{"id":1900,"date":"2026-07-21T06:48:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gearrack.top\/?p=1900"},"modified":"2026-07-21T06:48:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:48:06","slug":"spur-gears-for-printing-machines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gearrack.top\/fr\/spur-gears-for-printing-machines\/","title":{"rendered":"Spur Gears for Printing Machines"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
GEAR APPLICATION GUIDE \u00b7 SPUR GEAR \u00b7 S05<\/span><\/p>\n

Spur Gears for Printing Machines:
\nRegister Accuracy, Speed Synchronisation and Ink Transfer Drives<\/span><\/h1>\n

Printing machine spur gears must maintain perfect rotational synchronisation between impression cylinders, plate cylinders, and blanket cylinders across the full press speed range \u2014 any transmission error in the gear train produces a periodic image registration defect that renders the printed output unusable. This guide covers spur gear specification for sheet-fed offset presses, web offset presses, flexographic printing machines, and gravure presses \u2014 including quality class selection, ghost-free tooth geometry, and the ink transfer cylinder drive requirements that make printing machine gears one of the most demanding precision spur gear applications.<\/p>\n

20CrMnTi \u00b7 Cronidur \u00b7 Cast Iron \u00b7 DIN 4\u20136<\/span>
\nTE <3 \u03bcrad \u00b7 M2\u2013M8 \u00b7 PLV 3\u201315 m\/s<\/span>
\nSheet-Fed \u00b7 Web Offset \u00b7 Flexo \u00b7 Gravure<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

QUALITY CLASS<\/p>\n

DIN 4 \u2013 6<\/p>\n

Printing machine cylinder gear quality class range. Gravure and precision sheet-fed press: DIN 4. Standard sheet-fed offset: DIN 5. Web offset and flexographic press: DIN 5\u20136. All cylinder gears must be ground, never hobbed or shaved<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

TRANSMISSION ERROR<\/p>\n

<3 \u03bcrad<\/p>\n

Peak-to-peak transmission error target for precision printing machine cylinder spur gears. TE above 5\u20138 \u03bcrad produces visible ghosting or banding on the printed sheet at commercial print quality standards<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

MODULE RANGE<\/p>\n

M2 \u2013 M8<\/p>\n

Printing press spur gear modules. Cylinder gears on small format sheet-fed presses: M2\u2013M4. Medium format (B1\u2013B2): M4\u2013M6. Large format or wide web presses: M6\u2013M8. Feed and delivery gears: M2\u2013M4<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

PRESS SPEED<\/p>\n

5,000\u201318,000 iph<\/p>\n

Impressions per hour of modern commercial sheet-fed and web offset printing presses. At 18,000 iph on a B1 format press with circumference 1,050 mm, pitch line velocity at the cylinder gear = 5.25 m\/s \u2014 DIN 5 mandatory at this speed<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Spur Gears in Printing Machine Drive Systems<\/h2>\n

The printing machine cylinder gear train is one of the most precision-demanding spur gear applications in manufacturing. Every impression cylinder, plate cylinder, blanket cylinder, and transfer cylinder in a multi-colour offset press must rotate in perfect angular synchronisation \u2014 any deviation from the ideal synchronised rotation, at the pitch line velocity of the cylinder gears, produces a periodic velocity variation that translates directly into a registration error between colour separations on the printed sheet. At commercial printing quality (register tolerance \u00b10.05 mm on a 500 mm format sheet), the allowed angular registration error at the cylinder is approximately 0.1 mrad \u2014 placing the cylinder gear transmission error requirement in the range of DIN 4\u20135, significantly tighter than the DIN 7\u20138 quality class used for most industrial gear applications.<\/p>\n

\"Tractor<\/p>\n

Korea Ever-Power’s spur gears for printing machines<\/a> are manufactured in 20CrMnTi case carburized (standard for cylinder and main drive gears), nodular cast iron GGG60 (traditional for large-diameter printing press body gears where cast iron’s self-damping reduces noise and vibration), and Cronidur 30 stainless bearing steel (for waterless offset and UV printing machine applications where corrosion resistance is required). All printing press cylinder gears are ground to DIN 4\u20135 quality class with tip relief applied to reduce dynamic mesh force and eliminate the “tooth entry impact” that is the primary source of printing machine ghost images.<\/p>\n

The phenomenon of “gear ghosting” in offset printing \u2014 a periodic density variation in solid ink areas corresponding to the gear mesh frequency \u2014 is entirely caused by tooth-to-tooth transmission error in the cylinder gear drive. When the impression cylinder and plate cylinder are driven by spur gears with DIN 7 quality, the tooth spacing error produces a periodic speed variation at the mesh frequency, which modulates the ink transfer rate at each revolution of the cylinder. The result is a faint but visible horizontal band pattern in solid printed areas. Replacing the cylinder gears with DIN 5 quality ground gears reduces tooth spacing error by approximately 50%, reducing the ghost pattern amplitude below the threshold of visibility for commercial print quality.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Ghost-Free Tooth Geometry<\/h3>\n

