Offset printing is the kind of printing used for bulk printing of materials like books, business cards, calendars, catalog, flyers, invitation cards and so on. It is also one of the most popular because of its pricing and as a matter of fact, it offers some of the best prices in the industry of printing. Offset printing has so many advantages and apart from those listed above, it is also the printing method that offers the best quality printing process and printing results. It doesn’t feature any streaking as found on other printing processes and method and it produces rich quality colors. One of the major upsides of oddest printing is that, actual ink is used and not toners. Ink makes it feel more professional and this is why offset printing usually come out looking excellent every single time.
Offset printing is described as a lithographic process and many have gone a step further to synonymize offset to lithography.
The process of offset printing
The Offset printing technique is one where an ink image is transferred or better still offset from a plate, to a rubber blanket and finally to a paper. In offset printing, the image to be printed is divided into its fundamental colors. The number of colors varies and they can range from as little as two to as much as 8 and sometimes even more. This solely depends on the designer. It is broken down into the number of colors depending on the colors on the material to be printed. The processing is now a lot easier as computers have added its speed and accuracy to the process.
The plates are made of two components, these are the hydrophilic components, that is, the component which can absorb and is receptive to water and the hydrophobic part, which is the part is which can absorb and is receptive to grease. Note that these components do the exact opposite when it comes to their opposing components or factors. This means that the component which is hydrophilic does not absorb fat and the part which is hydrophobic does not absorb water. In the printing machine, the area which is hydrophilic repels the ink used for printing while the part which is hydrophobic does the opposite, it attracts it. The plates are kept on a press from ink fountains. The ink is pulled by the press and it is kept on the table. There is get pressure applied on the plates by the press and this allows the ink to be imprinted as the image from the plates to the rubber blanket. The image is further pressed onto the paper from off the blanket and a print is made.
This process described here occurs really fast and many of these impressions can be made in no time and in large quantities too. It is a process that gains from more work and its efficiency is second to none.
The other form of printing apart from offset printing is called digital printing.
It is not like offset in the procedure and it is not as complicated too. This also means it does not offer as much quality as offset printing does. It also does not offer as much when quantities are involved.
Recent Comments