AT THE PRINTERS - Lorenzo's Lecture

COMMERCIAL PRINT


The processes are; PRACTICAL, TECHNICAL, ECONOMICAL
e.g. Rotary, Digital, Screen, Pad Printing


Reper Graphics - preparing the set up to prepaire to print - take artwork, checks the colour, position and technical issues
That then goes to the prink making to create the finished product


LITHO PRINTING - Rotary - SMALLER, but QUALITY job e.g. leaflets, mailshots, comics etc

• It is a ROTARY type of printing - it goes round, The image printing places are wrapped around the cyliners
• Printed fed onto sheet/roll
• There are 3 types
• Offset Lithography
• Rotogravure
• Flexography
• The sheets are etched - chemical process
• some places have DTP - meaning there are no sheets involved
• PDF goes straight to the plate
• Made sure BEFORE it goes to the plate that you check and get all the information right because if you notice after it will be a very expensive mistake, this is called the PROOF PROCESS
• a big proportion of the job cost is simply just setting up the equipment/machines, which can take up to half a day/whole day
• examples of this kind of print; 

WEB OFFSET - big version of Litho e.g. Newspapers

• increadibly high speed and runs on rolls of material as opposed to sheet fed.
• they often have the finish/folding/cut out etc included in the machine process 

RETROGRAVURE (GRAVURE) - Mass Production

• Much more sturdy plate - so can produce more and the relief is deeper so the product is more durable 
• hold more ink 
• copper plates with mirror image so that it goes straight from PLATE to PAGE
• Typical GRAVURE print = lino print floor which are high volume and durable
• Its really to do with the NUMBER = high number produced and the products last for a long time

FLEXOGRAPHY (FLEXO) - for PACKAGING

• It is a POSITIVE mirror image rubber polymer plate, on a cylinder
• Rubber plate, 2 mm raised, can feel the relief
• The quality ISN'T as good as the litho print
• Prints = crisps, cellophane, stretchy material
• silicon feel, usually roll feed

RECAP

• LITHOGRAPHY (LITHO) = PLANOGRAPHIC - aluminium plate
• ROTOGRAVURE (GRAVURE) = INTAGLIO - copper plate
• FLEXOGRAPHY (FLEXO) = RELIEF - rubber plate

DIGITAL PRINTING e.g. BILLBOARDS

• The reproduction of image by translating the digital code direct from a computer to a material without intermediate physical process
• You have to consider; material its printed on to, the ink, the layout
• You are completely in charge of this every step of the way UNLIKE all the other processes of printing
• e.g. you collect printer, you can do a MOCK UP and show examples of work before sending it to print
• 'R.I.P' - 'RASTA IMAGE PROCESSOR' - it takes the computer code and works it out according to the certain printer
• Digital printing is IDEAL suited to short run/specials on a range of print media from paper to material. 

SCREEN PRINTING e.g. T-SHIRTS (quality and durable)

• Printing technique which uses WOVEN blocks
• Hand or Mechanical
• Mechanical process - each screen has a different colour on it, the number of screens depends on the number of colours going onto the product
• ROTARY SCREEN PRINTING - the results are really durable
• The DIGITAL printing has taken over SCREEN printing

COLOUR SYSTEMS

SUBTRACTIVE COLOUR - Ink

• The more colour you lay on top, the less light is reflected (darker) so the colours are subtracted and it becomes dark

ADDITATIVE COLOUR - Screen

• The reverse of subtractive colour, the MORE colour you mix together, the lighter it becomes until it is white

VISIBLE GAMUT 

This is all the colours in the world on a spectrum, there are many more colours that we see on screen but we cant print them

Look at the comparisons of RGB to CMYK

ARTWORK, COLOUR MODELS, LIMITATION

DEFINITIONS

CMYK (cyan/magenta/yellow/key black – 4 colour process) Subtractive.

This is used in the most common printed process called litho or offset litho RGB (red/green/blue – screen based) Additive.

Greyscale (Black and white continuous tone and any shade of grey, such as a black and white photograph)

Duotone (when a continuous tone image is printed in 2 or more spot colours – this term is also generally used when describing tri and quadtones.

Spot colour (one or more specially mixed colours as opposed as a result of a CMYK or RGB mix)

Mono (like greyscale but with a coloured ink, ie: one colour and percentage tints of that colour, plus the colour of the material it’s printed on

USEFUL LINKS

LITHO PRINTING

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUlBueqStg4PAZZAZ RANT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpAuDrs5ocgPAD PRINT

http://www.pdsconsulting.co.uk/2007/Library/Printing_Pad.asp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlypyjjLDZI&feature=related

SCREEN PRINT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFM_tBfyjM0http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=i3iY21z8qLQ&feature=related

COLOUR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=059-0wrJpAU&feature=relmfu CMYK and printing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUd4r5olX1Q&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cOZv4AF4pc&feature=related CMYK v RGB http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNisT6ROdUo&feature=related RICH BLACK Vs NORMAL http://marvin.mrtoads.com/richblack_vs_plainblack.html

ABOUT PANTONE http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=NL&hl=nl&v=l6r_CK0rNlk ABOUT COLOUR MATCHING http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz3AMwRJiRw&feature=related COLOUR MODELS

http://www.sketchpad.net/basics4.htmhttp://www.devx.com/projectcool/ Article/19954