Anti-ghosting spur gear design for printing presses uses three geometric measures beyond standard DIN quality class compliance: (1) Profile tip relief \u2014 5\u201312 \u03bcm tip relief on both driver and driven gear tooth tips reduces the tooth entry impact load spike that is the primary TE harmonic visible as ghosting. (2) Tooth crowning \u2014 5\u201310 \u03bcm lead crowning prevents load concentration at the gear tooth ends from press body deflection under cylinder contact pressure. (3) Matched pairs \u2014 cylinder gear pairs are matched on a rolling test rig to confirm the combined transmission error of the assembled pair is below the specified TE limit, not just that each individual gear meets the DIN tolerance. Korea Ever-Power supplies all printing press cylinder spur gears as matched pairs with measured TE certificate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Cast Iron vs Steel Cylinder Gears<\/h3>\n

Nodular cast iron GGG60 (also called ductile iron) has been the traditional material for large printing press body gears and main drive bull gears because: (1) Its internal graphite microstructure provides acoustic damping that reduces gear noise by 3\u20135 dB(A) vs steel gears at equivalent quality class \u2014 important in commercial print shops where press operators work in proximity to the press. (2) Large-diameter cast iron gears can be cast near-net-shape, reducing machining cost vs forged steel for gears above 400 mm OD. (3) Cast iron gears are more tolerant of contamination (ink mist, paper dust) in the oil than steel gears. The limitation of cast iron: it cannot be carburized or induction hardened to the hardness level of steel \u2014 maximum HB 300 vs HRC 58\u201362 for carburized steel. Korea Ever-Power supplies both GGG60 and 20CrMnTi cylinder gear options depending on the press size and load rating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Ink Contamination and Lubrication<\/h3>\n

Printing press spur gears operate in an environment where ink mist and solvent vapour contaminate the gear oil continuously. Sheet-fed offset press cylinder gears typically run in an enclosed gear oil bath (ISO VG 100\u2013150), with the oil changed at 1,000\u20132,000 hour intervals depending on ink solvent content. UV-cured ink printing machines require particular attention \u2014 UV inks contain acrylate monomers that polymerise on contact with UV radiation, and if UV-cured ink enters the gear housing it can progressively increase the oil viscosity and restrict gear lubrication. Korea Ever-Power recommends specifying UV-resistant shaft seals and quarterly oil viscosity checks for printing machine spur gear housings in UV ink printing lines. Waterless offset (toray process) presses require Cronidur 30 stainless cylinder gears and stainless housings due to the silicone plate cleaning chemistry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\n

Printing Machine Type Applications<\/h2>\n
\"European
Korea Ever-Power DIN-standard precision spur gears for printing machine cylinder drives \u2014 20CrMnTi case carburized, M4, 60 teeth, bore 40 mm H7, ground to DIN 5 quality class. Profile tip relief 8 \u03bcm applied to both driver and driven gear tooth tips to eliminate tooth entry impact peak. Lead crowning 6 \u03bcm. Peak-to-peak transmission error <2.8 \u03bcrad measured on gear rolling test rig at 100 RPM under 50% of rated tangential force \u2014 below the ghosting threshold for B1 format sheet-fed offset presses at 15,000 iph. Individual TE measurement certificate supplied with each matched pair. Replacement supply for Heidelberg, KBA, Manroland, Komori, and Ryobi cylinder gear series.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n

TYPE 01<\/p>\n

SHEET-FED
\nOFFSET PRESS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Spur gear specification:<\/strong> M3\u2013M6, 20CrMnTi case carburized or GGG60 nodular cast iron, DIN 4\u20135 ground, matched pairs with TE <3 \u03bcrad, tip relief 6\u201310 \u03bcm. The sheet-fed offset press (Heidelberg SM\/XL series, KBA Rapida, Komori Lithrone) uses a spur gear train running the full width of the press body to synchronise all printing units. The gear body gear train typically uses GGG60 for the large main drive gears at the press ends, with 20CrMnTi for the smaller timing gears and feeder gear sets. Replacement cylinder gears for sheet-fed offset presses are the most common printing machine gear replacement item \u2014 Korea Ever-Power maintains stock of the most common Heidelberg and Komori cylinder gear sizes for immediate supply to press service engineers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

