Types of printing. Modern printing: what is it and its types. The role of design in printing products

These are products manufactured by printing houses as a result of the production technological chain of the printing process: product design, prepress, post-printing and finishing works.

To get quality printing products, requires high qualifications and experience of many people, high-quality materials, modern equipment, as well as the well-coordinated work of all departments whose purpose is to promptly manufacture printing products high quality.

Modern printing houses are divided into two large groups. As a rule, large printing houses print products of large circulation (newspapers, magazines, etc.), while operative printing salons offer urgent printing of small quantities of printed products, as a rule, of an advertising nature.

3. Promotional Products ... This group of products, perhaps, is the most numerous in terms of the types of offered advertising printed products: these are both, and, leaflets with and without, and posters, etc. can also be attributed to advertising printed products that work directly at the point of sale, and stimulate the buyer to buy a product. Advertising products are the most diverse products in their embodiment, because they have a very difficult task - to attract the attention of a potential client, to interest him, to convey information about the proposed product and service. Therefore, advertising specialists are forced to constantly come up with new types of advertising products that can interest and surprise potential clients companies to get their attention. Typographies, on the other hand, in order to produce competitive advertising products, have to look for ways and opportunities to implement the most unusual design ideas.

4. Calendar products... - the most versatile. There are many functions that calendars do not perform: it is time control and business planning, it is a wonderful decoration of the office, a wonderful gift and an effective advertising medium. No wonder the calendar is a very popular printing products. For 16 years, both by individual order and wholesale, it has been one of the leading activities of our company. We know the intricacies of the process, so we offer you the production of all types of calendars:, and desk-top calendars, the most popular office calendars, convenient and attractive pyramid calendars, and, of course, our faithful little assistants. We release timesheets, calendars necessary for accountants, calendars for gardeners and gardeners, indicating all posts and holidays. We also produce non-standard "image" calendars using cut-out forms and exclusive finishing.

POLYGRAPHY
the technique of multiple obtaining of the same images (prints) by transferring the ink layer from the printing plate to paper or other material. The actual process of transferring an image from a printing plate to paper is called printing. But this is only one of the processes of making printed products; the main printing processes are typesetting, making a printing plate, printing and bookbinding. In printing, three main methods of reproduction of text and illustrations are used: high, gravure and flat printing. Letterpress is the oldest of them. As the name itself indicates, with this method, the printers are embossed elements of the printing plate that rise above the non-printing (blank) elements. Printing takes place when the ink-coated printing surface is pressed against the paper. In intaglio printing, the printing elements of the printing plate, on the contrary, are recessed. The paint is applied to the entire surface of the mold, and then erased so that it remains only in the depressions corresponding to the image. When the paper is pressed against the intaglio plate, the ink flows from the indentations onto the paper like moisture absorbed by a towel. The printing and space elements of the flatbed form are located at the same level. This method, which includes offset printing and lithography, is based on differences in the wettability of different areas of the surface. The surface of the form is chemically treated so that the printing elements are wetted with ink, and the blanks are not accepted.
HIGH PRINT
The production of any printed matter begins with a set. Set for letterpress can be done manually or by machine.
Manual set. This is the oldest type of set. A separate typographic letter is used for each letter of the alphabet. The letter is a metal bar, on the upper end of which there is a relief image of the letter. From such letters, words, phrases, paragraphs, etc. are made by hand. The typographic font is produced as individual letters of different sizes and typefaces and is supplied as sets containing all uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and punctuation marks of the same size and typeface. The height (size) of a font is measured in non-metric units - typographic points. In Russia standard size point is equal to 0.376 mm. With a monotype set in Russia, they use an Anglo-American point equal to 0.3528 mm (1/72 inch).
Machine set. Machine typing is, of course, faster than manual typing. There are three main types of typesetting machines for letterpress printing: line-casting, letter-casting and large-sized line-casting. All of them do not actually produce a typesetting type, but rather cast the type from molten metal. Strokotlivny typesetting machines (linotypes and intertypes) type the text in the form of monolithic metal lines with a relief printing surface. Each such machine consists of a keyboard, a magazine and an ejection and disassembly apparatus. When you press a key with a letter designation from the store, metal matrix, which serves as the injection mold of the corresponding letter. Whole lines are composed of matrices, which are then mechanically transferred to the casting apparatus. Here, the matrices are filled with molten metal, and it cools quickly. The cast string is pushed out of the machine, after which the disassembly mechanism returns the dies to the magazine. Before casting the string, it is mechanically justified, i.e. reduction to a given length using blank plates - spacing. The letter-casting typesetting machine (monotype) consists of a keyboard and casting apparatus. When a key is pressed, a code combination of holes corresponding to a given letter is punched on the paper tape. In the casting machine, where there are matrices for all letters, a set is automatically cast on a paper tape. In large-sized string-casting machines, a machine set is combined with a manual one. The hand-picked strings from the dies are introduced into the casting apparatus, in which the set is cast. Speed ​​of execution is not the only advantage of a machine set over a manual one. It is also simpler in many ways. For example, a set made by machine and disassembled mechanically, not by hand. In addition, since the typeface is re-cast each time with machine typing, the difficulties associated with gradual wear of the type disappear.

Cliche. Besides text, printing deals with illustrations. For letterpress printing, illustrations are reproduced using special forms letterpress is a cliché. These are solid printing plates that can be made by hand, but are more often done by photomechanical and electromechanical methods. Depending on the nature of the image, clichés can be dashed, halftone and combined. Line clichés, as their name indicates, are used to reproduce pen drawings, handwritten text, drawings, graphs, and other similar originals. In the photomechanical manufacturing method, the reproduced illustration is photographed and the resulting negative is placed on a metal plate coated with a water-soluble photosensitive material. The light from a powerful lamp, passing through the transparent areas of the negative, causes the coating to harden (harden). The coating underneath the opaque areas of the negative remains soluble in water and washes out, leaving a clean metal surface. After that, the entire surface of the plate is exposed to acid, but etching occurs only in areas not protected by a hardened coating, as a result of which the necessary relief appears. Line clichés are simpler and cheaper than others, but they are only suitable for reproducing illustrations consisting of lines and solid dark areas. For the transfer of photographs, drawings and other images containing different levels of gray, grayscale clichés are used. Since the printing press can only apply an even layer of ink, the image in the illustration is photographically divided into separate dots to reproduce halftones. To do this, at the photographic stage of the process, a raster is superimposed on the original illustration - an optical device with a grid of opaque black lines. The raster divides the image into points, the size of which changes depending on the intensity of the reproduced tone in one place or another. In the dark area of ​​the image, the raster gives large dark points, and in the light area - small, more distant from each other. On the basis of the resulting negative, a cliche is made in the same way as a line cliche. Combined clichés are needed to reproduce illustrations, such as, for example, a shadowed pen drawing. In such cases, elements of both of the above cliche production methods are used.
Layout, imposition and closing. After the text and headings are typed and the cliches are made, all this should be arranged in the form of a page. This operation, called imposition, consists in placing the individual elements of the set in the position in which they should be on the print. The entire printing plate is then "enclosed" (secured) in a massive steel frame that will hold it in place. the right position in the process of printing. The dimensions of the frame for the enclosure are determined by the number and size of the printing plates that will be fixed in it. If, for example, one notebook requires eight strips (pages), then the printer will enclose four of the eight single-sheet printing plates in one frame, and the remaining four in another. Each of the two 4-lane printing plates will be printed on different sides of a single sheet of paper. After folding (folding) the printed sheet once horizontally and vertically, eight stripes will be produced. In multi-lane printing, it is necessary to arrange the individual printing plates of the strips so that after printing and folding, the prints of the strips go in the notebook in the correct order. This arrangement is called an imposition pattern.
Stereotypy. In the manufacture of large-circulation products, letterpress forms wear out and have to be restored. In addition, if the same order was printed at the same time on several presses, the same set would have to be performed several times. Therefore, copies of printed forms, the so-called stereotypes, are widely used. They are cheaper, easier and faster to manufacture, last longer, and can be bent to fit onto rotary press cylinders. Copies of letterpress forms are made by methods of electroplating, casting and pressing. In the manufacture of electroplating under the press, an imprint of the original shape is made on a sheet of wax, plastic or lead. Then, a silver compound is sprayed onto the print by spraying the solution and placed in an electrolytic bath, where a copper layer is built up on the surface of the print. This copper layer, adhered to a thick lead substrate, forms a durable printing surface. The foundry method gives the cheapest stereotypes. A thin (1 mm) sheet of multilayer cardboard is applied to the original printing plate and a matrix is ​​obtained from it on a press. Then the matrix is ​​metallized from the surface by spraying with molten metal, which, upon cooling, forms a copy of the printing surface. Plastic stereotypes can be made photographically or by pressing. In the first case, the technique is the same as in the photomechanical production of cliches, and the photoreproduction original is a print of the original form. In the second, a stereotype is obtained from a matrix (made of polymer-impregnated material) of the original shape by pressing thermoplastic plastic or rubber.
Printing machines. Letterpress machines are divided into three categories: crucible, flatbed and rotary.

