Types of Commercial Printing

Offset Printing

Offset printing is a traditional cost effective common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a metal (usually aluminium) plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. 

[Key Points]:

1.      Image (Design) is not transferred directly to the print medium (i.e. paper)

2.      Design is separated into CMYK colors. Each color is printed separately.

3.      Aluminum plates are used in the process.

4.      It is good for Large & Bulk Quantity Printing.

5.      Print Quality is much better as compared to Digital Printing.

6.      Time Taking

Digital Printing

In Digital Printing method, a digital image is transferred onto the printing surface.

[Key Point]s:

  1. Image (Design) is transferred directly to the print medium (i.e paper)

  2. Quick, Easy & Less Time Taking.

  3. It is good for small Quantity Printing.

  4. CMYK color separation is not required.


Type of Common Printing Papers on the Basis of Size

Paper Name

Size in MM ( Width X Height)

Size in INCHES ( Width X Height)

Letter

215.9 x 297.4

8.5 x 11

A5

148 x 210

5.8 x 8.3

A4

210 x 297

8.3 x  11.7

Legal

215.9 x 355.6

8.5 x 14

Tabloid

297.4 x 431.8

11 x 17


Type of Papers on the Basis of Surface

There are two main types of Papers

  1. 1.      Coated Paper
  2. 2.      Un Coated Paper

Coated Paper

Coated papers have a coating on them so they're “sealed.”, this restricts the amount of ink to be absorbed into the paper, allowing the ink to sit on top of the paper.

Following are the types of coated papers.

1.      Matte Paper

a.      It is used in industry to produce good quality prints. It is coated with a matt finish to produce a paper that isn’t shiny or glossy. This type of paper is perfect for reports, flyers and leaflets.

2.      Glossy Paper

a.      It is the type of paper which has a shiny or glossy look and reflects light. Glossy paper is typically used for flyers and brochures as it has a high shine.

3.      Silk / Dull Paper

a.      Silk or Dull paper falls in-between matt and glossy paper type. Because it has a smooth surface like Gloss paper but doesn’t’ shine.

4.      Card Stock

a.      It is thicker and more durable than regular printer paper, but it's thinner and more flexible than cardboard. Card stock is often used for business cards, postcards, greetings cards, invitations and photographs. The surface of cardstock is usually smooth but it may be textured or glossy as well.

Un- Coated Paper

Uncoated papers do not have any coating and that’s why these are more porous and ink is absorbed into the paper.

1.      News Print

a.      Newsprint is the cheap, fairly rough paper on which newspapers are printed.

 Types of Paper on the Basis of Weight & Quality

Paper weight is measured in terms of "Grams per square Meter (GSM) .  It is also termed as grammage or simply gram. 

Lower weight means thin & low quality paper
Higher Weight means thick & high quality paper.

Sr

 Paper Weight

Used For

1

35 to 55 gsm

News Paper / low quality Pamphlet

2

70 - 90 gsm

Cash Memo / Bill Book / Inside Pages of Books

3

100 -120 gsm

Letter heads / Brochures

4

130 -170 gsm 

Posters / Magazines

5

180 -250 gsm 

Magazines Covers

6

280 -380 gsm

Business Card, Certificates / Degrees / Invitations / Packaging

7

Above 390 gsm

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