Apr 19, 2012

Offset Printing Machines and Its Functions

Offset printing is a process of printing in which the ink is distributed from a metal plate to a rubber mat and then set on to the paper. It is mostly used in large commercial printers. The water and ink used in the printing process is not allowed to mix. The images are created on the computers which are then burned onto the metal plates. Water is used to dampen the metal plates which stick to the areas without the images. Then the ink is added which sticks to the areas with the images. Most of the modern printers use sophisticated systems where the images are directly burned onto the metal plates.

Offset Printing Machines

Different Types of Offset Printing Machine

The offset printing machines are mostly used for large commercial printing purposes. There are different types of printing machines used for offset printing. Some of the most important varieties include the following:

Quick set offset printers: These offset printers are used to print superior quality images such as instruction books, trademarks and so forth. One of the greatest advantages of the quick set printers is its quick drying capacity compared to the other types of printers. The prints set quickly and thereby help to save ink.

Web offset printers: In these types of printers, continuous rolls of paper are fed into the printing machines. The printed pages are then segregated and cut. The web offset printers are used to print large volume of publications such as newspapers and magazines. Web offset printers can be bought from online stores.

Dry offset printers: Another variety of offset printing machine includes the dry offset printers. It is quiet easy to maintain and operate this machine. It is simple, durable and user friendly.

Sheet-fed printers: Unlike the web offset printing machines, rolls of paper are not fed into the printing machines through the printing press. It feeds only precut papers for printing purposes. Even though the sheet -fed offset printers are easy to operate and maintain it is less economical and therefore not ideal for large volume publication. These printing machines can be used to print on plastics and metals.
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