Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 December 2009 15:17 Monday, 31 August 2009 21:27

Most professional graphic designers understand the concepts of design, layout, and how to use prepare files for offset printing. Once your files have been sent off to the printing press, a lot happens. Being familiar with these processes can help you to better understand the challenges, even if you are not a designer by trade. Many small business owners have to wear many different hats, so understanding offset printing processes can help you as well.

Pre-Press Processes

The first thing that a printing company will will is convert your files to CMYK, the primary colors of ink or toner. Most consumer desktop publishing software creates files in RGB, which cannot be used by your printing company. This is a simple process, but can already create a slightly different look.

Next, the printer will create film negatives, which are then used to create metal plates. There will be a plate for each of the four colors of ink: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK). Now the printer is ready to actually begin printing on the paper.

Printing Process

There are two basic types of printing presses: sheet fed and web presses. Sheet fed printing firms manually feed individual sheets of paper through the presses. Web presses use large rolls of paper which are then cut later. Sheet fed presses are ideal for short-runs, while web presses are ideal for very large printing jobs.

Regardless of whether the printing company uses sheet fed or web press, the next step is to apply ink to those metal plates on rollers. The paper then is loaded and passed under a series of rollers that apply the ink from the metal plates onto the paper. This process is repeated for each of the colors. Often, the paper is very wet after the process, so it will be run through an oven to dry it out evenly.

Finishing Process

The finishing process refers to cutting, binding, and folding. Your project may not require this step, but you’ll eventually have a printing project that will require these services. Even business cards require finishing as they are cut after being printed.

Cutting and folding is pretty straightforward. It’s worth mentioning that professional printing firms may cut as many as several hundred pages at one time with a large guillotine-style paper cutter. Folding is typically accomplished through a machine that can literally fold hundreds of sheets of paper in a few minutes.

Binding can be a little bit more complicated. Your project may require stapling, stitching, gluing, or other finishing processes. Binding is usually for larger products, such as catalogs or books.