The tooling costs for gravure are just too high for short runs. That's why I hear many traditional gravure printers thinking about flexo.
Now, do we define a short run in terms of the printed meters in one go or the total amount of printed meters? How many designs really run just one single time?
Why is this important? I understand that calculations indicate flexo being commercially more competitive UNTIL the very moment you for any reason stop the print run.
1️⃣ The flexo plate needs to be replaced.
2️⃣ You're done with the first part of the print run.
3️⃣ Any other issues that you can't fix during the print run but you CAN do in gravure.
To me, and I might be completely wrong, commercial calculations of Flexo vs Gravure should potentially not be based on ideal but REAL conditions - best practices.
Moreover, hypothetically, you might need fewer people operating a Flexo press. On the other hand, gravure is the simpler and easier process to learn and master. Not to be disregarded in an environment where we all struggle to maintain skill and expertise among our teams.
