Introduction and Types of Printing Processes
Introduction and Types of Printing Processes ‘I’m a printer’ can mean many different things, depending on a particular process: 1. Offset Lithography the most common printing process today the workhorse! It offsets ink from metal plates to a rubber blanket cylinder) to the paper. Almost every commercial printer does offset printing. 2. Letterpress the original process founded by Gutenberg in 1440. "Relief" printing like rubber stamps, images on the plate are higher than the surface. Fewer and fewer printers are doing fine letterpress. 3. Screen a.k.a. silk-screening. Ink is forced through a screen following a stencil pattern. Used for ring binders, t-shirts, bumper stickers, billboards. 4. Gravure Printing an image is etched on the surface of a metal plate, the etched area is filled with ink, and then the plate is rotated on a cylinder that transfers the image to the paper or other material. Like flexography, gravure printing is often used for