Crucible machine. The crucible machine has two cheeks: a taler, on which the printing plate is fixed, and a crucible, which holds the paper. When the cheeks are apart, colorful rollers roll the paint over the entire open surface of the mold. Then the cheeks move and the crucible is fed so that the paper is pressed tightly against the mold. With this "onslaught", the paint is transferred from the form to the paper. Next, the cheeks move apart and everything is repeated with a new sheet of paper. At the grab crucible machine, both the crucible and the taler move, but such a device is used only on small machines. In large crucible machines, the taler is motionless.
Flatbed printing machine. The flat-bed press (invented before the crucible) is so named because the printing plate in it is installed on a flat bed. The crucible, on which the paper is applied, is an impression cylinder. During the printing process, the taler moves in its plane under the action of the rotating impression cylinder, and the paper is clamped between the taler and the cylinder. When printing is complete, the impression cylinder is lifted, the printed sheet is peeled off and the ink rollers re-ink the printing plate. A flat-bed press can be not only one-color (described above), but also two-color or two-sided. A two-color flatbed press works the same as a one-color one, with the difference that it is aggregated from two separate printing units, each with its own impression cylinder and inking unit. After one plate has been printed, the paper is transferred by a transfer cylinder to a second impression cylinder for printing from the second plate. Thus, the paper is sealed twice on one side. A double-sided flatbed press, unlike those described above, prints both sides of the paper in one pass. Structurally, it is similar to a two-color flatbed printing machine, but does not have a transfer cylinder. After the first printing, the paper is released from the grips of the impression cylinder, flipped and gripped by the second impression cylinder to print the second form on the other side.
Rotary engine. On a rotary printing press, the paper to be printed passes between a cylindrical printing plate (plate cylinder) and an impression cylinder. Such a machine requires a stereotype that can be shaped to match the surface of the impression cylinder. Rotary printing presses are divided into sectional and planetary (with one common impression cylinder), as well as sheet-fed and web-fed. Roll-fed machines are printed on a continuously fed paper web, which is cut into separate sheets after printing. The productivity of rotary presses is generally higher than that of flat-bed presses. In a sectional rotary machine, each color to be printed has its own inking unit, a plate cylinder and an impression cylinder. If, for example, the machine has four colors, then it includes four such printing units. The paper runs through all four sections in sequence. In a planetary rotary machine, around one common impression cylinder, there are up to five (according to the number of printed colors) inking units and the same number of printing cylinders. The paper web, pulled by the rotating impression cylinder, passes from one plate cylinder to another, and each of them gives its own impression until the printing cycle is complete.
OFFSET PRINTING
Offset printing processes differ significantly from the letterpress processes described above. If in letterpress printing, printing is carried out directly from the typographic font and cliche, then in offset printing, a photographic transformation of the image of the typed material into transparent image on the film. The completed font set is first photographed. Then the obtained film negative is used as a transparency for transferring the image of the set onto a printing material covered with a photosensitive layer. There are three main types of offset printing kits: metal typesetting, typewriter typesetting, and phototypesetting. The set is metal and on typewriters. After the metal typing has been made by the machine method, a reproducible imprint of the set is most often used to obtain a photo-reproduced original layout. The set, after page imposition, is placed on the taler of the sample flatbed press. The resulting print can be photographed as a photo-reproduced original layout. Typewriters are the most common (among those developed in previous years) technique for obtaining a photo-reproducible original without a metal typeset. Electric typewriters with a typographic design, in which ink from a ribbon is transferred by type to paper, produce originals for reproduction in reflected light. Typesetting can be combined with phototypesetting.
Photocomposition. Plants for phototypesetting have gone from the simplest hand-held devices for typing print-quality texts to automatically controlled devices that provide very fast processing of text arrays. Phototypesetting is based on a photographic process (with very short exposure times) in which characters are exposed one at a time on film or stabilized photographic paper. It can be computerized and requires two kinds of equipment: a belt puncher with a keyboard and a phototypesetter controlled by a punched tape. One phototypesetter can work with several punches. When the key is pressed, the punch punches the pattern of holes of the corresponding typographic mark on the paper tape. On phototypesetters with manual maintenance, line alignment, i.e. fitting them to a given length is performed by the operator. To do this, he monitors the counter readings, which registers the occupied and free parts of the string length. Computerized installations do not require such line-by-line justification. The operator completely concentrates his attention on the continuously typed text, and the information from the punched tape is entered into a computer with an automatic switch-off program installed in it to a standard format. Modern phototypesetting machines are high-speed devices, the design of which allows the use of several operators at once, working in parallel on the keyboard of tape punchers. It is customary to divide them into cars of three "generations". The first generation machines are simple photomechanical devices. The inserted punched tape sets the position of the matrix frame, which is structurally similar to the matrix frame of the shop of a letter-casting machine. The main difference is that here the matrix frame does not contain matrices for casting metal letters, but photographic negatives of typographic signs. When the punched tape calls up one letter or another, the matrix frame is mechanically set to a position in which this letter can be exposed in the right place on the photographic paper or film. The size of the font is changed by moving the optical magnifying system. The machines of the second generation, the most common at present, have a disk or drum type carrier, around which transparent letters of the alphabet are printed. When the type carrier rotates, the inserted punched tape triggers the exposure device, which gives a light flash at the moment when the desired letter is in the path of light. When exposed, the light that carries the image of the letter passes through a magnifying system, the position of which determines the size of the font. During exposure, the stepping mechanism detects the width of the letter and moves the film or photo paper to the position for the next letter to be exposed. The productivity of the second generation phototypesetting machines is much higher than the first, and ranges from 20 to 600 characters per second or more.

The third generation machines are high-speed cathode ray tube installations that do not have parts that would move mechanically during dialing. In such installations, all characters are stored in the form of font sets in the computer memory. When triggered by injected punched tape or magnetic tape, the computer displays them on the monitor screen. With the help of an optical system, the marks are instantly registered on the photographic material. The size of the font is electronically regulated, the productivity can be from 100 to 10,000 characters per second, depending on the required print quality.

At the end of the set, the exposed photographic material (film or paper) remains in the opaque cassette. The film is chemically processed in a dark room, and the resulting negative is directly used to make a printing plate. On photographic paper, after processing, galleys of the text are obtained, similar to a proof print.
Reproduction installations. The originals for copying in the manufacture of offset printing plates are transparent photographic images (on film) of the text typed by the methods discussed above, reproduced prints, photographs, illustrations and all other materials that are required to be submitted to printed form... To obtain such intermediate originals, reproduction cameras are used. In the manufacture of printing plates, three types of reproduction originals are used: line, half-tone and color. Line originals, like letterpress line clichés, contain only lines and dark areas without grayscale gradations. They are used to reproduce reproduced prints, photosetting galleys on paper, graphs, pen drawings, etc. Halftone offset originals, like letterpress halftone clichés, contain up to 30-45 tone transitions from saturated to zero density. When making a line or grayscale reproduced original layout, a photomontage is usually performed. All line originals are glued to thick paper in the position in which they should be on the final printed sheet. The result of such an operation, similar to page-by-page typesetting in the case of a metal typeset, is a mounted layout of the entire typographic order. This mock-up is photographed as a whole. After exposure in a reproduction camera of a line layout original, a halftone original is placed in the camera, and the camera is set to size. To reproduce a halftone original, it must be converted to a halftone image. This is done using a halftone screen as described above. Then line and halftone negatives are aligned according to the appropriate imposition scheme so that later they are in the correct position on the printed sheet of paper. After that, the negatives are transferred to an assembly sheet, which becomes the carrier of all negatives used in the manufacture of offset printing plates.
Multicolor printing. Color originals are more difficult to reproduce than line and grayscale originals. this requires color separation. Subtractive blending colors blue, green, and red are produced when cyan and magenta, cyan and yellow, magenta and yellow are superimposed, respectively. To accurately reproduce the desired color, for example, green or orange, you need to accurately reproduce the ratio of the three color components - yellow, cyan and magenta. This is achieved using three color separation filters, each of which transmits only light corresponding to its color onto the black-and-white photographic film. Then it is already easy to reproduce the same mixture of colors on paper by sequentially overlaying yellow, blue and red paints from three different printing plates. As a rule, a fourth shape is also added - for black, which allows you to increase the density range and improve clarity in areas of the shadow. Color separation is carried out in a reproduction camera, but there is also a more modern method of electronic color separation, which will be discussed in more detail below.

