Over View of Printing Technology

Current printing technologies are based on a wealth of inventions. The discoveries made in the engineering sciences, information technology, physics, and chemistry have left their mark on the development of printing technologies. In recent years it is computer and information technologies that have had the most lasting impact on the printing industry and printing technologies, and this trend is continuing.

Definition of the Most Important Terms Relating to Printing Technology

Printing is a reproduction process in which printing ink is applied to a printing substrate in order to transmit information (images, graphics, text) in a repeatable form using an imagecarrying medium (e.g., a printing plate). The image carrying medium is the storage element (i. e., printing plate or bitmap for controlling ink jet nozzles) that contains all the information needed to apply the ink for the reproduction of images and/or text by printing. The printing plate or image carrier (master) is the tool (material) by which ink is transferred to the printing substrate or an intermediate carrier for the reproduction of text, graphics and/or images. One printing plate usually generates many prints. The print image is the information provided by the entirety of all the print image elements in all operational stages of an image to be produced by printing. The print image element is an area that transfers and/or receives ink (e.g., letter type face, line, screen dot or cells) in any operational stage of the presentation to be reproduced by printing. The ink is the colored substance that is applied to the printing substrate during printing. The printing substrate is the material receiving the print. The printing press is the equipment with which the printing process is performed. The printing process serves to disseminate/reproduce information that is transmitted

Printing is basically divide in 2 parts

y Conventional Printing Process

o Direct Printing Process o Indirect Printing Process Digital Printing Process o Electro Photography o Inkjet

.
Printing Process

Conventional

Digital

Direct

Indirect

Electro Photography

Inkjet

Letterpress

Offset

Continuous

Screen

Sheetfed

Webfed

Drop on demand

Gravure

Heat set

Flexo

Coldset

Conventional Printing Process

Conventional Printing Process most popular and widely used in the world. These processes are use for mass production. These processes majorly depend upon different chemicals or chemical processes. Conventional printing processes using physical Image carrier like plate, cylinder etc.

Image carriers (or plates) can generally be classified as relief, planographic, intaglio or screen. In relief printing, the image or printing area is raised above the non-image areas. Relief image

carrier used in letterpress and flexography. In planographic printing, the image and non-image areas are on the same plane. The image and non-image areas are defined by differing physiochemical properties. Offset is a planographic process. In the intaglio process, the nonprinting area is at a common surface level with the substrate while the printing area, consisting of minute etched or engraved wells of differing depth and/or size, is recessed. Gravure is an intaglio process. In the screen process (also known as porous printing), the image is transferred to the substrate by pushing ink through a porous mesh which carries the pictorial or typographic image.

Conventional Printing Process is categories in 2 subdivisions. These subdivisions arrive due to contact of image carrier with substrate. In direct printing process image carrier directly come in contact with substrate to transfer ink, whereas in indirect printing process image carrier not comes in contact with substrate.

A y y y y

Direct Printing Processes Letterpress Screen Flexography Gravure

B y

Indirect Printing Process Offset

Now we will see Direct Printing processes.

Letterpress
Letterpress printing is a mechanical technology in which a relatively high pressure is required to transfer the highly viscous, pasty ink to the paper via the hard printing elements. Letter press printing process is direct printing process which uses image carrier which made up of alloys of lead, tin and antimony.

Letterpress having 3 different Design Platen-type Letterpress Printing A platen press is made up of two flat surfaces called the bed and the platen. The platen provides a smooth backing for the paper or other substrate that is to be printed. The raised image carrier is locked onto a flat surface called as inked bed. The image carrier is inked with inking roller and the substrate bed is pressed against the inked plate producing the impression. The platen and bed carry both the paper and image carrier. The press then opens and closes like a clam shell. Platen printing is typically used for short runs such as invitations, name cards, and stationary. Larger platen presses are used for die-cutting and embossing. Some platen presses are arranged with the bed and platen in the vertical plane. The plate is inked with an inking roller that transfers ink from an inking plate to the image carrier. Ink is placed on the inking plate by an ink fountain roller

