GRAVITECH s.r.o. offers sleeves and rollers for full tone print, direct laser engraved sleeves and rollers, adapters, photopolymer mounting sleeves, printing chemicals, consultations and support for flexography and technical gravure. We have been supplying our products since 2007 from our plant in Vyskov especially to Europe – Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Russia, etc.
Our plant is situated in Vyškov, in the direct neighborhood of one of the leading rubberizing and sleeve producers in Europe. We dispose of four high-tech direct laser engraving machines:
- single laser (CO2) – engraving up to 2.25 m
- hybrid laser system (YAG + CO2) – engraving up to 2.25 m
- twin laser system (YAG + YAG) – engraving up to 3.1 m
- hybrid laser system (YAG + CO2) – engraving up to 3.1 m
Description of the production
We offer two basic variants of engraving, either directly onto the rubber roller or into the rubber sleeve. Printing sleeves are round rubberized tubes, which are held on air-mandrels. During the engraving process the roller or sleeve rotates and the image is burned “pixel by pixel” with a CO2/YAG laser beam. We are able to engrave screens up to 200 LPI (80 L/cm) and images in high resolution up to 5080 DPI. The maximum engraving length is 3250 mm, and the length of sleeves or rollers up to 4050 mm. Non-printing areas are burned out and the dust is exhausted. After completing the gravure, the sleeve is subsequently sprayed with water and allowed to air dry. The use of printing sleeves is straightforward and simple in printing machines with air mandrels. For older machines, we offer complete support for the use of sleeves such as air mandrels.
Development and cooperation
Our main suppliers of elastomer rollers and sleeves used for engraving are Böttcher Systems and Ligum the worldwide leading companies in polygraphy as well as in sleeves production.
There is a special rubber mix for each kind of application in order to achieve the best qualities in various printing applications.
The sleeve production is similar to cylinder production. In the case of sleeves, the process starts with the selection of an air-mandrel and the production of a GFRP (glass-fiber-reinforced plastic) tube which is covered with elastomer according to its use and dimensions. The next step is vulcanization where the elastomers are cured in the oven.
After this process, the rubber needs time to stabilize its properties. Final grinding and polishing give the surface perfect qualities for laser engraving.
We are in close cooperation with Böttcher and Ligum to make the elastomer surface more suitable for engraving, with better results and higher endurance in print. As we are located right next to Böttcher, it gives us the possibility to process orders in a very short time and deal with the special needs of our customers and fast delivery.