The direct laser engraving is one of the modern digital ways to get the digital image on the printing sleeve or print roller. With the direct laser gravure is the multi-phase production of photopolymer plates substituted by laser engraving or lasering the surface. After this follows the washing of the sleeve/roller by water spray and a short drying process.
The laser beam and the elastomer
GRAVITECH engraves with the help of the laser beam from the data file into the flexo sleeve/print roller. With this method is direct laser engraving the only one production technology, where the print media/print form is prepared immediately for print after production.
The elastomer used for direct laser engraving is stabilized in the machine on an air mandrel and lasered by a laser beam, engraving away the nonprinting areas wit the laser. This engraved away material is extracted by an extraction system out of the engraving process.
The Gravitech environmental friendly production
This technology brings big advantages to the environment. In our country, the same as in the other world, we pay a big attention to environmental questions. Our legislative forces the preprint production and printing facilities, to find new ways of preprint production with ecologically friendly methods. As an example lets show the use of photopolymer plates, with big consumption of liters of dangerous chemistry every day, which is classified as dangerous waste. This is not the case with direct laser gravure.
Clean technology without secondary dangerous waste
Direct laser engraving is the only one method, that eliminates the use of dangerous foto materials and chemistry and with this connected dangerous waste liquidation. The waste after DLE is only safe burned down powder or dust. This dust is collected by an extraction system in our factory and burned down or deposit as nontoxic material in ECOdepos.
After DLE comes to a water spray wash for cleaning finally the printing surface and short cycles of drying. The used water is nontoxic and after filtration reusable again or let into the canalization. It appears no secondary waste, which should be difficult to liquidate. None part of the production process or final product is environmentally unfriendly. The waste is only dust and water.
One of the biggest advantages of DLE is its high productivity because most of the elastomer plates/sleeves and rollers are immediately ready to print. Besides that this production can operate, nearly without mankind’s assistance, which allows the engraving of big jobs for example over the night.