Flat-Bed Cylinder Letterpress Printing Flat-bed cylinder presses use either vertical or horizontal beds. The plate is locked to a bed which passes over an inking roller and then against the substrate. The substrate passes around an impression cylinder on its way from the

feed stack to the delivery stack. Another way of describing this is that a single revolution of the cylinder moves over the bed while in a vertical position so that both the bed holding the substrate and cylinder move up and down in a reciprocating motion. Ink is supplied to the plate cylinder by an inking roller and an ink fountain. The presses can print either one or two-color impressions Rotary Letterpress Printing There are two types of rotary letterpresses, sheet-fed and web-fed. Web-fed rotary presses are the most popular type of letter press printing. Sheetfed rotary presses are also declining in use. All rotary presses, rotary letterpress requires curved image carrying plates. The most popular types of plates used are stereotype, electrotype, and molded plastic or rubber. When printing on coated papers, rotary presses use heat-set inks and are equipped with dryers, usually the high-velocity hot air type. Web-fed rotary letterpress presses were used primarily for printing newspapers. These presses were designed to print both sides of the web simultaneously. Typically, they can print up to four pages across the web.

Screen Printing
Screen printing is one of the most versatile processes for transferring ink and technical coatings. Screen printing is a push-through process, a special type of stencil printing, which means that during the printing process the ink passes through the screen and onto the substrate. It is planographic process. Screen printing consists of three elements: the screen which is the image carrier; the squeegee; and ink. The screen printing process uses a porous mesh stretched tightly over a frame made of wood or metal. Proper tension is essential to accurate color registration. The mesh is made of porous fabric or stainless steel mesh. A stencil is produced on the screen either manually or photo-chemically. The stencil defines the image to be printed in other printing technologies this would be referred to as the image plate. Screen printing ink is applied to the substrate by placing the screen over the material. Ink with a paintlike consistency is placed onto the top of the screen. Ink is then forced through the fine mesh openings using a squeegee that is drawn across the screen, applying pressure thereby forcing the ink through the open areas of the screen. Ink will pass through only in areas where no stencil is applied, thus forming an image on the printing substrate. The diameter of the threads and the thread count of the mesh will determine how much ink is deposited onto the substrates.

Many factors such as composition, size and form, angle, pressure, and speed of the blade (squeegee) determine the quality of the impression made by the squeegee. There are 3 different types to prepare image on screen i.e. stencil or emulsion. Applying the emulsion is the chemical process of transferring image to a screen. The function of the emulsion (or stencil) is to cover the non-printing area of the screen. The stencil process works due to the use of a light sensitive material that hardens when exposed to ultraviolet light. The stencil material must be of a material that is impermeable to the screen printing ink. Materials used for stencils include plain paper, shellac or lacquer coated paper, lacquer film, photographic film, and light-sensitive emulsions. Stencil types available include: hand-cut film, photographic film, direct coating, direct/indirect photostencil, and wet-direct photostencil. The stencil is composed of either a liquid product that is poured onto the screen mesh or a film product. There are two types of photographic film, presensitized and unsensitized, available for use in the preparation of stencils. Presensitized film is ready to use as purchased, while unsensitized film must first be treated with a photosensitization solution. In preparing the stencil, the film is exposed to a positive film image in a vacuum frame. It is then developed in a solution that renders the unexposed image areas soluble in water. The soluble areas are removed and the remaining film is bonded to the screen fabric. There are three stencil application processes, hand cut, direct stencil and indirect stencil (application of a film): Hand Cut A hand-cut film stencil is made by hand cutting the image areas from a lacquer film sheet on a paper backing. A liquid adhesive is then used to bond the stencil to the screen fabric. Once the adhesive has dried, the film's paper backing sheet is removed. Direct Stencil In the direct coating process, a light-sensitive emulsion is applied to the entire screen using a scoop coater and allowed to dry. The screen is then exposed to a film positive image. The non-image areas of the emulsion harden upon exposure. However, the coating in the unexposed image areas remains soluble and is removed with a spray of warm water. Several coats of the light-sensitive material are applied and smoothed to achieve a long wearing screen. Some of the characteristics of direct stencils are: Most are water soluble Wear better than indirect stencils Cheaper to produce than indirect stencils

