// Custom Printing · Rotogravure

Rotogravure Printed Coffee & Food Packaging

The workhorse of flexible packaging: your artwork is engraved into steel print drums — one per colour — then run at speed for the lowest unit cost of any method at scale. From 10,000 units, up to 10 colours including Pantone, and a bag built entirely to your spec. Drum costs itemised in your quote, never hidden.

BRCGS Certified
Since 2004
CO2 Neutral
UK Warehouse
MOQ
10,000 units
Production
~5–7 weeks
Colours
Up to 10 — CMYK + Pantone
Setup
Reusable drums, itemised
Rotogravure printing press running custom coffee packaging film

// The Numbers, Published

No quote form needed to see these.

Most suppliers keep rotogravure numbers — especially drum costs — behind a quote form. We publish the minimum, the production time and how the drums are charged, so you can plan a serious production run with real figures.

Minimum order
10,000 units

The volume where engraved-drum printing starts to pay off.

Production
~5–7 weeks

From artwork approval — includes drum engraving. Shipping separate.

Colours
Up to 10

CMYK and Pantone spot colours — one engraved drum each.

Drums
Itemised

A separate line on your quote, never hidden in the bag price — and guaranteed for 2 years.

Diagram of the rotogravure printing process: engraved cylinder, ink bath, doctor blade and impression roller Rotogravure press and engraved print drums producing custom coffee packaging

// How Rotogravure Works

Engraved steel, engineered for volume

Rotogravure is the most established printing technique in flexible packaging — and mechanically the most satisfying. Your artwork isn’t laid onto the film; it’s carved into steel first, then transferred at speed, identically, bag after bag.

01

The artwork is engraved into the drum

Each colour in your design is separated out and engraved directly into its own cylindrical print drum as a pattern of microscopic recessed cells. Engraving a drum is precision work — it can take up to a week — and the depth of every cell matters, because cell depth controls how much ink is carried.

02

Ink fills the cells; a doctor blade wipes the rest

On press, the drum rotates through an ink bath and the engraved cells fill with ink. A thin steel doctor blade then wipes the drum’s smooth surface clean, so ink remains only inside the engraved pattern — this is what gives gravure its famously sharp, dense, consistent print.

03

The film is pressed against the drum

An impression roller presses the packaging film against the rotating drum and the ink transfers from the cells to the film. With one drum per colour running in sequence — CMYK plus Pantone spot colours, up to 10 stations — the design builds up layer by layer at production speed.

04

The bag is built around the print

Rotogravure bags are made from scratch, not adapted from stock: format, material structure, size, zips, valves and finish are all specified with your artwork. That’s why it’s the method of choice for fully bespoke packaging.

// Strengths & Trade-Offs

An honest fit-check

Rotogravure rewards volume and consistency. If your numbers are there, nothing beats it — if they’re not yet, we’ll say so and point you at a better fit.

Choose rotogravure when…
✓You’re ordering 10,000 units or more of stable artwork
✓Unit cost matters most — gravure is the cheapest per bag at scale
✓Your brand depends on exact, repeatable Pantone colours
✓You’ll reorder the same design — the drums are already paid for on every reprint
✓You want the bag built entirely to your spec — format, structure, features
Consider another method when…

You’re under 10,000 units, want several designs in one run, or expect the artwork to change.

Digital printing — from 2,000 units, unlimited colours, no drums →

You want a minimal single-colour mark on a stock bag, from 1,000 units.

Hot foil stamping — one metallic or matte colour, ~3 weeks →

You need branded kraft bags fast, from just 500 units.

Short run in-house printing — printed in the UK on kraft stock bags →

// Cost Dynamics

The drum investment — and why it’s worth it

Itemised, never hidden

Engraved drums are a real cost, and we quote them as a separate, visible line — never buried in the bag price. Some suppliers fold tooling into the unit rate, which looks cleaner but means you pay for the drums again on every reorder. You shouldn’t.

Paid once, reused on every reprint

Your drums are stored and reused across reprints. On the first order they’re an investment; on the second, third and tenth order you pay only for bags — which is how rotogravure’s unit cost keeps falling with volume.

Guaranteed for 2 years

Drums are guaranteed for 2 years — if one rusts or is damaged in that period, we replace it free. After 2 years they’re inspected and replaced only as needed, and in practice they often last much longer: we’ve had drums still printing perfectly after 4 years.

