Study of Gravure Ink Transfer.

The transfer of ink from a gravure cylinder to a substrate on a laboratory printing press has been investigated quantitatively. The variations caused by the differences between the Conventional and Intaglio halftone etches, between a gravure paper and a foil, and between different viscosities, are measured and examined. The mechanism of gravure transfer is embodied by three panameters in an equation derived from one postulated for letterpress by Fetsko and Walker and considered in relation to later variations by other workers. Reflection densities of the prints have been correlated to the volume of ink transferred.