02 Aug Our prepress process

• Our prepress process
• This is how we do it at Rieusset

Since the beginning of our blog, we have talked on various occasions about the printing techniques that we use, their characteristics and advantages, creative options, innovations… But we have never talked about a prior process that is also very important so that all the subsequent operations may be carried out successfully: the prepress process.

Our prepress process

At Rieusset, the prepress department is divided into two distinct parts. One part is the prepress department itself and the other is the engraving line. It is the prepress department, in essence, who talks with the client or the design agencies designated by the client, to define the designs and work on them to achieve the best result.

What phases make up our prepress process?

– PHASE 1: The first step starts with the client sending us a document with the design they want to print. This design is usually not adapted to the characteristics required for rotogravure printing and this is where the first task of the prepress and printing departments begins (printing is also involved here).

These departments are in charge of adapting the design so that it meets the client’s requirements and at the same time is adapted so that it can be produced with quality and efficiency (the number of colors is optimized, margins are adjusted, it is decided whether to work in four-color process or with Pantone, etc.). Once this process is completed, the final proposal is sent to the client for approval or revision, applying the corresponding modifications, if necessary.

Our clients value very positively our great experience with all kinds of designs, especially the most complicated ones. This allows us to adapt the design that the client needs to the technical requirements necessary to be able to print in rotogravure.

– PHASE 2: Once the design is approved by the client, we move on to the manufacturing design. This is where the process that we at Rieusset call the “datasheet process” begins. In this process, the prepress department participates in defining the assembly, i.e. how to place the labels to take advantage of the maximum printing width, what cylinder repeat length to use and to place the necessary marks for production (guide line, eye-mark to know where to make the cuts, signs for register control, etc.). The first printing is done on a plotter to check that the assembly is correct.

– PHASE 3: Once we have the definitive assembly, we go on to work with the other part of the department: the engraving line. Each color is a cylinder and each cylinder has its own engraving conditions (printing lineature, roughness, etc.). At Rieusset we have an automated line that allows us to engrave the cylinders autonomously – they go through all the necessary processes by themselves: degreasing, copper plating, engraving, chrome plating and polishing.

This automatic engraving line allows our two in-line teams to engrave 24/7, giving us superior capacity and flexibility, aspects which our clients value very highly.

Additionally, we have a computerized system for managing our cylinder stock, which allows us to know to which job each cylinder is assigned and the status of each one (if they are correct, if they have incidences, the number of meters they have printed, as well as other information such as the cylinder width, repeat length, on which  printer body they are mounted, etc.). All of this gives us production traceability, reducing the number of incidences related to quality, since we have greater control, which in turn guarantees a better result for our clients.

– PHASE 4: Lastly, once we have the cylinders engraved, they are all tested on our testing machine. This is a very important part of the process and one which is most valued by our clients, since it is a quality control measure that guarantees them that the resulting product will reach their premises without defects.

Very briefly, these are the steps in our prepress process:

This is how we do it at Rieusset

An important aspect to point out about the prepress process is that this department is in charge of making the industrial commitment regarding the initial design expectation and what can actually be carried out with the printing presses.

And it is not only this commitment, but also the pursuit of production efficiency to obtain the best performance in terms of quality, cost and time for the client – incorporating solutions to adapt designs that could otherwise lead to lower productivity, shrinkage problems, register problems, etc.

In other words, at Rieusset we convert our clients’ creative ideas into something that is efficient as far as production is concerned, proposing changes to the client that always focus on production efficiency.

We offer other printing options, too, since in addition to rotogravure printing we also have the latest generation of digital printing machinery that provides much more flexibility to produce all kinds of designs, formats, shorter runs, etc.

In this way we can print with these two technologies or even with mixed processes that combine the best of digital and rotogravure printing, depending on the needs of each order.

Would you like to know more about our prepress process? Contact us.