What to Look for a Poster Printing Company
One of the biggest decisions that you will have to make when designing a poster is what type of printing process to use. There are many different types of printing, each with their own specific qualities that can make a big difference in the final product. Here is a list of the most common methods and what to look for when choosing one for your poster:
• Screen Printing: The advantage over other forms is its flexibility. You can print on any many different types or materials. The disadvantage includes having less control over your color tones and graphic elements which limits choices in design and complexity, as well as time consuming production cycle because screens are irremovable as opposed to offset presses which may be removed between prints. Similar to screen printing, silkscreen printing is also a type of print that is more flexible and economical.
• Offset Printing: This refers to the printing using large metal plates to transfer ink onto paper. It is considered one of the most common methods of printing due to its speed and efficiency, as well as its durability making it ideal for high output printing. The disadvantage is that the ink tends to spread while being transferred to the paper which can cause smudges and blurs at the edges. Also because it uses a large amount of ink in each print, time may be longer than other methods. It is best used when speed or quantity is not an issue.
• Digital Printing: This is the process of transferring artwork created digitally onto a printing plate. Because less ink is used in this method, the colors tend to have a richer and deeper style of tone. As long as your client stays within the colors available, digital printing provides great color quality. The disadvantage of this method is that if you make your original artwork on a low quality materials or at a low resolution, then the poster will be compromised as well.
• Flexographic Printing: This is another high quality form of printing that uses rubber plates to transfer ink onto paper. Its advantage is that it can print excellent photographs and gradients making it perfect for posters with detailed images or bright colors. The disadvantage of this method is that it is expensive due to the rubber plates being large and heavy.
• Lithographic Printing: In this method a screen is covered with ink and exposed to heat which then transfers onto paper. This is one of the most common methods because it can be used in almost all types of printing. The disadvantage is that colors tend to bleed on the edges, so this form can be less desirable for highly detailed images that have bright colors at their edges. Also, when first exposed to light, colors will fade over time making the poster look old or worn out after long exposure to UV light.
• Dye-Sensitization: This process uses photo-sensitive paper and a light source to produce color prints. The advantage is that it produces high quality, vibrant colors. Also, it can be mass produced with little change in color or image quality making this one of the fastest methods for printing posters. The disadvantage is that after a long time exposure to UV light, colors will fade so this method should not be used if the poster will be exposed to sunlight for a long period of time.
• Electronic Printing: This process uses digital photosensitive paper to create prints without exposing them to UV light. The advantage of this process is that it does not damage the paper and it produces prints with vivid colors and high quality images. The disadvantage is that the printing is relatively slow compared to other methods because it uses a bare light source without any exposure.
• Rotogravure: This process uses plates covered in resin to transfer ink onto paper in high-quality applications making it ideal for high quality black and white or color printing. The disadvantage of this printing method is that the plates are expensive which may make its quotes higher than other methods. Also, the ink tends to run making it less desirable when producing intricate artwork with fine lines or text.
• Offset Lithographic (letterpress): This process is similar to offset printing in that it uses a light source to transfer ink onto paper. Unlike offset printing, however, the ink is applied with brush strokes using a roll of stretched ink over a type of block. The disadvantage is that it takes more time and effort to produce fine images with accurate color tones. Also, the plates are larger and heavier making this method less desirable than offset printing.
• Letterpress: This method uses mechanical machines that press letterforms onto paper which can produce high quality prints with intricate designs and text making it more suitable for posters of intricate artwork or text in black and white. The disadvantage of this method is that it requires time and effort to produce high quality prints.
• Digital Printing: This process uses the same technology as other digital methods, just in reverse. Instead of printing from a screen, printing is transferred from a computer screen to a piece of material which can be done on any type of material. The advantage of this process is that images can be changed easily using software change screens, textures and color tones with near-perfect accuracy. The disadvantage is that it takes longer than other digital printing methods because the image must first be scanned before being printed onto paper.
• Giclee Printing: This is a type of printing using artist-made plates that are then printed onto paper. Giclee printing is more expensive than other methods because the original artist must create each individual print and make them available to customers who wish to buy the original artwork. However, since each print is specially made for the buyer, it will not have any ink running or patchy coloring on its edges like most other forms of printing. Each print will have a sharp and crisp image with rich colors due to its artist-made plates. The disadvantage is that an original piece of artwork may lose its value if not sold by the original artist within one year of creation.
• Garment Printing: This method uses special garments with inks embedded into them which are then printed onto paper. It is similar to flexographic printing in that it is another high-quality printing method that uses an ink transfer system. Its advantage over flexographic printing is that the process is easier and cheaper than flexographic printing because it doesn’t require any rubber plates or heating devices. The disadvantage of this method is that it has high set up costs due to the expensive machinery and technology needed to produce these garments. Also, the garments may only be used once so there would be no re-sale value after purchase.
Conclusion
There are many different types of printing methods used for the creation of posters. The main types of digital printing are digital lithographic, offset lithographic, offset flexo and Offset Giclee.
Next time you plan on creating a poster for your school, consider these different printing methods to choose the best one for your needs.
Photo by: c2c-corporate-blog / FreeDigitalPhotos.net/ flickrcc / CC BY-SA 2.0
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