Two different types of direct stencil solution Water-resistant stencil solution Solvent-resistant stencil solution Within direct stencil processes yellow and orange colored fabric is used for the screen mesh. The color prevents light from bouncing when the stencil is exposed to UV. If light bounces or scatters the exposure is uneven. Indirect Stencil The preparation of indirect stencils combines elements of both the photographic film and the direct coating methods. An unsensitized photographic film is laminated to the screen and then sensitized by the direct application of a photosensitive emulsion. The exposed stencil is processed in a manner similar to that used in the preparation of stencils produced by the photographic film and the direct coating methods. The indirect process produces highly durable stencils that are used in applications where high print quality is required. Indirect Stencil process consists of using a coated acetate film which is cut into the exact shape of the artwork and adhered to the screen using water then is dried by heat. Some of the characteristics of Indirect Stencils are: Produce excellent definition & finer detail Best for Water-based ink printing More difficult to remove from screen mesh, requires high pressure water rinse.

Application of Screen Printing

Screen printing basically use for small quantity job. Now-a-days this process use as value addition technique. Traffic Routing Systems and Signs Large printing surfaces for high resistance inks are found with traffic signs and routing systems. The requirements they impose are best met using screen printing. Vehicle Fittings and Instrument Dials With vehicle fittings a narrow tolerance range of the translucency of the impression is required in addition to its precision. For example, it must be possible for control lights to light up in precisely defined colors. Printed Circuit Boards for Electronics

Due to its simplicity and flexibility, screen printing is an important process during the development of printed circuit boards for electronic circuits. Accurate printing onto copper-laminated hard paper or glass-fiber reinforced epoxy board with etching allowance, solder resist, or assembly designations in the necessary coating thickness is only possible in large quantities with screen printing. Restrictions are, however, imposed on the latter as a result of the extreme miniaturization of components and printed circuit boards. Photovoltaic Special conductive pastes are used to print on photo resistors and solar cells, which serve as the contact points for current transfer. In doing so, particular importance is placed on high coating thickness in areas that are, at the same time, extremely small and covered with printed conductors, in order to optimize the efficiency of the energy production with the solar cells as fully as possible. Compact Discs (CD). Screen printing is one of the major processes for printing on CDs. Pad printing and more recently even offset printing are also used. Textiles The depth of the ink absorption in textiles calls for a large volume of ink to be supplied and screen printing is the preferable process for applying it. Clothing, canvas shopping bags, webs of material, and so on, can be printed in both flatbed and rotary screen printing. Transfer Images. Screen printing is frequently used to produce transfer images for ceramic decoration .These images are put together from ceramic pigments for firing. The pigment s grain size necessitates the use of a screen mesh that is not too fine. After detachment the images are removed from the base material and placed on the preburned bodies by hand. A recognizable feature of these ceramic products is the thick layer of ink. The images can be placed above or below the glazing. Decorative Products, Labels, Wallpapers Seamless decorations such as textile webs, wallpaper, and other decorative products, as well as labels often require rotary printing combined with reel material. Special machines are designed for this. Rotary screen printing with sheet material is used primarily for higher print runs Surface Finishing Transparent varnish can also be applied using screen printing technology (for spot varnishing, in particular) to finish the printed product.

Flexography
It is direct printing process in which image carrier directly comes in contact with substrate. It has image area which in rise form and non image area in recess form. Flexography is the major process used to print packaging materials. Flexography is used to print corrugated containers, folding cartons, multiwall sacks, paper sacks, plastic bags, milk and beverage cartons, disposable cups and containers, labels, adhesive tapes, envelopes, newspapers, and wrappers (candy and food). Preparation of image carrier Flexographic and letterpress plates are made using the same basic technologies utilizing a relief type plate. Both technologies employ plates with raised images (relief) and only the raised images come in contact with the substrate during printing. Flexographic plates are made of a flexible material, such as plastic, rubber or UV sensitive polymer (photopolymer), so that it can be attached to a roller or cylinder for ink application. There are three primary methods of making flexographic plates; photomechanical, photochemical and laser engraved plates. The photomechanical plate making method begins with making an engraving. This is accomplished by exposing a metal plate through a negative and processing the exposed plate in an acid bath. The metal engraved plate is used to make a master which is moulded out of bakelite board. The engraving is placed in a mould press. The mould is produced by applying heat & pressure to the mould material (bakelite board), which can be either plastic or glass, against the engraving under controlled temperature and pressure. The bakelite board fills the engraving on the metal plate. When it s cooled you end up with a master mould for the plastic or rubber compound that will be pressed into the mould under pressure and elevated temperature to produce the flexible printing plate with raised areas that will transfer the ink. The second method of flexo plate making is relief plates. This utilizes a sheet or liquid photopolymer. The sheet of photopolymer is exposed to light through a negative. The unexposed areas are then washed away with solvent or water wash. This is fast becoming the most common method of making plates. The process differs depending on whether solid sheets of photopolymer or liquid photopolymer are used, though the two processes are similar in general outline. In both processes the plates are made in ultraviolet exposure units. A negative of the job is placed between the photopolymer and the ultraviolet light source. The photopolymer sheet or liquid is then exposed to ultraviolet light, hardening the image area. Lastly, the plate is processed to remove the unhardened non-image area. Photopolymer plates are replacing rubber plates because they offer superior quality and performance at a lower cost. Now-a-days solid photopolymer plates available in 2 types i.e. single layer and multi layer. Flexographic printing plates may be made by laser engraving, which is called direct digital plate making. In this process an image is scanned or computer generated. Then a computer-guided laser etches the image onto the printing plate.

