Digital Printing and Graphic Design

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Originally printing was something reserved for photographs and books. However, the printing industry has become a multimillion dollar business.

In fact, there are thousands of printing companies that make their revenue solely from creating printed products.

In fact, nowadays companies require commercial printers to produce letterhead, nameplates, invitations, flyers, training materials, banners, and many other products for business use.

In fact, each year over 45 trillion pages are printed across the globe.

Development in the Printing Industry with Digital Printing

In the printing industry digital printing services have begun to gain ground.

About 9% of all printing done is done through the use of digital printing services.

Some of the most recognizable names in the printing industry are dedicated to forwarding the digital printing industry.

Xerox, HP, and Kodak are just a few of the companies dedicated towards improving digital printing services and technology. Much of this dedication has been in the area of digital printers– Xerox has developed the iGen3– HP has created the Indigo Digital Press printer series and the Info Print 5000– Kodak has their own digital printer with the Nexpress.

It is top quality printers like these that are revolutionizing the digital printing services that commercial printers are able to offer you.

The biggest advantage in digital printers have brought about is the fact that it can receive an electronic file from a computer which is instantly turned into a printable template.

In printing photographs, previously you had to have a photograph developed with costly and dangerous chemicals today it is easy to simply upload them to the computer.

Plus, you are able to easily edit your photographs to get precisely the image that you are looking for.

Development in the Printing Industry with Digital Printing

A Look Back at the Printing Press

The printing press was originally created in 1440 when Johannes Gutenberg assembled the first printing presses for the Holy Roman Empire.

Gutenberg drew his ideas from screw presses which were the presses that they used to create reproduction.

Though Gutenberg was a goldsmith by trade he developed an entirely new printing system that adapted the current technology into the technology that we know today.

He created a hand mould that had not been seen before which allowed for printers to create perfect copies in a very short period of time.

It is really the fact that Gutenberg created a way to make the printing industry profitable that truly revolutionized the industry.

What is a Printing Press?A printing press is a machine

designed to apply ink to another surface.

For example, the printing press takes an inked surface, originally a printing plate, and presses it against the desired print surface which is generally paper.

When the printing press does this it effectively transfers the image or text onto the desired surface.

Advances in the Printing Press

Digital components are being integrated to make the commercial printing presses available to consumers even faster and more affordable for you.

It is these technological advances that have made today's printing presses more accurate, more consistent, and more energy efficient.

Some of the advances in the printing press technology are four color printing and bindery printing

Four Color Printing

In marketing materials color is key.

In fact, it is the colors that first seem to draw consumers to the products and materials that you are advertising.

That is part of the reason that four color printing has become such a staple in the commercial printing industry.

What is Four Color Printing?

Four color printing is simply the process of reproducing an image in full color. This means that you can duplicate photographs, full color logos, or anything else that you might need in any color that you are looking for.

How does Four Color Printing work?

Four color printing uses four different inks to create the colors that you are looking for.

It depends on using ink in the three secondary colors (cyan, yellow, and magenta) and black ink. This ink combination is commonly referred to as CMYK.

The process really is like a chemistry equation. Each color helps to add or take away certain printing primary colors. – For example, Cyan helps to remove red from a color

combination, magenta does the same for green, and yellow takes away any blue.

Each of the inks involved in the CMYK process are at least semi-transparent if not entirely translucent.

If you take two of these colors and print them on the page so that they overlap it will create an alternate color.

If all three overlap on the page you are left with a dull looking black.

How does Four Color Printing work?

The Four Color Printing Process

The color separation process begins with

taking the image and separating it into the

primary colors of printing (red, green,

and blue).

The inversion process is where print technician

would look at each color separation and essentially

invert them.

The screening process is what monitors the

amount of ink being added to any screening

image . This process allows you to print lighter and darker

shades.

Bindery Printing

When you hear the term bindery printing your thoughts instantly drift to the concept of books.

We know that hardback books are bound on the outside edge.

However, bindery printing is not only ideal for printing hard cover books. You may find some use for it in terms of producing large brochures, catalogs, training materials, calendars, and reports.

This is one of the reasons that you want to make sure that you are able to find a commercial printer

who specializes in bindery printing.

How does Bindery Printing work? Bindery printing typically follows the traditional

procedure that is used to put together a book known as the "case" method.

This starts with a commercial printing press actually printing the pages that you want bound together. The paper and ink choice for this printing is largely a personal decision for the client.

From there they are sent to a special printer to create sections which are known in the industry as "signatures."

Basically, to create these signatures the printer will take the total page count of the project and they will divide that into equal sections.

Once the "signatures" have been created the binder will begin to assemble the project. This can be done in one of two ways.

Some bindery printing requires the "signatures" to be sewn together, and others actually use spine tape and glue to assemble the project.

Much of this process is decided by the purpose of the product. – For example, if you are looking at creating a children's book often

the gluing process is more than sufficient, whereas if you are looking at creating a reference text that will be getting steady use for years to come you may want to look at having it sewn in the bindery printing process.

How does Bindery Printing work?

Finishing the Bindery Process

From there the printer will

integrate "end sheets" into the project.

Once that has happened the

bindery printing process moves on

to add the cover to the project.

The printer puts the project through a special

press that essentially squeezes the spine of

the project to free excess glue and ensure that the

spine is adequately secured.

In bindery printing the signatures are individually pressed and sewn.

• Digital printing services are really very fast. • Now you are able simply email the order over. This

cuts your time in half because you do not have to keep up a back and forth conversation about what you are looking for, proof several drafts, and then wait for the transferring process to the printing press.

• Instead, with the click of a button you will able to get your project sent to the printer and on its way to production.

Digital Printing in a Click of a Button

Print Graphic Design

The goal to print graphic design is to communicate a message or concept visually through the use of images.

There are many different methods to accomplish this, and all for them are effective. Perhaps you want to focus on a certain type of typography, or highlight concepts with pictures, or even use your page layout to better communicate an idea.

In commercial use print graphic design has many different applications. It is common to see graphic arts printing in everyday materials like magazines, advertisements, and newspapers. It is also quite common in business materials like reports, trainings, and reference products.

Use of Graphic Design Today

Graphic arts printing is used to design advertisements, products, publications, and even construction developments.

You can use print graphic design to sell a product, to garner interest, and to educate.

Additionally, it can be used to create recognition among consumers. Your logo, your company colors, even the text that you company uses can be signature details that make you recognizable in an industry that is saturated with competitors.