A gravure printing roll that enables printing of fine dots with a size close to that of cells and enables printing on a print subject, such as a printing substrate, without changing the appearance of the print subject. The gravure printing roll includes: a gravure printing roll body; and cells formed in a peripheral surface of the gravure printing roll body. Each of the cells has an opening with a ratio between a dimension in a circumferential direction of the gravure printing roll body and a dimension in an axial center direction of the gravure printing roll body (dimension in the circumferential direction/dimension in the axial center direction) being 1.15 to 7, and have an opening area of 3900 m.sup.2 or smaller.

Provided is a cylinder etching apparatus, which is capable of performing etching more uniformly than in the prior art and is also capable of solving a problem in that a remaining etching solution in an etching solution supply tube flows down therefrom. The cylinder etching apparatus includes: a processing bath; chuck means; at least one etching solution supply tube; and a plurality of ejection nozzles juxtaposed in the etching solution supply tube and configured to eject an etching solution from the etching solution supply tube. The etching solution ejected from the ejection nozzles through the etching solution supply tube is caused to impinge against a surface of the cylinder to be processed, to thereby etch the surface of the cylinder to be processed. The ejection nozzles are oriented obliquely upward with respect to a horizontal direction. An ejection direction of the ejection nozzle is oriented toward a rotation center of the cylinder to be processed from a position that is obliquely downward of the cylinder to be processed. The ejection nozzles are arranged so as to be brought closer to and away from the surface of the cylinder to be processed.

The rotogravure cylinder comprising a rotary gravure base and thereon a copper engraving layer contains a zinc layer between a gravure base and a layer package suitable for engraving and printing. This layer package for instance can comprise a metallic support layer, a copper engraving layer and suitably a protection layer. Deposition of the zinc layer may be tuned for thickness variation, in combination with deposition of the layer package in a fixed thickness.

The rotogravure printing system comprising a machine provided with at least one shaft (6) and means for movement and for rotation of said shaft (6) and a rotogravure cylinder sleeve (10) to be rotated by means of the at least one shaft (6), further comprising a first substantially annular end plate (7) which is in use connected to the shaft (6) of the system, which end plate (7) is provided with at least one contact surface (23) that is designed for contact with a mating contact surface (13) defined at an inner side (12) of the cylinder sleeve (10).

The rotogravure cylinder comprising a rotary gravure base and thereon a copper engraving layer is refurbished to contain a zinc layer between a gravure base and a layer package suitable for engraving and printing. This layer package for instance comprises a metallic support layer, a copper engraving layer and suitably a protection layer. Deposition of the zinc layer may be tuned for thickness variation, in combination with deposition of the layer package in a fixed thickness.

The rotogravure cylinder comprising a rotary gravure base and thereon a copper engraving layer is refurbished to contain a zinc layer between a gravure base and a layer package suitable for engraving and printing. This layer package for instance comprises a metallic support layer, a copper engraving layer and suitably a protection layer. Deposition of the zinc layer may be tuned for thickness variation, in combination with deposition of the layer package in a fixed thickness.