram, and code 6 is provided here. Note that the non-product areas are assumed to be 10 to 20 mm areas on both ends of the base paper for the printed product.

Code 6 is a unique code that is directly marked by engraving as a QR code (registered trademark), data matrix, POS, character string, etc.

Cylinders used for gravure printing have curved, mirrored surfaces, making it impossible to read the engraved codes with a handheld scanner. However, in recent years, handheld scanners and handheld terminals for direct marking have appeared, and reading accuracy has improved, making it possible to read the codes.

The identification information on the above gravure printing cylinders can be read using a handheld scanner or handheld terminal via Code 6, and plate matching is performed by comparing this with the identification information registered in the manufacturing specifications for the printed product.

1 Cylinder 2 Intaglio surface 3 Printing area 4 Area corresponding to product part 5 Area corresponding to non-product part 6 Code

Claims (3)

A method for plate verification of gravure printing cylinders, characterized by directly marking a unique code by engraving it in an area within the printing range on the intaglio surface of a gravure printing cylinder that corresponds to an area that will be a non-product part in the printed product to be printed, reading the code as identification information using a handheld scanner or handheld terminal with direct marking scanning capabilities, and verifying the read identification information against identification information registered in the manufacturing specifications of the printed product. A method for verifying the plate of a gravure printing cylinder as described in claim 1, wherein the unique code is a QR code (registered trademark), data matrix, POS, character string, etc. A method for plate matching of a gravure printing cylinder according to claim 1 or 2, in which the engraved code is placed in a non-product area of 10 to 20 mm on both ends of the base paper of the printed product to be printed.