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A List of the Different Printing Press Methods
The number of printing press methods is actually greater than what most people think. A printing press is a special device used to print items such as magazines, posters, and newspapers. Using applied pressure, an inked surface is placed on the medium used, which results in the image being transferred. This mechanical piece of equipment has a very long history but over the years, technology and materials have allowed for the development of new printing methods. Each of these methods is unique, some include:
• Digital – One of the newest press methods uses the reproduction of digital images. Typically, this option is for lower quality prints but when done by a professional the outcome is very impressive. Because of the way this is done, each print is unique whereas other printing presses could produce mass numbers.
• Gravure – For this type of printing, images are actually etched onto the surface with the aid of a metal plate. From there, the area that was etched is carefully filled in using ink and then the plate is rotated, allowing the image to be transferred onto the final medium.
• Intaglio – Another of the methods used for printing dates back to the 15th century. For this, zinc or copper plates are used for the surface and incisions are then created on that surface. Next, the plate ink is applied, followed by being rubbed with a tarlatan cloth to get rid of the extra ink. Once done, a damp piece of paper is applied and the plate and paper together are processed through the printing press with the ink image being transferred.
• Litho – One of the primary benefits of printing with this method is that four to five different colors can be printed at once. This is one of the fastest and most efficient methods available, providing consumers with an excellent result but for very little money. More commonly called Lithographic Printing or Lithography, only one surface is involved. In most cases, this form of printing is used for runs of 1,000 or more.
• Offset – The printing press called offset is another option that has been used for many years. This technique involves an image being inked and then transferred from a plate onto a special rubber blanket. From there the inked image goes onto the printing surface. Using lithography, images are applied with rollers. One of the main advantages to this option is that the final image is clean but the downside to offset printing is that the overall quality of the image is not as good as with some of the other methods.