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Different Offset Printing Types and Processes

When you think of any printing job to be executed, the first thought that rings the bell is that of ‘offset printing’. For any commercial project big or small, offset printing is best suited as the prints are rich, smooth, and the quality isn’t compromised upon. The final product looks authentic and professionally printed. So, let us understand more about this hands-on printing technique.

How Does It Work? 

The offset printing process works when the inked image is transferred (offset) from a plate to a rubber and then to a paper. Another term that is used to describe the offset printing process is called ‘lithography’.   

Types of Offset Printing 

There are numerous types of Offset printing techniques that are commonly applied and we have enlisted each of them in detail below;

Web-Fed Offset Printing: 

Probably you must have seen this process happening when you walked into a printing press but mustn’t have realized what is exactly going on. In this method, continuous sheets of paper rolls are fed through the printing press and the sheets are cut in precise dimensions on which the printing job happens. High-volume printing tasks for books, magazines, newspaper catalogues, and brochures are possible with the web-based offset printing process. Furthermore, web offset printing uses two methods namely; heatset and coldset. In the heatset method, the ink is dried almost instantly by forced-air heating the paper, whereas in the coldset technique the ink dries naturally by evaporation and absorption. The demand for offset printing in Dubai is huge and many well-known brands are setting up sophisticated machines to deliver cutting-edge printing solutions for customers.

Sheet-Fed Offset Printing: 

In the sheet-fed offset process, this method is a little more cumbersome as sheets of paper are to be fed individually and therefore the quantity of sheets printed takes a longer time as compared to the web-fed process. However, sheet-fed offset printing is still popular and is suitable to print up to 12,000 – 24,000 sheets per hour. In general printing of letterheads, business card printing in Dubai, and even producing marketing flyers is possible with sheet-fed offset printing.

Pre-Press Procedure 

Preparing the artwork before the printing process begins is the most important preparatory step. The printable design must be converted from RGB format to CMYK, for the process to undertake seamlessly. Designers usually create a full-proof file that will give a close representation of what the final output would look like. Once the artwork is edited for any correction and it gets total approval, the printing plates in CMYK format (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) are made to ‘hang’ on the press.

The printable stock is then cut to the size of the press and the set-up is formatted for the work to continue for as short as half an hour or even for multiple days. Now the printer is ready for the press run and post this stage, the printed sheets undergo dyeing, stamping, binding, and folding such as in the case of paper bag printing in Dubai, as per the requirement of the job.

Offset printing is definitely the first choice for all quality printing projects within a reasonable price range.