Wednesday 18 May 2011

How Printplace is Leading the Way in Digital Printing

Digital printing is a technique of online printing, in which digital-based images are printed directly to a variety of media. It usually refers to the printing wherein small run jobs from digital sources are printed by the use of large format and high volume laser and inkjet printers.

Digital printing involves higher per page cost than other conventional printplace offset printing methods. However, this extra cost is counter-balanced by the savings earned in preventing the technical measures required to make printing plates. There is also savings in labor cost involved in digital printing.



Digital printing differs from the traditional printing methods in that no printing plates are utilized in the former technique. This amounts to faster and cheaper turn-around time. The most favored mechanisms for digital printing are the inkjet and laser printers that can print on a wide range of surfaces like paper, canvas, marble, glass, photo paper among others.



In many processes, the ink or toner does not seep through the printing surface, as does the traditional ink or toner, but forms a very thin layer on the surface. In some printplace coupon code systems, it may be additionally fixed to the substrate with the use of a fuser fluid with toner or ink.

Notable Digital Printing Methods:

1. Inkjet Printing- There has been recent development in the making of large format inkjet printers in the span of two decades. These printers use dye-based inks or light-fast pigment based inks that can be applied on various media like water-color paper, prepared canvas and textile materials. This helps in reproducing two-dimensional artworks, finished pieces if digital art or even unfinished pieces of digital work.

2. Laser Printing- Digital images are bared on light-sensitive photo paper with lasers and then processed in photographic equipments like developers and fixers. This printing yields true photograph with continuous tone in details of image. The image quality is very high. Since there is no use of lens, the image corners do not get distorted.

Applications of Digital Printing:

• Desktop Publishing- It is an inexpensive printing for home and office use since it deviates from the need for printing plates.
• DIY Publishing- The “do-it-yourself” printing is an economical way of printing art books, poetry, novels, etc.
• Print on Demand- Personalized printing can be done by digital printing. Customizing children’s books with their names, wedding photo books and other short-run books are examples of digital printing based on “print-on-demand”.
• Advertising- Outdoor banner advertising, event signage, trade fairs, retail markets, and direct mail campaigns, all use digital methods of printing for advertising purposes.

Types of Digital Printing:

Flatbed digital printing- It is the duplication of digital images on plastic or paperboard, using inkjet printers. It uses acrylic monomer inks that are cured or polymerized by exposing to strong ultraviolet rays. It is a more environmentally sustainable system of printing since it causes lesser air pollution and produces fewer waste cartridges.

Weave digital printing- This printing technique reduces visual bands caused by nearness of print nozzles. Horizontal rows are printed and then weaved with subsequent passes of the print head.

Growth:

The rapidly increasing competence of digital presses results in digital printing reaching such heights where it can match or even surpass offset printing technology’s capability of producing larger print-runs at low costs.