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Time: 2017-12-25 16:23 Source: China Printing Technology Association 　Secretary of the Gravure Printing Branch

In recent years, the development of domestically produced high-speed roll-fed gravure printing machines has been rapid. Plastic films and paper rolls have quickly captured the domestic market for flexible packaging printing, gradually becoming strong competitors to imported gravure printing machines. To meet the environmental protection needs of printing enterprises, major domestic gravure printing machine manufacturers have launched water-based ink gravure printing machines. At the same time, based on the existing solvent-based gravure printing, energy-saving and energy-efficient drying devices and LEL automatic control systems have been adopted to develop environmentally friendly gravure printing machines with reduced emissions. In order to understand the development of domestic equipment in this field, the Gravure Printing Branch of the China Printing Technology Association conducted a survey of domestic gravure machine manufacturers. By searching the websites of various manufacturing enterprises and conducting on-site investigations of some enterprises, enterprises with printing speeds above 300m/min and registered capital above 10 million yuan were selected as samples. The products and market conditions of various enterprises were investigated, and a brief analysis of the gravure printing machine supporting roller market was also conducted. The high-speed gravure printing machines referred to in this report refer to gravure printing machines with a printing speed of 300m/min or more.

　　Sample enterprises include Shaanxi Beiren Printing Machinery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Shaanxi Beiren” ” ), Songde Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Songde”), Xi'an Aerospace Huayang Electromechanical Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Xi'an Aerospace Huayang”), Guangdong Shanzhang Light Industry Machinery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Shanzhang Light Industry”), Ningbo Xinda Printing Machinery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Ningbo Xinda”), Zhejiang Mage Machinery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zhejiang Mage”), Tianjin Changrong Technology Group Co., Ltd. (“Tianjin Changrong”), and Yuncheng Plate Making Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yuncheng Plate Making”), etc., a total of 8 enterprises.

　　According to the survey results, domestic enterprises producing plastic film gravure printing machines with a printing speed of 300m/min or more include Shaanxi Beiren, Xi'an Aerospace Huayang, Songde, Shanzhang Light Industry, and Ningbo Xinda 5 . The models, main technical parameters, and technical characteristics of this type of equipment are shown in Table 1; Enterprises producing paper gravure printing machines with a printing speed of 300m/min or more include Shaanxi Beiren, Zhejiang Mage, and Tianjin Changrong, etc., a total of 5 enterprises. The models, main technical parameters, and technical characteristics of this type of equipment are shown in Table 2; Enterprises launching water-based ink gravure printing machines with a printing speed of 300m/min or more include Shaanxi Beiren, Zhejiang Mage, and Shanzhang Light Industry, etc., a total of 3 enterprises. The models, main technical parameters, and technical characteristics of this type of equipment are shown in Table 3. Tianjin Changrong introduced Cerruti technology to develop high-speed paper gravure printing machines, and the product series has extended from post-printing equipment to printing equipment.

↓Table 1 Statistics Table of Domestic High-Speed Plastic Film Gravure Printing Machine Production

Table 2. Statistical Table of Domestic High-Speed Reel-fed Gravure Printing Machine Production

↓Table 3 Statistical Table of Domestic High-Speed Water-Based Ink Gravure Printing Machine Production

　From the market situation, domestic high-speed gravure printing machines are gradually becoming strong competitors of foreign brand gravure printing machines. Bobst (BOBST) 1997 developed the world's first electronic shaft gravure printing machine, with a total of More than 400 Bobst flexible packaging electronic shaft gravure printing machines are operating worldwide, with more than 70 Bobst flexible packaging gravure printing machines operating in the Chinese market (see literature: "VOCs Source Reduction and Bobst Gravure Printing Solution RS3.0" (Printing Technology, 2016, No. 20). Shaanxi Beiren developed its first electronic shaft gravure printing machine in 2012, and so far, the total global sales volume of high-speed gravure printing machines has exceeded 500 units, sold to more than 30 countries and regions worldwide, including Spain, Australia, and India. According to incomplete statistics, Shaanxi Beiren gravure printing machines rank first in the global market share, and the domestic market share is about 70%. Users include Amcor Group, the world's largest flexible packaging company, and well-known domestic food manufacturers such as Shuanghui Group and Want Want Group. The final flexible packaging products include Wahaha, Coca-Cola, Sprite, Procter & Gamble, Mengniu, Yili, Guangming, Want Want, Angel Yeast, Xizhilang, Master Kong, Uni-President, Jinmailang, etc. In addition, China pioneered the domestic decorative materials industry in the mid-1990s. Zhejiang Mage independently researched and developed the second-generation decorative paper gravure printing machine for imitating natural ecological products. According to the data provided by the Decorative Paper Branch of the China Forestry Industry Association, the production and sales volume of decorative paper intelligent gravure printing machines produced by Zhejiang Mage ranked among the top three in the industry from 2013 to 2015.

　　Similar to the growth trend of demand for environmentally friendly gravure printing machines in the domestic market, the demand for satellite-type flexographic printing machines in the Chinese printing industry has also been increasing in the past three years. The Flexographic Printing Branch of the China Printing Technology Association released the "2016 Flexographic Printing in China ” Installation Capacity Survey Report (see literature: “Government support accelerates the healthy development of China's flexographic printing”, (Printing Magazine, 2017.4). According to incomplete statistics, a total of 31 satellite flexographic printing machines were sold in mainland China in 2016, of which 30 were domestically produced, accounting for 96.77%. This shows that domestically produced satellite flexographic printing machines have an overwhelming advantage in terms of total installed capacity. In 2016, another 23 units were exported to overseas markets, including Russia, Italy, Brazil, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, South Africa, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Iran, and South Korea. In the past three years, the total installed capacity of domestically produced satellite flexographic printing machines in mainland China has reached 95 units, with a total export volume of 41 units. According to a comprehensive analysis of the survey results from the Gravure Printing Association and the Flexographic Printing Branch of the China Printing Technology Association, the development of domestic high-end printing equipment for soft packaging has caused the market share of European and other foreign brands of soft packaging printing equipment in China to drop to 10%.

　　Gravure rollers are one of the core components of gravure printing machines. Shanxi Yuncheng Plate Making Group Co., Ltd. and Beijing Kaiteng Precision Plate Making Co., Ltd. are two large gravure roller manufacturing groups in China. Shanxi Yuncheng Plate Making Group has 115 subsidiaries at home and abroad, including subsidiaries in Asia, Europe, and America. 40 Multiple Fixed assets are nearly 4 billion yuan. Beijing Kaiteng Precision Plate Making Co., Ltd. has 13 subsidiaries nationwide. Due to transportation costs and plate-making cycle constraints, each subsidiary can only serve soft packaging printing enterprises within a certain distance. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the number, distribution, and production equipment configuration of subsidiaries owned by major plate-making groups, the domestic market share of gravure rollers produced by Shanxi Yuncheng Plate Making Group is over 75%, and it ranks first in the global market. 
Water-based ink roll-fed gravure printing machines are booming. Shaanxi Beiren, Zhejiang Mage, and Shantang Light Industry have launched gravure printing machines that reduce VOCs from the source, which have been exhibited at the Beijing International Printing Technology Exhibition ( CHINA PRINT 2017 ) and 2017 China (Guangdong) International Printing Technology Exhibition, representing an important future development direction.