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Wednesday 11 May 2011

Litho Verses Gravure

Reports are circulating that the Machin pane from the William Morris Prestige booklet was printed in Gravure by Walsall Security Printers (not litho, Cartor) as first reported on these pages. Has anyone confirmed this? Many thanks to Cathy (see comments) this pane is printed in gravure, but Cartor remain the printers. The previous prestige self adhesive pane (King George) was printed by Walsall, so this is where the confusion arises from. Once again thanks go to Ian Billings for putting the story right.


The second thing on my agenda today is a little light reading and my give you a giggle.

Did you know that my Sir Name was Simpson? I have been given several nick names in the past, but the latest from my close friends is that of Homer, surely it must be something to do with my Sir Name.

I do not resemble him one bit!!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

They look gravure to me with a DOP to the left, I thought it had been confirmed by the RM that they were gravure from Cartor. (Source http://www.norphil.co.uk/2011/05a-william_morris.htm)

Of course the precedent of King George V would suggest they were from Walsall.

Machin Man said...

Thanks Cathy,

I had not seen Ian's change of description. Cartor it is then, which is incidentally a subsidiary of Walsall.

Glenn Morgan said...

Sheet-fed litho production is centred on Cartor, with gravure and litho reel-fed production at Walsall. This was a conscious business decision according to Paul White, MD at WSP, when I interviewed him 18 months back.

He told me: "Until recently, work was allocated between plants on the basis of capacity, whereas now Cartor will undertake sheet-fed litho work (the smaller print runs), and WSP the web-fed gravure and web litho orders. A reallocation of presses reflects this strategic change within the Group."

So, unless Cartor / Walsall has re-allocated presses between factories again in the past few months*, which seems highly unlikely, Cartor does not have any gravure printing capability on-site. It could not, therefore, have printed the PSB panes, unless by litho.

The uncertainty as to the process used goes to prove how superb litho printing has become, for only a short while back the difference would have been visually obvious.

*Cartor's plant list as of last October comprised only litho presses according to Ian Brigham, MD at Cartor, when asked the question at a stamp printing seminar held by RPSL in London.