Flexo Printing

14-I Flexograpic Auto Printing Machine

2008-09-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

6 COLOURS 900 MM AUTOMATIC FLEXOGRAPHIC

6 COLOURS 900 MM AUTOMATIC FLEXOGRAPHIC RUBBER ROLLER HDPE PLASTIC BAG PRINTING MACHINE
TECHNICAL FEATURES 1. Model: OZ - 6 - 900 Automatic. 2. Net Printing Width : 900 mm. 3. Maximum Possible Film Width : 1000 mm. 4. Maximum Possible Printing Lenght : Max: 800 mm , min: 260 mm. 5. Type of ink machine can work: FA series, FX series, FE series. 6. Maximum Possible Printing Speed : 140 m/min. 7. Possible Printing Coil Diameter : 800 mm. 8. Possible Maximum Coil Weight : 220 - 220 kg. 9. Uncoiler system tension controlled (Loodcell) 1 piece of magnetic brake.Manual. 10.Coiler system tension controlled (Loodcell) 1 piece of DC Motorized.Manual. 11.5,7 ‘‘ touchable control screen. 12.The main rollers are rigid chromium plated. 200 microns per dot . 13.Printing ability from coil to coil 14.Drying System of 32 kw. 15.Main motor with electronic speed control of A.C. 5,5 kw 1500 rpm/min. 16.Stop switch (Enables automatic stopping in case of any breaking of film.) 17.PLC controlled metric measurement indicator. 18.PLC controlled piece counter. 19.Possible print types (6+0)-(4+2)-(3+3)-(3+2). 20.Cliché cyliders collective move pneumatic system. 21.Thickness of cliché: 2,54 – 2,84 mm. Thickness of cliché sticking band: 0.1 - 0.3 mm. 22.Manual and automatic operating ability in all situations. 23.Measurements : Lenght : 6500 mm, Height : 3800 mm , Width : 1400 mm . 24.Cliché cylinder gear backlash: 5 mm. 25.Exhaust fan (Suction fan): 2,2 kw 1500 rpm/min. 26.Pneumatic rigid pallet and pressing system. 27.Electronic solid stade roller PLC heat control. 28.Airy shaft facility in rolling up and unrolling.3 Pieces (1 piece is mechanic) . 29.Dyeing circulation pumps (Motorpump) 6 pieces. 30.Border control unit. 31.Rail-Winch style system. 32.Electronic PLC control system. 33.Modem connection line. 34.Failure notice parameters. 35.Total electricity load: 55 kw. 36.Total weight of the machine: 8500 kg. 37.Total electricity power : 50 kw 6-Color Flexo Model JXG-6500 Features: 1. Variable frequenecy drive (Taiwan TECO) for regulation. Power saving and easy operation. 2. Both sides printing. If 6 colors, 6 + 0, 5 + 1, 4 + 2, 3 + 3. 3. Printing materials: PE, PP, OPP, BOPP, kraft paper, tissue and other web rolls. 4. All pulling rollers are made of stainless steel to insure Advantages: Zero plate bounce: Print cylinders are locked up in steel clumps, eliminating print cylinder bounce. Plate is fixed by self adhesive tapes. Precise Impression Control: Print impression and ink delivery operate independently, allowing the operator to always set a perfect kiss impression for better print quality. Capable to print on web paper and even tissue: If to add automatic tension controller and ceramic anilox. Giant unwinder and rewinder is available. OTHER TECHNICAL DATA No. MKW-M1 Name 6-Color Flexo Model JXG-6500 Size 20" Print Width 500mm Print Length 1,000mm Print Speed 10-70 m/min No. MKW-M2 Name 6-Color Flexo Model JXG-6650 Size 25" Print Width 650mm Print Length 1,000mm Print Speed 10-70 m/min No. MKW-M3 Name 6-Color Flexo Model JXG-6750 Size 30" Print Width 750mm Print Length 1,000mm Print Speed 10-70 m/min No. MKW-M4 Name 6-Color Flexo Model JXG-61000 Size 425" Print Width 1000mm Print Length 1,000mm Print Speed 10-70 m/min 6 COLOR PRINTING MACHINE YT-61000 Use: it uses sensitization resin as flexible printing plate, suitable for printingsuch packing materials as polyethylene, polypropylene bag, cellophane and rollpaper. It is a kind of ideal printing equipment for producing paper packing bag forgood, supermarket handbag, vest bag and clothes bag. Performance and characteristics: 1) Easy operation, flexible starting, accurate color register 2) The meter counter can set printing quantity according to the requirements. Stop the machine automatically at the quantity or when the material is cut off 3) Pneumatic printing cylinder lift and lower, it will stir the printing ink automaticallyafter lifting 4) The printing ink is spread by the cylinder with even ink color 5) Reliable drying system coordinated with high-speed rotation, it will automaticallybreak circuit when the machine stops 6) 360°continuous and adjustable longitudinal register device 7) The frequency control of motor speed adapts to different printing speeds 8) There are jogging/stopping buttons on the plate roller base and material rollingrack so as to make it easy operate the machine when the plate is installed Main technical variables: 1) Type/item:YT-61100 2) Printing entrance width:1100mm 3) Printing width:1060mm 4) Length of printing product: 191 ~ 194mm 5) Diameter of roll material: 455mm 6) Printing speed: 5 ~ 50m/min 7) Thickness of printing plate: 2.3mm 8) Total power:21kW 9) Overall dimensions (mm): 3,900 x 2,160 x 2,950 10) Weight (kg):5,500

