Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing.
A rotary printing press is a printing press in which the images to be printed are curved around a cylinder. Printing can be done on large number of substrates, including paper, cardboard, and plastic. Substrates can be sheet feed or unwound on a continuous roll through the press to be printed and further modified if required (e.g. die cut, overprint varnished, embossed). Printing presses that use continuous rolls are sometimes referred to as "web presses". Rotary drum printing was invented by Richard March Hoe in 1843, perfected in 1846,[1] and patented in 1847. (Note - Some sources describe Parisian 'Hippolyte Auguste Marinoni', (1823, 7 January 1904) as the inventor of the Rotary printing press.[2])
Today, there are three main types of rotary presses; offset commonly known as web offset, rotogravure, and flexo (short for flexography). While the three types use cylinders to print, they vary in their method.
Offset lithography uses a chemical process which an image is chemically applied to a plate (generally through exposure of photosensitive layers on the plate material). Lithography is based on the fact that water and oil do not mix, which enables the planographic process to work. In the context of a printing plate, a wettable surface (the non-image area) may also be termed hydrophilic and (the image area) a non-wettable surface hydrophobic.
Gravure is a process in which small cells or holes are etched into a copper cylinder which is filled with ink.
Flexography is a relief system in which a raised image is created on a typically polymer based plate.
In stamp collecting, rotary-press-printed stamps are sometimes a different size than stamps printed with a flat plate. This happens because the stamp images are further apart on a rotary press, which makes the individual stamps larger (typically 1/2 mm to 1 mm).
Offset printing is a widely used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier on which the image to be printed obtains ink from ink rollers, while the non-printing area attracts a film of water, keeping the non-printing areas ink-free.
Currently, most books and newspapers are printed using the technique of offset lithography. Other common techniques include:
* flexography used for packaging, labels, newspapers.
* hot wax dye transfer
* inkjet used typically to print a small number of books or packaging, and also to print a variety of materials from high quality papers simulate offset printing, to floor tiles; Inkjet is also used to apply mailing addresses to direct mail pieces.
* laser printing mainly used in offices and for transactional printing (bills, bank documents). Laser printing is commonly used by direct mail companies to create variable data letters or coupons, for example.
* pad printing popular for its unique ability to print on complex 3-dimensional surfaces.
* relief print, (mainly used for catalogues).
* rotogravure mainly used for magazines and packaging.
* screen-printing from T-shirts to floor tiles.
Digital printing accounts for approximately 9% of the 45 trillion pages printed annually (2005 figure) around the world.[7]
Printing at home or in an office or engineering environment is subdivided into:
* small format (up to ledger size paper sheets), as used in business offices and libraries
* wide format (up to 3' or 914mm wide rolls of paper), as used in drafting and design establishments.
Some of the more common printing technologies are:
* blueprint—and related chemical technologies.
* daisy wheel—where pre-formed characters are applied individually.
* dot-matrix—which produces arbitrary patterns of dots with an array of printing studs.
* line printing—where pre-formed characters are applied to the paper by lines.
* heat transfer—like early fax machines or modern receipt printers that apply heat to special paper, which turns black to form the printed image.
* inkjet—including bubble-jet—where ink is sprayed onto the paper to create the desired image.
* xerography—where toner is attracted to a charged image and then developed.
* laser—a type of xerography where the charged image is written pixel by pixel by a laser.
* solid ink printer—where cubes of ink are melted to make ink or liquid toner.
Vendors typically stress the total cost to operate the equipment, involving complex calculations that include all cost factors involved in the operation as well as the capital equipment costs, amortization, etc. For the most part, toner systems beat inkjet in the long run, whereas inkjets are less expensive in the initial purchase price.
Professional digital printing (using toner) primarily uses an electrical charge to transfer toner or liquid ink to the substrate it is printed on. Digital print quality has steadily improved from early colour and black & white copiers to sophisticated colour digital presses like the Xerox iGen3, the Kodak Nexpress, the HP Indigo Digital Press series and the InfoPrint 5000. The iGen3 and Nexpress use toner particles and the Indigo uses liquid ink. The InfoPrint 5000 is a full-colour, continuous forms inkjet drop-on-demand printing system. All handle variable data and rival offset in quality. Digital offset presses are also called direct imaging presses, although these presses can receive computer files and automatically turn them into print-ready plates, they cannot insert variable data.
