[PRCo] Rotogravure 'splained

[Fred Schneider]

Actually, rotogravure is a printing process unique to itself in which the ink is contained in wells within the plate and transferred to the paper.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotogravure

In offset lithography, a water solution is first applied to the printing plate.   The water solution adhears to the portions of the plate where you don't want ink.   Then the plate picks up a waterproof ink and it sticks to the part of the plate that is supposed to have an image.   The ink is then "offset" on to a rubber roller, which is in turn "offset" or transferred onto the paper.   It's all in here in great detail.   The big advantage to photo offset was economy compared to raised type that had been used since early block prints or moveable type.   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offset_printing

Rotogravure is a higher quality process but much more expensive.   I remember a firm that attempted to locate in Lancaster County back in the 1970s to make high quality milk cartons by rotogravure.   Their selling point was that their did a nicer job than anyone else.   It took them less than a year to discover that no one wanted to pay that price to print milk cartons that would be hold milk today and being used to package garbage tomorrow.   Within a year there was a big empty printing plant for sale!   It fits into the category of "anyone could'a told 'em."

Trouble is my knowledge of the printing industry goes up to the time I did Headlights magazine and the PCC books in the early 1980s.   That was the transition era from letterpress and linotype to cold type.   The old Varitype machines were becoming rapidly obsolete too.   I recall the chap who did headlights for us bought one computerize typesetting machine.   It was horribly expensive then ... $65,000.   But he paid for it in a year in savings because he fired three linotype operators, a linotype mechanic, a foreman and in place of them hired one girl to set type during the day.   If she couldn't get it done, his office secretary came in evenings.   Today most printers don't even do typesetting.   You set your own type on your computer and it costs a under a thousand dollars to do it!   

I don't even understand Pagemaker or the scanning software because i've never used it.   I simply understand that all the layout, pasteup, and camera operations that used to be part of the printing business have also disappeared.