Patent ID: 6866715

Claim:
A gravure coating apparatus, comprising: a) a gravure cylinder having an engraved surface; b) a means for causing a web to come into contact with the gravure cylinder in order to form a nip; c) a doctor blade, positioned prior to the nip, for wiping off excess coating liquid from the engraved surface of the gravure cylinder; d) a jet or curtain formation means to form a jet or curtain of the coating liquid such that the coating liquid impinges on and wets the engraved surface of the gravure cylinder; e) a shroud that encloses the gravure cylinder and the jet or curtain formation means while providing a gap between the shroud and the web, and includes at least one drainage port; f) one or more zones in an enclosed region for receiving an inert gas, wherein the jet or curtain stably operates within at least one zone having the inert gas; and g) a gas supply for distributing the inert gas within the one or more zones.