Separation photography requires exposing the original four times on separate films. The first exposure is made through a red filter, which allows only cyan, or blue, light from the original to pass through. A second exposure is taken through a green filter and only red, or magenta, light is recorded. At the third exposure, only yellow light is registered through a blue light filter. The fourth exposure, for black, consists of three partial exposures: one through the red filter, the other through the green, and the third through the blue. For four color separation negatives, offset forms are made, one for each ink. When printed sequentially, these forms faithfully reproduce the color composition of the original.
Manufacturing of printed forms. Offset printing plates are usually made of metal foil with a thickness of 0.01-0.05 mm. There are two main types of such forms - surface and "deep offset", and the latter include bimetallic ones. Surface forms are actual forms of flat printing: their printable areas are flush with non-printable ones. The protective light-sensitive coating can be applied by pouring in the center of the mold followed by rotation for alignment or rolling. Also available are printing materials with a pre-applied photosensitive protective layer. Surface forms are usually used in cases where the circulation does not exceed 45,000. Deep offset forms are processed in the same way as surface forms, but their non-printing areas are buried by chemical etching. Due to this, such forms are more durable than superficial ones, and can withstand up to 500,000 impressions. Bimetallic molds consist of two layers of different metals, one that is very well wetted with ink (for example, copper) and forms printable areas, and the other that is poorly wetted with ink (for example, unpolished chrome) and forms gaps. Bimetallic forms clearly reproduce high-quality images and withstand up to 3-5 million prints.
Offset machines. Flat bed offset printing machines are divided into flat bed and rotary. Rotary machines are subdivided into sheet and roll machines according to the type of the printed material (paper). By the design of many units, inking machines, etc., offset machines are similar to letterpress machines. Their main distinguishing feature is the presence of offset transfer cylinders and dampening devices.

Sheet-fed offset machines. In a sheet-fed rotary offset press, the printed image is transferred from the form to the paper using three cylinders - plate, transfer and printing. The flat print form is fixed on the plate cylinder. The dampening device applies a thin layer of dampening solution to its blank elements, after which the inking device rolls paint onto it. By rotating the printing cylinder, the ink image is transferred to a smooth rubber-fabric plate fixed to the transfer cylinder. This plate transfers the image onto a paper sheet held by grippers on the impression cylinder. Sheet-fed offset machine can be monochromatic and multicolor. Multicolor machines are aggregated from separate printing units (containing plate, transfer and impression cylinders) with separate inking and dampening devices - according to the number of inks printed. The paper moves from one section to another, and a complete print is obtained by successive overprinting of colors. The order of application of paints is determined by a specific order specification. Most often they are superimposed in this order: yellow, red, blue, black. One of the typical varieties of a rotary offset press is a double-sided sheetfed press. It has two forme and two transfer cylinders. On both plate cylinders, it is fixed on the printing plate, and the ink images are transferred from the plates to the corresponding transfer cylinders. The paper is clamped between transfer cylinders, and the colorful images are transferred from them to different sides of the paper sheet. In this case, one transfer cylinder acts as an impression cylinder for the other. Another type of sheetfed offset press is a flatbed press. Here the flat print form and paper are positioned on the machine taler. Above the taler moves a carriage with a transfer cylinder, dampening and inking devices, which in one pass moistens the surface of the mold, rolls paint onto it and transfers the ink image to the transfer cylinder, and from it to paper.
Roll offset machines. Web offset presses, like web letterpress rotary presses, print on a continuous paper web. The printed web is either rewound or cut into sheets, folded, stitched and bound according to the order specification. Roll offset presses are divided into sectional, double-sided and planetary. Sectional, like a multi-color sheet machine, consist of several sections (according to the number of printed inks), each printing its own ink on one side of the paper web. In a double-sided machine, the transfer cylinder of one section serves as an impression cylinder for the transfer cylinder of the other, so that in one pass the paper web is sealed on both sides. In a planetary machine, ink sections are grouped around a common impression cylinder. Printing is carried out by passing the paper web between it and the transfer cylinders of the individual sections.
DEEP PRINT
Intaglio printing is the process of printing from honeycomb inking cells chemically etched inward from the surface of a copper, cast iron, steel or aluminum cylinder. There are thousands of such cells per square centimeter of the cylindrical surface area of ​​a metal printing plate. The process begins in a reproduction camera with transferring to a photographic film the image of the reproduction print, galleys of typed text material, line and half-tone photographic illustrations. The transfer of a photographic image from a photographic film to a plate cylinder is carried out using a photosensitive intermediate layer of the so-called resist. One of the most common resists is sensitized gelatinous "pigment paper". The light of a powerful lamp is directed through photographic film onto acid-resistant pigment paper. Under the influence of light, the gelatinous coating is hardened. Where there is less light, i.e. in dark areas, gelatin is hardened to a lesser extent than in light areas. After exposure, the pigment paper is placed on the plate cylinder and the unhardened resist is washed out. The cylinder is placed in an acid bath, in which the printing areas are etched to a depth depending on the amount of hardened resist remaining on the cylinder. The result is a cylindrical rotogravure with etched cells of varying depth. The depth of the cell determines the amount of ink filling it, and, consequently, the tone (grayscale) in a given area of ​​the printed image.
Electronic engraving. Electronic engraving, in contrast to the preparation of a gravure cylinder, consists of only two stages: photographing and engraving. The original is photographed, and the image obtained on photographic film is scanned with a photoelectric device. Electronic pulses generated during scanning drive the cutter, which creates cells of different depths on the surface of the cylinder.
Intaglio printing machine. After etching or engraving, the surface of the gravure gravure cylinder is coated with a chromium layer to increase its service life. The cylinder is then mounted on the printing press. The rotogravure printing machine does not have ink feeding, rolling and rolling systems. When rotating, its plate cylinder is partially immersed in a reservoir of liquid paint. Excess ink is removed from its surface by a squeegee mechanism, so that ink remains only in the recessed areas of the image. The cylinder is then brought into contact with the printing paper.
SPECIAL PRINTING METHODS
Along with the three main methods (letterpress, offset and gravure printing), a number of other types of printing are used in the printing industry. Almost all of them are of a special nature. Some of them are discussed below.
Screen printing. Screen printing is widely known not only in the printing industry. A hand-made or photomechanical stencil is placed on a thick silk, nylon or stainless steel mesh stretched over a wooden frame. Place paper or other material for printing on a flat surface, and a wooden frame with a mesh is placed on top so that the mesh and stencil adhere closely to the material to be printed. Then a thick paint is rolled over the stencil with a rubber roller. Where, according to the printed image, ink passes through the stencil, it seeps through the mesh onto the printed material. Screen printing is versatile. It is suitable for printing on a wide variety of materials, from glass and metals to wood and fabrics. In addition, this process allows for the application of thick layers of paint. The manual screen printing process described above can be mechanized using flat-sheet or web-fed machines that produce between 200 and 6,000 prints per hour.
Phototype. Phototyping provides reproduction of the original with high fidelity, but it is suitable mainly for low-volume production. There are two options for phototyping, one with a very dense grid to achieve exceptional clarity and tonal gradations, and the other with smooth gradations, no halftone screen and no halftone dots. In the first version, a negative is exposed on a printing plate covered with gelatin through a grid-raster. In bright places, gelatin hardens under the influence of light and becomes water-repellent, but is easily wetted with paint. The manufactured form is dried, bent and fixed on the plate cylinder printing machine... Here it is moistened by the rollers of the dampening apparatus, and the ink image is transferred to the transfer cylinder, and from there to the paper fixed in the grippers of the impression cylinder. In the second version of phototyping, there is no need for grayscale gradations created by a raster. A glass plate is coated with a binder and a solution of gelatin with dichromate, and then exposed through a film negative. In the illuminated areas, gelatin is hardened in proportion to the intensity of the light passing through the negative. After exposure, the plate is washed in an aqueous solution of glycerin; at the same time, the uncut areas swell more strongly than the hardened ones, as a result of which there is a change in the surface of the phototype layer and the formation of blank and printing elements, which create a complete illusion of a tone image on the print.
Relief colorful embossing. This is a special printing method in which areas of the paper covered with ink are raised. It is used for printing high quality invitation cards, letterheads, business cards. Reproducible printed material must be engraved. Paint is applied to the engraved mold and the excess is removed so that the paint remains only in the recesses of the mold. Then the printed paper is applied to the form, and on top - another form, the bulges of which exactly correspond to the recesses of the first. Under the onslaught, the paper is simultaneously sealed and embossed.
Convex print. This method also gives relief printing, but it is technically simpler. As the printed sheet leaves the letterpress machine, resin powder is applied to the fresh ink and the paper sheet is introduced into a heating device. The polymer, when heated, causes the ink to swell, causing the printed surface to be raised. Although the quality of the resulting product is lower than with the embossing method, this is more than offset by the versatility, simplicity and low cost of the embossing method.
BOOKLING AND BINDING PROCESSES
Bookbinding is an important part of book printing. These include slitting, folding, and saddle stitching.

