This project is designed for both skilled and unskilled concerned with modern printing standard, whether as a student, private practitioners, commercial publishers or as an author. It explains the art of printing technology as a basic human faculty which shape all human artifacts, of modify the physical, social, academic, spiritual and emotional world.

To learn and practice modern printing processes properly, we need to perceive its scope, depth and not to think of it only in terms of producing words and pictures on any selected substrate with the aim of passing information or decoration so, this project takes account of history of printing, mode of selecting a printing process specialized for a particular job or production which depends on the factors to be treated a head and besides, the project considers modern printing processes and invention of these multi – purpose and complex machine as one manifestation of that broad human faculty.

A modern printer works to give solution to these four major necessities.

In conclusion, by means of resolving these basic problems, a printer will acquire and also improve on craft, industrial skills, mental modeling which envisages problem as well as enhancing great ideal production.

 

The invention of printing in the middle of this century represents one of the great landmarks in human history. A product of the rebirth of culture and society known as the Renaissance, printing made possible the wide dissemination of knowledge, the rapid flow of ideas from one country to another, and the popularization of learning.

This discovery is credited to Johann Crutenbery a German printer, but actually his great contribution lay in assembling all the elements, that make up printing and that had been known, at least in the far east, for centuries.

Generally, printing is the art and technology of reproducing words and pictures on paper, cloth or other surfaces. Although, there is considerable variation in printing plate or similar image – bearing surface to the material being printed; most all printing is done by one of five major printing methods – letterpress, offset lithography, Gravure, screen printing or collotype process.

A series of inventions in the 19th century, spurred by the technological advances in all fields that marked the industrial revolution, brought about sweeping changes in the art of printing. Most of these involved radical improvements in presses, new method of paper manufacturers, plate making, phototypesetters, computers for automatic justification, electronic, scanning machines for use in colour printing and electrostatic screen printing.

The choice of using a particular process in printing may be summarized into two influential points.

Lithography is the dominant printing processes but its growth is being challenged by Gravure.

Letterpress is also expected to continue to decrease in use, as flexography replaces letterpress and even lithography in the newspaper field, and will also be used in other publishing areas such as newspaper inserts and low budget machines.

Screen and other related processes are also expected to grow as inkjet and electronic printing increase in use, as well as reprography, which is the basic of quick and in-plant. Electronic and inkjet printing will continue to pose threats so traditional printing’s markets.

Cover page

Title page

Approval page

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Foreword

Preface

Table of contents

1.1 The basic principle

1.2 Printing from type

1.3 Letter press plates

1.4 Letter press printing presses

1.5 Image identification

2.1 Principle of lithography

2.2 Direct lithography

2.3 Offset lithography

2.4 Advances of offset lithography

2.5 Process photography and stripping

2.6 Type of offset lithography plates

2.7 Offset printing presses

2.8 Web offset presses

2.9 Satellite presses

2.10 Process identification

3.1 Introduction

3.2 The uses and advantages of rotogravure

3.3 Other methods of plate making process

3.4 Other methods of plate making 

3.5 Rotogravure presses

3.6 Systematic ink application

3.7 Image identification

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Variety of inks

4.3 Colour

4.4 Identification of image

4.5 Advantages of screen printing

5.1 Classification of printing processes

5.2 Basic processes

5.3 Specialized printing processes

5.4 Minor processes

5.5 Reprographic processes

5.6 Screen printing

5.7 Screen less printing

5.8 Unconvention processes