Working of Flexography

Flexography inks have low viscosity. So it doesn t required number of roller to make it in working condition. These inks are water base, solvent base or UV curable. The process of printing each colour on a flexo press consists of a series of four rollers:
Inking roller or fountain cylinder Anilox cylinder and doctor blade Plate cylinder Impression cylinder

The first roller transfers the ink from an ink pan to the meter roller or Anilox Roll, which is the second roller. Anilox roller has cell structure on its surfaces which use for metering. In addition to remove excess ink from printer uses doctor blade. The Anilox roller meters the ink to a uniform thickness onto the plate cylinder. The substrate then moves between the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder, which is the fourth roller. The impression cylinder applies pressure to the plate cylinder, thereby transferring the image onto the substrate. The web, which by now has been printed, is fed into the overhead dryer so the ink is dry before it goes to the next print unit.

After the substrate has been printed with all colours the web MAY be fed through an additional overhead tunnel dryer to remove most of the residual solvents or water. The finished product is then rewound onto a roll or is fed through the cutter. Flexographic Printing Presses The five types of printing presses used for flexographic printing are the stack type, central impression cylinder (CIC), in-line, newspaper unit, and dedicated 4-, 5-, or 6-color unit commercial publication flexographic presses. All five types employ a plate cylinder, a metering cylinder known as the anilox roll that applies ink to the plate, and an ink pan. Central impression cylinder (CIC), Central impression cylinder (CIC), like the common impression rotary letterpress, use a single impression cylinder mounted in the press frame. Two to eight colour printing stations surround the central impression cylinder. Each station consists of an ink pan, fountain roller, anilox roll, doctor blade, and plate cylinder. As the web enters the press it comes into contact with the impression cylinder and remains in contact until it leaves the press. The result is precise registration which allows CIC presses to produce very good colour impressions. CIC presses are used extensively for printing flexible films. In Line In Line flexo printing is similar to a unit type rotary press or the stacked presses except the printing stations are arranged in a horizontal line. They are all driven by a common line shaft and may be coupled to folders, cutters, and other post press equipment. These presses are used for printing bags, corrugated board, folding boxes, and similar products. Stack Type The stack press is characterized by one or more stacks of printing stations arranged vertically on either side of the press frame. Each stack has its own plate cylinder which prints one colour of a multicolour impression. All stations are driven from a common gear train. Stack presses are easy to set up and can

print both sides of the web in one pass. They can be integrated with winders, unwinders, cutters, creasers, and coating equipment. They are very popular for milk carton printing. A drawback of stack presses is their poor registration; the image position on every printed sheet is not as consistent as in many other printing processes.

Gravure Printing
The distinctive feature of gravure printing technology is the fact that the image elements are engraved into the surface of the cylinder. The non-image areas are at a constant, original level. Prior to printing, the entire printing plate (non-printing and printing elements) is inked and flooded with ink. Ink is removed from the non-image (by a wiper or blade) before printing, so that ink remains only in the cells. The ink is transferred from the cells to the printing substrate by a high printing pressure and the adhesive forces between printing substrate and ink.