Cutting and folding. Printed sheets of book and magazine publications are cut to the right size on single-knife paper cutting machines. Such a machine consists of a horizontal table-taler, on which stacks of cut sheets are laid, and a steel knife with an electric drive. With the help of a feeder (back), the stack of sheets is set to a given cut size, and the knife is lowered, precisely and evenly cutting the stack into two parts. Folding (the operation of folding printed sheets in a notebook of a given size) can be done manually and on automatic machines. In high-capacity cassette machines, the sheet is fed by rotating rollers. When it reaches the stop, the leading edge of the sheet stops, but the feed rollers continue to move the rest of the sheet. The sheet bends and forms a loop, which is captured by the folding rollers and compressed into a fold. Folding machines can be set to fold multiple times, or fold, punch, slit, glue and cut to the final format in a single operation.
Bookbinding processes. The most complex binding and binding processes in the manufacture of book products. The three main types of bookbinding are as follows: the production of books in binding covers, the production of book and magazine editions in paperbacks and the mechanical binding of notebooks (spiral, rings, staples, etc.).
Books in hardcover covers. Hard covers are used where durability is required. The process of making books in binding covers consists of eight basic operations: 1) cutting sheets, 2) folding and pressing, 3) stitching sheets in a notebook, 4) assembling blocks, 5) binding blocks, 6) processing blocks, 7) preparing blocks for binding with binder covers and 8) connecting blocks with covers. As a result of cutting and folding sheets, notebooks are obtained - parts of a book, each of which was printed on one sheet. Notebooks are sewn into blocks. Block sewing with a wire is carried out in two ways: saddle stitch and set-in. Editions complete with a tab are saddle stitched. In this case, the wire brackets pass through the fold of the block spine from the outside and bend inside. Blocks, complete with a selection, are sewn with a set-in: the block is stitched with wire staples at a certain distance (4-5 mm) from the edge of the spine. The most common way of stitching blocks together is sewing with threads, and the threads can be sewn block-by-block - saddle stitch and set-in. When sewing with thread, the block notebook is stitched stitched through the spine fold and fastened to the previous notebook with the same threads. It is more economical and provides a more durable fastening of the stitching to the set of the block, completed with a collection, with an indent of 4-5 mm along the entire spine. After stitching the book blocks, press crimping and gluing of the spine are performed. When crimping, the spine thickness (increased due to stitching) is reduced, which improves the conditions for subsequent cutting. In addition, when crimping, the strength of the connection between the notebooks increases and the solidity of the block spine increases. The compressed blocks are cut from three sides to the desired format on three-knife cutting machines. For medium and large editions, the spines of the book blocks are round. This improves the appearance of the book, as well as its opening. The processing of the block is completed by gluing a block of reinforcing elements (fabric tape and paper strip) to the spine. The last operation is to connect the blocks with the binding covers. A glue solution is applied to the endpapers and gauze valves, and then the block is inserted into the lid. In order to avoid warping of bound books, they are kept (with heating) under a press until the glue dries.
Paperback editions. The blocks made as described above are bonded to covers made of printed or cover paper (or polymer coated paper and nonwovens) with a spine adhesive.
Detachable fastening. Holes are punched along the edge of the pages to be fastened, into which plastic or wire spirals, split rings, etc. are then inserted.
NEW TECHNOLOGY
Advances in modern technology, especially in automation, electronics and computers, have revolutionized printing. The transformation began in the 1950s with the introduction of phototypesetting and electronic color separation. But the full potential of these innovations was revealed only in the 1970s, when video terminals were created that provide the ability to view and correct typed text, and electronic raster dot generators that allow you to create halftones directly in electronic color separators. These changes, as well as the emergence of micro-computers, gradually led to the fact that printing from a craft turned into a high-tech production.
Kit. Phototypesetting, introduced in 1950, has evolved over time. The first phototypesetters were purely mechanical devices for typing photographic type. Later, electromechanical devices appeared that gave images of typographic signs on photographic paper. These images could be enlarged or reduced by optical means. Finally, fully electronic typesetting systems were created. Such systems are capable of converting images into digital form at a speed of up to 500 characters per second and displaying them on a monitor screen or, using a laser beam, onto photographic paper.
Input. The printed material can be introduced into the typesetting device in different ways. Direct input is carried out directly from the keyboard connected to the dialer. In this case, the speed of the latter is limited by the speed of the operator, but the text for input can be pre-recorded on the information carrier. Stand-alone keyboard devices record text for input on a variety of media. Optical input devices scan the typewritten original, convert the image into electronic signals and register it. General purpose optical scanners can read texts in any typewritten or typographic font. The text is displayed on the monitor, which makes it possible to make edits and perform page layout directly on the screen. A word processor is software for a personal computer that allows you to enter, store, view, edit, format, typeset, and print texts in the same way as with a specialized typesetter. High-speed laser printers provide print quality that is not inferior to that of traditional printing.
Page layout. Electronic typesetting systems provide for pre-typing text processing systems that compose text and graphic material into pages that can serve as reproducible originals in the manufacture of printed forms. In this case, the graphic material is introduced by digital image converters, such as conventional optical scanners. Raster image scanners and bitmap recorders are capable of producing high-resolution text and graphic illustrations.
Data transfer. In computer technology, information is represented by a digital signal consisting of the numbers 0 and 1. The digital signal can be transmitted over ordinary telephone lines, over a coaxial microwave cable, over a satellite radio and over an optical cable (laser beam). Thus, information can now be transmitted over long distances at the speed of light. An example of this technique is Newsweek, Time and US News and World Report, which are typed weekly at their headquarters and then sent by satellite to printers around the world. Transferring huge amounts of digital data can be time-consuming. Therefore, the data compression (compaction) method is applied. The data compression ratio can be 8: 1, 10: 1 and 20: 1 depending on the required image clarity.
Electronic color separation. Electronic color separation machines, introduced in the 1950s, made separation and color correction easier and faster. Such a machine consists of four main units: 1) an input rotating drum, on which the original is fixed, 2) a scanning head with photocells and light filters that give electronic signals of the intensity of red, green and blue, 3) a color separator-color corrector, which converts color signals into four print colors (yellow, magenta, cyan and black), corrected according to a set program, and 4) an output rotating drum on which the output film is mounted for exposure to color corrected images, which produces yellow, magenta, cyan and black photographic forms. An electronic color separation machine reduces the time spent on color separations from 4 hours or more to 10 minutes or less, while eliminating the need for manual color correction in most cases.
Electronic color prepress systems. Electronic typing and electronic color separation have significantly reduced the time spent on these two important operations, and the bottleneck has become the operation of dividing photographic film into text and illustration layouts. Electronic systems (containing pre-typed word processing systems, image processors and typesetting machines) have been developed, allowing text layouts to be combined with some black and white illustrations. Digital electronic systems (with scanners, image processing stations, editing tables and output scanners) for editing text with color illustrations have also been created.
Electronic prototyping. Using the method of computer-aided design, film editing systems have been developed that determine the format of the set and the size of the layout and margins, the position of registration marks, page numbers, the location of headers and footers, etc., as well as the processing of image elements, the layout of originals by color, the placement of illustrations printed on a spread , and defining other positional data. After the prototyping is done on film or, as appropriate, on mask sheets, the elements of the images of the film are fixed on the mounting sheets. An editing machine has been created, which automatically applies the elements of the images of the film to the editing sheets in accordance with the digital data of the layout.
Sample color images. When the films are mounted in a model for making a photographic form, a test image is needed to check the correct arrangement of elements, including colors. In addition, a test image is needed to evaluate how the publication will look after the press. Checking registration marks, color layout and position of illustrations on spreads. A proof print to check the final corrected image has always been done on the press before. Impressions for internal proofreading during the printing process were made on a separate color test printing unit. Impressions on the press itself are costly. If, however, to make printing plates and make prints on other machines similar to production, then this takes a lot of time. In addition, a print made on one machine may look different from an impression made on another and even on the same one, but under different conditions. In addition, the volume of color printing is increasing so rapidly that very different rates of test printing are required. Most color proofing systems are not expected to closely match machine prints. Some use dyes, others use dry pigments, also use plastic bases, coated plates, multilayer images on thin films, pigment toners with transfer to a special substrate. The main difficulties remain poor reproducibility of test images, insufficient research of printing processes and their low controllability. But there are a number of systems that make it possible to obtain highly reproducible proof color images five times faster than on printing machines, and moreover, not lower, but even higher quality. Systems are being developed with inks such as printing inks for obtaining test images on a printing substrate. Everywhere, except for magazine advertisements, the proofs of which are presented to the customer for approval, the usual previously machine proof prints are largely supplanted by the proofs obtained on special installations.
Printing methods. Due to the simplicity of preparatory operations and the manufacture of printing plates, offset printing has become the most common method of printing today. But deep offset forms and even some bimetallic forms have been supplanted by photoforms. Positive photopolymer forms can withstand over a million prints on web offset presses for magazine and catalog printing. The difficulties of maintaining a balance between ink and water have been eliminated by the development of wet-free printing plates. In printing systems "computer - printing plate" electrostatic forms are used, exposed to laser radiation. Photo scanners control the ink nozzles on the press. Modern web presses are equipped with automatic register, waste control and microprocessor control systems. Gravure printing has always been a large-run printing process. Currently, the development of this printing method is moving towards ensuring its economy in the field of short runs and short times. production cycle, which was previously dominated by offset printing. Gravure printing cylinders were most often made from multi-tone images, which are difficult to correct and control. The most common method for making these cylinders is electromechanical engraving. With this method, multi-tone images on a rotating drum are scanned by optical heads, the signals of which are fed to a computer for conversion into digital form. Digital signals control a diamond tipped cutter that cuts cells of different widths and depths into the copper coating of a rotating plate cylinder blank at a speed of about 4,000 cells per second. Cylinders are usually sampled on special printing machines and either manually corrected by chemical etching or reworked. The process has been significantly accelerated and improved through the use of halftone engraving, which uses full-scale halftone images in electromechanical engravers (as in offset printing), and color proofing installations that simulate the print of a press. Following these improvements, gravure printing can now compete with offset printing in the small circulation market. Other methods of manufacturing gravure plate cylinders include: 1) laser engraving, in which cells of variable width and depth are burned into the plastic coating of the blank of the gravure cylinder by a laser beam controlled in accordance with the digital data of an electronic scanner, electronic system color prepress or computer; 2) the use of a photopolymer, which becomes extremely hard after lighting and processing; 3) electron-beam engraving, in which 100,000-150,000 cells per second are engraved on the surface of a copper-coated plate cylinder blank, which makes it possible to reduce the production time of a plate cylinder by 3 times compared to electromechanical engraving.
Other ways of printing. Many new printing methods differ from traditional ones in that they do not use printing plates and are contactless. Such methods are based on photographic, electrographic, magnetographic processes, inkjet printing technology, thermography, mechanical plotting, and electrical erosion.
PRINTING HISTORY

