Printing is a method for mass printing of images and text with a particular template or master shape. The earliest non-chemical printing products involved printing plates containing ink on metals, for example, the earliest known cylinder seals and decorative objects including the Cyrus Cylinder. This printing method is also used in the printing of musical compositions (e.g., music sheets) and other artistic creations. In modern times, various different printing media have been developed to reproduce texts and images digitally, including inkjet, laser printing, desktop publishing, and various printing methods. Modern printing techniques are constantly improving and being refined, making the process of printing faster, more economical, and more accurate.
Press printing refers to the production of copies from a press; printing presses are a series of equipment that can be either electronic (i.e., printing directly from a computer or an external hard drive) or physical (e.g., printing from physical media such as presses). Print quality depends on several factors, including the quality of the printing media, the printing speed of the printer, and the printing process used. Different printing processes take different amounts of time to print images and text, which depend on the requirements of the printing job. Press printers are generally more expensive than flexo printers because they use physical media, but printing time and cost are generally less with press printers.
Flexo printing is a relatively inexpensive printing method and is available for low-volume production of certain sizes. A Flexo printing press contains a flexible rubber roller that rolls over a printing plate (a piece of metal), printing a pattern on the underside of the plate. Presses are commonly used for printing very small volumes, but large orders can be fulfilled with flexo printing plates. This technique is most often used in low-volume niche printing or personalization projects.
The traditional offset printing method is similar to that of flexo printing: a printing press contains a plate on which a stencil is affixed, allowing the type or text to be printed. When using an offset press, the image is distributed to various press heads. The process is more time-consuming than digital printing, however, and it is typically used for volume orders exceeding $200. Digital printing can be done on a printing plate at the push of a button and results in much lower per unit production cost.
Movable type printing is another printing process that is commonly used today. It is also referred to as spot printing or direct mail printing. This process, unlike flexo printing, does not require a printing press. Instead, images are printed directly onto specially designed mugs, t-shirts, or other items.
A major advantage of movable type printing is that it can be completed on-demand. On-demand printing allows multiple copies of a given piece of material to be printed when demand for it is high, such as when printing t-shirts for an event. Because the item is not printed on a printing press, the quantity that can be produced is limited. Digital printing, on the other hand, can be printed continuously and would require a greater production volume.
Digital printing and offset printing are both complete printing processes, but the way they get there are very different. Digital printing uses the power of the Internet to let multiple copies of a printed item be created instantly. It is usually performed on a computer, although printers can print from standard printers as well.
With digital printing, images are electronically scanned into a digital file and then reproduced onto paper. The image file is then processed by specially designed software, which alters the digital image so that it appears exactly as it did when the original scan was taken. When a printed file is produced from this software, it is called “screen printed.” The original scan is never used again. Screen printing on the other hand, makes use of specially designed for laser printers. The image is placed on a special printing surface that is coated with a substrate that carries ink.
