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Printing
Methods
of Printing
You
can design a beautiful piece but unless you have an understanding of how
the printing process works and printing requirements, it won't look its
best. This section can serves as a helpful guide for everything you need
to know about the full color (CMYK) and spot color printing of catalogs,
brochures, books, business cards, posters, postcards and a whole lot more.
Want the whole story? Try
reading our printing overview!
What's
the Difference Between Engraving and Thermography?
 Engraving
and thermography are actually quite different from one another but these
two printing methods are frequently confused. The printing results can
be somewhat similar and can commonly be found on wedding invitations,
business cards and the occasional letterhead. Engraving is a kind of gravure
printing wherein paper is...read
more
Should
I Photocopy or Print My Project?
Say you
need 15,000 copies of a black and white letter. Or, maybe you need 500
copies of a full-color sales sheet. Should you photocopy or print them?
With copiers becoming more sophisticated all the time, the line between
copying and printing is becoming much more blurry. Here are the strengths
and weaknesses of each option in terms of three important considerations:
Photocopying
(which includes...read
more
What's
the Difference Between Direct-to-Plate and Digital Printing?
Direct-to-plate
and digital printing have not been around very long but they've very quickly
become popular methods for printing low-quantity, full-color (CMYK)
projects. Direct-to-plate printing, also known as computer-to-plate printing,
cuts out one of the steps involved in traditional printing. In traditional
offset lithography
printing,...read
more
What
Is Flexography Printing?
Like
letterpress printing
before it, flexography works on the principal of raised items on a plate
catching ink and then touching the paper to make the printed impression.
As the name suggests, the plates are made from flexible materials like
rubber and can conform to uneven surfaces. Typically, only spot
colors are used with this process. Flexography has...read
more
What
Is Gravure or Rotogravure Printing?
Gravure
printing works on the opposite concept of letterpress
printing. With gravure printing, etched areas are the ones that will
create impressions on the paper's surface. These areas are recessed into
a metal plate to create tiny wells. These collect ink when an inked roller
passes over
them. The printing plate is covered with...read
more
What
Is Letterpress Printing?
 Letterpress
is the oldest form of printing. When a person outside of the industry
thinks of printing, typically they're thinking of letterpress printing.
The process is one of the easiest to understand. Letterpress printing
starts with a single piece or multiple pieces of metal (or wood) made
up of an image or letters of type on a printing plate. The area that is
intended to be printed is raised up higher than other areas of the plate.
Ink is applied by rollers onto the raised surfaces. The raised surfaces
then press on paper and the ink, from the raised areas, is left on the
paper. The print quality can be sharp and clear...read
more
What
Is Offset Lithography?
In
offset lithography (also known as plantographic) printing, plates carry
both the image and non-image areas on the same level (unlike letterpress
where areas are raised to catch ink). The transfer of ink is controlled
by an unlikely principle. The principle that oil and water don't mix.
Image areas are photographically transferred to thin metal plates which
are treated chemically to accept oil-based ink but repel water on the
image areas. Conversely, non-image areas accept water but repel the oil-based
ink....read
more
What
Is Screen/Silkscreen Printing?
Screen
(or silkscreen, as it is sometimes called) printing primarily uses a hand
or electronically-prepared stencil. The part that is to be printed is
made up of silk, nylon or a stainless-steel mesh. Ink can pass through
this area but not through the other part of the stencil which is contained
inside a frame. The printing surface is placed under the frame on a flat
surface. The impression is made by forcing the ink through the screen
area with a rubber squeegee. The need for...read
more
What
Is Web Printing? Is It Related to the Internet?
Web
presses (not related to the Internet) are really the way to go if one
needs really large quantites of magazines, newspapers or catalogs printed
(we're talking many thousands and thousands here). All of the national
publications that you see on a newstand are printed this way. A Web offset
press can run much, much faster than ordinary sheet-fed offset presses
while...read
more
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