1. Producing Print Based
Media
LO1
Your name

2. To do
• Explain method in own words
• When it was invented/by who (if information is available)
• How the method works/what do you need to do to use this
method
• What does the method look like when used (include images)
• What are the costs involved with using this method
• How quickly the process can be done
• Provide images to illustrate discussion
• Reference at least one example with a image.

3. Hand Printing Methods

4. Etching
Etching: Etching is the printing method where a strong acid is used to cut into
unprotected parts of a metal surface, the unprotected parts are scratched into
the metal, so etching looks like an original pencil drawing, with all the lines
looking like a thin pencil line. Etching was originally created by Daniel Hopfer,
who was German. Daniel Hopfer was a craftsman who designed and created
armor. He transferred the technique of designing armor on to print making
and paper. The way the method works is when the design has been dissolved
into the metal and the lines have sunk into the metal, ink is put on to the
metal plate then the ink is wiped off the surface, which then only leaves ink
that is burrowed into the etched out lines in the plate. The plate is then put
through a high pressure press along with some paper, the paper picks up the
ink and then you have a finished product. This plate means you can have lots
of repeats of the same image before the metal wears out and is not able to
use again. There are a few methods of etching, such as Aquatint etching, soft-
ground etching and relief etching. When used, etching is usually shown as
black, thin lines, which show a lot of details and a white background which
contrasts with the black, this is shown in this picture which was drawn and
etched by Jacques Bellanage, which is called ‘Gardener with basket c1612’.
With relief etching, colour is included, but William Blake is one of the only
artists that used this printing technique.Costs do vary a lot but a typical
average price for an A4 sheet would be around £5-£20 per picture, which is
very expensive. If you were to make a large batch of picture etches, this would
be very time consuming.

5. Linocut
Linocut: Linocutting is a printmaking technique a in which a sheet of linoleum
that is mounted on a wooden block and used for the relief surface. A design is
cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, with the uncarved areas
representing a mirror image of the parts to show printed. The linoleum sheet
is inked with a roller, and then impressed on to paper or fabric. The actual
printing can be done by hand or with a press. Linocutting was first used by Die
Brucke in Germany between 1905-13, the linocutting was called woodcuts. To
create a linocut, first a design is drawn out and then cut out of linoleum, then
roll out some ink on to the design, then put the inked design on to the paper,
then the design is printed on to the paper. This method looks like blocks of
colour which are bold, which can look almost cartoon like, and it requires a lot
of skill to make the lines thin and detailed. The cost that this is involved is very
minimal and it is cheap, so this means it is used in a lot of places to practice
printing like in school art classes. The time it takes up depends on the quantity
that are being made, to make one would not take that long, but to repeat this
process would be very time consuming, for example, on this image, it would
be very very difficult to re-create. An example of the difficulty to reproduce
these prints is this piece shown, the small lines, like the reflection in the
water, these would be very difficult to keep accurate and exact, but there are
other parts of the design, like the tree trunks are not so intricate that it would
be impossible to recreate.

6. Comparison
Comparing these 2 print methods, in some ways they are very different and similar at the
same time. The similarities include the style the pictures are print out in, the ink is
printed as one colour at a time, usually black, then contrasts with a white background,
this seems to be the most popular and effective way to use these methods. Also what
else is similar is how the drawing is cut and etched into the material (metal or lino) so
that the ink is rolled on to the material, then the drawing comes out opposite, on to a
material (usually paper).
But there are also some major differences in these two methods. The major and most
noticeable one is the style in which the print looks and how it turns out, etching where
the print looks identical to a pencil drawing, because that’s essentially what it is, because
of the method, where the etching is drawn on to the metal instead of paper, so it can be
printed over and over again, where as the lino print has to be cut out, the lines have to
be cut out of a thick material, which makes it a lot harder to include as much detail and
thinner lines. So even though they have been printed using a similar method, these
differences make the outcomes a lot different. The price and expenses of both of them
differ immensely, where etching is very expensive and is used for more professional
things, where as lino printing is very cheap and is used in many places, like schools to
professional artists.