Preparation of image carrier In gravure hollow cylinder use as image carrier. The gravure cylinder is composed of a steel or aluminium base, is copper plated and then polished to a predetermined diameter. Precise diameter of gravure cylinders in a set is critical. Any variances in diameter, as little as 2 thousandths of an inch can significantly affect the print registration. These cylinders are extremely sensitive to scratches and abrasions. Extreme care is taken when handling and storing the cylinders. The cylinder receives a base copper layer on its surface, which, among other things, serves to achieve the specified diameter of the finished gravure cylinder. For application of another copper layer, thin layer method (apply thin layer) & thick layer method (application of thick layer) are used. To apply this layer electroplating method is use.

Flowing steps are use to prepare image carrier for gravure Removing the used gravure cylinder from the gravure printing press; Washing the gravure cylinder to remove residual ink; Removing the chrome layer; Removing the copper image-carrying layer, either chemically, by means of electroplating, or mechanically; Preparing the copper plating process (degreasing and deoxidizing, applying the barrier layer if the

Ballard skin method was employed); Electroplating; Surface finishing with a high-speed rotary diamond milling head and/or with a burnishing stone or a polishing band; Etching or engraving (producing the image on the gravure cylinder); Test printing (proof print); Correcting the cylinder, minus or plus (i.e., reducing or increasing the volume of cells); Preparing the chrome-plating process (degreasing and deoxidizing, preheating, and sometimes polishing); Chrome-plating; Surface-finishing with a fine burnishing stone or abrasive paper; Storing the finished cylinder or installing it directly in the gravure printing press.
Gravure Cylinder Imaging:

if necessary

o o o

Chemical Etching Electromechanically Engraved

Direct Digital Engraving.

Chemical Etching For transferring the image onto the gravure cylinder, conventional etching processes use a pigment paper, which is coated with a gelatine layer and sensitized (i.e. made light sensitive) with a chrome saline solution just before use. First the cross line screen and then the imaging film are exposed onto the pigment paper in a copying frame. The pigment paper is then laminated onto the gravure cylinder surface in a special pigment paper transfer machine. A stabilizing base paper, which is later removed, ensures that this transfer takes place in accurate register. The use of an auto film where the photo emulsion is poured onto foil makes this base paper redundant. The process that follows, involving softening, base paper peeling, and washing out of the unexposed and therefore soluble gelatine in approximately 40 C warm water (in this process the cylinder turns in a water bath) followed by a drying process, can be described as developing. All these operations are carried out in program-controlled automatic developing machines. A relief (corresponding to that of the etched cylinder) with gelatine layers of varying thickness forms between the raised cell walls. Prior to etching, all non-printing sections are covered with an acid proof asphalt varnish certain imperfections from the transfer can also still be corrected in this way. The actual etching procedure takes place in a program driven single-bath etching machine. Here, the cylinder is bathed in or sprayed with a ferrous chloride solution until the required etching depth is achieved. The ferrous chloride solution eats its way through both the gelatin layer

and into the copper of the image carrying layer. The deeper the gelatine cell is, the sooner the acid comes into contact with the copper and the deeper the cell created on the image-carrying layer.

Electromechanical Engraving The operations involved in electromechanical engraving are significantly shorter compared to the etching process. Nowadays, they are normally controlled directly with the data recorded in prepress. In this way the mounting of a scanning original on a separate scanning drum that runs synchronously with the engraving machine is also no longer needed .Hence, the engraving machine only consists of a lathelike device, into which the prepared gravure cylinder is mounted. The engraving procedure is similar to a rotating cutting process, but the cut is intermittent (stylus frequency). The gravure cylinder rotates during engraving at a constant surface speed (depending on the screen at approximately 1 m/s).At the same time the diamond stylus of the engraving head moves at a high frequency (4 8 kHz). The diamond penetrates the copper at different depths and produces the cell. The cells are equidistant from each other in the circumferential direction (direction of engraving) due to the continuous circumferential velocity and the engraving frequency. Engraving of neighbouring tracks is semi-staggered. The lateral repeat length corresponds to the forward motion of the engraving head per cylinder revolution in the shaft direction of the gravure cylinder. Depending on the width of the web to be printed, up to sixteen engraving heads (typically eight) with styli are used for publication gravure printing The burrs on the copper surface are usually removed by a scraper which is fixed to the engraving head during the engraving process. The cylinder must therefore only be lightly polished before it is used for a test print in a proofing press, corrected manually in accordance with this, and then finally chrome-plated. Laser Engraving In the past, there have been numerous attempts to make engraving faster and cheaper. One possibility lies in the implementation of non-contact methods, such as electron or laser beam. In individual cases, laser engraving is already in practical usage today. In the year 1995, a direct engraving process using a laser was brought onto the market, where a solid-state laser engraves a zinc layer. The cell shapes produced are similar to those of etched cells (the process operates at 70 kHz engraving frequency). The engraved cylinder is chrome-plated after a grinding and cleaning process. Dressing of the gravure cylinder after printing is carried out using similar chemical, mechanical, and electroplating methods as with a copper cylinder. Basically the step of copper plating (to permit engraving copper) is replaced by a process of electroplating zinc. Laser engraving opens several new doors for gravure printing. The unwanted saw tooth effect with fine fonts can be reduced. Alongside this, there is the possibility of working with frequency-modulated screens.