TYPE 02<\/p>\n

WEB OFFSET
\nPRESS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Spur gear specification:<\/strong> M4\u2013M8, 20CrMnTi case carburized, DIN 5\u20136, PLV 5\u201315 m\/s at rated web speed, wide face width for high torque at continuous web tension. Web offset presses (newspaper and commercial web presses \u2014 Goss, MAN Roland Colorman, Koenig & Bauer Compacta) run continuously at web speeds up to 15 m\/s, placing the cylinder gear pitch line velocity in the range where DIN 6 quality class is the minimum and DIN 5 is preferred for noise and TE control. Web press cylinder gears experience higher continuous loads than sheet-fed presses due to the web tension and continuous non-stop running duty \u2014 20CrMnTi case carburized with wide face width (b\/m \u226510) is the standard specification. Gear failure in a web press at full production causes a web break and a lengthy press restart \u2014 replacement parts must be available immediately.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

TYPE 03<\/p>\n

FLEXOGRAPHIC
\nPRESS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Spur gear specification:<\/strong> M2\u2013M5, 20CrMnTi or 316L stainless (for aqueous ink flexo presses), DIN 5\u20136, corrosion-resistant shaft seals. Flexographic printing presses (used for flexible packaging, labels, corrugated board, and wide-web film printing) use spur gears to synchronise the anilox roll, impression cylinder, plate cylinder, and substrate nip roll at high web speeds up to 400 m\/min. The water-based and UV-cured inks used in flexography are aggressive to zinc and cast iron gear materials \u2014 20CrMnTi case carburized in a sealed housing with stainless shaft extensions is the standard for food packaging flexographic press cylinder drives. Gear backlash in a flexo press must be closely controlled \u2014 excessive backlash causes register variation between colour stations on multi-colour flexo presses, particularly on thin film substrates where the web has minimal rigidity to resist speed oscillations from the gear drive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

TYPE 04<\/p>\n

GRAVURE
\nPRESS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Spur gear specification:<\/strong> M3\u2013M6, 20CrMnTi case carburized, DIN 4 mandatory (gravure is the most demanding printing process for gear accuracy), solvent-resistant shaft seals. Gravure printing (intaglio printing from engraved copper cylinders, used for publication gravure, packaging gravure, and security printing) requires the highest gear accuracy of any printing process \u2014 the gravure cylinder impression is directly proportional to the cylinder surface velocity at each cell, and any velocity variation from gear transmission error modulates the ink density in the printed output. Gravure press cylinder gear transmission error must be below 2 \u03bcrad peak-to-peak to achieve the flat ink density required for security printing and premium publication gravure. Korea Ever-Power is one of the few manufacturers offering DIN 4 ground spur gears for gravure press cylinder replacement supply, with individual TE measurement below 2.5 \u03bcrad confirmed for each matched pair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\n

Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
Q 01<\/span><\/p>\n

My sheet-fed offset press shows a repeating horizontal band or ghost image in solid areas. Can replacing the cylinder gears solve this, and how do I identify which gear is causing it?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Gear ghosting in solid ink areas is identified by the spatial period of the ghost relative to the cylinder circumference and the printing speed. The diagnostic process: (1) Print a large solid on a single printing unit with the other units off impression. If the ghost disappears, it is a multi-unit register issue, not a single-cylinder gear issue. If the ghost remains, it is in the cylinder drive train of the printing unit. (2) Measure the spatial period of the ghost band (in mm along the sheet travel direction). Divide by the impression speed (mm\/min) to get the temporal frequency (Hz). Compare to the calculated gear mesh frequencies at the current press speed: mesh frequency = (RPM of cylinder \u00d7 tooth count) \u00f7 60. Matching the ghost frequency to a specific gear pair identifies the worn gear. (3) Confirm by rotating the cylinder gear pair by half a tooth pitch \u2014 if the ghost position shifts correspondingly, the identified gear is confirmed. Korea Ever-Power can analyse the ghost period and press specification to identify the responsible gear pair \u2014 contact with the press model, cylinder circumference, press speed at ghosting, and measured ghost period in mm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
Q 02<\/span><\/p>\n

