Being into the business of providing printing and labeling solutions, today we thought that our blog should contain some information on how this great business model has evolved over the ages. So here it goes.
Flatbed Printing Press
The flatbed printing press originated in Germany and it really changed the way printing was done. It was developed by Johannes Guttenburg in the 15th Century. This was a rave invention of that time and soon this type of printing machines spread all across Europe. This was the phase of development in printing technology that put the traditional block printing methods to rest.
Intaglio
Intaglio is a group of printmaking and printing techniques in which the object or the message to be printed is inscribed on a plate called matrix or media. The ink gets filled in the cavities and the extra ink is wiped off the media. This plate is then moved through a printing press, hence, creating a print.
Lithography
This technique of printing was invented by a Bavarian author who went by the name Aloy Senefelder. The year of invention was 1796. Lithography worked well for printing on smooth surfaces. It was also one of the first printing techniques to use a chemical process for printing. This allowed for a comparatively flat printing plate to be used. Even today, for mass production of posters, this technology is used.
Color Printing
Many methods of color printing were invented; however, chromolithography was the most popular amongst them. The earliest of techniques involved using lithographic plates or stones of multiple color and positions. Making such a lithographic work was pretty expensive and creation of the media alone took several months and very highly skilled workers. However, this was the first time that things were really juicing up for the print technology.
Offset Press
Offset printing came into picture in 1870. In this technique, the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the media. This process is also used in a lithographic process where the ink is transferred into media by using rollers. This makes offset printing pretty fast and manageable too.
Screen Printing
This came in the year 1907. Screen printing has its origin in stenciling.
The modern screen printing process originated from patents taken out by Samuel Simon in 1907 in England. This idea was then adopted in San Francisco, California, by John Pilsworth in 1914 who used screen printing to form multicolor prints in a subtractive mode, differing from screen printing as it is done today. (Source: Wikipedia)
In some parts of the world, screen printing is still widely used. It finds its utility in wall paintings, printing on cloth banners, etc.
Flexography
It is also known as surface printing. It is widely used for printing labels and other marketing collaterals. A flexographic print is made by creating a mirrored master image of the object to be printed. For this, a media plate is created which is then used to create the final print.
The latest developments in printing technology now has systems and printers in place that are exceptionally well designed for multi printing tasks. For more information, please contact us. We will be happy to address your queries.