Types Of Printing Process In Printing Industry

Printing is a process of generating images and text on a surface by using ink. An image is printed by using different types of printing. printing is the neediest thing in our life and our whole day passes seeing printing. When we woke up and the first thing which we need is toothpaste. The toothpaste raper is printed. So we can not assume our life without printing. The history of printing is not old, the first invention of printing has invented in China. Europe is the second place where printing work has done.

Types of the printing process

All printed areas have two things that are image area and non-image area. Image is printed through lines and dots but the non-image area is a blank space. The image area and non-image area are separated in the prepress stage. Printing has four types of process.

In Planography printing, the image area and non-image area both are on the same plane surface.

Intaglio has both image area and non-image area. its image area is engraved below the surface and the non-image area placed in-plane surface.

The relief printing process is the opposite of intaglio. In relief, printing images area on the plane surface and non-image area on below the surface.

After seeing the types of the printing process, now we will see about types of printing.

Types of printing

Printing has 5 main types, which is like this

1. Letter Press printing
2. Offset printing
3. Gravure printing
4. Flexography printing
5. Screen printing

Letter Press printing

Letter Press printing is also called direct printing and in this printing process relief technique is used. in this printing process, the first thing is block designing. Block is made of metal or wooden and using a movable type printable matter is prepared and the type that is used its height is .918 inch. In the beginning, the block-making process is called hand composition.

Hand composition

The traditional method of setting foundry type by hand is similar to the method used by Gutenberg, who was the father of printing. Hand composition was prepared by assembling the individual pieces of type into lines and type was set letter by letter, and line by line.

Typography, Type, and Typefaces

Typography means the selection and arrangement of type elements that are part of the layout. Type provides the means for including symbols and punction marks. Typefaces refer to the unique shape or design of the characters included in type font, type series, or type family.

Offset Printing ( famous types of printing)

This time, it is one of the famous processes of printing that is widely used in the world. Most of the newspaper and textbook printing are printed by Offset printing. This process of printing is also very chief and fast. Offset printing is also called indirect printing because printable matter firstly transferred upon rubber from the plate then rubber to the surface. Ira Rubel had invented the offset printing process in 1905. Ira Rubel was an American person.

The procedure of offset printing

In Offset printing, the image does not directly transfer to paper from the plate cylinder. Firstly image transferred to the middle cylinder from the plate cylinder. this middle cylinder is known as a blanket cylinder and the blanket cylinder transfer the image on the paper. In this way, there are three-cylinder in the offset printing machine. Which follows-

Frist cylinder

It is called a plate cylinder and its surface is made of bi-metal. two more cylinders are also attached to the plate cylinder, that is transfers ink and water to the plate cylinder and due to this plate, the image is printed. The plate is molded on this cylinder.

Second cylinder

The second cylinder is a blanket cylinder and both plate cylinder and blanket cylinder are attached together. From the ink cylinder, ink is transfer to the plate cylinder, and after this ink is transferred to the blanket cylinder from the plate cylinder because the ink has the quality to print on the blanket. The printed image on the blanket cylinder is opposite of the plate image and when the image transferred on the paper is like a plate cylinder, That's why offset printing is called indirect printing.

Third Cylinder

The third cylinder is another name Impression cylinder. This cylinder also puts pressure on the blanket calendar. In this process ink of the blanket cylinder transfer on the paper.

Offset printing machine

The offset printing machine has two types, sheet-fed machine, and web-fed machine. In which machine paper is used in the form of sheet, is the sheet-fed machine and in which paper is in the form of reel is a web-fed machine.

Gravure printing

Gravure printing is based on intaglio technic in this type of printing image is engraved in the cylinder and this cylinder is a type of image carrier. In gravure printing, The cylinder making process is some difficult in comparison with offset printing. There are four basic methods of gravure cylinder preparation:

• Diffusion etch
• Direct transfer
• Electromechanical process
• Laser cutting

In the gravure printing process, the first step is to prepare a cylinder. Gravure cylinder is prepared with the help of an engraved image. With the help of engraved technic, the image is created on the cylinder in form of cells. when printing work starts these cells fill with ink and these cells transferred the ink on the paper.

Flexography printing

This time Flexography printing is famous printing in the world. A flexible printing plate is used in Flexography printing that is made of photopolymer. From the flexography printing, any material can be printed. this is used for paper, cell phones, plastic, and metal printing.

Screen printing

In screen printing, there is a mesh that is responsible to transfer ink on the substrate. Image is prepared from the dots and ink is transferred from dots on the paper. in the process of printing a blade is used to remove unwanted ink from the mesh.

In Screen printing, an image is prepared on the screen. This screen is made of a special type of fabric. As inventions will be invented in the field of printing, types of printing will be increased.