PRINTING INKS

TYPES OF PRINTING INKS

Paste inks

Energy curing inks

Liquid inks

• Offset(Sheet fed,web offset) • Letterpress• Intaglio

• Flexo• Offset• Screen

• Flexography• Gravure• Screen• Inkjet

• Digital

GRAVURE PRINTING

The Gravure Press is a form of Intaglio printing. This is where the print is engraved into a cylinder of copper.

The engravings are tiny honeycomb shaped cells.

The cylinder turns in a big bowl of ink called an ‘ink pan’.

Gravure Stock

Advantages- Highest quality possible in a print.- The printer can work for decades.- Each cylinder can make a large number of prints without degrading.-The gravure cylinder can be created with analog or digital plating processes.-Gravure is the preferred method of producing magazines and catalogs

Disadvantages- Expensive Price - $1 million USD for the printer and each cylinder costs $5000.

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES

The Plates are large cylinder with minute honeycomb shaped pieces of copper. The copper pieces are placed an equal distance apart Below the copper is a thin wear-resistant layer which is un-engravable to ensure that it will only get into the copper.

Each plate can make a large number of impressions without degrading.

THE PALTES

Can be printed on a wide variety of materials.

Preferred over other methods, because of its low cost.

MAIN ADVANTAGES

Two main functions– Provide support for stencil.– Control ink flow.

Mesh count: how many opening per inch.

– Fine mesh=100 count (ct) up to 500 ct. mesh More detail and uses less ink; feels softer to touch. Less likely to smear on non-absorbent substrates.

– Coarse mesh=40 to 100 ct. mesh Heavy ink deposit (good for light inks on dark shirts. Better opacity

Inkjet Printing came about in the late 1980’s Have become the replacement printer for the

Serial Dot Matrix in the home Two Main Reasons:I. PriceII. Color capabilities

INKJET INTRODUCTION

Produce characters by squirting a precisely controlled amount of ink onto the paper

Dots are extremely small usually 50-60 microns in diameter (Human Hair approx 70 microns)

Dots are placed very precisely on the paper in a pattern up to 1440 x 720 dots per inch

Dots can be different colors and can be of photographic quality

HOW IT WORKS

THE PRINTHEAD

Print head contains a series of Nozzles that put the ink on the paper.

Offset lithography◦ type is offset from the printing plate to a blanket

then to the paper.

Engraving◦ ink wells shaped like the type transfer image direct

to the paper -- ink surface is raised off the paper

Thermography ◦ treated inks, heat dried to rise (like bread) from the

paper surface

PRINTING PROCESSES

Reprographics◦ copying or duplicating (Xerox or Kinko’s)

Digital printing◦ printing direct from computer files (Giclée, IRIS

continuous tone printing)

Silk screen◦ ink is pressed through a sieve onto many

surfaces

ADDICTIVE COLOR

The visible spectrum Used in monitors. Primary Colors are Red, Blue and Green When combined it produces ‘white’ light or the combination of all visible colors.

A letterpress works much like a sophisticated rubber stamp.

The raised image area is inked by large rollers and the ink is then transferred directly to the paper sheet.

LETTERPRESS

The oldest printing process Relief printing One color (usually black) thick layer of ink Economical for between 500 and 5,000 copies Limited typefaces available Used mainly for text only - not suitable for half

tone illustrations Most often used for text pages of books

LETTERPRESS

To make a print, ink is pushed into the lines of the design. The surface is then wiped clean so that the only areas with ink are the lines.

A sheet of paper which has been soaked in water is then placed on the plate which is run through a printing press.

INTAGLIO PRINTING

Lithography is the art of printing from a flat stone or metal plate by a method based on the simple fact that grease attracts grease as it repels water.

PLANOGRAPHY - LITHOGRAPHY

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