1. Anthony Richards Unit 7
Printing Production Research
There are three types of print production – hand, mechanical and
digital
Hand Techniques
Technique What Is It? Advantages Disadvantages
Etching Using acid on It is very detailed. The acid is toxic and
untreated may burn through
metal to metal.
create
pattern.
Linocut Cutting a It can be The image is
design into a duplicated with reversed, making it
sheet of lino, ease. difficult to correct
creating a and it involves lots
reverse image of tools
and then
pressing it into
fabric or
wood.
Screen Print Using a wire It is relatively quick Stencils can be
mesh as a compared to other inaccurate and can
stencil and hand printing fade, making it
transferring techniques. The difficult to achieve
ink through stencils are cheap fine detail. It is also
the gaps to to create and can slow, which makes
create a be used with a mass production
design. wide variety of difficult.
materials.
Woodcut An image is It produces an It requires specialist
carved into a accurate image equipment e.g.
block of wood and is 3D. It can printing press and
and the areas also be wood and is time –
not being used reproduced many consuming.
are cut away. times and the
Ink is then wood is long-
rolled over the lasting.
design,

2. Anthony Richards Unit 7
colouring the
image.
Lithography A method of It produces a good The surface must be
printing using quality image, level. It is also time-
a completely unlike some other consuming and
smooth stone hand printing requires a high level
or piece of techniques. It’s of skill.
metal. An extremely
image is economical if used
etched into a for short periods
coating of wax of time.
and then
coated in ink
and
transferred
onto a printed
page.
Mechanical
Technique What Is It? Advantages Disadvantages
Letterpress Letterpress is a It is mechanical It takes longer
type of relief and therefore than other
printing. Movable needs less human mechanical
type is locked into effort. printing
the bed of the techniques.
printing press,
then inked and
pressed onto a
sheet of paper,
producing the
image.
Gravure Gravure printing The image has a It is expensive
is a technique photographic because of the
that uses quality, with cost of the plates.
engraving to bright colours. It is only
produce the The engraved economical if
image. The image plate means it can used over a long
is engraved onto be used lots of period of time.
a cylinder and a times.

3. Anthony Richards Unit 7
sheet of paper is
rolled under it,
pressing the
image onto the
paper.
Screen Process A screen of wood
or aluminium with
a fabric mesh
stretched over it.
The mesh is
covered with an
emulsion which
closes the holes.
Photographic film
is then exposed to
UV light. The
emulsion is
washed away and
the mesh is
dipped in ink.
Digital
Technique What Is It? Advantages Disadvantages
Photocopying A cylindrical drum They produce lots They are heavy
is charged of documents and take up large
electrostatically. extremely fast amounts of space.
The drum is and don’t wear Images lose a lot
coated in a out quickly. It of detail in the
photoconductive copies both copying process.
material. A bright images and text in It only picks up
lamp lights up the relatively high bold lines.
original image. quality.
The areas of the
drum that are
exposed to light
become
conductive and
the areas that
aren’t become

4. Anthony Richards Unit 7
negative. This
creates an
electrical image. A
toner is applied to
the drum to
develop the
picture and the
toner is applied to
a piece of paper,
which is melted
together to create
the image.
Laser Printing This is a method It uses the same Laser printers can
of digital printing printing press as release particles
that produces other digital that cause
high-quality methods. Laser respiratory illness
images quickly. It printers are fast, and they also
uses an analogue reliable and produce a small
printer, but it economical. amount of ozone
uses the direct which damages
scanning of a the atmosphere.
laser beam across They are more
the printer’s costly than inkjet
photoreceptor. printers.
Inkjet Printing Inkjet is a method Inkjet printers are Prints are wet at
of computer common and first and need
printing that fires relatively cheap. time to dry.
drops of ink onto They produce Printing is slower
paper. The good quality and is not
principle is also images when designed for high
used to directly used with special volume printing.
put ink onto papers. Most are
materials. relatively
compact, so save
on space.

5. Anthony Richards Unit 7
Examples of
HandPrinting
Techniques
Linocut
Woodcut
Examples of Mechanical Printing Techniques
Letterpress
Gravure
Photocopying
Laser
Printing

6. Anthony Richards Unit 7
Desktop Desktop Most are included They are
Publishing publishing with a standard however,
programs create computer expensive and
print material via package, but are they need
a standardised designed to knowledge of the
format. produce software.
professional
images.It allows a
wide range of
people to access
methods of
publishing e.g.
menus and
leaflets.