Sometimes, we wonder how the colorful magazines that we read or the captivating brochures that we receive came to be. Of course, it all started with a creative process. Writers and designers work together in order to create a good design. Once they are done with the planning and designing, printers take over and take responsibility in creating these designs and transforming them to a work of art. Printing is a seemingly complex area that involves an endless combination of skills, equipments and outcomes. Although letterpress and screen printing are some of the ways to put ink into paper, offset printing is one of the processes you will likely find in great quantity in most print shops.
Offset printing is mostly suitable for printing multicolor photos and artwork on papers. Most modern printing today is done through offset. The process involves the transferring of ink from the impression cylinder to the printed sheet. Offset printing is based on the principle that ink and water don't mix. In the past, lithographers engraved images on a flat stone. Some stone accepts water while others accept ink. When ink is applied on these stones, the image stays on the greasy area and avoids the rest of the stone.
Today, this concept is still being used in printing but with the addition of one essential element - images are transferred from the printing plate to a rubber blanket and then to the paper. When the plate is exposed, an ink receptive coating is activated at the image area. The plate is then dampened by water rollers then by ink rollers. The ink sticks on the image area and the water to the non-image area. From this, the image is transferred to the blanket and the paper passes between the blanket and the cylinder and the image is them transferred to the paper.
There are no limitations on tonal choices with offset printing. You can even use smaller fonts and much more detailed images. Offset printing is really good when working in four color process, if the print job is fairly detailed and uses a lot of color or tonal ranges. Hence, modern printing has evolved through offset printing. With it, printing abilities today has increased significantly in quality and quantity.
Used Offset Printing Machines
Spot Color: Spot color inks are premixed to ensure an exact match on color. Spot colors should be used when color accuracy is critical or when only a few ink colors are needed to print a piece. Logos are commonly printed using spot color.
How Process and Spot Color Differ
The inks used for printing in CMYK process color are translucent, allowing light to pass through them, hit the paper and reflect back into the viewers eyes. Spot color inks are usually more opaque (less translucent), allowing very little light to pass through them. The light that is being reflected is done more so by the ink itself, not the paper.
Because the inks used for process color and spot color are so different they cannot be interchanged. It is a huge misconception in the industry to think that process color can be used to match a spot color. This is like trying to use watercolor paint to achieve the look and feel of an oil painting. In some cases, you are able to get a close match, but an exact match is nearly impossible due to the nature and makeup of the different types of ink.
Ink Colors and Press Plates
Each ink color used to print your piece, either CMYK process color and/or spot color will require its own plate. If you are printing in CMYK process color plus one spot color you will need five plates, one for each of the four process colors and one for the spot color. This is important to keep in mind when deciding which ink system(s) will be used to print your piece.
Both Viojieley Gurrobat & Robert D. Thomson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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