Printing Terminologies
Presented below are ten most commonly used terms in printing industry -
1. Offset Printing: In offset printing a mediator surface is used to transmit the image from an inked facade to paper. The image is first transferred to thin metal, paper, or plastic printing plates. Oil based ink and water are applied to the plates. The inked image is then transferred to the blankets or intermediary surface that then transfers the image to paper.
2. Digital Printing: Digital printing in the printing terminologies is a form of printing used to reproduce digital images on paper or any other surface. Printing plates are not required and every print can be different. Chemical and paper wastage will not be there. The ink or toner forms a fine layer on the paper or surface where the digital printing has been done.
3. Embossing: If a raised image is required on paper or any other surface then this process of embossing is used in printing China industry. There is a die that strikes from the back of the paper or cardboard, and this striking through the surface is onto a counter die in the front of the surface where the embossing is required.
4. Inkjet Printing: In inkjet printing tiny droplets of liquid ink is sprayed onto paper and images are created. The small size of the dots and their very precise placement generates photo quality images. In thermal bubble inkjet technique, heat is used to spread over the ink. In piezoelectric inkjet technique, a crystal and an electric charge are used to smear the ink.
5. Digital Proof: In the prepress stage a digital proof is prepared using inkjet, color laser, dye sublimation, or thermal wax print technologies. This laser proof is commonly used printing terminology and is a nice way to check on what the final printing will look like. This digital proof can be done in color or in black and white as is required.
6. Laser printing: A revolving cylinder builds up Static electricity charge. Laser beam is pointed at the cylinder to create the pattern of the images and letters to be printed. Then toner is used to coat the surface, this clings to the negatively charged areas on the cylinder, and then this is passed to the paper to create a positive image.
7. Dye Sublimation: Dye sublimation is used for high end proofs and by customers who want to make best quality color printed materials. Photo lab quality images are produced using high heat and solid dyes and this is called dye sublimation. Print head heating elements vaporize the dyes in cyan, magenta, yellow, and black and they adhere to specially coated paper.
8. Thermal wax print: To print barcode labels, clothing labels, and printing plastic labels for chemical containers this thermal wax print technology is used. A ribbon coated with wax is melted so that it glues to the material on which the printing is being done. The polyester film is coated with wax, wax resin, or pure resin ink.
9. Flexography: In flexography, a flexible printing plate made from photopolymer is used. The image is raise and this is required for some specific printing China jobs. Flexography is used to print on labels found on food product, labels that are pressure sensitive, cardboard, and similar such packing materials. Printing can be done on plastic, metallic film, cellophane, and paper using flexography.
10. Imposition: The printing should be such that when pages are folded to make a magazine or a book they appear in the right order. Imposition is this arrangement of pages for printing on a press sheet, such that after the printing when the pages are folded the correct order of the pages is obtained.