The history of letterpress printing begins with the invention of I. Gutenberg in Strasbourg of the collapsible type. In 1440, Gutenberg introduced cast metal letters from which words could be typed. True, in China, clay letters with embossed signs - hieroglyphs - were used 400 years before Gutenberg, and Koreans cast bronze letters 300 years before him. But such a technique was not common in Europe until Gutenberg, whose contribution gained worldwide recognition after he printed the famous Mazarin Bible. Originally, the type was cast by hand by the type founders, each of whom measured it in their own way. But as an entire branch of the printing industry grew, the need for uniformity arose, and in 1764 a typographic point measurement system was introduced. It was developed by the French typographer P. Fournier, and later improved by F. Didot, after which it was widely used in industry. This system is used in many countries (including Russia), except for England, the USA and some others, where a somewhat modified system has been adopted. The invention of the first typesetting machine in 1823 is attributed to W. Church, an American who lived in England. Later his car was improved by D. Bruce. But it was only in 1885 that O. Mergenthaler, an inventor of German origin who worked in the United States, patented the linotype, the first practically usable string-casting machine (see MERGENTHALER, OTMAR). The monotype lettering machine was invented by T. Lanston in 1888. In 1905 W. Ludlow created a large-sized string-casting machine, and in 1911 G. Ridder built the first intertype string-casting machine.

The first printing presses were hand-held wooden presses. In North America, the first such press began operating in 1638 by S. Day in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1790, W. Nicholson in Great Britain invented a flatbed printing press; Around 1800, Stenhope built the first hand-fed cast iron printing press; in 1810, F. Koenig put into operation the first steam-driven flat-bed press; in 1827 I. Adams invented a steam-driven crucible printing machine; in 1865 V. Ballock created the first web-fed printing machine.

A ROTARY PRINTING MACHINE, which prints text on 10 cylinders as workers manually feed sheets of paper into it, was built in 1846 by the New York firm R. Howe and Company.

Offset printing. Around 1796 in Munich (Germany) A. Senefelder began to apply the method of lithography. The process was based on the use of porous Kelheim stone, which can be easily polished to a silky smooth surface. Senefelder applied his drawings to such a stone with bold pencils made of wax, lamp soot, oil and soap. When moistened, the stone absorbed water only where its surface was not oiled with a pencil. Thanks to the success of Senefelder, who produced high-quality lithographs, the lithographic method of printing spread widely throughout the world. But the technique remained primitive until in the second half of the 19th century. an improved flatbed press was not invented. However, the images had to be painted or etched onto the stone mold in a mirrored manner so that they would look correct after being transferred to paper. In 1905, A. Rubel in the USA invented offset printing and built a printing press with the transfer of an image from a printing plate, first to an intermediate transfer cylinder, and then to paper. In 1906, F. Harris developed and began producing a similar machine. Although offset printing has taken the lead in the printing world, Senefelder's original stone-shaped lithographic technique is still used for highly artistic reproductions.
Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Literally translated, polygraphy means "to write a lot." This is one of the industries whose functions are the creation and replication of printed publications. These include both sheet products and multi-page products. What is printing in our time? Technological processes never stop improving. Now printing is carried out not only on paper and cardboard, but also on fabric, glass, plastic and other materials. Now you can use relief embossing for postcards and invitations. With the help of printing, you can make unique souvenirs, surprise and delight friends and loved ones.

Peculiarities

Printing can be done in different ways. It depends on the availability of text or graphic elements, the quality and specifics of the materials. Paper, for example, can be glossy and rough, and cardboard of a special density is chosen to create packaging or POS materials. The compatibility of dyes with them is important. What is paint in printing? This is a certain composition with varying degrees of viscosity, fluidity, including a pigment of a certain color and additional components.

In modern printing houses, they have learned to add capsules with aromatic oils to paint. This effect is often used in booklets. perfumery products... Another one latest technology in the printing industry - obtaining volumetric images. This stereo effect is that two images are printed on the same plane. The combination of layers of paint creates a sense of volume when viewing a picture.

Modern printing

The printing process became much easier after the advent of computers. Previously, there were only two printing methods (high and deep), there were many nuances and strict requirements for materials, long preparation times. Later appeared additional view- offset printing, but even here replication took a lot of time, and the required number of copies significantly influenced the cost of publications.

In modern realities, there is digital printing: operational and relatively cheap. Now it has become possible to combine prepress preparation and creation of circulation into one process. Printing houses are engaged in printing, publishing houses are not only large concerns, but also small firms located in the same office space. The customers are now not only legal entities, but also individuals.

