Printing Techniques
Conventional Offset(Offset Lithography) Printing (Symbol: OP)
Colors: up to 4 colors or CMYK (unlimited colors). See frequently used colors “here“.
In the offset technique a printing plate is used which contains an image of the artwork that needs to be printed. When the plate is inked, only the image part holds ink and ink will be subsequently transferred from the plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. The process can be only used if the substrate (paper, cardboard etc.) have a flat surface.
Silk-Screen (Serigraphy) Printing (Symbol: SP)
Colors: up to 2 colors. See frequently used colors “here“.
Conventional offset process can only be used for flat papers such as silk coated paper or bristol paper. Since some fancy or special natural papers are more porous, silkscreen printing technique is used for a better result. In silk-screen printing a design is imposed on a screen with fine blank areas coated with an impermeable substance. Ink is forced into the mesh openings by the fill blade and by wetting the substrate, transferred onto the printing paper during the blade stroke. As the screen rebounds away from the paper the ink remains on the paper surface. One color is printed at a time, so several screens should be used to produce a label with multiple colors. Therefore, we recommend this technique for single or double color labels.