Printing Knowledge

Cellulose fiber. The principal raw material for producing paper is cellulose fibers, which are short, threadlike structures. Cellulose fiber is the basic building block of plant matter, and large amounts of it can be extracted from wood. There are four main sources of cellulose fiber used in the manufacture of paper; softwood trees, hardwood trees,…

There are two fundamental steps in papermaking. First, the fibrous raw material, or cellulose, from pulpwood, nonwood fibers, or recycled papers is converted into pulp, a mass of fibers suitable for papermaking. Second, the pulp is interwoven and bonded into a structure known as paper. Pulping permits papermaking fibers to be separated from wood.Th…

Some of the most common printing papers are bond, book, cover, bristol, newsprint, duplicator, and mimeograph. User for each of these kinds of paper and information about their basic sizes and basis weights are included in, Figure 5-6. Basic size is the standard sheet size in inches. This size is used by the paper mill to compute the weight of each…

Some papers are very adaptable to several applications, while others others are very limited. The next section will briefly discuss the types of paper that are acceptable for different printing processes and applications. Paper for gravure.  Generally, gravure produced newsprint will contain mineral fillers and a calendered surface. Many mail orde…

Not only must paper be handled carefully during shipment but it must able be handled carefully in the plant. Paper must be brought to pressroom temperature before opening so that it does not curl due to the gain or loss of moisture. Paper should remain tightly wrapped until it is ready for the press, and it should be wrapped tightly after printing …

Ink is transferred from a plate or stencil to paper or some other material during the printing process. The ink forms the image on the printed product. Most printing inks consist of pigments, vehicles, and modifiers. Pigment is the ingredient that provides the color of the ink. Many pigment colors are produced from rocks and clays. Others can be tr…

Ink manufacturing (Figure 5-10) is complex and requires extensive chemical and printing process knowledge as well as specialized ink manufacturing equipment use. While there a number of manufacturing methods, most share these basic phases of production: formulating, premixing, milling, filtration, and testing. Formulating.  Since formulation of in…

Many times, a customer requests a specific color other than black, cyan, yellow, or magenta on the ink required, the printer either orders the specific color from the inkmaker or mixes it in the printing plant. Obtaining the ink from the inkmaker is preferred if the color is a shelf ink or if the amount required is large. Small amounts of a particu…

Each printing process requires the use of an ink developed specifically for that process. Letterpress, gravure, lithographic, and screen-process inks are specially formulated to match the requirements of the printing process. For example, letterpress inks are designed to distribute evenly over and adhere well to raised plate surfaces. Gravure inks …

The most aggravating problems in lithography are often interaction problems, which arise when there is more than one deficiency among the paper, ink, press, and press operation factors. Consequently, adjusting the press may solve the problem temporarily, only to have it recur later or to have it pop up as a "different" problem. Even if the ink is n…

The sequence of steps in binding hardcover books is shown in Figure 6-1. These steps remain the same whether books are bound by hand or by machine. FOLDING SIGNATURES AND ENDSHEETS. Large printed sheets are first folded to form signatures. A signature is a single sheet of paper folded to a certain number of pages. For example, one signature may yie…

Self Covers Self-covers are produced from the same material as the body of the book and generally carry part of the message of the piece. Newspaper and some news magazines have selfcovers. The method requires no special techniques to assemble or attach the cover to the body of the work. The process is generally restricted to the less expensive bind…

Finishing refers to several operations that may be performed on printed material after it has left the press. The most common finishing operations are cutting, folding, and gathering. other finishing techniques include scoring, perforating, drilling, embossing, and die cutting. CUTTING.  Cutting is done to make a large sheet of paper into several …

Sheets of paper may be bound together in several different ways. The most common methods include: saddle-wire, side-wire, sewn soft-over, sewn case-bound, adhesive, mechanical, and loose-leaf binding. SADDLE-WIRE BINDING. The saddle-wire method of binding, Figure 6-22, uses wire staples as the fastening device. These staples pass through the back o…

VARNISHING After an image has been transferred to a substrate, it is sometimes coated or varnished. The coating becomes a clear protective surface. Usually, the coating makes the surface resistant to moisture and scuffing.Glossy restaurant menus, annual report covers, and similar products are typical examples of varnishing. The coating materials va…

Bleed is the printing industry term  that refers to printing that goes beyond the edge of the sheet before trimming.. What actually happens is that the picture or other graphic extends 1/8" (.125") beyond the edge of the page and that excess image or color is then cut off as a part of the bindery or finishing process. After trimming, the bleed ens…

When ink is applied to a raised surface and paper is pressed against the inked surface, the ink is transferred to paper, Figure 1-18. Relief and letterpress are terms that describe printing methods that use this principle. The rubber stamp is device that prints by the relief or letterpress method. It transfers ink from a raised surface to paper. Ty…

Bleed is the printing industry term  that refers to printing that goes beyond the edge of the sheet before trimming.. What actually happens is that the picture or other graphic extends 1/8" (.125") beyond the edge of the page and that excess image or color is then cut off as a part of the bindery or finishing process. After trimming, the bleed ens…

A "proof" is a preview of your press-ready file, allowing you to examine and confirm layout, text and content before your order goes to press.

We rely on your thorough inspection of the proof to detect and correct errors, the review of this proof will be the last opportunity to catch errors before the job goes on press.
Orders will not go to press…

In an effort to help eliminate the "Paper Weight" confusion problem,
we have compiled the comprehensive table listed below.
Now you can compare various types of paper and their "Equivalent Weights."
Definitions:
Basis Weight
The basis weight of a paper is the designated fixed weight of 500 sheets, measured in pounds, in that paper's basic sheet siz…