The introductory course offered by the ERA seminar covers gravure in theory and practice
The ERA seminar “Gravure at your fingertips” takes place on 29–31 March 2023 (English language seminar) and 12-14 July (German language seminar) at the Media University (Hochschule der Medien – HDM) in Stuttgart, Germany.
The annually held seminar provides an introduction to gravure cylinder preparation and printing with demonstrations and practical exercises. The target group includes employees from gravure production and supply chains needing a general overview of the process
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The structure of the seminar
The introductory course offered by the seminar covers gravure in theory and practice, from the electro plating for copper plating of a cylinder, through surface processing and finishing, preparation of a layout and the subsequent electromechanical engraving process, to printing on several papers with different ink viscosities. Besides electromechanical engraving, all workflow processes for other modern gravure cylinder engraving procedures such as laser assisted etching and laser engraving are explained. The new developments of cylinder surfaces are touched.
All process steps are tried and tested on equipment in the cylinder preparation laboratory and in the gravure printing department. Participants will design a layout, help prepare and engrave a cylinder with it, and print it on different types of paper. These steps will be accompanied by quality control with the corresponding measuring equipment.
The course is designed to provide a practical overview of the whole process chain for employees of gravure printers, cylinder engravers and reproduction studios, from paper, substrate and ink manufacturers, and also for newcomers to the industry coming from a different field. This course does not include advanced operator training and so is not intended for the experienced technical staff from gravure printers.
The Stuttgart Media University
The Stuttgart Media Universityis the only university in Europe which operates a complete gravure line, from cylinder preparation through to a rotogravure printing press. Hence, the cylinder preparation and gravure printing department at HdM is unique in European further and higher education. In the labs all aspects of gravure can be closely experienced and tried out, and the quality of all production steps can be tested with special measuring methods.
Participants and registration
The number of participants has been limited to 7 participants per course. This enables each participant to take an active “hands on” part in each production step, which will enable a better understanding of the complete process.
Closing date for registrations for the English language seminar is 14 March 2023. The number of participants is limited to 7 only. Participation places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Quotes on previous seminars
“Ms. Stefani Dhami had arranged everything very well in very short time, furthermore, Mr. Weichmann and Mr. Galus had been very friendly and supportive throughout the program. This seminar has been very beneficial for us as I have joined this industry very recently, so it was a great opportunity for me as I was able to learn many things in a brief period of time, that too from professionals with high experiences. After participating, we now understand the importance of this program, it is a great platform to acquire basic rotogravure knowledge in short time, we will strongly advise our customers and our suppliers to attend such seminars organised in future.”
“I have been working in flexible packaging for 25 years. First time I heard with such details all the printing processes, from the engraving until printing. The combination of theory and practice was ideal. Within three days all the professors analyzed with explanatory way the gravure printing. Very good atmosphere in the classroom. I will recommend the course for sure.”
(Avraam Makis Moisidis, Hatzopoulos, Greece)
“The days at the seminar were very instructive overall. There were exciting discussions in our group and it was also a good opportunity to exchange ideas with other professionals. Another advantage was of course that we had experts from all areas of the printing industry on site. From ink manufacturers (water-based) to solvent ink manufacturers to decorative gravure printers and packaging printers. This was a good opportunity to exchange ideas in a neutral ambient, which makes such workshops very valuable. But also the dinner together after the workshop was a great experience.”