Indirect laser engraving processes use a light-sensitive black layer that is applied onto the copper of the gravure cylinder. The laser removes this layer in accordance with the image (on the basis of already available digital data files). The gravure cylinder is then etched.

Working of Gravure Press

Gravure press has very short ink train compare to other printing processes. Gravure also has low viscosity ink. In this image carrier directly rotate in ink pan. Image carrier has engraved cell structure which carries ink in it. This is directly transfers on to the substrate under pressure of impression roller. Doctor blade is available to remove excess amount of ink from cell. Impression roller is rubber coated impression roll brings the substrate in contact with the engraved cylinder resulting in proper ink transfer. The impression roll also acts to adjust the tension between print units and helps move the substrate through the press. The doctor blade is a simple device used to shear the ink from the surface of the plate cylinder. Pressure is applied to the doctor blade to assure uniform contact along the length of the cylinder. The blades must be angled to cut the surface of the ink, but pressure and angle must be carefully adjusted to prevent premature wear on the cylinder. The doctor blade also oscillates back and forth to prevent a flat surface being worn into the cylinder. The impression roll is made of a tubular sleeve coated with a rubber compound. The cover material is determined by the press conditions. Typically the coating is made of natural rubber, neoprene or polyurethane. These impression rolls are typically purchased from an outside vendor rather than made on site.

Gravure printing press available in same configuration as flexography.

Indirect Printing Process

Offset
Offset printing is an indirect lithographic printing technology. The offset printing technology is now the major printing technology. In the offset printing process the printing and nonprinting areas of the plate are practically on one level. Offset is based on the principal that oil and water do not mix readily. Offset plates undergo chemical treatment that render the image area of the plate oleophilic (oil-loving) and therefore ink-receptive and the non-image area hydrophilic (water-loving). During printing, fountain (dampening) solution, which consists primarily of water with small quantities of isopropyl alcohol and other additives to lower surface tension and control pH, is first applied in a thin layer to the printing plate and migrates to the hydrophilic non-image areas of the printing plate. Ink is then applied to the plate and migrates to the oleophilic image areas. Since the ink and water essentially do not mix, the fountain solution prevents ink from migrating to the non-image areas of the plate.

Preparation of Image Carrier

The plates used in offset printing are thin (up to about 0.3 mm), and easy to mount on the plate cylinder. It has aluminium, multi-metal, plastic or paper base. Nowadays, practically all printing plates are grained in an electrolytic process (anodizing), that is, electrochemical graining with subsequent oxidation. The imaging, ink-accepting coating (light-sensitive coating, thickness around 1 m) is applied to the base material. This material is usually a polymer, or copper in the case of multimetal plates (bimetal plates). The image transfer is produced via the different properties on the surface of such plates after they have been exposed and developed. The remains of the original light-sensitive coating or the light-sensitive coating changed by the effect of light are the ink-accepting (oleophilic) elements that create the image. The thin coating of aluminium oxide created by the special treatment of the aluminium base material a particularly stable water-attracting (hydrophilic) surface with special retention properties. In processing a pre coated offset printing plate the essential task lies in achieving surface differentiation using two basic steps, exposure and developing. Exposing It is one of the major steps while preparing image carrier. This step can be carried out either conventionally or digitally. In Conventional exposing vacuum frame is use to expose the plate. While in digital exposing plate setter is use to expose plate digitally. As per exposing technique there are two different plates available in market. These plates are positive working plate and negative working plate. In conventional method to expose positive working plate image is required on positive film (image area opaque, non-image area transparent). In negative working plate image required on negative film (image area transparent and non image area opaque). In positive working plate light passes through open non image area of film

