large diameter, wide rolls. These are then cut or slit down to the finished roll size on a slitting machine or slitter rewinder. Additional operations may be in line with a gravure press, such as saddle stitching facilities for magazine or brochure work. Advantages Although the rotogravure printing process is not the most popular printing process used in flexible-packaging manufacturing, it does have the ability to print on thin film such as polyester, polypropylene, nylon, and polyethylene, which come in a wide range of thicknesses, commonly 10 to 30 micrometers. Other appreciated features include: printing cylinders that can last through large-volume runs without the image degrading good quality image reproduction low per-unit costs running high volume production Disadvantages Shortcomings of the gravure printing process include: high start-up costs: hundreds of thousands of copies needed to make it profitable rasterized lines and texts long lead time for cylinder preparation, which is offsite as the techniques used are so specialized See also Flexography Offset printing Photogravure Roll slitting Rotary printing press Notes External links European Rotogravure Association Gravure Association of the Americas Heliograph holding Engraving Relief printing