Want to know the complicated printing process? What are the basics?

Then let’s talk to you about book and periodical printing

The printing technology and process of books and periodicals are crucial to improving the quality of books and periodicals and expanding market sales. In this regard, designers, publishing units, printing companies, and customers all select and determine the printing process they need based on the quality of specific book and periodical printing, and put forward strict quality requirements for the printing process.

The printing process of lithographic books and periodicals is:

Imposition - printing - developing - erasing - drying - mounting - printing

Lithographic printing is mainly offset printing. Taking offset printing as an example, we will introduce the process flow and pre-press, printing and post-press work of book and periodical printing.

1. Pre-press preparation

The preparation work includes: humidity control of paper, preparation of ink, preparation of wetting fluid, inspection of printing plate, adjustment of printing pressure, etc.

The paper humidity control treatment is mainly to prevent the uneven moisture content of the paper caused by environmental weather, causing paper deformation and static electricity. This phenomenon is absolutely prohibited in printing.

2. Loading and trial printing

After the pre-press preparations are completed, you can load paper, load the plate, and start the machine for debugging. During startup and operation, it is necessary to adjust the paper feeding mechanism, paper delivery mechanism, ink feeding device, water feeding device, printing pressure, etc. to ensure smooth paper feeding, appropriate water supply and ink supply, appropriate printing pressure, and good printing results. High quality prints. After preparing the above work, turn on the machine for a while to make the amount of ink and water supply moderate and even. Then add some printing paper to the paper feeding table for trial printing. If it is multi-color printing or over-color printing, registration adjustment work is also needed to determine whether the layout position is appropriate, whether the graphics and text are skewed, and whether the head, feet, left and right sizes and directions are registered (registration is usually done with regular lines) adjust). After the registration work is completed, trial printing begins, and several samples are printed for quality inspection.

Ink preparation work includes the preparation of special ink, adding some additives to conventional ink, etc. If the viscosity of the ink is not appropriate, you should add ink-adjusting oil that increases or decreases the viscosity; if the ink dries poorly, you can add a drying agent. The addition of various additives must be based on the process, equipment, paper and ambient temperature, and the dosage must be appropriate.

Inspection of printing plates includes: inspection of printing plate type and color, inspection of printing plate thickness, inspection of printing plate lip size, inspection of rule lines, inspection of printing plate depth, and Check the quality of layout graphics and text, whether there are stains, scratches, etc.

Debugging of printing pressure: According to many factors such as the thickness of the printing plate, paper specifications, thickness of the blanket, thickness of the lining material, printing process requirements, etc., select the appropriate drum lining to make the printing pressure meet the printing pressure. Product technology and quality requirements.

3. Formal printing

Before formal printing, add some reprint paper, and reset the counter to zero after the reprint paper is printed. Sampling inspections should be carried out frequently during printing, paying attention to changes in water supply, changes in ink, printing plate endurance, cleaning of the blanket, as well as the oil and air supply status of the printing press and whether it is operating normally, etc.

4. Post-printing processing

After every day of printing, or when each batch of prints is completed, post-printing processing operations must be carried out, including: ink fountain, ink roller , cleaning of water rollers, blankets, and impression cylinders, processing of printing plates and sheets, and maintenance of printing presses, etc.

5. Special printing process for covers and color pages

1. Lamination

The lamination process is a process of heating and pressurizing printed matter and plastic films. The process of gluing them together afterwards.

The surface of the coated paper print is smoother and brighter, and the gloss and wear resistance of the print are improved.

2. Embossing

The embossing process is a process that uses a concave and convex mold to produce plastic deformation of the printed matter under a certain pressure, thereby performing artistic processing on the surface of the printed matter. The surface of the embossed printed matter shows patterns and textures of different shades, with a significant three-dimensional relief, which enhances the artistic appeal of the printed matter.

3. Die-cutting

The die-cutting process is to make a special die-cutting knife according to the design requirements of the printed matter, and then cut the printed matter or other substrate into desired parts under the action of pressure. Molding processes that require shaping or cutting.

4. UV glazing

UV glazing is ultraviolet glazing. It is made by applying a special UV-specific coating to the surface or local area of ??the printed matter precisely and evenly, then irradiating it with ultraviolet rays and then drying and hardening at an extremely fast speed.

5. Hot stamping

Hot stamping uses gold and silver foil as materials. With the help of a certain pressure and temperature, the printed matter and the hot stamping foil are pressed against each other in a short time. , a processing technology that transfers metal foil or pigment foil to the surface of the printed matter according to the area on the hot stamping template. The hot-stamped area of ??the printed matter will have a strong metallic or other texture.

This article was compiled by the editor of Pushun Printing