Printing has changed drastically over the years. In the early days of printing, the printer was a stand alone piece of machinery that produced text and images. The different media included in the printer (such as plates, toner, fluid, and ink) changed depending upon their use. In the printing industry, printing technology has developed dramatically to include more complex media such as dye-sublimation, digital printing, thermal printing, and UV printing. These new media have resulted in new printer types that fit more specific purposes.
An example of printer type that has been vastly improved is the offset printing process. In the past, an offset printer performed one basic job – to print the image directly from a computer or other imaging device. With the advent of computer numerical control (CNC) machines, the same job can be printed repeatedly, which increases the cost effectiveness and efficiency of the offset process.
A dot-matrix printer, for instance, can be thought of as an updated offset printer. dot-matrix printers have a series of different media that they can use to produce printed copies of documents. Dot-matrix printers use ink cartridges that contain color ink. In addition, the printer can also use various methods to determine the correct color of the ink to use. Some dot-matrix printers have digital laser printers that can print monochrome copies of documents.
Thermal printers operate by using heat to transfer printing media from a print head to the ink ribbon or pad. The ink in these types of printers is typically monochrome, which means that it contains no color. However, because thermal printers use heat to transfer the ink, the images that they produce are highly detailed. Some high quality print products produced by high quality thermal printers have been printed on dye sublimation plates, which have an extremely high quality level.
The next type of printer discussed is the inkjet printer. Inkjets consist of individual droplets of ink that are forced out from the nozzles on the printer head. This printer can work in three different ways. There are single droplet printers, double droplet printers, and an automated, single and double droplet inkjet printer.
The next printing options to discuss are offset and digital printing. Although offset printing uses paper to transfer images to paper, this process is considered to be more expensive. Therefore, many small businesses do not use offset printing services, but instead work with digital print services. Digital print services include producing marketing brochures, flyers, ads and letterheads. They may also provide digital photographs and documents like scanned pages.
Finally, we will discuss the toner or inkjet press. There are three types of presses used in the digital printing process. These are laser printers, inkjet printers, and dot matrix printers.
All of these types of printing can produce photographic, multi-color, business card, poster and other large format documents. For small businesses, using a screen printing process for their marketing materials and flyers is more cost effective than utilizing offset services. With the high volume print requirements of today’s businesses, it would be wise to utilize screen printing services whenever possible. You can save money while still producing professional results.
A thermal printer, also known as a plotter or digital plotter, uses heat to transfer the image or design onto paper. It shares the same printer as the laser printer, except it does not require the users to install the laser printer cartridges. They are popular with those who need to produce photographic printouts on a smaller scale and are perfect for low volume printing. In addition to using a thermal printer, thermal transfer paper is also commonly used.
The third type of printer is called a dye sublimation printer or Dye Sub printer. This printer operates using two separate tanks that house separate cans of ink. The ink in one can heat up, while the other can cool. When an image is wanted to print, one can place the paper into the warmer tank, while the other can hold the desired ink color.
The dye sub printers are not only convenient for single or double side printing. They are also used to create thermal transfer paper. These types of printers work on a similar principle as a thermal printer, but the only difference is that there is no heat-sensitive feeder mechanism. Because one does not require the use of laser or ink cartridges, they are perfect for temporary print jobs. The advantage of these type of printers is that one can use different colors for different purposes, such as printing black and white images, making them very flexible to use.
For business firms and individuals, who are looking for economical printing methods, offset printing options are highly recommended. Offset printing involves printing the documents directly onto an aluminum plate. An example of a product that can be printed this way would be tires, pipes and other similar products. Because this process is done by a machine rather than a person, this option is much more affordable and lends itself to mass printing.