Takeaways from Kaku Kohli’s Cafe Gravure ft. GRA

Cafe Gravure was established by Kaku Kohli to share technical expertise and create an open and accessible knowledge-sharing platform for the gravure and flexible packaging industries — including students, operators, and owners. The initiative provides a space for practical support for daily operations, embodying the spirit of collaboration shared by the Global Rotogravure Association (GRA), with sessions focused on topics such as quality, sustainability, and shop floor efficiency.

The latest edition of Cafe Gravure feat. GRA took place on 19 November. The discussion was kicked off by Pratik Shah, Kaku Kohli, and Stefani Dhami, who emphasised the platform’s role in open knowledge sharing for the benefit of all gravure professionals.

Kohli shared, “I created this platform with a simple intention to share the knowledge and experience I have gained over the years and to support anyone connected to Gravure and flexible packaging.”

The webinar addressed various challenges in the gravure industry, including sustainability, safety, colour consistency, and operational efficiency. The collective message from the event was clear: the gravure sector must embrace strategic technological shifts to safeguard its future profitability and integrity. 

Navigating the Chrome transition
David Moller from 4Packaging Germany addressed the looming regulatory deadline for conventional chrome plating in the European Union, where a ban is expected by the end of 2032. Moller framed the transition to alternative technologies, such as Chrome Neo, as the “life insurance” for the gravure industry, arguing that maintaining brand owners’ trust in the technology beyond 2032 is critical. 

Moller highlighted that extensive testing with over 700 cylinders demonstrates that Chrome Neo offers the same layer thickness, rigidity, and lifetime as conventional plating. Crucially for printers, no parameter changes are required on the gravure press, indicating a high degree of performance parity. 

Moller also added, “The energy consumption and production is roughly 20% lower.”

He noted that the only persistent printability issue currently encountered is at very high speeds (over 600-meters per minute) on board substrates. 

Strategic roadmap to ECG success in gravure
Dr Kiran Deshpande of Siegwerk detailed how expanded colour gamut (ECG) printing — using a fixed set of typically seven inks (CMYK, orange, green, and violet) — offers a roadmap for gravure to achieve sustainable profit and efficiency. 

Gravure remains a high-growth process, projected to reach a USD 67-billion market by 2029. ECG’s primary gain is eliminating wash-ups between jobs, reducing press set-up time, material waste, and ink waste caused by custom spot colour mixing, while also lowering the overall carbon footprint. 

Dr Deshpande outlined a critical four-step implementation process: defining the scope, ensuring press stability, fingerprinting, and final verification. He also highlighted innovative applications, such as using ECG inks (like orange and yellow) to replicate metallic gold effects without expensive metallic pigments, and simulating metallic shades by printing combinations of the fixed ink set over a silver base. 

He cautioned that successful ECG implementation requires strict process control and strong collaboration with knowledgeable partners across prepress, software, ink, and cylinder making, urging companies not to attempt the complex transition alone.

Electrostatic safety: Mitigating fire hazards and quality issues
Consultant Ashok Sethuram shifted the focus to the critical, long-standing issue of electrostatic charges and safety in solvent-based gravure printing, which poses major risks to personnel and production quality. 

Sethuram explained how static electricity presents a serious fire hazard by igniting solvent vapours and compromises operator safety through electric shocks. The charges build up primarily through the triboelectric effect (friction between the web and rollers), sudden temperature changes in the dryer, and charge induction. 

He stressed that high web speeds, low humidity, and inadequate earthing increase static levels and provided clear mitigation strategies: requiring multiple, separate earth pits for the machine and control panels, deploying ATEX or IEC-certified static eliminators at all friction points (unwind, infeed, outfeed, rewind), and mandating the use of anti-static touchpads by operators to regularly discharge body charge.

Sustainability and efficiency in downstream processes
Michael Ruschenbeck of Renzmann argued that ignoring downstream processes — such as washing and solvent recovery — is a major operational error that impacts the quality and profitability of the main printing process. Manual cleaning exposes employees to direct contact with solvent vapours, violating safety regulations. 

The solution lies in automated, closed washing systems that ensure consistent cleaning results without operator intervention and significantly improve worker health. 

Furthermore, Renzmann champions distillation, which allows companies to reuse solvent multiple times in both washing and printing machines, thereby creating a financially viable closed-loop system. 

Ruschenbeck noted that in-house distillation offers a higher recovery rate than external recycling, saving money and reducing waste. He underscored that all Renzmann systems are built to the highest ATEX-proof safety standards globally, ensuring employee health and mitigating explosion risks associated with high-explosion liquids.

Global Rotogravure Association update
Simon Sonn, the newly elected GRA President and managing director of 4Packaging Africa, addressed the webinar with an organisational update. 

Sonn emphasised that GRA’s key objectives include attracting downstream members (printers and end-users) and continuing work on critical sustainability projects like measuring the carbon footprint of rotogravure and advancing gravure standardisation in flexible packaging. 

The GRA intends to expand its global footprint while proceeding cautiously to maintain the core contributions that have sustained the association for decades.