The advent of the printing press has changed the phase on the world. The advent of printing press is an extra ordinary milestone in the history if the world. Since its inception to the public the printing press has played a vital role in communications when other modes of communications were not at all developed. It has also paved the way for the improvement of knowledge. The first printing press came into existence in 473AD in China. But the mechanized printing press was invented by the German metal worker named Johannes Gutenberg in the 1400s. He used various types of printing methods which include the movable type. This resulted in the huge production of books.
During the 15th century the fame of the printing press spread all over Europe. This paved way for the rise of many universities. The printing press indirectly helped in abolishing illiteracy. At that time the hand written manuscripts were so costly. The manuscripts which were produced at the printing press were sold at much cheaper costs this made the printing press more famous. The wood block printing was used in earlier days which was replaced by the more effective movable type printing press. The invention of the printing press played a crucial role in the renaissance of literature and the spread of education.
The digital fabric printing came into existence in the early 90’s. The digital fabric printing technology emerged after 1994. Before the digital fabric printing was invented it needed a great skill to print the designs on fabric. But now the job has been made so easier that anyone can work with this and no extra knowledge is required. Digital textile printing is a flexible tool and a key acceptable to the vision of mass customization. The digital fabric printing provides a great option of changing the entire theme which is to be printed, just a few seconds before printing. This facility is not present in other printing methods. The digital fabric printing has a huge advantage over other types of printings.
The digital fabric printing can be classified into many types. They are
Thermal DOD ink jet
Continuous ink jet
Laser ink jet
Electrostatic
Piezo electric DOD ink jet
In thermal DOD ink jet the DOD stands for drops on demand. The DOD name is given to this method because only a drop of ink or dye is used whenever needed. This is an eco friendly method. This method gives the complete color to the fabric. The Piezo electric DOD method uses the electrostatic forces for the arrangement and the spraying of the drops of ink in fabric printing. This method requires high voltages.
India which is known for its centuries old tradition and culture is also famous for its arts and crafts. Indian arts and crafts men are renowned for their skills worldwide. Different types of hand printing are used by different communities of people who live in this country. The most popular method is the hand block printing. This method is used from the ancient times and still exists in India. Garments produced using these methods are now being exported to other countries all over the world. The place in India where the hand block printing is extensively used is Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. There are two main types of block printing which are famous. They are Sanganeri and the Bagru methods. In eastern tars of the country the prints are bolder and bigger when compared with the blocks from western parts of the country.
There are many types of hand block printing followed in the country some of them are
Discharge printing
Direct block printing
Resist printing
In the discharge printing method the fabric on which the printing is to be done is dyed first and it is removed in some of the parts and the designs are done using chemicals. In direct block printing silk or cotton is used. The cloth is first bleached and then dyed with the desired color.
Fine arts is one of the best kind of arts and the fine arts printing has been there for many centuries but still it has not lost its glory. The artists are now realizing the potential of reproducing an art because when the original piece is gone the money just stops coming. So artists came with different ideas of reproducing. One of such ideas is the famous lithography technique. In the lithography technique the plates are generated, covered with dyes and then the inks are transferred to the paper. A mind blowing technology is being used for the past two decades for the reproduction of the fine arts. This revolutionary technology is called as Giclee.
There are some characteristics of the Giclee printing. Such as the set up of giclee is much cheaper when compared with lithography technique and the quality is much better. Many varieties of papers can be used in the giclee printing method. Any sizes and shape can be printed using the giclee printing method. The older version of the giclee printers used 4 colors but the advanced version is using 6 colors. The most interesting fact is that the giclee uses pigments and not dyes for printing purpose.
Though there are many types of printing the screen printing is the most sought one. Screen printing is a multipurpose process. Screen printing is used with many materials like paper, metals, plastics, fabrics and also substances like cotton and nylon. Screen printing’s greatest advantage is that it can print on different surfaces of any size. The next amazing fact is that thicker ink can be used in this technique. This technique uses a wide range of inks and dyes for its processes. Designs which cannot be made in other printing process can be made using the screen printing process.
With the advent of screen printing the production rates have reached sky high. This means that the screen printing technique is very fast, flexible and reliable. In addition the screen printing uses UV ink from printing purpose. Chemicals that are used in the screen printing process are mentioned below
? Solvents
? Oxidizers
? Surfactants
? Screen emulsions
The screen printing presses can be divided into thee main types. They are
? The flat bed
? Cylinder
? Rotary
The flat bed press is the most widely used press. The flat bed press and the cylinder are identical. In flat bed press the object to be printed is placed on a horizontal bed but in case of the cylinder type it is placed on the cylinder.