Small press and fanzines generally use digital printing. Prior to the introduction of cheap photocopying the use of machines such as the spirit duplicator, hectograph, and mimeograph was common.
colour printing or Colour printing is the reproduction of an image or text in colour (as opposed to simpler black and white or monochrome printing). Any natural scene or colour photograph can be optically and physiologically dissected into three Primary colours, red, green and blue, roughly equal amounts of which give rise to the perception of white, and different proportions of which give rise to the visual sensations of all other colours. The additive combination of any two primary colours in roughly equal proportion gives rise to the perception of a Secondary colour. For example, red and green yields yellow, red and blue yields magenta (a purple hue), and green and blue yield cyan (a turquoise hue). Only yellow is counter-intuitive. Yellow, cyan and magenta are merely the "basic" secondary colours: unequal mixtures of the primaries give rise to perception of many other colours all of which may be considered "tertiary."
While there are many techniques for reproducing images in colour, specific graphic processes and industrial equipment are used for mass reproduction of colour images on paper. In this sense, "colour printing" involves reproduction techniques suited for printing presses capable of thousands or millions of impressions for publishing newspapers and magazines, brochures, cards, posters and similar mass-market items. In this type of industrial or commercial printing, the technique used to print full-colour images, such as colour photographs, is referred to as four-colour-process or merely process printing. Four inks are used: three secondary colours plus black. These ink colours are cyan, magenta and yellow; abbreviated as CMYK. Cyan can be thought of as minus-red, magenta as minus-green, and yellow as minus-blue. These inks are semi-transparent or translucent. Where two such inks overlap on the paper due to sequential printing impressions, a primary colour is perceived. For example, yellow (minus-blue) overprinted by magenta (minus green) yields red. Where all three inks may overlap, almost all incident light is absorbed or subtracted, yielding near black. It is because of this poor "subtractive" black that a separate black ink is used. The secondary or subtractive colours cyan, magenta and yellow may be considered "primary" by printers and watercolourists (whose basic inks and paints are transparent).
Two graphic techniques are required to prepare images for four-colour printing. In the "pre-press" stage, original images are translated into forms that can be used on a printing press, through "colour separation," and "screening" or "halftoning." These steps make possible the creation of printing plates that can transfer colour impressions to paper on printing presses based on the principles of lithography.
An emerging method of full-colour printing is six-colour process printing (for example, Pantone's Hexachrome system) which adds orange and green to the traditional CMYK inks for a larger and more vibrant gamut, or colour range. However, such alternate colour systems still rely on colour separation, halftoning and lithography to produce printed images.
colour printing can also involve as few as one colour ink, or multiple colour inks which are not the primary colours. Using a limited number of colour inks, or specific colour inks in addition to the primary colours, is referred to as "spot colour" printing. Generally, spot-colour inks are specific formulations that are designed to print alone, rather than to blend with other inks on the paper to produce various hues and shades. The range of available spot colour inks, much like paint, is nearly unlimited, and much more varied than the colours that can be produced by four-colour-process printing. Spot-colour inks range from subtle pastels to intense fluorescents to reflective metallics.
colour printing involves a series of steps, or transformations, to generate a quality colour reproduction. The following sections focus on the steps used when reproducing a colour image in CMYK printing, along with some historical perspective.
Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company affiliation (usually with a logo) and contact information such as street addresses, telephone number(s), fax number, e-mail addresses and website. It can also include telex, bank account, tax code. Traditionally many cards were simple black text on white stock; today a professional business card will sometimes include one or more aspects of striking visual design.
Business cards are printed on some form of card stock, the visual effect, method of printing, cost and other details varying according to cultural or organizational norms and personal preferences. The common weight of a business card may vary on your location. Generally, business cards are printed on stock that is 350g/m2 (density), 45 kg (100 lb.) (weight), or 12pt (thickness).
High quality business cards without full-colour photographs are normally printed using spot colours on sheet-fed offset printing presses. Some companies have gone so far as to trademark their spot colours (examples are UPS brown, Los Angeles Lakers' purple, and Tide's orange). If a business card logo is a single colour and the type is another colour, the process is considered two colour. More spot colours can be added depending on the needs of the card. With the onset of digital printing, and batch printing, it is now cost effective to print business cards in full colour.
To simulate the "raised-print" effect of printing with engraved plates, a less-expensive process called thermography was developed that uses the application of a plastic powder, which adheres to the wet ink. The cards are then passed through a heating unit, which melts the plastic onto the card. Spot UV varnish onto matte laminate can also have a similar effect.
Full colour cards, or cards that use many colours, are printed on sheetfed presses as well; however, they use the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) four-colour printing process. Screens of each colour overprinted on one another create a wide gamut of colour. The downside to this printing method is that screened colours if examined closely will reveal tiny dots, whereas spot colour cards are printed solid in most cases. Spot colours should be used for simple cards with line art or non-black type that is smaller than 5 points.
