Printing on uneven shapes & surfaces

Printing to the common man implies - printing of stationary or handouts. But printing is much more than that.

Printing can be broadly divided in following streams. Each process has its own plus & minus points. It is very important for the person intending to get printing don, to choose the most appropriate process, suitable for thier print requirements, easier said than done.

-Offset Printing: also reffered to as Lithography, most popular, commonly used process to print brochues, posters, annual reports, magazines, paper & board packaging etc.

-Gravure Printing: also reffered to as Intaglio printing, not much known to the masses, this process is best used to print very large print runs, commonly used to print newspapers, wall papers, papers used for mfg laminates, flexible packaging(pouches for food, pan masala, etc).

-Letter pres: very old printing process, almost non existant in current scenario.

-Screen Printing: also called silk screening, this is one of the most versatile printing processes ever invented. Used to print cloth, paper, boards, metal sheets, glass & ceramic products, mass produced molded plastic parts, etc etc. Innumerable applications have been re invented using this most simple yet one of the most veesatile printing process.

-Flexo: some also call it the stero printing process. Again a vesatile printing process, which works on the same principals as letter press but is automated for much faster production using rubber stereos, used to print mainly flexible media like plastic bags, garment labels, food packaging etc.

-Pad Printing: or as called internationally Tampon Printing. This is the most un known & un common printing technique. The uniqueness of this process it combines the attributes of Gravure & offset printing to make it possible to print  any surface or shape. Metals, Plastics, ceramics, glassware, wooden  products, etc etc. This process is quite un known to many even within the printing fraternity.

Digital Printing: the newest baby og printing industry is challanging all the exisiting processes. Every day new innovations are being done in this field to convert once a desk top process in to a full fledged contender taking over the traditional markets held by offset & screen printing. 

Happy Printing

Sandeep Jain