First, the basic concept of printing plate making
Printing plate making is the process of transforming the original design draft into a layout file that can be directly used for printing. The purpose of plate making is to accurately convey the content and effect of the design draft in the printing process. In the process of plate making, factors such as printing materials, printing methods and printing colors need to be considered.
Second, the operation steps of printing plate making
1. design draft collection: design draft collection includes words, pictures, graphics and other contents, and the design draft can be in electronic version or paper version.
2. Image processing: processing the images in the design draft, including resizing, cutting and color adjustment.
3. Word processing: processing the words in the design draft, including font selection, font size adjustment, typesetting and other operations.
4. Page layout: Make page layout according to the requirements of the design draft, including determining the center position of the page, setting page margins, and dividing columns.
5. Output file: output the plate-making file to the format required for printing. Common formats are PDF, EPS, etc.
Third, the common printing plate-making technology
1. Plane plate making: Plane plate making is the most common printing plate making technology, which is suitable for making plane printed matter, such as posters and business cards. Plane plate making can adopt traditional film plate making technology or modern digital plate making technology.
2. Letterpress printing: Letterpress printing is a common printing technology, which is suitable for making printed materials that need to highlight patterns or words, such as book covers and gift boxes. Relief printing uses a relief printing machine to print, and the patterns or characters on the printing plate are raised, and the ink is transferred to the printing material through the pressure of the printing machine.
3. Offset plate making: Offset plate making is a commonly used printing technology, suitable for mass production of printed matter, such as magazines and newspapers. Offset printing is printing with an offset press. The patterns or characters on the printing plate absorb ink, and then the ink is transferred to the printing material through the pressure of the printing machine.