During the last All-in-print held in Shanghai, the most eye-catching item found on the booth of Eltex Elektrostatik GmbH, Germany has been the ESA-GNN75 Direct Charging Printing Assist System mounted on the displayed gravure printing unit.

This GNN75 system has been quite different from the “top-loading” system, which has been generally adapted by the gravure package- printing industry. Instead of a top-loading charging bar, a single-pinned type electrode is being utilized in charging directly on to the arbor of the impression cylinder, but only up to 900V (intrinsically safe to be used in gravure printing) for printing half-tone on plastic films, for achieving “No missing dots” effect. The sample sheets distributed on site were films printed with 150 line half-tone and light colour at printing speed up to 150 m/min, but without missing dot.

Due to the possibility of saving the cost of the top-loading charging bar, plus the simpler overall structure and much higher safety standard, this new product / new technology has attracted the attention of many big gravure printers as well as Oems of high speed gravure printing presses. It is expected to bring a new issue of technology reform in the plastic film gravure printing industry of China soon.