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g Printin

Noun [Mass noun] 1. The production of books, newspapers, or other printed material.

Printing is a collective term that refers to the various different techniques used to apply ink to a substrate or stock.

These include: offset lithography, screen printing, letterpress, , lino-cut, risograph, Inkjet and PAD printing among others.

Each method has its own variables such as printing speed, the available range of colours or printing capacity, in addition to cost.

The printing process is often overlooked when a job is being designed for print, but the designer should take into account the printing process to ensure that the visual impact is optimised and to effectively manage schedule and budgetary constraints.

Silksc reen Printin g To meet the rise in popularity of silkscreen printing in recent years, many artist’ studios such as New York’s Lower east side Print shop and the UK’s Print Club London, are now allowing public access to equipment in exchange for a nominal membership fee. Galleries and art fairs worldwide are recognising the demand for screen printed work, with new screen print specific events every year.

Pros Silk-screen printing is a very simple, versatile and direct printing process. It can be used to print onto almost kind of substrate, even curved or uneven surfaces.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of silk-screen printing is that you can mix the inks yourself.

You can mix thick and opaque deposits of ink in brilliant saturated colours with high chemical & abrasion resistance.

Cons It isn’t a high volume printing method because each colour that is applied to the substrate has to dry before another can be applied.

You will have to manually align the design.

This printing process can be quite labour intensive, especially if you are using resources at Leeds College of Art. Also, it can be quite difficult reserving a screen when you need to especially during the build up to deadlines.

Offse t Lithog raphy Offset Lithography is an ancient mass produced method of printing items. It was designed for consistency, so that each print would be identical to the next.

The method was originally suited for print newspapers and more recently web printing, which is continuous huge rolls of paper. Because they are relied on to print the national news daily, they can be around the size of a house and are obviously well maintained.

Pros

Cons

Offset lithography is a high volume and speedy process that produces consistently clean results.

The ink is translucent and is prone to more problems than in other print processes.

Sheet fed, offset litho presses are typically four-colour - this can mean you can print with less than four colour plates which can save you money.

Higher initial set up cost than digital print.

There is not an Offset Litho Printer at Leeds College of Art so you will have to go elsewhere for a quote.

Ink Pyramid

Plate Cylinder Blanket Cylinder

Sheet fed, offset litho presses are typically four-coFountain lour.

Stream Feeder

Delivery Impression Cylinder

Offse t Lithog raphy CTP (Computer -to-plate) is a process that creates a printing plate directly from an electronic file, rather than producing one from printing film.

The use of CTP does open up advanced printing possibilities. As the plates are made directly from electronic files rather than film, there is one less process involved, which means a higher resolution is possible. This transfer is also carried out in a sterile environment that reduces contamination from dust and environmental factor.

Pros Offset web litho presses use a continuous roll of paper - this allows an even higher printing volume than sheet fed, saving you money and time.

Cons The process requires a digital workflow from you as a designer and it can be confusing getting your document set up perfectly.

Prints effectively on wide range of stock.

It’s not much more expensive to print more copies.

Web Path Reel

Ink Pyramid

Plate Web-fed Fountain Cylinder Offset Blanket litho Cylinder presses use a continuous roll of paper, which allows for an even high printing volume

Ink Pyramid

Plate Cylinder Blanket Cylinder

To kite folder

Fountain

Bypass Tray Paper Feed

Digita l(Inkje t) Printin g

Inkjet is a non-contact technology. Printers are of two main types: continuous jets, in which charged drops of ink are deflected to form the images or fall to a gutter to be recycled. Large format inkjets are used as proofers and for printing posters, displays, and fine-art prints.

Pros Cost-effective for short runs this means that if you make a mistake it will not be very expensive in comparison.

Very fast turnaround - which is perfect for when you are under tight time restrictions from a brief.

The software you use before printing such as InDesign will information on pagination which can help you when you come to binding your publication.

Cons The digital printing process can require expensive machinery and consumables However these all provided high quality, versatile inkjet printers are provided at Leeds College of Art. The process requires a digital workflow from you as a designer and it can be confusing getting your document set up perfectly.

Forme Paper

Bed

presssure applied by screw or lever Ink Rollers

ess Letter pr

Letterpress is a method of relief printing whereby an inked, raised surface is pressed against the substrate. It was the first form of commercial printing, and much print-specific technologies derived from it.

The raised surface that makes the impression is typically made from the pieces of type, but photo-engraved plates can also be used. Letterpress printing can often be identified by the slight indentation made into the substrate.

Pros You can create wonderfully textured and indented prints which can add value and uniqueness to your design.

The impression from the raised surface varies every time it is pressed against a substrate, giving the characters a uniqueness where each print is subtly different.

You can scan in your print and reproduce the print in offset lithography to create multiple copies of it

Cons Etching your design or typesetting and printing using the letterpress can be a very tricky and time consuming process.

It’s a labour intensive process.

There is only a few hand-set metal typefaces available in specific points sizes in the print resources at Leeds College of Art.

A

B

Linocu t Printin g

Linocut Printing is a type of relief printing which uses a material called linoleum. It inked an mounted on to a piece of wood.

The wood is then pressed against a substrate, and must be re-inked for every impression. A wave of a new group of artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, saw linocut elevated to an established set form during the 1950s. Today though, linocuts are once again an extremely popular form of printmaking

Pros A straight forward printing technique which allows you to create a good quality print in a relatively short space of time.

You don’t need many materials for the process and they are all provided within the resources at Leeds College of Art. You can even take your deign home and create carve your image on lino there.

The materials you need to buy for this printing process are relatively cheap anyway.

Cons It’s trickier to create a multiple colour print and the least amount of colours the easier it is.

Images have to be hand carved, although you can use the laser cutter to engrave your image first.

It’s only really used for short runs, however this can add value to your design.

Intricate design/ small serif fonts are difficult to hand carve your self. Also, large designs will take far more time & concentration.

Print Paper

Colour Drum

Master

Risogr a ph Printin g

Risograph printers are stencil duplicator, which means they print in similar process to screen printing and create a similar effect. Colours are printed one at a time, which they can be layered to create an overprinting effect. This also means that registration is never perfect.

Pros You get as similar printing quality to screen printing but the process is done digitally, so you miss manually coating and exposing your screen and also printing the ink yourself.

Similar to Offset litho the set up cost is the most expensive but it means that it’s cheaper than digital printing over long runs.

Cons It can be quite expensive for short run prints due to the set up cost.

You can only print with one colour each time your substrate goes through the printer and any risographic printers will only have a set number of colours you can use.

It’s a lot more difficult to print using multiple colours due to alignment being the trickiest part of this process.

This means that four colour printing will be hard to achieve.

PAD Printin g PAD Printing, also called tampography) is a printing process that can transfer a 2D Image onto a 3D object. This is accomplished using an indirect offset printing process that involves an image being transferred from the solid plate via a silicone pad onto a substrate.

Pros

Cons

It is used for printing on otherwise difficult to print on products in many industries and you can print one wide range of products such as; medical equipment sports equipment toys, electronic objects, clothing, Packaging.

The inks typically seem dry to the touch within seconds although complete drying (cure) might take a substantially longer period of time.

Spatula Inkwell Doctor Blade