The latest trend is to wear T-shirts with sayings and proverbs and images printed on it. Every person can choose the images and the texts of his own choice thanks to advanced technologies. The new techniques that are followed for the purpose T-shirt designing are
? DTG
? Heat transfer printing
The DTG technique is a result of the modern technologies. The term DTG stands for Direct to Garment Printing. In DTG method the image is directly printed on the T-shirt through a advanced version of traditional ink jet printer. In this method the ink is printed directly on the garment instead of using a screen and stencil to apply ink to the shirt, as done in screen printing method. When compared with screen printing DTG is more flexible in terms of color variation and it is also faster than screen printing method.
The other method sis the heat transfer method. As the name suggests the transfer of heat takes place in this method. In this method the ink is transferred on a carrier paper to the t-shirt. By applying heat and pressure o the carrier paper, the ink in the paper is transferred to the T-shirt. The more easier way of doing this is using the iron on the carrier paper for a particular period of time.
The awareness of pollution and global warming has reached the nuke and corner of the world which has lead to the advent of eco friendly methods in all fields. Efforts are made to make the printing process also Eco friendly. By turning eco friendly the pollutants from the printing companies will reduce and also a large amount of energy will be saved. Some tips for turning the printing business to eco friendly are given below
The printing process can be carried out on recyclable papers. Nowadays eco friendly papers are also available. These papers are made from the waste of sugarcanes.
The print preview option should be used well. This can be used to correct small mistakes such as misspelled words, non aligned lines etc…. the check made in the print preview can prevent a print with mistakes.
The number of pages that are used can be reduced to a great extent by reducing the indents, line spacing and also the font size.
The printer can be put in stand by mode when it is not in use this will save the power being used unnecessarily. As soon as the work is over the printer machines should be switched off.
Labels are nothing but small pieces of paper or it could be even a piece of metal, cloth, and polymer. The labels are attached to the products, containers, boxes, bottles etc. Though the labels can be used for many purposes the most common purpose of the labels is naming. The other applications can be for advertisements, warnings and product identifications. The label enhances your business and also provides a platform to reach the pinnacle. There are many types of labels present some of them which are frequently used are mentioned below
Piggy back
Laser
Block –out
Ink jet
Radioactive
Anti microbial
These labels are not only used for small scale business but can also be used for large scale business. They are uniquely attached by a wide variety of methods, such as heat activated adhesives, pressure sensitive adhesives, rivets, shrink wrap, sewing, wet glue, and yarn. There is no doubt that the labels are one of the most effective ways for advertising your products. The greatest advantage of these labels is that they are long lasting as they are water resistant. These tags are being used in all sectors to enhance their business. These labels are also being used by the kids to name their notebooks and books.
As Human beings cannot be without water, the printing process cannot be done without the printing ink. If there is no printing ink all printed articles will become blank. In the absence of the printing ink there will be no books, magazines, newspapers and even credit cards. Printing ink provides us product identification and also consumer information on foods, beverages, labels, posters and other goods. Printing inks are also used to decorate the walls and play a vital part in the production of the advertisement posters. The posters are used for many purposes. The printing inks are very important to the private industries and also the public bodies.
The Printing inks are manufactured by many companies in the market. The business of printing has shot up in recent years as it demands has increased a lot in recent years. The companies that manufacture the printing inks also produce the related products for the graphic processes. The production of printing ink is highly rationalized and technical. It has lead to continuous product improvement. The increase in technology has paved the way for new faster printing machines. These developments are one of the reasons for the expansion in the field of printing inks. The printing industries are undergoing drastic changes with the advent of new machines.
Printing is a process where the images and texts are being reproduced with the help of printing ink on a paper. The place where this process of printing is carried out is called as printing press. It has thrived into a great business and has been launched in a large scale. There are many types of printing. The first type of printing that was used was the wood block printing. The wood block printing originated in china and was extensively used all over the East Asia. The wood block printing is a technique in which the texts and the images were printed on cloths and later it was also done in paper. The first printing press was started in 593 AD in China and the wood block printing technique was used.
Though the wood block printing was invented in China, the first cloth printing was done in Egypt in the fourth century. The wood block printing became so famous that it was used in West Asia as well as the European countries. The European countries learn wood block printing from the West Asian Muslim countries. The wood block printing did not last for long soon it was replaced by the movable type printing.