Promotional Products

According to various criteria, certain types of printing products are distinguished. Its main classification is related to purpose. Printed publications can be performed as advertisements - firms, individual entrepreneur, corporation or product. For example, an organization brochure, business card, catalog. Some leaflets or flyers announce an upcoming event - another option for advertising. To create a layout for such publications, they turn to a specialist, a printing designer. He pays attention to the color scheme, the arrangement of elements. As a rule, bright, contrasting colors and fonts are used for advertising products.

When the layout is completely ready, the exact dimensions are calculated (taking into account the fold lines, bleed), it is sent to a printing and printing company. What are representative products? She is called letterheads with the logo and details of the organization, as well as envelopes, notebooks, business cards. Their function is not so much advertising as informational, providing interested person brief information about the company, the creation of a certain image.

Volumetric editions

Books and magazines are also produced for informational purposes, but are intended not only for partners and employees of the company, but also for ordinary readers. Publishing houses, universal or specialized, are engaged in the printing of books.

The draft of the future book is coordinated with the author. The publisher is responsible for any additions, design changes. The prepress of the publication includes editorial processing of text, selection of illustrative material, layout of the layout. This is followed by the stage of verification and replication. Then the book is enclosed in a cover (or binding), fastened in a certain way (glue, paper clips or sewing). These printing processes are carried out in the printing house.

Wedding printing

Recently, printed materials have been used as an additional element of decoration of premises for festive events. Wedding printing is especially popular. It helps to create a festive atmosphere, tune guests and newlyweds in the right way, notify about the upcoming celebration. First of all, invitations apply to her. The newlyweds choose in advance the color (one or more) in which the event will be held. Guest invitations are in matching colors. This can be a background, font, small illustrations or ornaments. Most often, digital printing is used for such purposes. Cardboard is suitable as a material, the use of embossing will be an excellent solution.

Printing is also used for seating plans, wedding album covers, champagne bottle labels. It should be noted that design elements should be repeated on all objects, be recognizable. The typeface, the selected tones should be the same. A pleasant surprise for the invitees will be calendars with a photo of the newlyweds and an indication of the wedding date placed in an envelope along with the invitation.

For other events

You can also apply for services to the printing center in order to create a unique gift for the anniversary or birthday of a loved one.

It can be a photo book - a small print edition, containing mainly images from the personal archive, with a small addition in the form of texts (congratulations, wishes, names and dates). It is carried out on high-density material. The format of the photobook is chosen from those provided by the printing house. The creation of the layout is entrusted to a professional designer (with the transfer of all the necessary materials to him), another option is carried out by the customer himself in certain programs. The finished version in the required format is sent to the email address of the company.

Posters and Greeting Cards unique design. They can contain photographs, beautiful poems or congratulations in prose.

Post-printing processing

What is the final stage of preparation of a publication in the printing industry? This is the stage at which sheets are bonded, creased, trimmed, perforated and other operations. With their help, the object acquires its finished form. Most of the operations require specialized equipment, which is possessed by full-fledged printing houses, such as LLC "Polygraphy".

This technique requires constant maintenance. These are expensive devices that only qualified specialists can work with.

Printing: what is hiding behind it nice word? They can designate both a process and a separate book, notebook or calendar. The pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov stood at its origins. Probably, he can be called the founder of an entire branch of the modern industry. We come across printed media every day: newspapers, books, menus of cafes and restaurants, and even personal passports belong to printing products.

Printed products

Everything printed and replicated by help technical means- polygraphy. What are printing methods? on offset or digital machines.

The cycle of creating printed printing industry consists of technological stages:

Layout creation;
... prepress preparation;
... seal;
... post-printing processing.

Both types of printing have prepress preparation of the original layout, which is fundamentally different in its criteria. for both productions is the same.

Typographic offset cycle

Offset printing technology involves prepress preparation, which consists in the output of a matrix, on the basis of which the entire circulation is subsequently made. To obtain high-quality prints, it is necessary to do color correction, color proofs, output films, which affects the total cost of the order, lengthens the production time and makes it impossible to correct the source when the printing process has already started. These are the disadvantages of the offset printing method, but there are much more advantages.

Offset printing allows you to make the largest number of printed sheets using one original layout. As the circulation increases, the unit cost of the final product decreases. The quality of the offset depends on the class of machines on which the printing is performed, the paper on which the image is transferred, and the inks used in production. The highest quality and brightest products are produced on photo-offset machines. For the offset method, roll paper or cut sheets are used, according to technological requirements.

Full cycle printing technology includes a multi-stage process - from creating a layout to packaging the finished product. Most of the books, magazines, newspapers, with a circulation of more than 3,000, are printed with an offset method, since this option is much more profitable than ordering digital printing.

Types of printing products:

Books;
. different types packaging;
... newspapers;
... directories;
... magazines;
... notebooks;
... folders;
... posters;
... posters;
... leaflets;
... brochures;
... forms;
... postcards;
... calendars;
... smaller products.

Digital printing

What does this phrase mean? The most affordable way to quickly get a small number of business cards or flyers is to print in numbers! Most quick way get the image you want. Digital printing requires minimal preparatory work and Additional materials... The output of the image to the machine (plotter, printer, copier, risograph) occurs directly from the monitor screen.

With high-quality calibration of the colors set by the printing press and on the monitor screen, color proofs are almost never needed, since the color on the screen fully matches the color of the resulting image. It is always possible to make corrections to the text, change the color, shape of the layout, enlarge or reduce the image, set the number of copies from one to a thousand.

Digital express

Digital replication is also called online printing - you can get a copy of an image within one minute. The advantage of this type of printing is its clarity, control over each copy of the circulation, the ability to get exclusive products, correction in the printing process, the minimum number of copies for a low fee.

Digital printing is performed on different types of media: fabric, paper and cardboard, self-adhesive film, glass, plastic, ceramic tiles. There is no one-size-fits-all machine, but the transfer to these materials is digital.

Types of digital printing:

Business cards;
... leaflets;
... brochures;
... postcards;
... folders;
... calendars;
... posters;
... posters;
... labels.

Post-printing processing

The final technological cycle, which includes the process of formatting the final product. Consists of several steps required to give the final product a given shape and size. That is, the book must be assembled, bound and placed in the cover, and the business card must acquire its size.

The main types of post-printing processing:

Cutting;
... creasing;
... folding;
... stitching;
... die cutting;
... perforation;
... varnishing;
... selective UV varnishing;
... lamination.

Printing formats

For the best production efficiency, the industry has introduced standards. Printing was no exception. What is Standardization in the Printing Industry? First of all, we have streamlined the approach to the paper sizes on which the material is printed. When ordering printed products, they determine the size of the original layout in millimeters and adapt it to the available standard paper sizes on which the circulation will be printed.

Paper size classification table

series A	size, mm	series B	size, mm	series C	size, mm
A0	1189 x 841	B0	1000 x 1414	C0	1297 x 917
A1	841 x 594	IN 1	707 x 1000	C1	917 x 648
A2	594 x 420	IN 2	500 x 707	C2	648 x 458
A3	420 x297	AT 3	353 x500	C3	458 x 324
A4	297 x 210	AT 4	250 x 353	C4	324 x 2259
A5	210 x 148	AT 5	176 x 250	C5	229 x 162
A6	148 x 105	AT 6	125 x 176	C6	162 x 114
A7	105 x 74	AT 7	88 x 125	C7	114 x 81
A8	74 x 52	AT 8	88 x 62	C8	81 x 57

Each sheet size has its own name and corresponding size. For example, a sheet of standard printer paper is 297 x 210 millimeters in size and A4 series.

PRINTING: BASIC CONCEPTS

What is printing?

Typically, many consider the printing industry to be the printing industry. Others call the printing industry all the products that modern printing houses produce. In principle, both are right.

Printing is a generalized concept both for various areas of the printing industry and for a huge variety of printing products that we use every day for a variety of purposes. We deal with printing on a daily basis: at home, on the street, and in the office. The range of printing products produced by modern printing houses is incredibly wide: these are leaflets and booklets, books, magazines and newspapers, posters and posters, brochures and catalogs, cards and invitations, packaging, labels, stickers, stickers and even ballots for elections in government bodies authorities. Without printing and printing products, in our time, it is impossible for a business to exist, no matter what area it belongs to.

According to the definition, printing is the process of multiple acquisition of an image (its replication) on a printed material by transferring ink from any medium. And they are engaged in this process of replicating printed products (in other words, printing or printing) printing enterprises - printing houses.