14-H Flexographic Printing Machine YT-Series

2008-09-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

MODEL

YT 2600
This is 2 color
Printing
machine
with a
variable
width
adjustment
device
Main Technical information:
MODEL YT- 2600
PRINTING WIDTH 600mm
PRINTING LENGTH 180-1200mm
PRINTING SPEED 80m/min
PLATE THICKNESS 2.38mm
MACHINE DIMENSION 2300X1600X2200mmMODEL YT- 2800 PRINTING WIDTH 800mm PRINTING LENGTH 180-1200mm PRINTING SPEED 80m/min PLATE THICKNESS 2.38mm MACHINE DIMENSION 2300X1600X2200mm MODEL YT- 21000 PRINTING WIDTH 1000mm PRINTING LENGTH 180-1200mm PRINTING SPEED 80m/min PLATE THICKNESS 2.38mm MACHINE DIMENSION 2300X2000X2200mm

14-G Flexographic SACK Printing Machine

2008-09-21T00:35:00.000-07:00

TECHNICAL FEATURES 1. Model: OZ - 4 - 900 Automatic Stack Type 2. Net Printing Width : 900 mm. 3. Maximum Possible Film Width : 1000 mm. 4. Maximum Possible Printing Lenght : Max: 1100 mm , min: 350 mm. 5. Type of ink machine can work: FA series, FX series, FE series. 6. Maximum Possible Printing Speed : 140 m/min. 7. Winding and Unwinding system over motor 8. Babana Roller System will be exist 1 piece each in both winding and unwinding. 9. Uncoiler system tension controlled (Loodcell) 10.Coiler system tension controlled (Loodcell) 11.Automatic PLC control system. 12.The main rollers are rigid chromium plated. 200 microns per dot. 13.Ability of printing from coil to coil. 14.Roller Cylinders movement transfer reduction gear system with AC speed control. 15.5.7 ‘‘ touchable control screen 16.Drying System of 30 kw PLC controlled 17.Main motor with electronic speed control of A.C. 5,5 kw 1500 rpm/min. 18.Stop switch (Enables automatic stopping in case of any breaking of film.) 19.PLC controlled metric measurement indicator. 20.Possible print types (44+0)-(2+2)-(3+1)-(2+1). 21.Winding and unwinding units integrated to machine ( optional ) 22.Thickness of cliché: 2,54 mm – 2,84 mm. 23.Manual and automatic operating ability in all situations 24.Main motor movement transfer reduction gear system. 25.Corona Device will be exist before printing. 26.Exhaust fan (Suction fan): 2,2 kw 1500 rpm/min. 27.Pneumatic rigid pallet and pressing system. 28.Electronic solid stade roller PLC heat control. 29.2 pieces of ladders for the use of upper printing groups. 30.Dyeing circulation pumps (Motorpump) 4 pieces. 31.Border control unit. 32.Rail-Winch style system. 33.Electronic PLC control system. 34.Modem connection line. 35.Failure notice parameters. 36.Total electricity load: 48 kw. 37.Total weight of the machine: 6500 kg.

