Advice & GuidesPrinting

Lithographic Printing

By March 12, 2013 No Comments

Design work for Website - Promotional Print.inddMost suited for large volume projects of the highest quality, printed in CMYK or spot colours of your choice

Lithograph (or Litho) printing involves the creation of flexible plates separated into C (Cyan), M (Magenta), Y (Yellow) and K (Black), which will all make up the image/text to be printed. Once fixed to the rollers of the printing press, the printed ‘image’ attracts an oil based ink whilst non-printing areas attract a film of water, keeping this area ink-free. The inked image is then transferred from the plate to a rubber blanket, which in turn is printed onto the paper.

Litho printing can be more expensive than digital printing, due to the extra cost in materials and labour, however this can be offset for higher volume printing, where the price per page is reduced. Litho printing generally produces a slightly higher quality print with a flatter finish, but does require a longer drying time, making it less preferable for jobs that require a quick turnaround. For this we would suggest our Digital Printing service.

Our sheet-fed Litho machines are used mainly for printing medium to long runs of books, catalogues, greeting cards, magazines, posters and packaging.

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