Benefits of digital printing

Digital printing is one of the most popular modern printing methods in the printing industry. With this printing method, it is possible to print documents directly from a computer, without additional prepress processes. This significantly saves time on the production process of printed products.

Digital printing is a technology for taking impressions using a variable printing plate. The changes in the printing press at each stage are controlled by the computer of the publishing system. Small-run digital printing is very profitable and cost effective by saving on expensive prepress operations.

Digital printing makes it possible to produce small runs of printed products and provide customers with a wide range of printing services for the manufacture of one or another type of printed products. The quality of prints is not lower than in offset printing, but at the same time, when using the digital printing method, it becomes possible to personalize prints, quickly change text or images. It is not only the cost of prepress that is significantly reduced; no printing plates and films are made, but there is also a risk of quality loss at these stages of printing. Digital printing is characterized by the use of any medium - paper, self-adhesive backing.

Digital printing can be used to produce business cards, flyers, brochures, calendars different types, letterheads, self-copying documents, flyers, wobblers, stickers and much more. Speaking about the equipment for digital printing, it can be noted that the market of the offered printing equipment for digital printing is currently rich in various equipment (digital printing machines and printing systems for industrial printing houses, copiers, printers). Digital printing is widely used for printing small-run advertising or commercial publications, which can be changed during the production process even after each copy has been printed.

Based on the foregoing, we can single out the following advantages of digital printing over offset.

• Using the digital printing method makes it possible to preview a copy or print a test version of future products before the printing process itself. This will help to pre-assess the quality and design of products and make the required changes in a timely manner.
• Digital printing allows you to print small runs (up to one copy) in the shortest possible time (up to several minutes) without significant impact.
• Digital printing does not require prepress in the form of printing plates and films. Thus, the process of printing by means of a digital method becomes inexpensive and the risk of loss of image quality during prepress is reduced.
• Digital printing products are characterized by high image quality. The amount of toner used to create the colors in the image is controlled by the computer, and accurate color registration eliminates the need for overlaying colors to hide defects - a property only characteristic of digital printing.
• Digital printing allows you to personalize data and enter numbering, make changes after printing each print.

Production of printing products

The quality of advertising printing consists of three components - the idea, the level of design and the quality of printing. Therefore, with the right approach, work on an advertising booklet, catalog, poster should begin with the development of an original idea, slogan, and a unified style. After that, the designer's task is to find the most optimal and accurate way to implement it (whether it be photography, three-dimensional images, involving an artist, etc.). And only on final stage the selection of the printing house is carried out in accordance with the design features and printing requirements.

Directly the cycle of production of printed products (printing) occurs in three stages.

• Preparing the finished layout for printing
• Seal
• Post-printing processing

The first stage is preparing the layout for printing: checking the finished layout, bringing the layout to the requirements for the manufacture of one or another type of printed matter, assembling impositions (distributing the layout strips in a special way for subsequent post-printing processing), etc. The second stage is the actual printing process itself. Oddly enough, but in most cases this stage takes the least time in the entire production cycle and is mainly due to technical characteristics and the condition of the printing press. Well, the last, third, stage of production of printed products is post-printing processing. This includes many varieties of processes for giving the desired appearance to printed products. Cutting the printed sheet, folding (for booklets), stitching (for catalogs, magazines), bookbinding (folders, diplomas, diaries), die-cutting, etc. finished product among others. Any type of printed matter needs post-printing processing, at least cutting. In some cases, the time required for post-printing in the manufacture of this product can be several times longer than the time spent on printing and even on the development and preparation of the layout.

Paper sizes and sizes

Paper Size - The standardized size of a paper sheet. Different countries have adopted different formats as standard at different times. Currently, two systems dominate: the international standard (A4 and related) and the North American one. The international standard for paper formats, ISO 216, is based on a 1 m² paper sheet format. The standard has been adopted by all countries except the United States and Canada. In Mexico and the Philippines, despite the adoption of an international standard, the American letter format is still widely used. All ISO paper sizes have the same aspect ratio equal to the square root of two, which is approximately 1: 1.41. The most widely known ISO standard format is A4. Also, this standard assumes three series of formats - A, B and C.

Series A	The size	Series B	The size	Series C	The size
A0	1189x841 mm	B0	1000x1414mm	C0	1297x917mm
A1	841x594 mm	B1	707x1000mm	C1	917x648mm
A2	594x420 mm	B2	500x707mm	C2	648x458mm
A3	420x297 mm	B3	353x500mm	C3	458x324mm
A4	297x210 mm	B4	250x353mm	C4	324x229mm
A5	210x148 mm	B5	176x250mm	C5	229x162mm
A6	148x105 mm	B6	125x176mm	C6	162x114mm
A7	105x74 mm	B7	88x125mm	C7	114x81mm
A8	74x52 mm	B8	88x62mm	C8	81x57mm

Series A

The largest standard size, A0, is one square meter. The long side of the leaf has a length equal to the fourth root of two, which is approximately equal to 1.189 m, the length of the short side is the inverse of the indicated value, approximately 0.841 m, the product of these two lengths gives an area of ​​1 m². The A1 dimension is obtained by cutting the A0 sheet along the short side into two equal parts, as a result of which the aspect ratio is maintained. This allows one standard paper size to be produced from another, which was not possible with traditional sizes. Keeping the aspect ratio also means that when you scale an image from one aspect ratio to another, the aspect ratio of the image will be preserved. A1 format is A0 cut in half. In other words, height A1 = width A0, width A1 = half the height of A0. All sizes smaller than A1 are produced in the same way. If you cut the format An parallel to its short side into two equal parts, you get the format A (n + 1). The standard heights and widths of paper sizes are rounded to the nearest whole millimeter.

Series B

In addition to the A series, there are also the less common B series formats. The area of ​​the B series sheets is the geometric average of the two subsequent A series sheets. For example, B1 is between A0 and A1 in size, with an area of ​​0.71 m². As a result, B0 measures 1000x1414mm. The B series is almost never used in the office, but has a number of special uses, for example, many posters come out in these formats, B5 is often used for books, and these formats are also used for envelopes and passports.

Series C

Series C is used for envelopes only and is defined in ISO 269. Series C sheets are equal to the geometric mean of Series A and B sheets of the same number. For example, the area of ​​C4 is the geometric mean of the area of ​​sheets A4 and B4, while C4 is slightly larger than A4, and B4 is slightly larger than C4. The practical meaning of this is that A4 can be inserted into a C4 envelope, and a C4 envelope can be inserted into a heavy B4 envelope.

Types of printing products

Polygraphic (printed) products are the main means of mass information and communication between people, a powerful tool for the propaganda of political, scientific knowledge, a means of political struggle and expression public opinion, as well as the keeper of the spiritual values ​​of all ages and all peoples. The printed matter currently being produced is very diverse in its appearance, specific purpose, publication time, and technical performance. The most popular types of printed materials at the moment are listed below.

• Form
• Self-copying forms
• Leaflet
• Booklet
• Brochure
• Calendar
• Business card
• Folder
• Notebook
• Envelope
• Kubarik
• Label
• Label

Form

A paper sheet, usually A4 or less, containing elements of corporate identity or information of a permanent nature (invoices, acts, etc.), is intended for subsequent filling.

Self-copying forms

Several sheets of special self-copying paper, held together on one side with a special glue that allows you to easily separate the sheets.

Leaflet

A paper sheet, usually A4, printed on one or both sides, in one or more colors, advertising or informational content. It assumes a slightly higher quality of the printing performance than that of the letterhead.

Booklet

Non-periodical sheet publication in the form of one sheet of printed material, folded (folded) in 2 or more folds.

Brochure

Non-periodic text book edition of more than 4 pages, connected with glue, springs, sewing with a paper clip or thread.

Calendar

A printed edition that necessarily includes a calendar grid. There are calendars: pocket, quarter, loose-leaf calendars on the crossbar, "house" and "loose-leaf" calendars.

Business card

A sheet of thick paper or cardboard, usually 50x90 mm in size (sometimes of other formats), containing information about a person or company.

Folder

A product made of heavy paper, cardboard, or resin for storing a small number of sheets of paper. It is mainly used as an element of corporate identity. There are several types: one-piece (made from a whole sheet of material), with glued pockets (a flap pocket is made from a separate sheet of material and then glued to the "crusts"), with a lock (the folder can be laid flat and then assembled again, not tearing it apart), with an adhesive bond.

