Print seminar

Print Seminar

Notes taken

Some print examples

Kinds: Rotary, digital, screen, and pad.

Rotary:

Plates are wrapped around a cylinder, an automates process and the material to be printed can be sheet fed or on a roll. 

Plate > Blanket cylinder > Impression Cylinder

3 Main types: 

- Lithography

- Rotogravure

- Flexography

Offset Lithography - Onto a rubber roller

Etched aluminium plates wrapped around a cylinder transfer ink to an 'offset' ribber blanket roller and then to a print surface. Sheet or web fed.

WEDNESDAY 19TH - PRINTERS VISIT (Keep date free)

Rotogravure / photogravure 

Copper plates (etches deeper, plates last longer) transfer ink directly to print surface, usually rolls.

Plates are more durable and so are good for long print runs

Typical gravure job - Lino flooring, newspaper if a long run

Flexography

Rubber plate, relief printing, silicon surface e.g Crisp packet

A positive mirror image rubber polymer plate, on a cylinder, transfers 'sticky' ink directly to print surface. Usually roll fed.

E.g Chocolate foiled wrappers, bottle labels

Litho - planographic (Flat)

Rotogravure - Intaglio (Etched)

Flexography - Relief (Raised surface)

Digital printing

Repproduction of images by translating digital code direct from a computer to a material without an intermediate physical process. 

'Rip' - Transfers from computer to printer  (software processes it)

Digital printing for mock ups, to check stock and layout

Screen print

A printmaking technique that uses a woven mesh template.

PAD printing

A process that transfers 2d image to a 3d object

e.g - Pens, flasks, gold balls etc

Colours:

Grayscale : Black and white continuous tone

Duo tone: Continuous tone image is printed in 2 or more spot colours

Spot colour: One or more specially mixed RGB colours

Mono - One colour

C, U , M, coated, uncoated, matte

dots = accurately reproduced in CMYK

Process guide - CMYK - first page shown in solids and tints. DE: Europe

Colour bridge - 1089 colours, shows closest CYMK next to each of the solid RGB colours.

Pantone books provide colours for screen too, for web design.

The guide really showed me how to use pantone swatches, Unfortunately I missed the colour theory session in my first year in which class mates were shown how to use them, I felt like i'd missed out. This tutorial has given me a clearer understanding.

An intro into colour theory

Monochromatic - Adding light and dark to create a tone of a colour

Analogues - Colours next to each other on the colour wheel

Complementary - Colours directly opposite each other on the colour wheel

Compliments: Colours of the same value but are opposite hues, when desaturated, they are the same shade of grey. Not comfortable to look at, line between two seems to wobble. Not brilliant colours to work with.

If using bright colours and need a highlight or shadow, stick to using white or black.