|
|
MANY NAMES PRESS: DESIGN & LETTERPRESS
|
From Start to Finish
Many Names Press Produces Many Publications
PRINTING BOOK OF KNOW-HOW-LEDGE: HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY
1450 - Gutenberg (who may have learned it from the Chinese)
1860 - Platen Automatic Letterpresses
LETTERPRESS impresses the image, which is mounted in relief "type high" as polymer or metal engraving on a base, or as foundry or monotype lead. Letterpress prints in relief, like a rubber stamp, from the reverse. Types of type and image are:
- Oldest: wooden type, lead type, Linotype or Intertype (the most moving parts machine ever invented) slugs, wood and (more recently,) linoleum cuts.
- Metal (zinc, copper, magnesium, aluminum) photo-etched engravings, plastic photo-etched (polymer) engravings.
- Foil stamping (a type of embossing which uses mylar and a heated platen surface)
- Die embossing (with "male" and "female" counterdies)
- Die cutting, perforating and numbering are all done on a letterpress.
1817 - Stone LithographyOFFSET PRESS LITHOGRAPHY is the most widely practiced form of printing today. Lithos=stone (Greek) As in etching on marble or soft stone and adding water over the surface and ink in the scratches. The offset press maintains a fine balance between the oily ink and water. "Ink and water don't mix" is the credo: a fine coating of water over the plate repels ink and keeps the ink from expanding out of the etched area of the plate, which wraps around the first cylinder. The image is offset from one cylinder to another, then the paper is squeezed through the second and third cylinder, "offsetting" the ink onto it. This is a planographic process, where the image etched on the silver coated paper or metal plate is sensitive to the ink and is a positive image. Advantages: less electricity than a Xerox, these are the fastest machines, they can do tight, exacting duplicates, in full color and more, uses any size paper that the press handles, can use non-petroleum ( i.e. soy based) inks which can be mixed in any color. Always check with a printer when you need printing, it may just be cheaper than photocopying.
1906 - First Offset
1930's - Offset Perfected (W.W.II)
Use Aluminum Plates for highest resolution, with film negatives ("emulsion DOWN"). Long lasting and reusable, double sided.
Use Silvermaster Paper Plates for medium resolution but less costs, made in a copy camera with built-in chemical developer baths. Uses paper positives (Black image on white paper). For small presses only, good up to 5000 copies, not intended for tight registration (plate stretches). Very cheap, costing about a quarter as much as the combined metal and film negatives.
Electrostatic Paper Plates: Low Resolution. Made in a fancy copy machine from a paper positive. Not too many in use these days. Cheap. Not good for more than 500 impressions.
1950's - Electrostatic CopyingPHOTOCOPIERS make copies by charging a powdered plastic and iron filing mixture which moves across the paper and then fuses (melts) the plastic. Most copiers use a fair amount of electricity. The corporations: IBM, Xerox, Kodak, all get a "per copy" fee - something between a half to two cents each in commercial lease fees. The resolution is 300 DPI. DPI = Dots Per Inch. This measurement of resolution is NOT to be confused with halftone line screens used for photographs and tint screens, which are: 85 line for copiers, 100 line for silvermasters, and 150 line for metal plates using film negatives. Each printer is different, so it is good to check with them first before you run out your film or paper positives.
1980's - Digital Ink Jet
1990's - Laser, Direct-to-Plate
INK JETS squirt liquid plastic ink onto the paper direct from a computer. Uses disposable (find a recycler!) plastic cartridges up quickly. Not good for long runs. However, there are quality archival inks that won't fade or run. Now most short-run books are made using computerized machines that take a formatted (using layout programs like Quark or Indesign) disc and spit out a book. I left a book out in the rain, and it held up pretty well, the ink didn't bleed or fade in the sun. Ask for samples so you can see if the spine looks well done - no goop or crackling when opening the book. Always ask for recycled and archival paper. Off white (not yellow) is easier on the eyes.
WHERE is it all going? I know for myself there is nothing like the tactile look and feel of ink on paper, of offset and letterpress printing. As we bombard our eyes and brains with the likes of screens emitting light and plastic fuzzy lines, the more likely we are to appreciate the qualities of printing. There seems to me nothing more lasting and impressive. By continuing to use renewable resources like soy inks and vegetable solvents, renewable paper resources such as Kenaf, a fast growing bush from Egypt, hemp, cotton, and yes, even algae from the Venetian canals, I hope we can continue to (and the earth can sustain) print without chopping down more trees.