Notebook

A pile of paper sewn or glued from the end, clean or with applied elements of corporate identity, with a cover.

Envelope

One of the types of corporate identity media. There are a wide variety of types of envelopes.

Kubarik

A small stack of paper, glued on one side for easy tear-off. Used for online recordings. As a rule, it bears elements of corporate identity.

Label

A small sheet of special (label) paper containing information about a product or product. It assumes an adhesive fastening method.

Label

A small sheet of cardboard containing information about a product or product and accompanying it, suggesting a hinged method of fastening.

Post-printing processing

Post-processing refers to all operations with printed products that are performed after the printed circulation leaves the press, and until the moment the package has not been handed over to the customer. In other words, post-printing is the final stage in the production of printed products. Some types of finishing are performed only for certain types of printed products, and some for all at once. So, for example, lamination is possible only for paper products, while die-cutting is possible for all types, including plastic products. The main types of finishing in digital printing are listed below.

• Cutting sheets
• Creasing
• Folding
• Stitching
• Foiling
• Rounding corners
• Die cutting
• Punching
• Lamination

Cutting sheets

The final size of the printed sheet in the printing industry is formed using sheet cutting - a post-printing stage that cannot be avoided by any type of printed product due to a number of technological limitations arising from both offset and digital printing.

Finished sheets are stacked and cut on each side - this is how the white margins (the so-called unprinted area) are removed and the sheets are accurately sized and the desired shape... This finishing step is called trimming. Often, several future copies of printed products are located on one sheet (for example, this is how business cards are printed), and after printing they are also separated using sheet cutting - this will be called cutting.

As for the models of brochures, catalogs and other printing, which does not use spring binding, they are cut off after completing all technological operations, including the binding of sheets. This is due to the fact that this produces a perfectly accurate sheet size and a neat, even cut of the finished printed product.

Creasing

A type of post-printing processing of printed products, in which a line in the form of a track pressed into the paper is indicated on paper or cardboard in the places of the future fold. With the help of a creasing machine, paper products more easily acquire the required shape, acquire additional strength at the folds and avoid cracking of both the paper and the paint layer.

Creasing is performed on special creasing machines or with blunt knives. After scoring, the products are folded along these lines. Creasing is mainly used for cardboard and all types of paper, the density of which exceeds 175 g / m². It is also used on laminated paper surfaces and where there is a continuous seal on the fold. In this case, the number of fold lines is not limited.

Folding

Folding is the application of fold lines to paper without preliminary pressing with a blunt knife and can be done either manually or using special equipment. The manual version is used when preparing small editions. Folding is performed on medium-weight paper (up to 150 g / m²), but if it is necessary to fold paper over 170 g / m² or cardboard, it is necessary to perform a creasing operation, this will help to keep the good appearance of the product on the fold.

Folding allows for the final look finished products... It can be booklets, brochures, catalogs, all kinds of promotional items, drawings and much more. The simplest example of folding is a flyer folded in half.

Stitching

Stitching - technological process, as a result of which a number of sheets are combined into a notebook, the so-called brochure. It is customary to call a brochure a publication with more than 4 block pages interconnected. The number of sheets in a product is limited by the selected binding method and the purpose of the brochure itself. Binding is used for printed materials such as notebooks, brochures, catalogs, notebooks, etc. There are three main types of binding: stapling (stapling), adhesive seamless binding (hot melt glue) and spring winding.

Stapling is commonly used for brochures, catalogs and magazines. In this way, as a rule, no more than 40 sheets are fastened. If there are more sheets in the printed edition, then you need to already use metal springs or hot melt glue (KBS). 1, 2, or more staples can be used depending on the design, size and number of sheets in the unit. The stitching can also be done with silk or polyamide thread and used as an element for multi-page publications such as books.

With adhesive seamless bonding, the elements of the book block are fastened with KBS glue along the spine. With the help of KBS it is possible to staple products, the block of which consists of paper with a density of not more than 170 g / m², spine thickness up to 3 cm. This method of binding is usually used for products that can no longer be stapled due to the large number of pages and thick cover. As a rule, these are various multi-page products: catalogs, magazines, books. Often, a similar method of bonding is used in the preparation of annual reports, abstracts, term papers. The binding design can be made at the request of the customer.

Very often, stitching is carried out using springs (combs). This method is most often used to fasten notebooks and notebooks, but it is also used for catalogs, abstracts, tablets, etc. The printed sheets of the block and covers are perforated (holes are punched along the edge) and fastened with a spring. You can bond a block up to 100 sheets of 80 g / m² offset paper (depending on the diameter of the spring itself). The advantage of this binding is that the sheets and covers in publications can be quickly replaced if necessary. Depending on the volume and purpose of the product, both a metal spring and a plastic one can be used. The metal spring looks less presentable and effective, but its advantage is the strength and reliability of the fastening. The plastic spring has a more attractive appearance, it is practical and convenient to use, but under any load (for example, when falling), the spring can damage the stitched sheets of paper with its sharp edge.

Foiling

Foiling or foil stamping is the operation of applying shiny metal foil in individual letters or specific areas. This gives the effect of silvering or gilding, but foil of a different color can also be used - red, green, blue, yellow, etc. The embossing is carried out on manual, semi-automatic and automatic presses for embossing under the influence of high temperature or cold.

Foil embossing allows you to give the finished product a special appeal and a more expensive and elegant appearance. The embossing process is expensive, but very effective, which is why many customers prefer this method of finishing. The embossing on designer papers and plastic looks very interesting.

Rounding corners

Rounding corners it is used in the manufacture of small format publications to make the corners more round, which do not bend as sharp, do not break. In addition, after rounding the corners, the product acquires a more accurate appearance.

Rounding of corners is used for calendars, business cards, notebooks, etc., and can be performed not only on paper products, but also on plastic products (badges, tags), as well as on any other type of printing products. Depending on the size of the product and the equipment used, the corners are rounded with different radii (the standard value is 6.38 mm). Rounding the corners does not spoil the image, does not affect the structure of the material, and is a purely aesthetic stage in the processing of printed products.

Die cutting

Punching (punching) is used to give the finished image the required shape, other than rectangular. The die-cutting equipment allows, when using a press made of a solid sheet of cardboard, paper, plastic or leather, to obtain a shape of any complexity, already ready for use or in need of subsequent assembly. It is used for the manufacture of folders, boxes, wobblers, shelf talkers, any non-standard polygraphic products. The simplest example of using corner rounding is a pocket calendar 100x70 mm.

Punching

Perforation is a collection of holes in a line, in a sheet or roll material, that allows the material to break easily and accurately along that line. Created with special perforating knives.

Perforation is used in the manufacture of various printed materials: tear-off calendars, notepads, invitations, tickets, coupons, postage stamps, stickers, spring notepads, diaries with tear-off corners. Choice of hole shape for punching: square or round holes depends on the general style of the product. In addition, perforation is often used instead of creasing. Thanks to perforation, the fold of high-density materials is neat and the paper does not break. As an example of the use of punching, we can consider tickets for a concert with a tear-off part "Control".

Lamination

The process of covering images with a special transparent glossy or matte film with a thickness of 80 to 250 microns on the front side or on both sides of the image. This method of processing allows you to protect the image of external mechanical, water, chemical, temperature effects, increase the density of the image and give an attractive appearance.

Glossy films significantly improve the image, perfectly reproduce colors, make colors contrasting, saturated, rich and bright. Finishing with a glossy film is similar in visual effect to UV varnishing, but provides more reliable protection of the publication from external influences (especially at the places of fold, cut and crease). The disadvantages of glossy films include the fact that in strong light, glare appears on the laminated surface, making it difficult to perceive small details and text information.

Matte films exclude the appearance of such reflections, give a special depth and velvety to the picture, and allow you to make inscriptions on the surface of an already finished publication. The matte film coating looks very respectable and is most suitable for decorating expensive advertising and presentation products.

Lamination of printed products is carried out using special equipment - laminators. It is customary to distinguish between hot and cold lamination by the method of fixing the film. When hot, the printed edition, together with the film, is rolled between rollers heated to the required temperature. The heating power is determined based on the characteristics of the materials used. With this method, an increase in temperature leads to the activation of the adhesive layer, and the pressure exerted by the rollers promotes the adhesion (pressing) of the film to the product. In cold lamination, films are used with an adhesive system that only reacts to pressure. This method is justified for materials that are especially sensitive to temperature effects.