Electrostatic Printing Process
Electrostatic printing is a printing technique done without any plate, ink or type form. The paper is coated with a thin layer of zinc oxide, making it an insulator in the dark and simultaneously a conductor of electricity when exposed to light.
These machines are used for printing of geographic maps. With the advancement in technology and higher speed, the machines are also being used to print small books. Electrostatic printers are used for short run printing as they are faster and also do not cost much.
Process
Electrostatic printing use a positively charged toner/inks that is attracted to paper which in turn is negatively charged. The paper is moved through a digital ink bath; positively charged particles in ink stick to the negative charge on the paper. The printers print in black and white or color as the case may be, and some handle paper up to six feet wide.
Application of Electrostatic Printing:
Electrostatic printers are widely used in different industries for short run printing. They are popular for photocopying jobs both black & white and colored. These printers are faster than inkjet printers
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Xerography
Xerography (or electrophotography) is a dry photocopying technique invented by Chester Carlson in 1938, for which he was awarded U.S. Patent 2,297,691 on October 6, 1942. Carlson originally called his invention electrophotography. It was later renamed xerography—from the Greek roots xeros (dry) and graphos (writing)—to emphasize that, unlike reproduction techniques then in use such as cyanotype, this process used no liquid chemicals.
Although Georg Christoph Lichtenberg invented a dry electrostatic printing process in 1778, Carlson's innovation combined electrostatic printing with photography. Carlson's original process was cumbersome, requiring several manual processing steps with flat plates. It was almost 18 years before a fully automated process was developed, the key breakthrough being use of a cylindrical drum coated with selenium instead of a flat plate. This resulted in the first commercial automatic copier, released by Haloid/Xerox in 1960. Xerography is used in most photocopying machines and in laser and LED printers.
Although Georg Christoph Lichtenberg invented a dry electrostatic printing process in 1778, Carlson's innovation combined electrostatic printing with photography. Carlson's original process was cumbersome, requiring several manual processing steps with flat plates. It was almost 18 years before a fully automated process was developed, the key breakthrough being use of a cylindrical drum coated with selenium instead of a flat plate. This resulted in the first commercial automatic copier, released by Haloid/Xerox in 1960. Xerography is used in most photocopying machines and in laser and LED printers.
Electrostatic Printing Machines
Electrostatic Printing Machines use electrostatic forces to form the image in powder or ink directly on the surface to be printed. These machines are suitable for short printing runs. These printers are popular because they are fast and do not cost much.
Electrostatic Printing Process
Electrostatic printing machines use a positively charged toner/inks that is attracted to paper which in turn is negatively charged. The paper is moved through a digital ink bath; positively charged particles in ink stick to the negative charge on the paper. The printers print in black and white or color as the case may be, and some handle paper up to six feet wide.
Application of Electrostatic Printing Machine
Electrostatic printers are widely used in different industries for short run printing. They are popular for photocopying jobs both black & white and colored. These printers are faster than inkjet printers.
Electrostatic Printing Process
Electrostatic printing machines use a positively charged toner/inks that is attracted to paper which in turn is negatively charged. The paper is moved through a digital ink bath; positively charged particles in ink stick to the negative charge on the paper. The printers print in black and white or color as the case may be, and some handle paper up to six feet wide.
Application of Electrostatic Printing Machine
Electrostatic printers are widely used in different industries for short run printing. They are popular for photocopying jobs both black & white and colored. These printers are faster than inkjet printers.
Letterpress printing
Letterpress printing is a term for the relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image. It was the normal form of printing text in the west from its invention by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century until the 19th century and remained in wide use for books and other uses until the second half of the 20th century. In addition to the direct impression of inked movable type onto paper or another receptive surface, the term Letterpress can also refer to the direct impression of inked printmaking blocks such as photo-etched zinc "cuts" (plates), linoleum blocks, wood engravings, etc., using such a press.
Creating files for Letterpress is similar to conventional printing with these exceptions:
• Ink Color: Files are created using spot colors, not CMYK or RGB. A spot color is specified for each color to be used. Typically one or two colors are used.
