Gravure printing unit and method for checking and/or adjusting and/or correcting a relative position

Abstract

A gravure printing unit is provided by which substrate can be printed according to a gravure printing method. The gravure printing unit has a forme cylinder, which comprises, on its circumference, an image-forming pattern of recesses, and has an inking unit by which the pattern of recesses provided on the forme cylinder can be at least partially inked. The forme cylinder can be partially inked from an inking device via a first inking unit cylinder, which has, in the region of its lateral surface, recesses that correspond to recesses on the forme cylinder, and via a second inking unit cylinder, which is to be partially inked by the first inking unit cylinder. To produce an image element to be used for checking a relative position between the forme cylinder and the first inking unit cylinder, the forme cylinder has, within the printing width but preferably outside of an image-forming pattern of recesses that supplies the print image of one or more N-up copies, and lying in a circumferential region, at least one first recess, which overlaps on the forme cylinder only partially with a projection, which is obtained on the forme cylinder by the rolling off, in pairs in each case, of the inking unit cylinders that are involved in the ink transport, of a recess, which is provided in a defined position and location on the circumference of the first inking unit cylinder for the purpose of checking the relative position. A substrate section and a method for checking and/or adjusting and/or correcting a relative position between the first inking unit cylinder and the forme cylinder are also disclosed.