P R I N T I N G

Printing can be carried out by a number of different processes. Regardless of the process used, the product can be classified by the type of printing required.

1. Monochrome

Where only a single colour of printing ink is used. E.g. black & white, sepia.

This type of printing is often done using coloured paper/ card as this is a cheaper method of giving the impression that more than one ink colour is used. Monochrome is obviously the cheapest form of printing.

2. Colour Printing

There are two main types of colour printing.

(a) Four-colour Process Printing

Also known as full colour printing. The coloured image is achieved by overlaying dots of four process colours; namely, cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black (CMYK), to give the illusion of a colour image. A separate printing plate has to be made up for each of the four colours as part of a process called colour separation.

(b) Spot Colours

This process is used where specific colours are required in quantity. It is often used in conjunction with full colour printing. Individual colours are mixed prior to printing. This is a particularly common process where special inks are used such as metallic or clear varnish (spot varnishing).

Checking for Quality

Registration marks are used to make sure that the printing plates align properly. If they do not the image will appear blurred and out of focus.

Colour quality is checked using colour bars, where the density of colour is measured using a device called a colour densiometer.

Registration mark Colour Bars

Use the Printing Glossary resource to help you answer the following questions. (T:designtech:Graphics GCSE:General:Printing Glossary)

1) Why is it important to print a proof copy of a graphic product prior to the main manufacturing run?

2) Why is the halftone method so useful in monochrome printing?

3) Describe, in a single sentence, what a scanner does.

4) What does a web mean in relation to printing?

5) What is imposition and give an example of where it could be used.

6) Why are graphic products printed with a bleed area?

7) What does the ISO standard mean in relation to paper sizes?

8) What does gsm stand for?

9) What does the word register mean in relation to graphic products?

10) What is the difference between perfecting and perfect binding?