14-F Flexographic Soft Printing Machine D-Type

2008-09-21T00:34:00.000-07:00

SOFT PRINTING MACHINESOFT
PRINTING
MACHINE
Model
HSR-320
D - Type
Characteristics:
1.Adopts ceramic mesh roller to convey ink.
2.Magnetic powder brake and slutch control the feeding and rolling or discharging.It can be equipped with automatic color register controller.
3.Each printing unit adopts 360-degree registering adjuster.
4.Each printing unit is equipped with an assemble of auto infrared drying installation.
5.The inking roller can depart from the machine and rotate at low speed in order to keep the ink from drying when its stops.
6.The main motor adopts stepless governor converter.
7.This machine can finish processing one web from feeding,printing polishing,auto infrared druing,laminating and discharging in one processing.The machine is an ideal trademark printing machine for the printing housed to prin slips,high grade self adhesive trademarks.
8. Aautomatic error correcting.
Main Technical Parameters:
printing speed(m/min) 50
Printable color 4colors
Max Web Width(mm) 320
Max printing width(mm) 310
Max feeding diameter(mm) 600
Max rolling diameter(mm) 550
Printing circumference(mm) 175-320
Registering precision(mm) +-0.01
Overall dimension(mm) 2000X1100X2100
Complete Weight(kg) about1800

14-E Flexographic Soft Printing Machine

2008-09-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

SOFT PRINTING MACHINES
SOFT
PRINTING
MACHINE
Model
HSR-320
C Type
Characteristics:1.Adopts ceramic mesh roller to convey ink.2.Magnetic powder brake and slutch control the feeding and rolling or discharging. It can be equipped with automatic color register controller.
3.Each printing unit adopts 360-degree registering adjuster.
4.Each printing unit is equipped with an assemble of auto infrared drying installation.
5.The inking roller can depart from the machine and rotate at low speed in order to keep the ink from drying when its stops.6.The main motor adopts stepless governor converter.7.This machine can finish processing one web from feeding,printing polishing,auto infrared druing, laminating and discharging in one processing. The machine is an ideal trademark printing machine for the printing housed to print slips, high grade self adhesive trademarks.
Technical parameters:
Printing speed(m/min) 50Printable color 4 colorsMax Web Width(mm) 320Max printing width(mm) 310Max feeding diameter(mm) 600Max rolling diameter(mm) 550Printing circumference(mm) 175-320Registering precision(mm) +-0.01Overall dimension(mm) 2000X1100X2100Complete Weight(kg) about1800

14-D Flexography (Print Process Descriptions)

2008-09-21T00:27:00.000-07:00

Flexographic presses are capable of producing good quality impressions on many different substrates and is the least expensive and simplest of the printing processes used for decorating and packaging printing. The use of flexographic printing presses is on the rise. There are two primary reasons for this: 1) it is a relatively simple operation; and 2) it is easily adapted to the use of water-based inks. The widespread use of water-based inks in flexographic printing means a large reduction in VOC emission compared to the heatset web or gravure printing processes.Publication flexography is used mainly in the production of newspaper, comics, directories, newspaper inserts, and catalogs. Packaging flexography is used for the production of folding cartons, labels, and packaging materials. Large quantities of inks are used during normal runs on flexographic presses; however, some printers are able to recycle a majority of their spent inks and wash waters. Major chemicals used in flexography include platemaking solution, water and solvent based inks, and blanket/roller cleaning solvents.Flexography is a form of rotary web letterpress, combining features of both letterpress and rotogravure printing, using relief plates comprised of flexible rubber or photopolymer plates and fast drying, low viscosity solvent, water-based or UV curable inks fed from an "anilox" or two roller inking system. The flexible (rubber or photopolymer) plates are mounted onto the printing cylinder with double-faced adhesive. Plates are sometimes backed with thin metal sheets and attached to the cylinder with fastening straps for close register or ink alignment. This adds additional cost to the plate and requires more makeready time, but when quality printing is critical this type of plate can make the difference.

14-C Flexography (Acadamic History)

2008-09-21T00:26:00.000-07:00

The Flexo in Education Program, formerly The Flexo in High School Program, was started at South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, North Carolina by the Flexographic Technical Association in 1993. Since its inception many other high school programs have been started. For example Asheville High School in Asheville, NC, The Applied Technology Center in Rock Hill, SC, Fort Mill High School in Fort Mill, SC, and others. The program has even gone international with the inclusion of Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School in Missasauga, Ontario Canada. The program was re-named to become The Flexo in Education Program because post-secondary institutions began to participate in the program. Many technical colleges and universities incorporate flexography into their curriculum. For example The Department of Graphic Communications and the Clemson University Printing and Converting Research Center at Clemson University, Central Piedmont Community College, Chowan University, Appalachian State University, the Graphic Communications Management program at Ryerson University, and others include flexography in their curriculum.Sadly, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the school district where Flexo in Education got its start, announced in 2008 that the first ever Flexo in High School program at South Mecklenburg High School would be discontinued. The building where their flexography lab was located was demolished Monday, July 7, 2008, to make way for a new 3-story building to house the school's science and technology department. The school district determined that it would be too difficult and expensive to move, store, and re-install press and equipment in the old lab. It was, instead, donated to another school in North Carolina to start a new flexo program.Flexographic printing inksThe nature and demands of the printing process and the application of the printed product determine the fundamental properties required of flexographic inks. Measuring the physical properties of inks and understanding how these are affected by the choice of ingredients is a large part of ink technology. Formulation of inks requires a detailed knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of the raw materials composing the inks, and how these ingredients affect or react with each other as well as with the environment. Flexographic printing inks are primarily formulated to remain compatible with the wide variety of substrates used in the process. Each formulation component individually fulfils a special function and the proportion and composition will vary according to the substrate.

