Tell me more about... Offset print (litho print)

Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat image carrier on which the image to be printed obtains ink from ink rollers, while the non-printing area attracts a water-based film (called "fountain solution"), keeping the non-printing areas ink-free.

Compared to other printing methods, offset printing is best suited for cost-effectively producing large volumes of high quality prints in an economically sound manner that requires little maintenance.

Advantages of offset printing compared to other printing methods include:

• Consistent high image quality.
• Offset printing is the most cost effective method to produce high quality printing in commercial quantities.
• Most of the litho print presses are automatic and offer the constant precision of a digital press at high speed and volume.
• Litho print presses can print every colour the spectrum offers from RGB convertion to CMYK process and spot colour.

Tell me more about... Digital print

Digital printing is the reproduction of digital images on a physical surface. It is generally used for short print runs, and for the customisation of print media.

Advantages of digital print:

• Because digital printing uses electronic patterns instead of physical templates, designs can be changed instantly without cost. This enables cost-effective short print runs.
• Digital print enables personalisation.
• Digital printing is generally more economical, involving less waste of the materials and the print used.
• Digital printers are extremely fast and their speed of functioning is one of the biggest benefits.
• Most of digital presses can now mix the basic colours at their disposal to offer a huge range in the colour palette.
• The quality of digital printing provides a better edge than most traditional printing methods and the durability of the colours when exposed to light is completely under the acceptable quality standards.

Tell me more about... Web offset

"Web-fed" refers to the use of rolls (or "webs") of paper supplied to the printing press. Offset web printing is generally used for runs in excess of 10 or 20 thousand impressions.

Typical examples of web printing include newspapers, newspaper inserts/ads, magazines, catalogues, and books.

Cold web offset printing dries through absorption into the paper, while heatset uses drying lamps or heaters to cure or "set" the inks. Heatset presses can print on both coated (slick) and uncoated papers, while coldset presses are restricted to uncoated paper stock, such as newsprint. Some coldset web presses can be fitted with heat dryers, or ultraviolet lamps (for use with uv-curing inks). There is also another possibility of adding a drier in a cold-set press and making it as a semi-commercial press. It is a concept where a newspaper can print colour pages in heatset and BW pages in coldset.

Tell me more about... formats

Tell me more about... 4 colour process (CMYK)

From the wavelengths cyan, magenta and yellow are subtractive primaries which each represent two of the three additive primaries (RGB) after one additive primary has been subtracted from white light.

The secondary colours of the spectrum cyan, magenta and yellow are the three basic colours used for colour reproduction. When these three colours are variously used in printing the result should be a reasonable reproduction of the original, but in practice this is not the case. Due to limitations in the inks, the darker colours are muddied. To resolve this, a black separation is also created, which improves the shadow and contrast of the image.

This gives us the 4 colour process cyan, magenta, yellow and black = CMYK ("K" being short for "key." In this case, the key color is black).

Tell me more about... spot colour and metallic inks

Colour printing can also involve as few as one colour ink, or multiple colour inks which are not the primary colours. Using a limited number of colour inks, or specific colour inks in addition to the primary colours, is referred to as "spot colour" printing.

Some printing presses are capable of printing with both four-colour process inks and additional spot colour inks at the same time. High-quality printed materials, such as marketing brochures and books, may include photographs requiring process-colour printing, other graphic effects requiring spot colours (pantone or metallic inks), and finishing such as varnish, which enhances the glossy appearance of the printed piece.