Ever Wondered How? by Ellen Setterfield

ever wondered how? ellen setterfield

This book was written and illustrated by Ellen Setterfield

Contents

Introduction Page 3 What is Print? Page 5 Inks Page 7 Vegetable Inks Page 9 Print Digital Print Page 11 Lithography Page 17 Silk Screen Printing Page 25 Flexography Page 37 Gravure Print Page 43 Pad Print Page 49 Finishes Embossing Page 57 Debossing Page 59 Foiling Page 61 Die Cut Page 63 Laser Cut Page 65

Format A Formats B Formats C Formats

Page 69 Page 71 Page 73

Binding Perfect Bound Page 77 Saddle Stitched Page 79 Wire Binding Page 81 Japanese Bound Page 83 Concertina Page 85 Conclusion Page 87

Introduction

Have you ever looked something and wondered how the design got onto the product? How a plastic bag gets printed? How your favourite pen can have your name printed on the side? Well it might surprise you to know that there are so many different ways to print onto a product. This book will give you the information you might need to discover how something is printed. Through a series of short illustrative descriptions you will receive a crash course in the world of print.

Firstly, you will look at the world of print. Print can achieve almost anything, it can be a small brochure at your local cinema or a huge billboard for your favourite supermarket. It can also be something which you might never have thought of before like road signs and logos on the side of a vehicle. Each printed item you see has been through a similar process. This section will explain each process in illustrations and will also give examples of product produced by each different type of print.

Inks Print works in a variation of four different inks which allows colour to be produced. These inks are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key. You might have seen the letters CMYK on your own printer at home or school. These four inks will mix together to produce all of the colours which you can choose from on your computer. In specialised printing methods such as lithoprint (page 17) extra inks can be added to make one specific colour, these are called spot colours.

Cyan

Magenta

Yellow

Key

Vegetable Inks Did you know that printers now use inks made from vegetables? Non-vegetable based inks are petroleum-based and when used with alcohol based solvents they give off Volatile Organic Compounds. These compounds are released into the atmosphere and cause problems with the environment as well as being a real health risk for people working around them. Vegetable based inks are now used to combat these problems and are becoming much more popular especially with large companies like McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Coca Cola.

Digital Print Digital print is one of the most common ways to print. It is also one of the cheapest options because it does not require as much preparation as some other processes. Digital print is usually used for smaller print runs (up to 500 sheets) as it does not have as a high print quality as Lithography does (page 17). There are many different sizes of digital printer but the largest is up to A0 (Page 69) The printer on the right can print up to any length until the roll of paper runs out. It is also fitted with a built in trimmer to cut the paper when the design has been printed.

Inkjet

Laser

The Process With digital print there are two different processes which we can go through. The first is Inkjet printing which uses CMYK inks. These printers are the more common home/school printers which you will probably use. The second way to print is using a Laser printer. This does not use ink it uses toner. This process is slightly different to an Inkjet printing as it involves a laser beam passing over a charged drum which defines the image. The drum then selectively collects the correct colour toner and transfers the image to paper.

The Outcomes

KEEP CALM AND

CARRY ON 16

Litho Print Lithography or Litho print requires several aluminium plates in order to print designs. A design which is to be printed using Litho must be split into different colours or inks before it is sent to the printers. Each of the colours requires an individual plate. Each plate will travel through a machine (see left) where it will be coated with the ink colour and printed on the paper, card etc. The colours will be layered up on top of each other to create the final image. Litho print is a cheaper alternative to digital print as it allows for much larger quantities to be printed at once. Plates can also be stored away for future print runs.

Litho Process The process of Lithography is based on the principle that oil and water donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mix. In order to print using lithography a design must be prepared onto an aluminium plate (see left). A plate is made by etching a design into it. This is done by firstly printing the design onto the plate using a polymer (oil based) material, this is then coated with a chemical solution which will etch the design into the plate. The process of etching creates a raised area where the ink will be contained.

Ink rollers

Water Fountain

Litho plate cylinder Rubber blanket cylinder Paper

Impression cylinder

Litho Process The ink is added to the plates through a variety of rollers. The plates are dampened, first by water rollers, then ink rollers. The ink gets to the plate from the ink fountain which will be filled the intended colour. The image area of the plate picks up ink from the rollers. The water rollers keep the ink off of the non-image areas of the plate. Each plate then prints its image to a rubber blanket which then prints the image to the paper. The plate itself does not actually touch the paper, this is called offset lithography.

