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Print production - Types of printers |
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The printing industry feels like another world. A more technical world that brings our designs to life so we can hold in in our hands and see it up close and personal.
Have you ever designed something that you are very proud of, and when you send it to the printer, theres bound to be some kind of issue? Then you either end up arguing with the printer (and by printer I mean the human printer, not the machine) or you have to search for another printing place to get the job done. If you haven't, you most definitely will some day.
It's such a pain in the butt working with printers sometimes, especially when they don't have much experience, but you can't always blame them. Sometimes it's the designers fault because the lack of knowledge in the printing industry. There is way more to the print industry than pressing the print button on the computer.
You, as a designer have to know how to design for print. Especially if your spark is in print design-PRINT design-the word print is in there, which means you most likely will be working with a printer more often, and you will always be designing for print. Publication and editorial design are also included in the print category. So, as a designer, you should have knowledge in the print production industry.
Designing for print can be very confusing and frustrating 99 to 100% of the time at first. Once you continue to do it more often, it will seem like nothing. First things first is to understand your colour space. You have to work in CMYK.
A recap of what CMYK is:
CMYK = Cyan, magenta, yellow and black. This is used for print. CMYK colours are subtractive colours which mean they will not get lighter, having that same vibrancy as RGB.
You also need to know how you or your client wants the design printed. So it is nice to be aware of the various types of printing presses that are available to you.
Types of printers
Offset printing (offset lithography)
This is the most commonly used method of printing, yet it is more expensive.
The term lithography refers tot the method of printmaking which an artist would draw with wax or oil based medium on stone. The stone would be etched, affecting the areas that are not protected by the wax. So, when the stone is moistened, the etched areas retained water and the oil based ink only attached to the image area.
The process of offset printing begins with the RIP (Raster image processor), which transfers digital files to plates onto which an image is impressed. The area of the image is treated to repel water. Within this process, those plates are wrapped around a plate cylinder that interacts as an intermediary with two sets of cylinders. The first cylinder above is the ink rollers, and the second cylinder below is the blanket cylinder. The blanket cylinder adapts to various types of paper and it surfaces and offsets the original plate from the paper.
With offset printing you have CMYK (a 4 colour press) plus additional spot colours which include varnishes, pantone and other coatings, depending on how many point units a press has. So, not every press can do spot colours.
Perfecting press: This can print both sides at once by either flipping the paper between printing units. This press would have two units for each colour ink.
Blanket-to-blanket press: This press has two blanket cylinders that the paper presses between.
Two kinds of offset presses: Sheetfed and web
Sheetfed press: Feeding single sheets into the press individually. This is commonly used for brochures, stationary, posters and many other printed materials.
Web press: This press can print larger materials and in larger volumes - up to hundreds of thousands of units of newspapers, magazines and catalogs.
Digital Printing
A printer that can be used in the home or office. It has the technology to assemble images from a complex set of numbers and mathematical formulas. These images are captured from matrix of dots, known as pixels, and this process is called digitizing. The digitized images are then used to control the deposition of toner to reproduce the data as print. Isn't that magical?
Digital printing does not require any plates, but requires toner which is a powder, instead of ink which is liquid. All digital presses are sheetfed. There can be a few problems with digital printing:
Colour cannot be adjusted as it can be on offset presses
Cannot match PMS colours (pantone matching system)
There can be a lack of accuracy
Giclee printing
This is a specialized form of inkjet which uses fade-resistant, inks. This avoids the expense of setting up printing plates for traditional 4 colour offset lithography. This form of printing is used by many artists.
Letter press
This press is undertaken on a vintage press. Prints can be made using carved metal and wood-movable type collections. Now there are photopolymer plates that can render any digital file into raised plate for use in restored 19th century rotary presses. The letterpress is very time consuming, yet it allows for great accuracy and customization with a bespoke, handmade feel. There is a slight embossing of the printed areas as an end result.
These are the basic printing presses that are available, and frequently used.
 Daunting x · Wed Jul 27, 2016 @ 03:32am · 0 Comments |
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