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Printing Industry Common Knowledge Popularization
1. Popular Science of Conventional Terms in the Printing Industry
① Relative Contrast in Printing
It refers to the K value, which is a critical parameter for evaluating whether the field density has been properly printed, whether the dark levels are clear, assessing the degree of dot gain, and controlling the contrast of image tones.
② Color Density
The density of yellow, magenta, and cyan inks is measured using red, green, and blue filters, respectively.
③ Gray Balance
This refers to the combination of colors that produce neutral gray. In the RGB color space, equal amounts of R, G, and B can produce neutral gray. However, in the CMYK color space, due to color deviations in the four-color inks, overprinting equal percentages of yellow, magenta, and cyan does not result in neutral gray.
④ Printing Quality
The quality of printed materials refers to the comprehensive effect of various visual characteristics of printed products.
⑤ Measurement and Control Strip
By selecting several key quality measurement indicators, designing standard test patterns, and combining them in a specific manner, a printing quality measurement and control strip is formed.
⑥ Dot Gain
A phenomenon during plate making and printing where the size of halftone dots increases, causing the actual dot area on the printed material to exceed the expected dot area.
⑦ Tone
This refers to the variation of light and dark in an image. In printing, it pertains to the visually discernible differences in density.
⑧ Plugging (Plastering)
This refers to the phenomenon where halftone dots in the layout increase and deform, leading to their fusion and resulting in the loss of tone levels.
⑨ Overprint Rate
As a physical quantity measuring the degree of ink overprinting, it indicates the ability of subsequent inks to adhere to the previously printed surface. A higher value signifies better overprinting performance.
⑩ Flower Plate Phenomenon
This refers to the process during printing where graphic halftone dots gradually shrink, small dots in highlight areas are lost, and solid areas exhibit white spots. The flower plate phenomenon reduces the durability of the printing plate and affects print quality.
2. Common Printing Technologies in the Printing Industry
1. Laminating Process
Definition: Laminating is a post-printing surface processing technique, also known as post-printing plastic coating, post-printing laminating, or post-printing film application. It involves using a laminating machine to apply a layer of transparent plastic film onto the surface of the printed product, forming a paper-plastic composite product. Depending on the process used, it can be categorized into two types: coating lamination and pre-coated lamination. Based on the type of film material, it can be divided into glossy film and matte film.
Effect: This process enhances the brightness of the printed material's colors and strengthens its toughness. Additionally, it significantly improves the wear resistance, fold resistance, tensile strength, and moisture resistance of the printed material, protecting its appearance and extending its service life. Notably, laminating can largely compensate for quality defects in the printed product, covering many surface imperfections that occur during the printing process (especially after applying matte film).
2. UV Coating, Polishing, and Varnishing
UV Coating: This involves transferring UV varnish (a printing material that can be understood as transparent ink) onto the product through a specific printing method (such as screen printing or offset printing), creating a shiny and glossy finish. UV varnish can be applied to the entire plate or selectively to specific design patterns (partial UV varnish requires screen printing).
Polishing: This involves applying a layer of colorless, transparent varnish to the surface of the printed material, enhancing its protective properties and increasing its gloss after drying.