Some terminology in reference to full colour printing:
* 4/0 - Full colour Front / No Print On Back
* 4/1 - Full colour Front / One colour On reverse
* 4/4 - Full colour Front / Full colour Back
These names are pronounced as "four over zero," "four over one," or "four over four".
A business card can also be coated with a UV glossy coat (offset-uv Printing). The coat is applied just like another ink using an additional unit on a sheetfed press. That being said, UV coats can also be applied as a spot coating - meaning areas can be coated, and other areas can be left uncoated. This creates additional design potential.
Business Cards can also be printed with a digital copier, which uses toner baked onto the surface of the card. Some industry leaders have begun avoiding the using the term copier in their literature, insisting their state-of-the-art machines are more like digital presses, than their office-oriented predecessors.
While some of the older office copiers may have had problems running heavy business card stock, the newest digital presses can print on stock as heavy as 80# to 100# cover stock, and 12 to 14 point stocks with ease.
UV coats, and other coatings such as Aqueous Coatings are used to speed manufacturing of the cards. Cards that are not dry will "offset" which means the ink from the front of one card will end up on the back of the next one. UV coatings are generally highly glossy but are more likely to fingerprint, while aqueous coatings are not noticeable but increase the life of the card. It is possible to use a dull aqueous coating on uncoated stock and get some very durable uncoated cards, and using UV coating or plastic lamination can also be applied to thicken thin stocked cards and make them more durable as well.
When cards are designed, they are given bleeds if colour extends to the edge of the finished cut size. (A bleed is the extension of printed lines or colours beyond the line where the paper it is printed on will be cut.) This is to help ensure that the paper will cut without white edges due to very small differences in where the blade cuts the cards, and it is almost impossible to cut the cards properly without. Just being a hair off can result in white lines, and the blade itself will pull the paper while cutting. The image on the paper can also shift from page to page which is called a bounce, which is generally off by a hairline on an offset press, but can be quite large on lower end equipment such as a copier or a duplicator press. Bleeds are typically an extra 3.175 (1/8) to 6.35 mm (1/4 in) to all sides of the card.
* Bleed Size: 95.25 × 57.15 mm (3.75 × 2.25 in) (1/8 in bleeds)
* Standard Cut Size: 89 × 51 mm (3.5 × 2 in)
Fold-over or "tent" cards, and side fold cards are popular as well. Generally these cards will fold to the standard size.
In today's global marketplace, it is not uncommon for the cards to be printed with English on one side and the local language (if not English) on the other.
A flier (also spelled flyer or called a handbill or leaflet) is a single page leaflet advertising a nightclub, event, service, or other activity. Fliers are typically used by individuals or businesses to promote their products or services. They are a form of mass marketing or small scale, community communication.
Fliers are handed out on the street or other public place (an activity known as flyering or leafleting), or they may be posted on bulletin boards (found on college campuses, cafes, community centers, laundromats, and small markets), or given away at events.
Fliers, along with postcards, pamphlets and small posters, are forms of communication for people who want to engage the public but do not have the money or desire to advertise over the internet, in telephone directories, or classified or display advertising in newspapers or other periodicals. As marketing became more direct in the late 1980s and 1990s, fliers evolved[citation needed] and currently there are many formats to be found. Some examples are:
* A4 (roughly letterhead size)
* A5 (roughly half letterhead size)
* DL (compslip size)
* A6 (postcard size)
* CC (credit card size)
Fliers are inexpensive to produce and are regarded as a very effective form of direct marketing. Their widespread use intensified with the spread of desktop publishing systems. In recent years, the production of fliers through traditional printing services has been supplanted by Internet services; customers may send designs and receive final products by mail.
San Francisco has a long history of 'fliering.' The first flier company was The Thumbtack Bugle which has been around for over twenty five years. Haight Street is very popular for postering on telephone poles.
Fliers have become an integral aspect to the Edinburgh Fringe, where flyers are handed to people on the Royal Mile.
Brighton, in England, has recently outlawed 'fliering' - making it necessary to acquire a license from the local council if a person or organisation wishes to distribute fliers.
In Seattle, Washington leaflets and fliers are a common sight. There has been some action to outlaw them but most of it lacked support. Fliers are most common on Capitol Hill but are still abundant elsewhere in the city.
During the War of American Independence Americans were outraged with the Stamp Act and therefore made anti-stamp act congresses. In these congresses they had to win support and so issued handbills, leaflets, pamphlets, badges, buttons, ribbons, mug, posters, notices around town and other things to win support against the Stamp Act.