PrintingMridu AgarwalCD L1

Types of printing? Not one, not two, there are 6 types of printing

process:

• Digital Printing

• Flexography

• Letterpress Printing

• Offset Printing

• Rotogravure

• Screen Printing

Digital PrintingDigital printing refers to methods

of printing from a digital-based image directly to a variety of media. It usually refers to professional printing where small-run jobs from desktop publishing and other digital sources are printed using large-format and/or high-volume laser or inkjet printers.

Application • Desktop publishing 

• Fine art

• Print on Demand

• Advertising

• Photos

FlexographyFlexible 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. Flexography uses fast-drying inks, is a high-speed print process, can print on many types of absorbent and non-absorbent materials, and can print continuous patterns (such as for gift wrap and wallpaper).

ApplicationPrint on-

• Plastic

• Foil

• Brown paper

• Any material used for packaging

Letterpress PrintingLetterpress is the oldest form of printing. In this

method, a surface with raised letters is inked and pressed to the surface of the printing substrate to reproduce an image in reverse. Typically, metal type has been used but other possibilities include carved wood or stone blocks.

Application• Wedding invitations

• Business cards

• Deboss effect

Offset PrintingMost common commercial printing technology in

which the image to be printed is photographically transferred to a metal or plastic printing plate which is wetted by water. The image portion of the plate repels water but picks up oil-based ink from a roller, and the non-image areas retain water but repel the ink. The inked image is then transferred first to a sheet of rubber or plastic which transfers it to the paper. The objective of this double transfer it to avoid the printing plate's contact with paper (and thus reduce its wear) which has a rougher surface than the blanket.

Application • Books

• Magazines

• Newspaper

RotograuveAn intaglio printing process in which letters and

pictures are transferred from an etched copper cylinder to a web of paper, plastic, or similar material in a rotary press.

Application• Magazines (Mostly)

• Newspaper

Screen PrintingScreen printing is a printing technique that uses

a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. A fill blade or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink into the mesh openings for transfer by capillary action during the squeegee stroke. Basically, it is the process of using a stencil to apply ink onto a substrate, whether it be t-shirts, posters, stickers, vinyl, wood, or other material.

Application• Wedding cards

• Business cards

• Fabric