What quality class and tip relief should be specified for replacement cylinder gears on a Heidelberg SM 102 press to eliminate ghosting at 15,000 iph?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The Heidelberg SM 102 (Speedmaster 102) cylinder gear specification for ghosting elimination at 15,000 iph: Module M5, tooth count and bore per Heidelberg SM 102 cylinder gear drawing (Korea Ever-Power has this in the reference database). Quality class DIN 5 (minimum) \u2014 DIN 4 is preferred if ghosting has been a persistent quality issue at maximum press speed. Material: 20CrMnTi case carburized, HRC 60\u201362. Tip relief: 8\u201310 \u03bcm linear tip relief applied from approximately 25% tooth height from the tip \u2014 this value is specifically calculated for the SM 102 cylinder gear operating torque and tooth geometry; do not use a generic tip relief value from another press model. Lead crowning: 6 \u03bcm at the tooth face ends. TE measurement: matched pair measured below 3 \u03bcrad peak-to-peak at 150 RPM (equivalent to 15,000 iph on SM 102) on the gear rolling test rig before shipment. Korea Ever-Power supplies SM 102 cylinder gear replacement sets with all of the above specifications and a measurement certificate \u2014 lead time 18\u201325 days from order confirmation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
Q 03<\/span><\/p>\n

How long do cylinder gears typically last in a modern commercial sheet-fed offset press, and what are the signs that replacement is due?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Cylinder gear life in a commercial sheet-fed offset press depends on lubrication quality, press utilisation, and printing stock: under good lubrication conditions (correct viscosity ISO VG 100\u2013150, clean oil, annual oil change) a 20CrMnTi case carburized cylinder gear set can last 50,000\u2013100,000 hours of press running \u2014 representing 15\u201330 years at typical commercial print shop utilisation of 3,000\u20134,000 running hours per year. Signs that cylinder gear replacement is due: (1) Progressive ghosting that worsens with press age<\/strong> \u2014 tooth flank micro-pitting and wear increase TE gradually; when ghosting first appears at lower press speeds than before, tooth flank wear is accumulating. (2) Increased backlash<\/strong> \u2014 measure by locking one cylinder and rotating the mating cylinder by hand; more than 0.05 mm of movement at the cylinder surface indicates tooth flank wear. (3) Increasing gear noise<\/strong> \u2014 a rising pitch or irregular clatter from the gear housing at specific speeds indicates tooth spacing error development or early pitting. (4) Visible surface marking on the gear tooth flanks<\/strong> \u2014 micro-pitting appears as a dull grey patch (frosting) on the pitch line area of the tooth face, visible on gear inspection during press maintenance access. Contact Korea Ever-Power with the press model and running hours for a gear wear assessment consultation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\n
\n

Explore Korea Ever-Power Gear Categories<\/h2>\n

Seven precision gear product lines for printing, packaging, industrial and specialist applications worldwide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"spur<\/p>\n
\n

Spur Gears<\/a><\/p>\n

DIN 4\u20135 \u00b7 printing press \u00b7 matched pairs<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"helical<\/p>\n
\n

Helical Gears<\/a><\/p>\n

Low noise \u00b7 high contact ratio \u00b7 gearbox<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"bevel<\/p>\n
\n

Engrenages coniques<\/a><\/p>\n

Right-angle \u00b7 press auxiliary \u00b7 spiral<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"worm<\/p>\n
\n

Worm Gears<\/a><\/p>\n

High ratio \u00b7 self-locking \u00b7 register control<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"ring<\/p>\n
\n

Ring Gears<\/a><\/p>\n

Internal \u00b7 planetary \u00b7 press drive<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"planetary<\/p>\n
\n

Planetary Gears<\/a><\/p>\n

Compact \u00b7 servo \u00b7 infeed & delivery<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"plastic<\/p>\n
\n

Plastic Gears<\/a><\/p>\n

POM \u00b7 PEEK \u00b7 ink system \u00b7 light drives<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

GET A QUOTATION \u00b7 KOREA EVER-POWER<\/p>\n

Need Spur Gears for Printing Machines?<\/h2>\n

Korea Ever-Power manufactures 20CrMnTi, GGG60, and Cronidur 30 spur gears for all printing press cylinder drive applications \u2014 DIN 4\u20135 quality class, tip relief applied, matched pairs with TE certificate <3 \u03bcrad. Replacement supply for Heidelberg, KBA, Manroland, Komori, Ryobi sheet-fed and web presses. Flexographic and gravure press cylinder gears. ISO 9001:2015 certified.<\/p>\n

Request a Quotation \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00c9diteur : Cxm<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GEAR APPLICATION GUIDE \u00b7 SPUR GEAR \u00b7 S05 Spur Gears for Printing Machines: Register Accuracy, Speed Synchronisation and Ink Transfer Drives Printing machine spur gears must maintain perfect rotational synchronisation between impression cylinders, plate cylinders, and blanket cylinders across the full press speed range \u2014 any transmission error in the gear train produces a periodic […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4566],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-application-of-gears"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gearrack.top\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gearrack.top\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gearrack.top\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gearrack.top\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gearrack.top\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1900"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gearrack.top\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1903,"href":"https:\/\/gearrack.top\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900\/revisions\/1903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gearrack.top\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gearrack.top\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gearrack.top\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}