and making coating soft and soluble in developing chemical. a) In negative working plate light is passes through open image area of film and making coating of plate hard and make insoluble in chemical. Developing During exposing image is transfer on plate. This image is latent image. To make it visible it needs to develop. In developing process of positive working plate expose non-image area get dissolve in developer and keep image area on plate. For negative working plate it acts in contrast. In this hard expose image area remain on plate and unexposed non image area dissolves in developer. Gumming It is another most important step during image preparation. After developing these plates it need to apply gum on it. It is act as protective layer for plate. It protects plate from many atmospheric conditions. Different Image carrier Conventional Image Carrier a) b) c) d) Wipon Plate Water deep-etch Plate Gum deep-etch Plate PS Plate (Pre-sensitize plate)

Digital Image Carrier a) Thermal CTP Plate b) Violet CTP plate

Working of Offset
Offset printing process is multi roll process. It has number of roller which made for different function. Offset printing process is mainly defined as Sheetfed and web-fed. This defined as per the feeding of substrate. In sheetfed offset machine there are 5 different units. 1) Feeding unit 2) Printing unit 3) Dampening unit 4) Inking Unit 5) Delivery Unit Feeding unit

Feeding unit is assembly of mechanical and pneumatics devices. This feeding unit is use for paper feeding and passing to the first printing unit. Pile board to front lay area called feeding unit. There are number of devices which help to travel sheet to the printing unit. Printing unit Printing unit is assembly of 3 cylinders i.e. plate cylinder, blanket cylinder, impression cylinder. Plate cylinder carries image carrier i.e. flexible aluminium plate. Image which is going to print on paper is available in right reading doted format (halftone). This plate cylinder rotates in anticlockwise direction. This is only cylinder which comes in contact with dampening unit and inking unit. This image transfers to blanket cylinder. Blanket cylinder is made up of cast iron which carry detachable flexible blanket on its surface. Right reading halftone image transfer on blanket and it becomes in wrong reading format (offset). From blanket this image transfer on substrate. Impression cylinder carries substrate from feeding unit. It also gives support to the substrate while printing. After printing this printed substrate moves to the delivery unit. This cylinder rotates in anti clockwise direction. Dampening Unit Dampening unit of offset apply water or dampening solution to the plate. This solution apply on non-image area of plate. Inking Unit In offset printing process ink is highly viscous. The inking systems of offset press have many rollers to apply metered ink film to printing plate. Delivery Unit Delivery unit receives and stack printed sheet.

Web fed offset In web fed offset machine there are 5 different units. 1) Reel stand 2) In-feed Unit 3) Printing Unit 4) Dampening unit 5) Inking Unit 6) Dyers and chillers 7) Folding or slitting

Reel Stand Its use to load web which going to print. Reels stand available in 3 types. 1) Single arm Reel stand 2) Double arm Reel stand 3) 3 arm reel stand

In-feed Unit This unit help for registration of colour. In high speed, web moves laterally and loss registration. This infeed section hold web in right position and not allow moving laterally.

Printing unit, dampening unit, inking unit.

Printing unit, dampening unit and inking unit for webfed offset work on same principle of sheetfed offset. Compare to sheetfed offset, web fed have less number of inking roller.

Dryer and chillers In heat set web offset, ink always dry through drying unit. After printing printed web passes through heater where temperature of web is around 160 degree. Then this web passes through chillers to bring web in room temperature.

Folder or Slitter. After Chillers web moves to folding unit to fold the substrate as per number of pages. There is 3 type of folder is available on machine. 1) Former fold 2)Jaw fold 3) Knife fold.

Slitter is use when paper need in sheeted form.

