Printing is a process for reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest examples include Cylinder seals and other objects such as the Cyrus cylinder & Cylinders of Nabonidus. Modern printing is done typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It’s also frequently done on metals, plastics, cloth and composite materials. On paper it is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing.

Offset printing is a widely used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. The modern "web" process feeds a large reel of paper through a large press machine in several parts, typically for several meters, which then prints continuously as the paper is fed through.

Gravure printing is an intaglio printing technique, where the image to be printed is made up of small depressions in the surface of the printing plate. The cells are filled with ink and the excess is scraped off the surface with a doctor blade, then a rubber-covered roller presses paper onto the surface of the plate and into contact with the ink in the cells. Gravure is an industrial printing process capable of consistent high quality printing. Since the Gravure printing process requires the creation of one cylinder for each colour of the final image, it is expensive for short runs and best suited for high volume printing.

Flexography is the fastest growing conventional printing process, especially in packaging such as corrugated containers and flexible films. It has also made significant advances in publication printing, particularly newspapers. It is used extensively for printing tags and labels, many in full process color.

Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. Screen printing is also a stencil method of print making in which a design is imposed on a screen of polyester or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance.

Different types of printing services are –

Digital printing, electrostatic printing, embossing, flexography, gravure printing, letterpress, offset lithography, screen printing, thermography.

The demand for innovative printing practices has been on a high in recent times. There is an enormous growth being witnessed in the printing industry. The emergence of the retail revolution and growing education across the country is acting as a fuel to the growth of the printing industry. The Indian Printing Industry, growing at a rate of 12% per annum, comprises more than 250,000 big, small and medium printers. The current annual turnover of the industry is more than INR 50,000 crores (USD 11 Billion). In recent years, the printing industry in India has seen record levels of growth, owing to liberalized regimes, globalization and progress in automation. The package printing sector is growing at the annual rate of 17 percent, commercial printing at a rate of 10-12 percent and digital printing at robust 30 percent. The booming Indian economy, increasing consumerism, entry of global brands in the country and opening of the sector to foreign investors are bound to offer growth opportunities to the industry.

Further information:

Handbook on Printing Technology (Offset, Gravure, Flexo, Screen) 2nd edition describes the detailed information on the subject. The major contents of this book are- Principles of Contact (Impression) , Principles of Noncontact Printing , Coated Grades and Commercial Printing, Tests for Letterpress Printing, Tests for Letterpress Printing, The Camera Department-its Equipment, Focusing the Camera, Application of Screen Printing, Offset Lithography, Planography, Materials, Tools and Equipment’s, Web Offset Machines, Rotogravure, Plant and Machineries for the Printing Technology, Manufacturers & Suppliers of Raw Material, Indian Printing Associations etc.

In order to get “Handbook on Printing Technology (Offset, Gravure, Flexo, Screen) 2nd edition” please visit- http://www.niir.org/books/book/handbook-on-printing-technology-offset-gravure-flexo-screen-2nd-edition/isbn-9788178330877/zb,,49,a,0,0,a/index.html