In the modern world, more and more tasks can be performed by a computer and devices that are directly connected to it. This applies even to printing - since the advent of color printing, other methods have begun to lose their relevance. However, this does not mean that the color printer is now responsible for all newspapers and magazines - in fact, everything is far from simple. Offset plates can still be found everywhere, so do not write off offset printing from your accounts. It is still incredibly popular for a number of fairly good reasons. So, if you are interested in learning about offset printing, offset plates and everything related to them, then this article is for you.
What it is?
Before undertaking a detailed review of what offset plates are, you need to generally look at this type of print. With its help, most newspapers, magazines, as well as many other color publications are still being created. The name of this type implies that the work is done without contact of the printing form and the printed material. This is where offset plates come into play, thanks to which this approach becomes possible.
How it works?
The process of offset printing is quite simple - as you already understood, the form and the material do not come into contact with each other - between them is a series of shafts made of offset plates. Each of them performs its function. Most often there are two of them - one is responsible for the shape, and the other for the image. The ink from the printing form is first transferred to one shaft, then to another, and from it already falls on the final material.
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantage of this method is the high quality of the final result - not a single color printer of our time can bypass quality offset printing. Secondly, it gives you an almost unlimited choice of materials that you can work on, and also provides you with the widest possible post-press processing to achieve the perfect result. Thirdly, this type is used to produce a large circulation of materials in a rather short period of time - color printers will not be able to work at such a speed when it comes to hundreds of thousands of copies. Well, of course, it is worth noting that with large runs the total price is significantly reduced.
But, of course, not without drawbacks. The most important of them is the need for post-print processing. This includes color separation, color balancing and much more - all that you do not need to do if you use conventional computer printing that gives you finished material. Naturally, all these processing steps make the quality of the material an order of magnitude higher, but they also become the reason for the impossibility of making fast orders, while color printing on a computer can take no more than an hour with small volumes. Secondly, the issue of profitability also has a flip side - the complexity of the offset version process makes it incredibly profitable for large runs and at the same time extremely disadvantageous for small ones. As you can see, offset printing has both its advantages and disadvantages, and in some cases it may turn out to be useless and at a loss, while in other situations it will be an ideal solution.
Offset plates and their manufacture
It's time to talk about what offset printing would not be possible - about offset plates. It is because of them that the cost of the process is so high - they make it unprofitable for small runs, but very profitable for large ones. After all, each of them is made separately. The production of offset plates is a complex process. For their manufacture, various non-ferrous metals are used, which are eventually rolled into finished products used for further printing.
The complexity of the process also lies in the fact that the plate goes through numerous stages of development before going to the customer. First, it is cleaned of any contaminants, then it is granulated in a special acid, through which electric current is later passed, which prepares the plate for further work in printing, endowing it with all the necessary properties. Naturally, this is not all stages of production - the production of offset plates takes a lot of time, but this produces high-quality materials that provide the highest level of color printing.
Bending
In order to use offset plates in printing, it is necessary to bend their edges to get the right shaft of a suitable diameter. For this, there are special machines on which offset plates are bent. This is a very important stage, since you have to work with incredibly detailed material - it cannot be inflicted any damage so that it will not be reflected in the press. Therefore, bending should always be carried out on high-quality machines by first-class specialists.
What to do next?
However, it should be understood that offset plates are not reusable material - they are suitable for the release of one run, after which they have to get rid of. This is one of the reasons why the cost of this type of printing is high, and the production of small runs is thus not cost-effective. Given the fact that they are made of non-ferrous metals, the used offset plates should not be thrown away, but must be recycled - this is how you will render a service to nature and will be able to return part of the spent money.