There are 3 types of print production: hand, mechanical, and digital. Hand techniques include etching, linocut, screen printing, woodcut, and lithography. Mechanical techniques involve letterpress, gravure, and screen process printing. Digital techniques are photocopying, laser printing, inkjet printing, and desktop publishing. Each technique has advantages and disadvantages for producing prints.

1. Print Production
There are 3 types of print production, Hand, Mechanical, Digital.
Hand Techniques
Technique What Is It? Advantage Disadvantage
Etching Using acid on untreated Is very Acid is toxic and
metal to create pattern. detailed may burn through
metal
Linocut Cutting a design into a Can be The image would
sheet of lino, creating a duplicated be
reverse image and then with ease. reversed which
pressing it into fabric or Involves could cause some
wood. lots of tools problems if you
were writing.
Screen Print Screen printing is a Wouldn’t Stencils are
printing technique that take long to inaccurate and
uses a woven mesh to make could come out
support an ink-blocking faded and in some
stencil. The attached areas
stencil forms open areas
Woodcut A print of a type made You can It takes a long
from a design cut in a print as time. Needs alot of
block of wood, formerly many times specialist
widely used for as u want equipment
illustrations in books.. and the
wood will
last
Lithography The process of printing Detailed and It takes a long
from a flat surface accurate time to do. But
treated so as to repel the with a lot of skill
ink except where it is
required for printing.
Harry Jenner Unit 7 Task 1C

2. Hand Techniques
Harry Jenner Unit 7 Task 1C

3. Mechanical Techniques
Technique What Is It? Advantage Disadvanta
ge
Letterpress Letterpress is a type of It doesn’t need people It may
relief printing. Movable to operate it and take a long
type is locked into the therefore if a company time and
bed of the printing needs to make lots of machines
press, then inked and prints they won’t need could
pressed onto a sheet of to waste money on break
paper, producing the hiring people to use down.
image. the machines.
Gravure Gravure printing is a It can make high It costs a
technique that uses quality art due to the lot because
engraving to product the fact that it has an the plates
image. The image is engraved plate. Also have to be
engraved onto a the colour registration made. This
cylinder and a sheet of is superior and has the means it’s
paper is rolled under it, best appearance. more
pressing the image onto resourceful
the paper. to run it for
long
periods of
time.
Screen A screen of wood or It’s one of the best It one of
Process aluminium with a fabric printers to use for text. the worst
mesh stretched over it. printers to
The mesh is covered with use for art
an emulsion which or images/
closes the holes. pictures.
Photographic film is
then exposed to UV
light. The emulsion is
washed away and the
mesh is dipped in ink.
Harry Jenner Unit 7 Task 1C

4. Mechanical Techniques
Harry Jenner Unit 7 Task 1C

5. Digital Techniques
Technique What Is It? Advantages Disadvantages
Photocopying A cylindrical drum is charged They can make lots of The photocopier its
electrostatically. The drum is copies of all sorts of self is very large
coated in a photoconductive things from and heavy this
material. A bright lamp lights pictures/images to text. means it takes up a
up the original image. The areas lot of space and is
of the drum that are exposed to hard to move. Some
light become conductive and the photocopiers can
areas that aren’t become negative. only print in black
This creates an electrical image. and white as most
A toner is applied to the drum to have bad picture
develop the picture and the toner quality.
is applied to a piece of paper, Photocopiers also
which is melted together to create tend not to pick up
the image. faded lines.
Laser Printing This is a method of digital It uses the same They are very
printing that produces high- printing press as other dangerous to people
quality images quickly. It uses digital methods. and the planet and
an analogue printer, but it uses are a lot more
the direct scanning of a laser costly.
beam across the printer’s
photoreceptor.
Inkjet Printing Inkjet is a method of computer Inkjet printers are Images can be wet
printing that fires drops of ink common and relatively when printed and
onto paper. The principle is also cheap. easily smudged and
used to directly put ink onto ruined.
materials.
Desktop Desktop publishing programs Can look as Setup expenses for
Publishing create print material via a professional as other computer, you need
standardised format. techniques. It allows a knowledge of using
wide range of people to desktop publishing
access methods of software.
publishing. It also
gives more control than
word programs e.g.
Microsoft Word.
Harry Jenner Unit 7 Task 1C

6. Digital Techniques
Harry Jenner Unit 7 Task 1C