Rotogravure printed custom coffee bags in a range of formats and colours

// Artwork & Proofing

Checked in-house before anything is engraved

With rotogravure the artwork check matters twice over — once the drums are engraved, design changes mean new drums. We make sure everything is right before that point.

01

Artwork on our cutter guides

We supply the cutter guide for your exact bag; your designer sets the artwork on it, so seams, gussets and the valve all land where they should.

02

In-house designer check

Our in-house designer checks every file and works with your designer daily on adjustments — colour separations, bleed, panel alignment — until it’s ready to engrave. We don’t design from scratch.

03

Free digital proof

A digital proof is included with every order. Nothing is engraved or printed until you approve it.

04

Printed proof on demand

Printed proofs are available on demand at an extra cost — a sensible step before committing 10,000 units to press.

Full ordering detail: how to order custom packaging →

// Delivery

Shipping, quoted separately — and flexible

Sea freight

The most cost-effective way to receive a rotogravure run — and at these volumes, the savings are significant.

Airfreight

Around 10 days when you need stock sooner.

Split shipments

The classic rotogravure move: airfreight part of the run so you can start selling straight away, with the bulk following by sea. Ask for current options in your quote.

Production (~5–7 weeks) runs from artwork approval; shipping is quoted separately so you can choose the trade-off that suits your dates. Your order lands at our UK warehouse, is quality-checked, then delivered ready to fill.

// Who Uses Rotogravure

Built for brands at scale

Scaling roasters

Brands whose flagship bags have settled at 10,000+ units a year — the point where drum tooling pays for itself and every reprint gets cheaper per bag.

Retail & wholesale lines

Coffee and food brands supplying supermarkets, chains and distributors — where unit cost decides margin and packaging must look identical on every shelf.

Colour-exact brands

Brands built on a precise Pantone identity — engraved drums reproduce the same spot colour on the first bag and the hundred-thousandth.

Bespoke-spec builders

Brands that need a bag no stock range offers — custom size, structure, closure or finish, built from scratch around the artwork.

// Reviews

In their own words

★★★★★

“I cannot recommend The Bag Broker enough! We have worked with them for several years now and the quality of the bags they provide is exceptional.”

Stacy

OWNER, THE BEAN CARTEL

★★★★★

“The online ordering system works very well and they also often telephone to make sure we have received our order. Their staff are very friendly, efficient and able to answer any queries.”

Phil Smith

CAPITAL ROASTERS

// FAQ

Rotogravure printing, answered

Rotogravure starts at 10,000 units — it’s the method built for volume, and the engraved drums only make economic sense from that scale.

Production takes around 5–7 weeks after artwork approval. That covers drum engraving — precision work that can take up to a week — plus printing and production of your bags. Shipping is separate and flexible: sea freight is the most cost-effective, and airfreight takes around 10 days when you need stock sooner.

Up to 10 colours — CMYK plus Pantone spot colours — each engraved onto its own print drum. Drums are a separate cost, itemised in your quote and never hidden in the bag price. They’re a long-term asset: reusable across reprints and guaranteed for 2 years, with free replacement if a drum rusts or is damaged in that period. After 2 years drums are inspected and replaced only as needed — we’ve had drums still printing perfectly after 4 years.

No. Your drums are stored and reused across reprints of the same artwork — on reorders you pay only for the bags, which is exactly why rotogravure becomes the cheapest method per unit over time. If you change the design, the changed colours need new drums.

Yes — you can split the shipment: airfreight part of the run so you can start selling straight away, with the rest following by sea at the better rate. Ask for current shipping options in your quote.

Step down the ladder: digital printing starts at 2,000 units with no drums at all, hot foil stamping at 1,000 units, our in-house short run printing brands kraft stock bags from 500 units, and stock bags are available from a single carton while you build volume.

We don’t design from scratch — you supply artwork on our cutter guides, and our in-house designer checks it and works with your designer daily on adjustments. A digital proof is included with every order; printed proofs are available on demand at an extra cost.

Big volumes, small unit costs.

From 10,000 units with drum costs itemised up front — get a quote with real numbers and a free digital proof before anything is engraved.

Get a free quote Compare all methods