7. Mechanical Methods

8. Letterpress
In the mid 15th century Johannes Gutenberg invented letter pressing which became the normal way
of printing text then until the 19th century, and still remained popular in printing books until the mid
20th century when offset printing was invented. Letter pressing uses a technique to print called ‘relief
printing’, which is where a worker organises each individual letter into a certain places. These are
then locked and placed into beds, then pressed into some ink, then pressed on to some paper, which
creates a stamp like effect on the paper. The process of letter pressing has several stages, which are
called, composition, imposition, lock-up and printing. This could all take place in one room.
Composition, the first stage, is also known as typesetting, and this is the stage where the letters and
formed to create the right text, this is done manually by a worker. Next is imposition or its also
known as imposing, and this is the process where the letters are converted into a form, that is ready
to use on the press, this is also done manually by a worker, the worker must make sure that the
letters are all the same height and that they all line up, a mallet is used to level the surfaces. Then the
lock-up is the final step before anything is printed, the worker then turns ‘quoins’ with a key to lock
the complex of letters into place. Then the next step is the printing, the block of letters is dipped in
ink then placed on some paper, it is left to dry or taken away for finishing, e.g. newspapers are taken
away to a folding machine. Letter pressing is very time consuming in the composition stage, because
every single letter has to be placed in the exact right place, which takes up a lot of time. Pricing of
this is also a lot for printing, although the materials do vary, the price for labor costs, to get someone
to arrange the letters is still very expensive, comparing to other methods of printing.

9. Rotogravure
Rotogravure is a type of intaglio printing which involves engraving the desired
image on to a form called an image carrier which in this case is a cylinder, because
it uses a rotary printing technique, this process is usually used for magazines,
postcards and packaging. The process of rotogravure is fairly simple to understand
and goes, firstly the engraved cylinder is immersed into some ink, so that the
engraved parts are filled, as the cylinder is rotated a doctor blade scrapes excess
ink off of the cylinder where nothing should be printed, but the ink in the
recessed areas are still full, then paper gets passed between the cylinder and the
impression roller, where the ink gets pressed on to the paper because of the
pressure that has been applied. Then the ink is left to dry and this process is
repeated for each colour. When printing out a high quantity of product, this is
good value for money as its low-unit costs for running high volume of products,
BUT it is expensive to set up and lots of copies are needed to be made before a
profit can be obtained from it. The time it takes to print is no time at all and it is
very fast and efficient.

10. Comparison
Comparing the two printing methods, they both have similarities and differences in
the way they produce their prints. The main similarity is how they both use the
method of dipping the impression in ink, then pressure is used so it is printed off
on to the paper, but the difference between these two is that the letterpress is
raised and the gravure is inverted, so the ink is in the gaps, so more pressure is
needed for the ink to be taken out of the template and be printed on to the paper.
But they have more differences than similarities in the way of production time, letter
pressing is a very lengthy and unforgiving process, which takes a lot of precision,
letters ordered by hand, where as rotogravure is a lot quicker and comes out with
a better quality over-all. Overall rotogravure seems to be the smarter option to
take when printing a large amount of product like magazines or packaging. But
letterpressing can still be relevant for some products, like wedding invitations.

11. Digital Methods

12. Photocopying
Chester Carlson in 1938 invented photocopying. Photocopying is the process of a machine that
copies an image on to another piece of paper quick and cheaply. The technical term for the
process the copiers use is called xerography, which uses electrostatic charges on a light sensitive
photoreceptor. To print they usually toner powder that are heated. Photocopying is usually used
in places like schools, colleges and workplaces, like offices.
Photocopying has 5 steps to it. First is the charging of the cylinder drum, which electro statically
charged by a high voltage wire. The drum has a coating of photoconductive material when
exposed to light, then the a bright lamp illuminates the original document and all the white areas
of the document reflect the light on to the surface, making the light areas positively charged and
the black parts negatively charged. Then the toner is positively charged, and when applied to the
drum it sticks to the negatively charged areas. Then the toner is transferred on to some paper
and the toner is fused and melted to the paper with heat and pressure. Making it effortless to
copy something.
The cost of photocopying is very cheap, and it is very accessible, photocopiers can be found in
schools, offices, homes. It is also very quick and an exact copy of an original piece can be done in
a few seconds. The only problem is the quality of the copy, as they may not be as good as the
original, and this may take away from the colour or the feel of the piece. Copy right can also be a
problem, as it is so easy to photocopy decent quality pieces, this means people may not buy
books, but simply photocopy them because it is cheaper.

