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'Offset printing' is a widely used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier on which the image to be printed obtains ink from ink rollers, while the non-printing area attracts a film of water, keeping the non-printing areas ink-free.

Contents

Offset printing advantages

Photo offset

Web offset

Sheet-fed litho

Present day

References

External links

Machine Manufacturers

Offset printing advantages

Advantages of offset printing compared to other printing methods include:

★ Consistent high image quality. Offset printing produces sharper and cleaner images and type than letterpress printing because the rubber blanket conforms to the texture of the printing surface.

★ Quick and easy production of printing plates.

★ Longer printing plate life than on direct litho presses because there is no direct contact between the plate and the printing surface.

Photo offset

The most common kind of offset printing is derived from the 'photo offset' process, which involves using light-sensitive chemicals and photographic techniques to transfer images and type from original materials to printing plates.
In current use, original materials may be an actual photographic print and typeset text. However, it's more common -- with the prevalence of computers and digital images -- that the source material exists only as data in a digital publishing system.

Web offset

Offset litho printing on to a web (reel) of paper. Commonly used for printing of newspapers and magazines for high speed production.

Sheet-fed litho

Offset litho printing on to single sheets of paper or board. Commonly used for printing of short run magazines, brochures, letter headings, general commercial (jobbing) printing.

Present day

Offset printing is the most common form of high volume commercial printing, due to advantages in quality and efficiency in high volume jobs. While modern digital presses (Indigo Digital Press, for example) are getting closer to the cost/benefit of offset for high quality work, they have not yet been able to compete with the sheer volume of product that an offset press can produce. Furthermore, many modern offset presses are using computer to plate systems as opposed to the older computer to film workflows, which further increases their quality.
In the last two decades flexography has become the dominant form of printing in packaging due to lower quality expectations and the significantly lower costs in comparison to other forms of printing.

References

★ "Offset Printing". ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved March 22, 2004, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.^[1]

★ History of Lithography. ''International Paper''.

★ HistoryWired: Rubel Offset Lithographic Press. ''Smithsonian National Museum of American History''.

External links

★ How Offset Printing Works

★ Printing Videos

★ Industry Specific how-to guide on how Offset Printing is done

★ Glossary of Printing Terms Commercial Printing Terms A-Z

★ Types of Offset Presses

★ Offset printing - introductory but very illustrative page.

Machine Manufacturers

★ Heidelberg Printing Machines—Heidelberg Druckmaschinen AG (german wikipedia), Germany

★ MAN Roland Printing Machines—MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG, Germany

★ KBA Koenig und Bauer — Koenig & Bauer AG (german König & Bauer AG), Germany

★ SOLNA OFFSET AB—Solna, Sweden

★ RYOBI—RYOBI, Japan

★ Komori—Komori, Japan

★ Manugraph—Manugraph, India