HAND/DIGITAL/MECHANI

CAL PRINTING

By Khori Spencer
 Etching
 Etching is the process of using strong acid or
mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a
metal surface to create a design in intaglio in
the metal (the original process—in modern
manufacturing other chemicals may be used
on other types of material). As an intaglio
method of printmaking it is, along with
engraving, the most important technique for
old master prints, and remains widely used
today.
 Linocut
 Linocut is a printmaking technique, a variant of
woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum
(sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used
for the relief surface. A design is cut into the
linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped
chisel or gouge, with the raised (uncarved) areas
representing a reversal (mirror image) of the
parts to show printed. The linoleum sheet is
inked with a roller (called a brayer), and then
impressed onto paper or fabric. The actual
printing can be done by hand or with a press.
 Screen-printing
 Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a
woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The
attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer
ink as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. A roller or
squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or
pumping ink past the threads of the woven mesh in the
open areas.Screen printing is also a stencil method of
print making in which a design is imposed on a screen
of silk or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with
an impermeable substance, and ink is forced through
the mesh onto the printing surface. It is also known as
Screen Printing, silkscreen, seriography, and serigraph.
 Woodcut
 Woodcut—formally known as xylography—is a relief
printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an
image is carved into the surface of a block of wood,
with the printing parts remaining level with the
surface while the non-printing parts are removed,
typically with gouges. The areas to show 'white' are
cut away with a knife or chisel, leaving the characters
or image to show in 'black' at the original surface level.
The block is cut along the grain of the wood (unlike
wood engraving where the block is cut in the end-
grain). In Europe beechwood was most commonly
used; in Japan, a special type of cherry wood was used.
 Lithography
 Lithography (from Greek λίθος - lithos,
'stone' + γράφω - graphο, 'to write') is a
method for printing using a stone (lithographic
limestone) or a metal plate with a completely
smooth surface. Invented in 1796 by Bavarian
author Alois Senefelder as a low-cost method
of publishing theatrical works, lithography
can be used to print text or artwork onto paper
or another suitable material.
MECHANICAL PRINTING
 Letterpress
 Letterpress printing is a term for the relief printing of text
and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing
press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised
surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to
obtain a positive right-reading image. It was the normal
form of printing text from its invention by Johannes
Gutenberg in the mid-15th century until the 19th century
and remained in wide use for books and other uses until
the second half of the 20th century. In addition to the
direct impression of inked movable type onto paper or
another receptive surface, printmaking blocks such as
photo-etched zinc "cuts" (plates), linoleum blocks, wood
engravings, etc., using such a press.
 How newspapers are printed…
 Newsprint is generally made by a mechanical
milling process, without the chemical processes that
are often used to remove lignin from the pulp. The
lignin causes the paper to rapidly become brittle and
yellow when exposed to air and/or sunlight.
Traditionally, newsprint was made from fibers
extracted from various softwood species of trees
(most commonly, spruce, fir, balsam or pine).
However, an increasing percentage of the world’s
newsprint is made with recycled fibers.
The impact of digital printing…(Religious)
 Samuel Hartlib, who was exiled in Britain and
enthusiastic about social and cultural reforms,
wrote in 1641 that "the art of printing will so spread
knowledge that the common people, knowing their
own rights and liberties, will not be governed by
way of oppression”. For both churchmen and
governments, it was concerning that print allowed
readers, eventually including those from all classes
of society, to study religious texts and politically
sensitive issues by themselves, instead of thinking
mediated by the religious and political authorities.
The impact of digital printing…(Social)
 Print gave a broader range of readers access to knowledge
and enabled later generations to build on the intellectual
achievements of earlier ones. Print, according to Acton in
his lecture On the Study of History (1895), gave "assurance
that the work of the Renaissance would last, that what was
written would be accessible to all, that such an occultation
of knowledge and ideas as had depressed the Middle Ages
would never recur, that not an idea would be lost”. Print
was instrumental in changing the nature of reading within
society. Elizabeth Eisenstein identifies two long term effects
of the invention of printing. She claims that print created a
sustained and uniform reference for knowledge as well as
allowing for comparison between incompatible views.
 Otogravure
 otogravure (roto or gravure for short) is a type of intaglio printing
process, that is, it involves engraving the image onto an image
carrier. In gravure printing, the image is engraved onto a copper
cylinder because, like offset and flexography, it uses a rotary
printing press. The vast majority of gravure presses print on rolls
(also known as webs) of paper, rather than sheets of paper.
(Sheetfed gravure is a small, specialty market.) Rotary gravure
presses are the fastest and widest presses in operation, printing
everything from narrow labels to 12 feet (4 m)-wide rolls of vinyl
flooring. Additional operations may be in-line with a gravure
press, such as saddle stitching facilities for magazine/brochure
work. Once a staple of newspaper photo features, the rotogravure
process is still used for commercial printing of magazines,
postcards, and corrugated (cardboard) product packaging.
DIGITAL PRINTING
 Photocopying
 Photocopying is widely used in business,
education, and government. There have been many
predictions that photocopiers will eventually become
obsolete as information workers continue to increase
their digital document creation and distribution,
and rely less on distributing actual pieces of paper.
 Laser Printing
 A laser printer is a common type of computer
printer that rapidly produces high quality text
and graphics on plain paper. As with digital
photocopiers and multifunction printers
(MFPs), laser printers employ a xerographic
printing process but differ from analog
photocopiers in that the image is produced by
the direct scanning of a laser beam across the
printer's photoreceptor.
 Inkjet
 An inkjet printer is a type of computer printer
that reproduces a digital image by propelling
variably-sized droplets of liquid material
(ink) onto a page. Inkjet printers are the most
common type of printer and range from small
inexpensive consumer models to very large
and expensive professional machines.