• Paper Color: Dark ink on a light paper gives the best image. Inks are translucent and the paper color will show through. For light colors on dark paper, foil stamping or engraving should be used instead of Letterpress. To build up the color density of a specific color, Letterpress pieces can be run through the press two times using the same color.
• Screens: Grayscale images can be used if made with a coarse screen (85 line or less). A second color should be used instead of screening a color in most cases.
• Thickness: Art must be above ¼ point and with no hairlines.
• Fonts: Type must be five points or larger for best results. For reversed type the point size should be 12 point or larger, smaller type can fill in. An outline stroke is often applied to allow for ink gain.
• Solids: Letterpress solids will print differently from conventionally printed lithographic solids. While Letterpress does lay down a thick film of ink, the process tends to show the texture of the sheet. Also, solid areas do not give the appearance of depth that fine type and thin lines do. Solid areas can also cause the paper to ripple, especially on thinner sheets.
• Registration: Letterpress does register well, however, it does not have the capabilities of modern offset printing. Trapping and key lines do not work well in letterpress printing. A blank area should be incorporated between colors. Black and very dark colors may be overprinted over lighter colors.
• Depth: The type depth is dependent on the paper. Typically Letterpress papers are thick and soft to allow the type to create a deep impression. When fold-over items are created, the printer will typically back off on the pressure to avoid embossing the backside of the piece.
• Image and File Prep: Letterpress excels at line copy and type, so vector images work well. Crop marks should be shown as a register color. Images need to bleed (extend past the trim line).
• Die cut, Emboss and Scores: These effects work well with most Letterpress paper. Images to be embossed or die cut should be called out in a different color layer (typically magenta). Scores should be indicated with a cyan line. Any intricate shapes or patterns should be reviewed with the printer. For thick cover stocks many printers use a kiss cut rather than a score.
• Envelopes: It is best to print on the flap of a ready-made envelope. Other areas of the ready-made envelopes can be printed but bruising may occur on the other side of the envelope.
Creating files for Letterpress is similar to conventional printing with these exceptions:
• Ink Color: Files are created using spot colors, not CMYK or RGB. A spot color is specified for each color to be used. Typically one or two colors are used.
• Paper Color: Dark ink on a light paper gives the best image. Inks are translucent and the paper color will show through. For light colors on dark paper, foil stamping or engraving should be used instead of Letterpress. To build up the color density of a specific color, Letterpress pieces can be run through the press two times using the same color.
• Screens: Grayscale images can be used if made with a coarse screen (85 line or less). A second color should be used instead of screening a color in most cases.
• Thickness: Art must be above ¼ point and with no hairlines.
• Fonts: Type must be five points or larger for best results. For reversed type the point size should be 12 point or larger, smaller type can fill in. An outline stroke is often applied to allow for ink gain.
• Solids: Letterpress solids will print differently from conventionally printed lithographic solids. While Letterpress does lay down a thick film of ink, the process tends to show the texture of the sheet. Also, solid areas do not give the appearance of depth that fine type and thin lines do. Solid areas can also cause the paper to ripple, especially on thinner sheets.
• Registration: Letterpress does register well, however, it does not have the capabilities of modern offset printing. Trapping and key lines do not work well in letterpress printing. A blank area should be incorporated between colors. Black and very dark colors may be overprinted over lighter colors.
• Depth: The type depth is dependent on the paper. Typically Letterpress papers are thick and soft to allow the type to create a deep impression. When fold-over items are created, the printer will typically back off on the pressure to avoid embossing the backside of the piece.
• Image and File Prep: Letterpress excels at line copy and type, so vector images work well. Crop marks should be shown as a register color. Images need to bleed (extend past the trim line).
• Die cut, Emboss and Scores: These effects work well with most Letterpress paper. Images to be embossed or die cut should be called out in a different color layer (typically magenta). Scores should be indicated with a cyan line. Any intricate shapes or patterns should be reviewed with the printer. For thick cover stocks many printers use a kiss cut rather than a score.
