Development and Application of Printing Technology

Printing is a means for human beings to disseminate and store information.By making printing plates or other ways，with the help of special machine equipment，under the action of pressure or other ways，using ink or other coloring coatings，the copy technology of transferring the text and image information on the original to the surface of paper or other printing materials.Printing is usually produced in high-speed batches.Printing is one of the four great inventions in ancient China and has made great contributions to the progress of human society.With the development of commodity production，printing has gradually developed from traditional handicraft industry to machine processing industry with advanced technology，wide application and strong service.Using printing technology，we can produce a large number of products to spread information and beautify life：books，newspapers，magazines，pictures，picture albums，maps，posters，commodity labels and catalogues，form bills，negotiable securities，packaging materials and various daily printed products.Printing technology also combines with the production of electronic devices，textile apparel，ceramic decals and building materials，and plays its own role in enriching people's material life.

Traditional classification is based on the layout structure of the plate，such as lithographic printing：offset printing，gravure printing：mainly used for plastic printing and packaging box printing，relief printing：currently mainly for flexographic printing，applied to packaging boxes and corrugated cartons，orifice printing：screen printing，can be printed on almost any medium.The following is a detailed description of the definitions of several printing processes.

Lithographic printing：Because the graphic part and the non-graphic part of lithographic plate are almost on the same plane，in order to distinguish the graphic part from the non-graphic part of the plate，the water supply device of the plate component is used to supply water to the non-graphic part of the plate，thus protecting the non-graphic part of the plate.Graphic and text parts are not wetted by ink.Then，ink is supplied to the plate by the ink feeding device of the printing component.Because the non-graphic part of the plate is protected by water，the ink can only be supplied to the graphic part of the plate.Finally，the ink on the printing plate is transferred to the rubber cloth，and then the pressure between the rubber cylinder and the impression cylinder is used to transfer the ink on the rubber cloth to the substrate to complete one printing.Therefore，lithography is an indirect printing method.Disadvantage：Due to the influence of water glue in printing，the reproduction of tone is reduced and the brightness is lacking.Special printing applications are limited.Applications：posters，brochures，newspapers，packaging，books，magazines，calendars，other related color printing and large quantities of printed matter.

Gravure printing.Gravure printing is abbreviated as "gravure printing".It is a plate-making technique in which images are carved concavely from the surface.It first appeared in Europe in the 15th century.It carved hollow pictures and texts on metal plates by hand.When printing，it was coated with ink，and the ink on the plate was removed.Only the ink left in the hollow part was transferred to paper.After that，photoetching and mechanical engraving gravure，laser engraving gravure and electron beam engraving gravure were developed.To print gravure plates，the surface is covered with ink，and then the ink is erased from the surface with Taletambo or newspaper，leaving only the concave part.The wet paper is coated on the top of the printing plate.The printing plate and the paper are pressurized by the printing press，and the ink is transferred from the recessed part of the printing plate to the paper.

Graphic printing refers to the use of relief（part of the relief plate）for printing，referred to as relief，is one of the main printing processes.It has the longest history and has been continuously improved in the long-term development process.Engraving printing is the most primitive method of relief printing.In the early Tang Dynasty，China invented engraving printing technology，that is，to engrave words or images on wooden boards，excluding the part of pictures and texts to make the pictures and texts protrude，and then to coat with ink and brush with paper.In relief printing，the ink feeding device of the printer first distributes the ink evenly，and then transfers the ink to the plate through the ink roller.Because the graphic part on the relief plate is much higher than the non-graphic part on the plate，the ink on the ink roller can only transfer to the graphic part of the plate，while the non-graphic part has no ink.

Holographic printing.Hole printing is also called screen printing，which is a printing method using screen as plate material.The specific method is to make two parts of the picture and the plate on the plate.The function of the plate is to prevent the ink from passing through，while the picture and text part is to leak the ink onto the substrate by scraping and pressing with external force，thus forming the printing pattern.

In addition，there are other special printing processes.For example：laser engraving，laser cutting，hand-made line，gold and silver cardboard grinding，shallot，flocking，heat-sensitive embossing technology，silk printing and painting works，special printing ink，film coating，polishing，die cutting，indentation，hot stamping gold foil，concave and convex embossing，UV ink printing，etc.

作者簡介：

劉娟（1994.04——），女，漢族，籍貫：山東鄒城，齊魯工業大學（山東省科學院）藝術設計學院，17級在讀研究生，碩士學位，專業：藝術設計，研究方向：視覺傳達設計

（作者單位：齊魯工業大學（山東省科學院）藝術設計學院）