Below is a
short description of our printing process and option:
OFFSET PRINTING (Lithography)
How it looks.
Ink sits flat on the
surface of the paper. Nearly all modern printing is offset. Most
short-run jobs are now being done digitally instead of offset as
personal and trade machines become better and cheaper.
How it is done.
The
basic principle of offset printing, the dominant printing process, is
this simple: ink and water don't mix. Early lithographers etched images
onto a flat stone. These images would accept ink, while the porous
stone accepted water. When ink was applied, it stayed on the greasy
image area and avoided the rest of the stone. Modern lithography uses
the same concept but adds one important element. In modern presses, the
image is transferred from the printing plate to a rubber blanket and
then to the paper. Hence the name "offset." Although there are many
different kinds, sizes and qualities of offset presses, the basic
configuration remains the same. When the printing plate is exposed, an
ink receptive coating is activated at the image area. On the press, the
plate is dampened, first by water rollers, then by ink rollers. Ink
adheres to the image area and water to the non-image area. As the
cylinders rotate, the image is transferred to the blanket. Paper passes
between the blanket cylinder and the image is transferred to the paper.
LETTERPRESS
How it looks.
Your type or image will be indented
into the paper. Using a raised surface printing plate or type, the
depth of the resulting "bite" will vary depending upon the type of
paper. Thicker, softer papers will carry a deeper impression than hard
or thin papers.
How it is done.
The
world standard method for hundreds of years, letterpress gave way to
offset during the 1930's. Letterpress is now relegated to the specialty
category of art prints and invitations. The raised surface of the plate
can be achieved by a number of means, such as wood carving or
engraving, linoleum cutting, or, most commonly, photoengraving. Fine
Paper Co. does its own letterpress printing in house.
GRAVURE
How it looks.
Almost like offset, but extremely high quality. The cost is prohibitive and it is
rare if ever that anyone would consider this method for an invitation
job. Harder to fid in the United States.
How it is done.
Basically, gravure turns everything in the image into halftone dots.
The plate cylinder consists of tiny cells, varying in depth and width,
that hold the ink. As the press runs, a doctor blade scrapes excess ink
off the surface of the plate, leaving ink only in cells. As the paper
contacts the plate, the ink is transferred, reproducing type, rules,
graphics, and photographs as composites of very fine dots. Gravure is
used only in very long runs, usually for publications and packaging
printing.
ENGRAVING
How it looks.
Your image is raised above the
surface of the paper. Yields the sharpest image of all the
traditional printing methods.
How it is done.
The most
common use of engraving is to print dinero (money), anything that has
very fine detail. Plates for engraving are made of steel for very long
runs or copper for short runs. In engraving ink is applied to the plate
the ink then fills the cavities and the plate is wiped clean leaving
the the recessed areas (image area) filled with ink. Intense pressure
is used to transfer the image onto the substrate.
THERMOGRAPHY
How it looks.
Ink is raised above the surface
of the paper. It is an affordable imitation of engraving.
How it is done.
Thermography is a five stage printing process, the first being the
application of a slow drying ink, the four remaining are best
appreciated in the illustration above. Not great with detail and very
sensitive to quality or lack of quality of the material and the
process. Thermography in my opinion is a great process to use in
limited conjunction with other processes, namely offset.
FOIL STAMPING
How it looks.
Usually shiny, metalic images and type impressed into the paper. The
foils come in a large variety of colors aside from metalic, and, like silkscreening,
can be very opaque.
How it is done.
Heated
dies with raised images press a thin plastic film carrying colored
pigments against the paper. the pigments transfer from the film to the
paper, heat and pressure assist in the bonding process.
A breif Printing Techniques can be found here
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