• Envelopes: It is best to print on the flap of a ready-made envelope. Other areas of the ready-made envelopes can be printed but bruising may occur on the other side of the envelope.
Different Types of Printing Techniques
Printing is a medium you see wherever you go; it is used in newspapers, brochures, invitations, pamphlets, books, magazines…. The list is endless. Though printing is evident and seen everywhere, there is a point to remember about it, which is the fact that different techniques are used in different media.
This is the main reason you find that these companies are not equal; there are companies that offer full color prints for your marketing needs and others that offer offset prints for reasonable print jobs and in the process, gives you a great savings.
To succeed in choosing the company that will print whatever you need to be printed, you have to first find out which printer you require for your job. In addition to this, you also have to find out and learn about the different techniques available. This ensures that you choose your marketing campaign after discussing matters with your printer.
• Offset Lithography is the most common and famous method available today where most printers use offset lithography to make a print. This is because this method helps in saving ink and in the process, limits set up time. With this, you will be able to use a more effective and affordable print for your job. Here printers usually offset the ink from metal plates to a rubber cylinder, which is then transferred to the paper stock.
• Digital Printing is a very popular method as it is effective in reducing the time to complete a print. Moreover, there is no need of using any films or plates here; the digital file is transferred to the printing press, with the help of a computer. As this is a fast process, customers use it to help meet their deadlines and schedules.
• Electrostatic Printing is similar to photocopying where the color is attached to a drum and then let to blend with paper on the application of heat on it. It can also be compared to digital printing as it is cost effective in providing short print runs.
• Letterpress was created by Gutenberg and is considered to be one of the first forms of print in all time. With letterpress, you saw the start of the concept of relief printing, where the image that is to be printed is raised from the surface. However, with the introduction and implementation of new and faster methods, this method is slowly growing obsolete and losing its popularity.
• Thermography is a method where images are raised, like you see in most stationery. In this method, printers first have to use a special powder or some dust that can easily stick to wet ink. This done, heat is applied to help with the blending of the ink and powder, with which you get the raised image you were looking for.
These are not the only types of printing offered; there are many more methods that can be used to print whatever you need to get printed. The trick in getting the right print lies in being able to choose the right printing method that is most suitable for your needs.
This is the main reason you find that these companies are not equal; there are companies that offer full color prints for your marketing needs and others that offer offset prints for reasonable print jobs and in the process, gives you a great savings.
To succeed in choosing the company that will print whatever you need to be printed, you have to first find out which printer you require for your job. In addition to this, you also have to find out and learn about the different techniques available. This ensures that you choose your marketing campaign after discussing matters with your printer.
• Offset Lithography is the most common and famous method available today where most printers use offset lithography to make a print. This is because this method helps in saving ink and in the process, limits set up time. With this, you will be able to use a more effective and affordable print for your job. Here printers usually offset the ink from metal plates to a rubber cylinder, which is then transferred to the paper stock.
• Digital Printing is a very popular method as it is effective in reducing the time to complete a print. Moreover, there is no need of using any films or plates here; the digital file is transferred to the printing press, with the help of a computer. As this is a fast process, customers use it to help meet their deadlines and schedules.
• Electrostatic Printing is similar to photocopying where the color is attached to a drum and then let to blend with paper on the application of heat on it. It can also be compared to digital printing as it is cost effective in providing short print runs.
• Letterpress was created by Gutenberg and is considered to be one of the first forms of print in all time. With letterpress, you saw the start of the concept of relief printing, where the image that is to be printed is raised from the surface. However, with the introduction and implementation of new and faster methods, this method is slowly growing obsolete and losing its popularity.
• Thermography is a method where images are raised, like you see in most stationery. In this method, printers first have to use a special powder or some dust that can easily stick to wet ink. This done, heat is applied to help with the blending of the ink and powder, with which you get the raised image you were looking for.
These are not the only types of printing offered; there are many more methods that can be used to print whatever you need to get printed. The trick in getting the right print lies in being able to choose the right printing method that is most suitable for your needs.
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