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 The Book of Printing Processes
Copyright © 2010

Printed in Seattle, WA
Designed by MacKenzie Mason
Content from about.com

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 1 Letter Press Printing
3 Screen Printing
5 Offset Printing
7 Digital Printing
9 Gravure Printing
11 Flexography Printing
13 Thermography Printing

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 Also known as Typographic
Printing Technique, this
commercial printing
technique, includes
production of many copies of
an image by repeated direct
impression of an inked, raised
surface against sheets or a
continuous roll of paper.
Background
Letterpress Printing is one of
the oldest printing techniques
in use since the 13th century.
Johann Guttenberg is known
to have introduced printing
from individually-cast,
movable type-reusable letters
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set together in a frame in the
14th century.
Letterpress Printing
Process
The letterpress printing
process involves printing
images by the “relief” type
printing plates where the
image or printing areas are
raised above the non-printing
areas. Ink is applied on the
rollers, which further pass
it onto a separate ink-bed
where a fresh film is picked
for the following sheet of
paper. A sheet of paper is
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 rapidly pressed onto a type
and swung back again and
finally removed, followed by
insertion of a new sheet/roll
of paper.
Type of Letterpress
Printing Machine
• Flat bed cylinder printing is widely used to
machines
• Rotary letterpress adhesive labels in shorter
printing machines
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Letterpress Printing
Technique
Letter Press printing
technique is still used in
commercial operation and
specialty operations including
imprinting, stamping, die-
cutting, numbering etc. This
manufacture high quality self
time. Other applications of
this type of printing include:
• Business Cards
• Company Letterhead
• Billheads
• Forms
• Posters
• Embossing
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 Screen Printing technique is
a special type of printing that
creates a sharp-edged image
using a porous fabric and a
stencil. The screen printing
technique can be traced back
to the beginning of the 19th
century and gained popularity
during the first world war for
making banners and technique is used for different
printing flags.
Screen Printing Technique
A screen made of a piece of
porous, finely woven fabric
including silk, polyester
or nylon is stretched over
a wooden or aluminum
frame. Areas of the screen
are blocked off with a non-
permeable material (a stencil)
which in turn is a negative of
the image to be printed.
Process of Screen Printing
The screen is placed on top of
a piece of paper or fabric. Ink
is placed on top of the screen,
and a rubber blade is used to
spread the ink evenly across
the screen. The ink passes
through the open spaces in
the screen onto the paper or
fabric below; followed by lif
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ting of the screen. The screen
can be again be re-used after
cleaning. For multiple colour
screen printing on the same
surface, the ink is allowed
to dry and then the entire
process is repeated with
another screen and different
color of ink. This printing
screen printing machines.
Application of Screen
Printing
Screen printing services make
use of and is compatible
with a variety of materials,
including textiles, ceramics,
metal, wood, paper, glass, and
plastic. It is this quality that
allows this printing technique
to be used in different
industries, from clothing to
product labels, fabric labels to
circuit board printing etc.
Areas of the screen are
blocked off with a non-
permeable material (a stencil)
which in turn is a negative of
the image to be printed.
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 Offset printing is one of the most
common types of printing technique
used by a number of industries. Although
these printing machines, equipments
are expensive with high set-up costs,
the printing process expense is nominal.
The offset printing technique is famous
because of the higher printing quality
and large volume printing.

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 Offset Printing Process
The process involves
spreading the ink on a metal
plate with etched images,
which is then transferred
onto an intermediate surface
(rubber blanket). This is finally
applied to paper by pressing
it against the intermediate
surface(rubber blanket).
Use of Offset Printing
Services
Offset printing is one of the
most popular commercial
printing technique used for
a number of products. This
printing technique is used
by offset printing machines
to print calendars, books,
newspapers, business
documents and legal
documents etc.
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Types of Offset Printing
• Sheet Fed Offset Printing
• Web Offset Printing
Benefits of Offset
Printing
• This technique can be
used on other surfaces
like glass, metal, wood,
fabric ect.
• Longer plate life than on
direct litho presses
• Sharper, cleaner and
consistent high image
quality.
• Better than letterpress
printing.
• Ease of production of
plates.
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 Digital image printing allows
high performance, cost-
effective digital web-fed
solution for commercial
printing. Digital image
printing is used by digital
printing machines to produce
everything right from printed
graphic attachments to plastic
cards, financial applications
and so on.
Benefits of Digital
Printing
This type of printing does not
use any plates, film to produce
images, it makes use of digital
imaging technology to provide
high quality of printing. This
technique is apt for small
printing jobs.
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This method of printing
eliminates the various setting
up costs required in other
printing processes including
making films, plates etc. It
involves the reproduction of
digital images on a physical
surfaces including paper, film,
plastic, cloth etc.
Digital printing can be
used for following:
• Fast turnaround time
• Short printing jobs
• Short run color and
mono work
Application of Digital
Printing
• Brochures
• Journals
• Booklets
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 Gravure printing is used for
long run printing with sharper,
fine and clear images. This
type of printing is generally
used for high-volume printing
of packaging, wallpaper, and
giftwraps using fast-drying
inks. Although not widely
used, gravure printing also
finds application in printing
magazines, greeting cards,
and high-volume advertising
print campaigns.

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 Operations Required:
• Image Preparation
• Cylinder Preparation
• Printing
• Finishing
Gravure printing Process
The Gravure printing process
is a form of intaglio printing.
The technique, used by
gravure printing machine, uses
a depressed or sunken surface
for formation of the image.
The image area consists of
honey comb shaped cells
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that are etched or engraved
into a copper cylinder. The
unetched area of the cylinder
represents the non-image or
unprinted areas. The cylinder
generally rotates in a bath of
ink called the ink pan. With
the turning of cylinder, extra
ink gets wiped off the cylinder
due to a steel doctor blade.
Image is formed due to the
direct transfer of the ink to
the substrate (paper or any
other material) while it passes
between the plate cylinder
and the impression cylinder.
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 Flexography printing is a major Application of
printing technique, widely Flexography
used by flexographic printing This flexoprinting printing
machines, to print packaging service finds a number of
materials. This flexography applications in print packaging
printing technique is used to industry and is also used
print on a number of materials by other industries for high
and products including quality packaging.
corrugated boxes, folding
cartons, multi-wall sacks, • Milk and beverage
paper sacks, plastic bags etc. cartons
• Disposable cups
• Containers
Process of Flexography
• Self adhesive labels
Printing:
• Adhesive tapes
Flexography is used for • Envelopes
printing on various materials • Newspapers
including plastic, paper etc. • Food and candy
This type of printing process wrappers
& technique makes use of
flexible printing plates made
of rubber or plastic. The
inked plates with a slightly
raised image are rotated on a
cylinder which transfers the
image to the substrate.

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 ThermographyThermographic
Printing process is a special type
of printing technique relying on
heat to print letters or create
images on a sheet of paper. This
printing technique is also a post
print process done inline with
the printing

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 Types of Thermal Printing Thermography Printing
Process Process
Direct Thermal Printing Special thermography powder
Process: This method involves is sprayed on a paper sheet
coating the paper with a after it is removed from an
material that changes color offset printing press. The
when heated. powder is then vacuumed off
of the sheet and is left only
Thermal Transfer Printing
where there is an image, or
Process: This method is more
printed ink. The sheet then
complex wherein a ribbon
travels through a heat tunnel;
melts off onto a sheet of
causing the powder to melt
paper while heating. This is
and leave behind a raised
also known as thermal ink
image like on business cards,
transfer printing.
or envelopes.
Application of
Thermography Printing
• Fax Printers
• Business Cards
• Letter Head
• Invitation

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