13. Laser Printing
In 1960s, American Gary Starkweather invented the laser printer. Laser printing is a
digital printing process that uses electrostatic energy, that rapidly produces high quality
graphics and text by passing laser beams over a charged drum which defines a
differentially charged image. The drum collects toner and puts it on to the paper which is
used to transfer the image on paper, which is heated so the toner melts and sets on to
the paper. Colour laser printers use toner which is CYMK, which mix and make all the
colours that are needed. Laser printers are fairly common, usually in more professional
work places where they are specifically needed and used a lot, but they can also be
found in schools and colleges. The set up price for a professional laser printer can vary a
lot from £200 to £1000, but the running price is a lot cheaper where you only need to
pay for paper and toner.

14. Comparison
These two processes are quite different, in which one is the copying of
multiple images of an original image and one is just printing off an
original image.
One similarity is in which the way the machine works on the inside,
the way they both use energy and charges to make a template of an
image, then using powdered ink/toner as a opposite energy, to then
get it to stick to the charged areas on the machine or drum, then
the final image is melted and set on by heat with the toner.
But the main difference is how the information is given to the
machine, in order for it the information to be processed. The
photocopying machine, the information is already there and it is
just being copied where as the laser printer is using raw, digital
material.

15. Print Methods Situations

16. To Do
• For each of the following scenarios, you need
to decide on the best printing method to use.
• You need to explain your choice of method
considering technical and aesthetic qualities,
cost, speed and the skills and knowledge
required.

17. 100 high quality wedding invitations.
• Your client wants very high quality wedding
invitation and is prepared for them to cost a
lot of money and take time to produce. The
invitations will be on high quality paper. The
invitations will only have text on them.

18. Decision and justification
For this I would use the printing process of letterpressing. Because of the time it
takes to arrange the letters into place, this would take some time to produce and
also the labour of this means that it would also cost a lot, but this would be ok as
there are only 50-100 invitations needed to be made. Because of the way the ink
is put on to the paper, it could be on any paper that the clients would choose, (any
thickness as the paper is stamped and does not have to go through a roller). The
out come of letterpressing is high quality and would give a special feel for a
wedding invitation.

19. 50 special edition greetings cards.
• Your client, a talented local artist, wants to
produce small print runs of greetings cards.
They do not want to use electronic printing
methods. They need a cheap and simple
method of printing so they can produce small
runs of different designs but it needs to look
arty and handmade when it’s finished.

20. Decision and justification
I think that the most suitable kind of print for these greetings cards would be offset
lithography. I think that this would be the most suiting because of its low running
cost and its ability to change the design of what is being printed on the paper
quickly and easily. The outcome of the print is high quality, so if a handmade effect
is placed on the card in production then this is how it comes out when being
printed. It is also not an electrical/digital method but a mechanical method, so this
would also suit the client. Printing is also very quick and small runs can be
finished in minutes.

21. 3000 flyers for coffee shop.
• You client has a one week only special coming
up and wants 3000 basic, single colour flyers
to promote it. As the flyers will be given out in
the street they only need to be cheap, in fact,
the cheaper the better. They also need to be
produced quickly.

22. Decision and justification
For this, these flyers would be most suited to be printed using a laser print. This is
the most common of all of the printing methods, and it is easy to get hold of a
laser printer, also making it cheaper. Set up costs and running cost are very cheap
comparing to all the other kinds of printing methods. Printing is very quick and
3000 flyers would be able to be printed in minutes. Even though the price of this is
the most important thing, the quality of the laser printer is also very good for its
pricing, laser printing is fairly high quality and would be suitable for hand out
flyers.

23. 100 copies of the village news letter.
• The parish council want to produce a monthly
news letter for the village. It will be a single
side of A4. It will mostly contain text but might
occasionally have a black and white picture. It
will be given away for free so should be cheap.
The council would be interested in printing it
themselves to save money.

24. Decision and justification
Laser printing would also be very much suited to this kind of brief. The set up
price and running price are very cheap, and so the council would be able to afford
to give the letters away for free, laser printers are very high quality and are also
able to print simple pictures and graphics. Another thing the council could take on
board for an even cheaper way to get around the price is printing one original then
photocopying the other 99, even though this would mean the quality wasn’t as
good.

25. 10,000 copies of a fashion magazine
• WM Fashion want to produce a new catalogue
to send out to its current customers as well as
its existing ones. It needs to be high quality
colour printing but it needs to have a low per
copy cost.

26. Decision and justification
The best kind of printing method this would use would be rotograuvre, because of
its high quality finish and its inexpensive fee for big print runs. This printing
method is very fast and thousands of catalogues can be printed within a day. The
print quality is high and looks professional and aesthetically pleasing. The kind of
paper rotogravure can print on varies a lot as well and can print on a majority of
different papers.