Rotogravure (roto or gravure for short) is a type of intaglio printing process; that is, it involves engraving the image onto an image carrier. In gravure printing, the image is engraved onto a cylinderbecause, like offset and flexography, it uses a rotary printing press. The vast majority of gravure presses print on rolls (also known as webs) of paper, rather than sheets of paper. (Sheetfed gravure is a small, specialty market.) Rotary gravure presses are the fastest and widest presses in operation, printing everything from narrow labels to 12 feet (4 m)-wide rolls of vinyl flooring. Additional operations may be in-line with a gravure press, such as saddle stitching facilities for magazine/brochure work. Once a staple of newspaper photo features, the rotogravure process is still used for commercial printing of magazines, postcards, and corrugated (cardboard) product packaging.

This process relies on an engraved roller running in a coating bath, which fills the engraved dots or lines of the roller with the coating material. The excess coating on the roller is wiped off by the Doctor Blade and the coating is then deposited onto the substrate as it passes between the Engraved roller and a Pressure Roller. In this procedure, the coating material is measured onto the applicator roller by precision setting of the gap between the upper metering roller and the application roller below it. The coating is 'wiped' off the application roller by the substrate as it passes around the support roller at the bottom. The diagram illustrates a 3-roll reverse roll coating process, although 4-roll versions are common.In this coating process, an excess of the coating is deposited onto the substrate as it passes over the bath roller. The wire-wound metering rod, sometimes known as a Meyer Rod, allows the desired quantity of the coating to remain on the substrate. The quantity is determined by the diameter of the wire used on the rod. This process is remarkably tolerant of non-precision engineering of the other components of the coating machine.

Hard chrome plating is an electrolytic process utilising a chromic acid-based electrolyte. The component requiring plating becomes the cathode and, with the passage of a DC current via anodes, chromium metal builds on the component surface.Hard chrome plating, also referred to as functional chrome plating, is applied as a thinner layer. It is ideal for close tolerance applications where an excessive build up of chrome is undesirable and where the requirement is to provide a durable hard wear-resisting surface. Coating thickness is dependent on the application and the customers’ requirements, which can normally range from 10 to 25 microns. This smaller deposit of hard chrome usually eliminates the need for a grinding operation to finish. Etching is carried in accordance with the guidance relevant to the base material being plated. All components are etched before Hard Chrome plating to provide a good key for the hard chrome deposit to be applied. Careful jigging is required for hard chrome plating on roller, taking into consideration current carrying capacity and weight of component. Special attention is necessary for the plating of internal surfaces. One of the characteristics of hard chrome is its poor throwing power, therefore auxiliary anodes maybe required at strategic locations.

An anilox roll is a hard cylinder, usually constructed of a steel or aluminum core which is coated by an industrial ceramic whose surface contains millions of very fine dimples, known as cells. Depending on the design of the printing press, the anilox roll is either semi-submersed in the ink fountain, or comes into contact with a so-called metering roller, which is semi-submersed in the ink fountain. In either instance, a thick layer of typically viscous ink is deposited on the roll. Adoctor blade is used to scrape excess ink from the surface leaving just the measured amount of ink in the cells. The roll then rotates to contact with the flexographic printing plate which receives the ink from the cells for transfer to the printed material. The characteristics of an anilox roll determine the amount of ink that will be transferred to the plate: angle of the cells, cell volume, and line screen. A 60 percent angle ensures maximum density in a given space. Lower volume makes for less ink. Low line numbers will allow for a heavy layer of ink to be printed, whereas high line numbers will permit finer detail in printing. Both cell volume and line screen are closely correlated.

Copper plating is the process in which a layer of copper is deposited on the item to be plated by using an electric current.Copper is an active metal and so difficult to plate onto a passivated surface, making direct plating of iron based metals difficult. Such surfaces often require a nickel strike base coat for the copper to adhere to. The plating seen in chemistry classes, often obtained with a coin and copper sulphate bath, is in fact deposition as opposed to plating. Subjecting the surface to any wear causes the unstuck deposit to come away. Running such a bath for longer periods, one can often see the grainy like texture of deposition as opposed to the smooth surface of plating. Commercial platers often use a copper cyanide-based solution to ensure a high level of copper remains in solution.