Printing techniques we apply on the products
Printing Techniques
Silk Screen Printing
The fabric, which is stretched to a metal or wooden frame, is exposed on different surfaces such as fabric, glass, ceramic, metal plate, wood or paper with the help of a scraper (racket) and exposure of the text or pattern that will be printed after the application of chemicals called sensitized emulsion. It is the process of passing screen printing ink to the areas and leaving the unexposed areas blank. In this technique, which was developed by the Chinese and has roots dating back to 2000 years, weaves made of human hair were first used and silk weaving was developed by the Japanese. With the development of industrial printing before World War I, the types of weaving were differentiated, as well as silk and polyester and metal weaving were developed. Today, polyester fabric, which is very resistant to chemicals, is much more common due to its long-term availability and economy. Screen printing technique is used in many products we see every day.
Pad Printing
Pad printing, with its general definition, on all kinds of flat, curved, wrinkled surfaces that silk used in screen printing technique cannot reach, in high resolution; It is a printing technique that enables the printing of small sized products such as golf ball, lighter and pencil. While the ink coated on the plate is stripped with a knife, the printing pad is positioned on the object to cover it. Print pad buys ink on the plate and applies pressure on the object. Meanwhile, ink switches from the print pad to the object. The roots of pad printing date back 200 years. The first print was done using a soft gelatin material to transfer the image. All transfer operations were done manually. The first industrial application using a mechanical pad was carried out to print watch faces in Switzerland, after which this technique was developed by a German company to print multicolored porcelain Chinese dolls. Silicon alloy was used instead of gelatin after the Second World War. With the development of silicone transfer pads, the pad printing process has become a very rigorous method in industrial products.
UV Printing
Ultraviolet (UV) Printing is the printing technique that allows the paint on the object to dry a few seconds after printing takes place. This new technique has been adopted in many sectors, from automotive to telecommunications, from graphic arts to decoration. The difference of this increasingly developing technique from other industrial printing techniques is that the chemical solvents present in the paint are dried during the process, thus minimizing the harmful substances that will spread to the environment and ozone. Thanks to its environmentally friendly character, increased quality, performance efficiency, alternative to traditional water and solvent based techniques, it has grown by 10% per year. The UV printing process is based on a photochemical reaction by using light instead of heat. Liquid monomers and oligomers are exposed to UV energy by mixing with a small amount of photo-initiator. In a few seconds, the ink hardens instantly. This factor decreases the production cycle time and saves capital, one of the most important economic factors, and increases cash flow. The packaging and labels of the products we see on the shelves every day, phone cases, personal business cards are printed with this technique. The biggest advantage of UV printing is that it is affected by environmental conditions such as sun, water and minimizes negative situations such as fading or wiping of colors.
Laser Printing
Laser printing, which takes its first place in history by hand carving, is the process of marking all kinds of metal, glass, wood, marble, crystal, porcelain, leather by engraving or burning with laser light. The strength of these rays varies according to the strength of the product. The biggest feature that distinguishes laser printing from other printing techniques is that it is not possible to delete the printing. As long as it is not subjected to any coercion, no deformation will occur in the print. However, there is no color option in laser printing technique. The raw material of the product, the ground color, generally gives us the printing color. However, in some cases, for example; metal coated, painted, tempered (laser marking thanks to controlled temperature) or anodized (forming a thin oxide film layer on the metal surface) can create a color difference on the surfaces. Another point in the production of laser printing is that it is an irreversible printing technique, so pre-printing design studies are of great importance. In order to obtain a quality print, graphic design studies should be done in vector programs such as Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw or Freehand. After these studies are done, the desired size will be printed in the desired quality.
Embossed Printing
It is the process of embossing the paper painted or unpainted during printing. In order for the embossing process to be performed in the best way, first of all, the female stereotype and the male stereotype most suitable for the female stereotype must be produced from zinc or photopolymer materials. This is how the best results from embossing prints are. In the past, these stereotypes were created by engraving on wood or metal. Today, these stereotypes can now be prepared by erosion method. Then, the press is applied to the printed paper in a different machine through this plate and the paper is raised. The difference between embossing printing and other printing techniques is printing using machines that use a lot of power. Today, the packaging, books, agenda, notebook covers and business cards of many products can gain a more precious, glamorous atmosphere and have a catchy look with this method. Depending on demand, embossing process can be applied with hot foiling and gains an aesthetic appearance.