Digital Printing
Electrophotography
It is also known as xerography. In this A metal cylinder is mounted to rotate about a horizontal axis. This is called the drum. The end to end dimension is the width of print to be produced plus a generous tolerance. This drum is coated with ceramic or organic photo conductor or OPC. The electrophotographic printing process can be broken down into five steps: Imaging Imaging is carried out by charging a suitable photoconductive surface (creating a homogeneous charged surface) with subsequent imaging via a controlled light source (this may be scanning laser light or light emitted by an LED array [light-emitting diodes]). The print image corresponds to the positioning of the light signals on the photoconductor drum. The homogeneous charged image on the surface is discharged in parts as a result of exposure and changed in accordance with the desired print image. (Since imaging in electrophotography can be done both by laser light and by light given off by lightemitting diodes, the frequently-used term laser printer instead of the term electrophotographic printer is misleading.) 2. Inking

Special inks are used for electrophotography. These may be powder or liquid toners, which may vary in structure according to their composition, and contain the colorant in the form of pigments. The ink is the fundamental and decisive element for the impression. Inking is done via systems which transfer the fine toner particles; approximately 8 m in size, without contact to the photoconductor. The toner charge is configured in such a way that the charged areas of the photoconductor surface accept the toner. (As shown in the example, imaging has, therefore, been done with a negative image because the positive charges have been discharged by exposure.) Therefore, after inking, the latent image on the photoconductor drum becomes visible where the toner is applied. 3. Toner transfer (printing) The toner may be transferred directly onto the paper, although in some cases it may also be transferred via intermediate systems, in the form of a drum or a belt. Transfer mostly takes place directly from the photoconductor drum to the substrate. To transfer the charged toner particles from the drum surface to the paper, electrostatic forces are generated via a charge source (corona) in the nip and it is these forces, supported by the contact pressure between the drum surface and the paper, that transfer the particles to the paper. 4. Fixing the toner A fixing unit is required to anchor the particles of toner on the paper and create a stable print image. This is usually designed so that melting and consequent anchoring of the toner on the paper takes place by heat application and contact pressure. 5. Cleaning Residual charges and individual particles of toner remain on the drum after the print image has been transferred from the photoconductor drum to the paper. To prepare the drum so that the next image can be printed, both mechanical cleaning and electrical cleaning of the surface are necessary. The mechanical cleaning, which removes particles of toner, can be done by means of brushes and/or suction, while the electrical cleaning (neutralizing) is accomplished by homogeneous illumination of the surface, after which the surface is electrically neutralized and is free from toner particles. The photoconductor drum is now charged again with a homogeneous, charged image via the corona, with subsequent imaging in accordance with the desired print image (as described in step one). Ink jet Technology

In principle, ink jet non-impact printing technology does not require an intermediate carrier for the image information the way a photoconductor drum does in electrophotography. In the ink jet process the ink can be transferred directly onto the paper. Ink jet technologies can be classified as continuous ink jet and drop on demand ink jet. The ink used for ink jet printing is usually liquid. An alternative, however, is hot-melt inks which are liquefied by heating. The ink is sprayed onto the substrate where it solidifies after cooling. The Continuous ink jet technology generates a constant stream of small ink droplets, which are charged according to the image and controlled electronically. The charged droplets are deflected by a subsequent electric field, while the uncharged ones flow onto the paper. This means that the imaging signal for charging the droplets corresponds to a negative print image Continuous ink jet printing usually feeds only a small proportion of the stream of droplets to the substrate .With continuous ink jet generally only a small part of the drop volume covering the sheet in accordance with the print information is applied to the substrate.

With the so-called drop on demand ink jet technology, on the other hand, a droplet is only produced if it is required by the image. The most important drop on demand technologies are thermal ink jet and piezo ink jet printing Thermal ink jet (also known as bubble jet ) generates the drops by the heating and localized vaporization of the liquid in a jet chamber. With piezo ink jet the ink drop is formed and catapulted out of the nozzle by mechanically deforming the jet chamber, an action resulting from an electronic signal and the piezoelectric properties of the chamber wall. Due to the technical conditions, the possible droplet frequencies are lower with thermal droplet generation than with piezo technology. Taking a systematic view, ink jet printing represents the most compact technology for transferring information to normal paper in the form of a printed image (comparable to light on photographic paper). It is only necessary to generate a droplet of ink on the basis of image-dependent signals and to spray this droplet directly onto the substrate without an intermediate carrier.