The advancement of science and technology has also led to the rapid development of the printing industry. With the upgrading of printing technology, printing methods have also begun to appear in the form of competing opinions among different schools. So what are the differences between each printing method? Let the editor briefly introduce the four printing methods commonly used today.
I. Letterpress Printing Method
As the name suggests, this method is also an ancient printing technique. First, ink is applied to a raised surface, and then a sheet of paper is pressed over it, transferring the ink onto the paper. Nowadays, various types of plates are used on different types of printing machines to print products such as newspapers, books, and magazines.
II. Gravure Printing Method
While letterpress printing transfers ink from a raised surface to paper, gravure printing works oppositely. In the gravure printing process, ink is transferred from a recessed surface to paper. The image or text on the gravure plate is lower than or recessed into the surface of the plate. This method can produce works with very saturated colors.
III. Offset Printing Method
Also known as lithography, offset printing differs from the above two printing methods in that the printed image is only placed flat on the plate surface. During the printing process, friction occurs between the paper and the image, causing wear on the image, especially on high-speed printing presses. To address this issue, the image is first transferred to a rubber blanket. Offset printing is commonly used for printing brochures, promotional flyers, book printing, and more.
IV. Screen Printing Method
Also known as stencil printing, screen printing involves pushing ink through holes in a screen to print. The process mainly involves placing the paper under the screen, applying ink with a paste-like viscosity to the screen, and then evenly spreading and squeezing the ink through the holes in the screen onto the paper underneath.
These are the four methods commonly used in printing. Other methods include inkjet printing, electrostatic printing, and various others. If you would like to learn more about printing-related knowledge, you can further search for information based on the above content to understand more about printing techniques and their respective advantages and disadvantages.