Process technologies in the printing area

 

Dylan: Look at this diagram Liza. As you can see, the largest part of the process technologies takes the sheet-fed offset.

Liza: Great. This means that our future will be secure.

Dylan: Sorry, that’s not entirely true. The different technologies are used for different printing products. When the market changes and our products will not be printed in sheet-fed offset any longer, we might be in trouble.

Liza: So which technology will become more important in the future?

Dylan: That’s a difficult question, but I think flexography will take over many jobs which are produced in sheet-fed offset so far.

Liza: Why flexography?

Dylan: In former time flexography was of poor quality. But today the technique has increased so much that the flexographic presses can produce in a quality that is nearly as good as the quality of offset printing.

Liza: I understand – offset printing has to produce in a very high quality to be utilized.

 

 

Describe the photo

 

Look at the photo. What can you see? Use the vocabulary below.

 

printing machine

sheet feeding

sheet piles

trolley

sheets

pallet

Sheet-fed-offset     flexography     Rotary Gravure offset printing   Others

 

More about this topic

 

Questions about the text

1.Which technology plays the second largest part in printing?

2.What was flexography used for?

 

For experts: reflect on the text

1.Name the identification signs of flexography.

2.What is your opinion about the future of offset?

 

Source: Kipphan, Handbook of Print Media, Springer 2001, ISBN 3-540-67326-1

 

 

Source MAN Roland

Copy this diagram into

Your notebook and add

The following words to

the picture:

 

-plate cylinder

-printing plate

-impression cylinder

-doctor blade

-ink trough

-anilox roller

-printing material

Source: Kipphan, Handbook of Print Media, Springer 2001, ISBN 3-540-67326-1

 

 

Flexography

 

Flexography is the only printing technology which can print on very thin, flexible, and solid films. Nearly all papers, thick cardboard and rough-surfaced packaging materials can be used. The print quality which is possible in flexography is lower compared to offset printing. The resolution is usually also lower with flexography than with offset printing.

However, modern printing plates have improved printing quality very much. Especially those plates that are produced with computer-to-plate imaging systems. Printwork with a screen frequency of 60 lines/cm (even of up to 120 lines/cm) can be produced. The use of new types of printing plates with adapted inks and technical printing press developments have extremely improved the printing quality offered by flexography.

 

Identification signs

-dot image

-big spread

-products are often flexible

-rough screens

 

Advantages

-fast printing technology (up to 400 m/sec)

-fast drying printing ink

-inline-finishing

-quick preparation

 

Disadvantages

-low opaqueness of the printing ink

-register differences

-the repeat length must be coordinated with the tooted gearing

 

Based on: Kipphan, Handbook of Print Media, Springer 2001, ISBN 3-540-67326-1

Copy this diagram into your notebook and add the following words to the picture:

-inking unit -damping unit -blanket cylinder -printing material -impression cylinder -plate cylinder -printing plate -damping solution

 

Source: Kipphan, Handbook of Print Media, Springer 2001, ISBN 3-540-67326-1

 

Offset

 

Offset printing is an indirect lithographic printing technology. Offset printing has spread since about 1970. Offset replaced the litterpress printing technology which prevailed until that time. The offset printing technology is now the major printing technology.

Sheet-fed offset printing

Sheet-fed offset printing has economic and qualitative advantages over other printing technologies. Fundamental attributes of sheet-fed offset are flexible production options and the relatively economical production of printed products of a very high quality for a wide range of print volumes. In sheet-fed offset printing, printing materials of different sheet sizes and grammages are processed. Paper-vendors produce a great variety of standard material.

 

Identification sing

-types and lines have perfect edge definition

-fine screens

-no register differences

-the most usual printing material is paper in all variations

 

Advantages

-materials with different sheet sizes and grammages can be processed

-nearly all finishing operations are possible

-the quality is very high

 

Disadvantages

-complicated method =causes misprints

-sheet size just as big as machine size

-expensive printing machines

Based on: Kipphan, Handbook of Print Media, Springer 2001, ISBN 3-540-67326-1

Copy this diagram into

Your notebook and add

The following words to

the picture:

 

-doctor blade

-ink trough

-impression cylinder

-engraved cylinder

-printing material

 

Source: Kipphan, Handbook of Print Media, Springer 2001, ISBN 3-540-67326-1

 

Gravure printing

 

Gravure printing is a very good illustration printing technology, which ables to print in a very high image quality. Variable-depth and electronically engraved gravure printing cylinders are used, so that the cells take up different amounts of ink. As a consequence, different layer thicknesses are transferred to the paper.

The result looks nearly like the original (for example a photographic picture).

Typical gravure printed products are large print run, high-quality printed products such as:

-magazines, catalogs,

-plastic films,

-transparent films,

-stamps and

-bank notes.

Identification signs

-jagged edges at types and lines

-very good image reproduction

-often printed on absorbent paper

-used for products with are large print run

 

Advantages

-very fast printing method

-inline-finishing

-very good illustration printing

-easy printing method

 

Disadvantages

-complicated and expensive printing plate production

-profitable just with a very large print run

-the ink contains a very high portion solvent

 

Based on: Kipphan, Handbook of Print Media, Springer 2001, ISBN 3-540-67326-1