The Outcomes

Silk Screen Print Silk screen printing can be done on a large scale but it can also be quite small and bespoke print runs. The majority of products which come out of silk screen printing are road signs. They are produced at a large scale with very specific machinery which allow it to work much quicker. For smaller bespoke screen printing such as handmade cards and gig posters the machinery is much smaller and requires a lot of work from humans.

The Process

A Silk Screen is selected depending on the size of the print.

The design is printed off onto clear acetate which will make it easier to expose the design onto the screen.

Screen is coated in green emulsion which will allow the design to be transferred onto the screen for printing.

The screen is then taken to an exposure unit which uses a powerful UV light to expose the acetate design onto the screen.

The screen is then rinsed off so that the design is all that is visible.

The screen is then clamped into a screen printing bed. Paper is placed on the bed underneath the screen.

A collection of ink is then placed at the top of the screen ready for printing.

A squeegee is then used to pull the ink over the screen which will press through the tiny holes to the paper underneath. The screen will print as many times as you wish as long as there is enough ink.

The Outcomes

Flexography Flexography can be used to print on materials such as cellophane, polythene and metallic films, so it is often used to print plastic shopping bags. It is also used to produce milk cartons, plastic carrier bags, disposable cups, labels, envelopes, newspapers and wrappers. It is the cheapest way to print publications and packaging in large quantities.

Doctor Blade

Plate Cylinder

Ink pan

Paper Impression Cylinder

The Process Flexography is very similar to litho print, it uses plates, unlike Litho though Flexography uses a rubber plate instead of an aluminium plate. There are many different ways to produce a plate for Flexography but the most recent is called Laser engraving. This involves a laser cutting into the plate to create a raised area in the shape of the design. Ink is transferred onto the raised areas and a doctor blade is used to remove the excess ink. The paper/material is then sandwiched between the plate and the impression cylinder to transfer the image. The design is then passed through a dryer before it can be touched.

The Outcomes

Gravure Print In gravure printing, the image is made up of small holes sunk in the surface of the printing plate. The holes are filled with ink and any excess is removed. Paper comes into contact with the ink in the holes when it is pressed against the plate. Gravure printing is used for long, high-quality print runs such as magazines, mail-order catalogues, packaging, and printing onto fabric and wallpaper. It is also used for printing postage stamps and decorative plastic laminates, such as kitchen work tops.

Impression Cylinder

Printed image

Plate

Paper Doctor blade

Plate cylinder Ink

The Process Like Litho and Flexography print Gravure print also uses plates and rollers to print an image. In this case the image is transferred to the plate by a laser which creates small holes in the shape of the design which contain the ink, like flexography the excess ink is removed by a doctor blade so the design is not saturated with too much ink when it is printed. The plate is then rolled around the plate cylinder onto a pice of paper/ material which is sandwiched between the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder.

The Outcomes

Pad Print Pad printing is a great way to print onto small, awkward shapes and also a variety of materials. There is a wide selection of inks which have been developed for pad printing and it has become very popular. The process is very simple and can be done with large industrial machines as well as manually at home or school.

The Process Like other print processes in order to pad print a plate must be used. The design is etched into a plate which is then covered with ink, a doctor blade scrapes off the excess ink so that all is left is the raised area which has a layer of ink. The ink which is used evaporates and becomes tacky which is what will stick to the silicone pad. The pad will e lowered to the plate and the tacky ink will stick to it, the pad is then moved to the object which is going to be printed and is pressed to it. Because the pad is silicone the ink comes off on the object perfectly without the pad needing to be cleaned for the next use.

The Outcomes

Finishes

This section focuses on the different finishes which are available within the world of commercial print. There are many different ways in which a design can be finished but this book will cover foiling, embossing, debossing, creasing, cutting and laser cutting. These processes are very popular with companies as it adds a little extra to a design.

Embossing Embossing is the impression of an object onto another which creates a raised outline. Like the image on the left embossing makes for a very high quality finish on print jobs. It is usually only used for the cover of a publication or a specific type of branding such as a business card. It is an expensive process as it requires a copper plate to be engraved with a design. Unlike the printing plates copper plates take several hours to make and require constant attention in order to make sure it does not over develop.

Debossing Debossing is the opposite of Embossing, instead of the design being raised out of the paper it is indented into it. The process of this is very similar to embossing though it does work with a wooden plate which can be laser cut, this is a much quicker and cheaper option to develop and has a great effect on a piece of artwork.

