1. Printing Processes
Iris Lok 10K
Photocopying; printing copies of a page or document
Offset Lithography; widely used for commercial printing
Flexography; mainly used for packaging other than paper
Gravure; mainly used to produce high-quality photographic images
Screen-printing; printing process which can be used on almost all types of materials
Photocopying
Photocopiers are widely used machine which are known for the ability to printing copies of a
page or document. The process is simple, as it is carried out by the following steps:
Place a copy of a document or page you would like to print copies of faced down on the glass on
the top of the photocopier. A light should run along the document you have placed, this light
reflects from the page and onto a positively charged rotation drum. As the light reflects the
rotation drum loses it positive charge from the illuminating parts of the surface. A toner, which is
placed on top of the rotation drum, will be attracted to the remaining positive charges as the
drum rotates and as the rotation drum rotates, it transfers the toner onto the page and out of
the machine.
The main products used to finish this process are:
 The Photocopier which includes;
 The toner to copy the image onto the page.
 The rotation drum that allows the image to b toner to copy the
image successfully.
 A Copy of a Document and paper to make the copies with.
Offset Lithography
Offset Lithography is widely used for commercial printing as it may print
high quality images on a wide variety of paper. Its efficiency is high as it
may print several copies at a time which is a great advantage to
commercial businessmen. There are a few differences between
Lithography and Offset Lithography, in Offset Lithography, the flat
stones from Lithography are replaced by three cylinders named; the
plate, blanket and impression cylinder.
The image that is to be printed is printed on the surface of the printing
plate, which is to be kept dampened. When ink is applied onto the printing
plate, it is repelled by the dampened surfaces which are the areas that are
not going to be printed on. As the printing plate continues the rotate, the
ink is transferred onto the blanket cylinder which allows the ink to be
pressed onto the paper within the machine. The impression cylinder
however, is only there to help the process of pushing the paper out along
with the blanket cylinder. This is the entire process of offset lithography.
The main products used to finish this process are:
 The Offset Lithography Machine which includes;
 The water and ink roll in order to ink the image on the surface of the printing plate.
 The printing plate which contains the printing of the image which is going to be printed.
 The Blanket cylinder that allows the printing to be pressed onto paper.
 The Impression Cylinder that assists the Blanket Cylinder in transferring the print out of the machine

2. Flexography
Flexography is a type of printing process that is similar to letterpress as it also uses a
relief plate, though flexography uses flexible plastic or rubber printing plates during its
printing. It is an important and widely used printing process for printing on materials
other than paper, though it can still print on other materials as long as it passes through
the printing press. It is mostly known to be used by newspapers, magazines and
paperbacked books as the speed of the process is quick and the cost of the materials
used during the process is not large.
The process of flexography is not complicated. The ink rollers allow the ink to
flow slowly towards the plate cylinder which also holds the printing plate that
allows the image or document to be printed on the surface of the material. The
impression cylinder supports the plate cylinder as it prints allowing the process to
be done quickly and efficiently.
The Main Products used to finish this process:
 The machine that uses flexography in printing which includes:
 The ink rollers providing the prints color and prints
 The plate cylinder that allows the prints the specified design
 The impression cylinder that accompanies the Plate cylinder
Gravure
Gravure printing is known for the high quality prints it may produce as the details of
the prints are excellent. Although the quality of the prints are great, the cost in
order to create the prints are high as you must have original printing plates made
for your printing process to succeed. The image is engraved into copper printing
plate, creating spots for thin spirited-based ink to be filled into. It is mostly used for
desktop printing or commercial printing as high quality prints may increase the
appeal to the final product.
Gravure printings main product in process is the copper plate with a print engraved
onto its surface. It is also the product that causes gravure printing to be expensive
and high quality. As the plate is rolled, it picks up ink in order to print onto the
material as it runs through. Gravure printing also includes a doctor blade that
controls the amount of ink used during each printing; also the impression plate is
also in place in order to accompany the printing process.
The main products used to finish this process:
 The machine that uses gravure in printing which includes:
 The copper plate with imprinted design
 The doctor blade that decreases the amount of ink used for each print
 The impression plate that accompanies the process of printing

3. Screen-printing
Screen-printing is a useful type of printing process as it may print on almost all
types of materials; it has two different ways of working; manual carousel screen
printing and the original way of screen printing which is operated by machines.
Screen printing is also one of the easiest ways of printing an image desired as the
steps are simple and easy to follow. In order for screen-printing to work, a design
is applied onto a screen, mostly made of silk (though now it’s mostly made of
synthetic fiber), the silk/synthetic fiber is stretched onto the screen. This provides
a template or guide for the print to work. It can also be known as ‘plate’ on
different printing process as it does a similar job.
The screen is placed on top of a canvas where the print is to be printed, in order
for the image to be applied; a brush must run over the top of the screen which is
filled with ink in order for the image to be transferred onto the material. If other
colors are to be applied, it can be done by using Manual carousel screen printing
where different screens are used on a single canvas to create an image with
different colors and prints.
The main product used to finish this process:
 Screen made of silk/synthetic fiber with stencil of printing design
 A brush to spread the ink across the screen
Advantages/Disadvantages of Printing Processes
Process Advantages Disadvantages Applications
Photocopying print several copies of an existing document may be expensive documents, books
Offset paper may be different due to
may print on a wide variety of paper posters, leaflets
Lithography dampening
Flexography cheap and isn't too time consuming color may not be consistent paperback books
Gravure high quality prints with great detail expensive to produce plates for prints photo prints, artwork
Screen-printing Can be printed on almost any surface quality may not be as appealing t-shirts, posters