Basic

Basic Knowledge
Knowledge
of
of
Printing

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 Printing System
1.2) Non-Direct Printing : Printing mold do not contact directly with the substrate.

 Offset Printing : Printing surface is flat (planographic).

 Dry Offset or Letterset : Mixed between offset and letter press, in which the printing area is relieved
like letter press but transfer the ink through the blanket like offset.
 Offset Gravure : Mixed between offset and gravure, in which the printing area is
engraved like gravure but transfer ink through the blanket like offset.

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 Printing System
• Classification as 2 systems.
1. Impact Printing : Printing mold has impacted to the substrate.

1.1) Direct Printing : Printing mold contact directly with the substrate.

 Letter Press : The image area is the relief printing surface.

 Gravure : Image areas consist of cells or engraved into a copper cylinder.
 Screen Printing : There are many porous on the surface of screen, in which the non-printing areas
are protected by the stencil.
 Flexography : The image area is the relief printing surface.

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 Printing System
2. Non-impact Printing : Printing mold has not impacted directly to the substrate, such as

 Electrophotography : is based on two natural phenomena: materials of opposite electrical charge

attract and some materials become better conductors of electricity when exposed to light.

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 Printing System
2. Non-impact Printing : (continue)

 Ink-jet : is a non-impact dot-matrix printing

technology in which droplets of ink are jetted
from a small aperture directly to a specified
position on a media to create an image.

• Thermal Transfer Printing : is a related

method that uses a heat-sensitive ribbon instead of
heat-sensitive paper.

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 Offset Printing

 Printing surface is flat (planographic).

 It combines with the lithographic process, which
is based on the repulsion of oil and water.
 Non-printing area on the printing plate will
attract a film of water, keeping the non-printing
areas free of ink.
 Then the image area on the printing plate will
obtains ink from ink rollers.
 The Ink image will be transferred (or "offset")
from a plate to a Rubber Blanket, then to the
printing surface.

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 Flexography
 Often abbreviated to flexo, in which the relief image
plate of rubber or photopolymer material.

A flexographic printing plate.

 Ink is deposited upon the surface of the printing

plate (or printing cylinder) using an anilox roll.

 The print surface then rotates,

contacting the print material which
transfers the ink.

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 Flexography
 An Anilox roll is a hard cylinder, usually constructed of a steel or aluminum core which is coated by
an industrial ceramic whose surface contains millions of very fine dimples (cells).
 ‘Doctor blade' is used to scrape excess ink from the surface leaving just the measured amount of ink
in the cells.
 The roll then rotates to contact with the flexographic printing plate which receives the ink from the
cells for transfer to the printed material.
 Anilox rolls are often specified by their "line screen", or, the number of cells per linear inch.
 Low line screen rolls are used where a heavy layer of ink is desired, such as in heavy block lettering.
 Higher line screens produce finer details and are used in four-color process work such as
reproducing photographs.

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 Flexography
 Blade which use to squeeze the ink from the surface of Anilox roller has many system, for
example;

 Doctor Blade System : used the flat blade to

squeeze the ink from the surface of Anilox roller.

 Two-roll with Doctor Blade System :

used the rubber roll to squeeze the ink
from the surface of Anilox roller.

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 Flexography

 Chamber Blade System : it will use 2 flat

blade as chamber shape to squeeze the ink
from the surface of Anilox roller which can
control its viscosity since it is the closed
system.

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 Gravure
 Image areas consist of cells or wells etched or engraved into a copper cylinder and the unetched
surface of the cylinder represents the Non-printing areas.
 The image cylinder rotates in a bath of ink. The excess is wiped off the surface by a flexible steel
doctor or chamber blade.
 The ink remaining in the thousands of recessed cells forms the image by direct transfer to the
paper as it passes between the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder.

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 Letter Press
 The relief surface of the type is inked and then pressed against a smooth substance to obtain
an image in reverse.
 The direct impression of inked movable type onto paper or another receptive surface.

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 Screen Printing
 Formerly known as Silk Screen.
 This method employs a porous screen of fine silk, nylon, dacron or stainless steel mounted on a
frame. A stencil is produced on the screen.
 Either manually or photo mechanically, in which the non-printing areas are protected by the
stencil.
 Printing is done on paper or other substrate under the screen by applying ink with a paint-like
consistency to the screen, spreading and forcing it through the fine mesh openings with a rubber
squeegee.
 Recently, rotary screen presses have been introduced which speed up production considerably.

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