Foiling Foiling is another popular process which can make a design look extremely high quality. Foiling involves the design being stamped on the material through a metal foil this forces the foil into the surface of the material and adds a great final effect to a design. There are many different colours of foil which can be used and it can be done on a wide range of materials, not just paper.

Die Cut Die cutting is used to make multiple, identical shapes. It works in a similar way to a biscuit cutter. A shaped blade called a die is used to cut material. The material to be cut is placed under the die and the die is lowered. For creasing, blunt blades are used. The blade does not cut through the material but creases it. This is useful for materials that need to be folded such as packaging and publications.

Laser Cut Laser cut is a great way to make quick stencils and debossing plates from wood. It involves a high powered laser cutting a design into a material. There arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t many limitations when it comes to material choice as it can cut through almost anything. The process is very time consuming as it can only cut one design at a time, unless on a very large commercial printer in a specialist factory.

Formats

There are so many different sizes of paper which can be printed on that it can very quite daunting to keep track of the dimensions for each. This section will detail the different formats which are used in commercial print and will also show you some examples of actually how big something is when it is being printed.

A4 A2

A Formats A formats are the most commonly known to the general public. The size of paper in A format varies quite significantly with the largest being A0. The Dimensions: A0 - A1 - A2 - A3 - A4 - A5 - A6 - A7 - A8 -

1189 x 841 mm 841 x 594 mm 594 x 420 mm 420 x 297 mm 297 x 210 mm 210 x 148 mm 148 x 105 mm 105 x 74 mm 74 x 52 mm

B Formats B format is more commonly used by people within the print community. They are very similar to A formats though they are slightly larger. The Dimensions: B0 - B1 - B2 - B3 - B4 - B5 - B6 - B7 - B8 -

1414 x 1000 mm 1000 x 707 mm 707 x 500 mm 500 x 353 mm 353 x 250 mm 250 x 176 mm 176 x 125 mm 125 x 88 mm 88 x 62 mm

B4 B2

C4 C2

C4 C5

114 x 162

162 x 229

324 x 229

A4 Folded twice

A4 Folded once

A4 Unfolded

Envelopes C format is used for envelopes, they are created so that A format papers can fit inside a C envelope without being folded more than twice. The Dimensions: C0 - C1 - C2 - C3 - C4 - C5 - C6 - C7 - C8 -

1297 x 917 mm 917 x 648 mm 648 x 458 mm 458 x 324 mm 324 x 229 mm 229 x 162 mm 162 x 114 mm 114 x 81 mm 81 x 57 mm

Binding

With print and finishes there must also be some way to keep all of the publications together. This section will focus on different types of binding which are used both in commercial print and more bespoke hand made publications.

Perfect Bound Perfect binding puts all the pages or together, roughens and flattens the edge, then a flexible adhesive glue attaches the paper cover to the spine. Paperback novels are one example of perfect binding. Telephone directories and booklets also use perfect binding as it can work for publications which are a few inches thick. It is relatively an average costing binding method and it is very popular with commercial print.

Saddle Stitch Saddle stitch binding can be done with cotton/string or staples. The most common process is to simply staple down the centre of the booklet, this is very effective but cannot be done on very thick publications as it is not strong enough. Cotton saddle stitching can be done by person or by a machine. It is a very popular way to bind and it is probably the easiest.

Wire Bound Wire or Wire-O binding is another very popular way to bind a booklet or file. It is done with a small machine which punches a series of wholes down one side of the paper and then wire is fed through the wholes, force is then added to the wire which bends it into an O shape which keeps the book together. It is a popular way to bind but it is very time consuming unless it is done by a machine.

Japanese Japanese binding involves 4 wholes and a long piece of cotton/string. Four wholes are made in the book and the cotton is hand sewn through the publication. This process is more popular with hand made bespoke books rather than large print runs in commercial print.

Concertina Concertina binding does not involve anything other than the paper itself. A series of folds/creases to create a fan-like effect which will create a small unbound booklet. This is the most simple of all binding as it does not require any specific technique or any other equipment to achieve the effect.

You have now completed your introduction to the world of commercial print, hope you enjoyed the journey. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be scared to try out some of the techniques that have been explained within this book at home, the world of print has endless possibilities.

Written and illustrated by

ellen setterfield Published in Leeds 2014

Have you ever looked at something and wondered what process it has been through before it came to be? Yes? Well this book will give you the answers to those random questions. This book will focus on print. Print is everywhere, on your clothes, in your parents car, on the cover of your favourite book. Almost everything you see has been printed on in some way. There are so many different types of print available and this book will show you the most popular processes which are used today.