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2.
Descriptions of our Printing Processes and Printing 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.
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