14-B Flexography (History)

2008-09-21T00:24:00.000-07:00

The process of flexography was originally called “aniline printing,” named for the aniline oil used in the ink. In 1890, the first patented press was built in England by Bibby, Baron and Sons. The water-based ink smeared easily, leading the device to be known as “Bibby’s Folly”. In the early 1900’s, other European presses were developed using rubber printing plates. But by the 1920s, most presses were made in Germany, where the process was called “gummidruck”.During the early part of the 20th century, the technique was used extensively in food packaging in the United States. However, in the 1940’s, the Food and Drug Administration classified aniline dyes as unsuitable for food packaging. Printing sales plummeted. Individual firms tried using new names for the process, such as “Lustro Printing” and “Transglo Printing,” but met with limited success. Even after the government approved the aniline process, sales continued to decline. Intent on re-popularizing aniline printing by changing its name, Franklin Moss, president of Mosstype Corporation, surveyed the industry in 1951 and received over 200 different name suggestions. In October of 1952, the new name was announced; “flexography.”[1]ProductsTypical products printed using flexography include brown corrugated boxes, flexible packaging including retail and shopping bags, food and hygiene bags and sacks, flexible plastics, self adhesive labels, and wallpaper. A number of newspapers now eschew the more common offset lithography process in favour of flexo.

14-A Flexography (Description)

2008-09-21T00:18:00.000-07:00

Flexography (also called surface printing), often abbreviated to flexo, is a method of printing most commonly used for packaging (labels, tape, bags, boxes, banners, etc.).A flexographic print is made by creating a positive mirrored master of the required image as a 3D relief in a rubber or polymer material. A measured amount of ink is deposited upon the surface of the printing plate (or printing cylinder) using an engraved anilox roll whose texture holds a specific amount of ink. The print surface then rotates, contacting the print material which transfers the ink.One method of plate development uses light-sensitive polymer. A film negative is placed over the plate, which is exposed to ultra-violet light. The polymer hardens where light passes through the film. The remaining polymer has the consistency of chewed gum. It is washed away in a tank of either water or solvent. Brushes scrub the plate to facilitate the "washout" process. This method is considered "old-fashioned," but is still widely used in smaller operations, and is still taught in most high school and college flexo programs.Originally flexographic printing was basic in quality. Labels requiring high quality have generally been printed using the offset process until recently. In the last few years great advances have been made to the quality of flexographic printing presses.The greatest advances in flexographic printing have been in the area of photopolymer printing plates, including improvements to the plate material and the method of plate creation, usually photographic exposure followed by chemical etching, though also by direct laser engraving.Digital direct to plate systems have dominated the industry recently with their better resolution and the ability to print four color process (or more) as well as offset. Companies like Dupont in DE and PlateCrafters in Colmar, PA have pioneered the latest technologies with advances in FAST washout and the latest screening technology, even companies who make plates in house are going to trade shops to get these high quality plates.Laser-etched anilox rolls also play a part in the improvement of print quality. Full color picture printing is now possible, and some of the finer presses available today, in combination with a skilled operator, allow quality that rivals the lithographic process. One ongoing improvement has been the increasing ability to reproduce highlight tonal values, thereby providing a workaround for the very high dot gain associated with flexographic printing.Flexo has an advantage over lithography in that it can use a wider range of inks, water based rather than oil based inks, and is good at printing on a variety of different materials. Flexographic inks, like those used in gravure and unlike those used in lithography, generally have a low viscosity. This enables faster drying and, as a result, faster production, which results in lower costs.Printing press speeds of up to 600 meters (2000 FPM) per minute are achieveable now with modern technology high-end printers, like Flexotecnica [1], which introduced the world's first 12-color central impression (CI) drum press at Drupa 2008. Other press formats, such as in-line and stack presses, are available from Tresu and other suppliers.

6-E Flower Printing

2008-09-21T00:06:00.000-07:00

The following pictures the Flower Art Color Painter draws and paints out is clear and can stand for a long time, just like growing naturally on the petal. Meanwhile, the whole process will not damage the natural appearance of the petal or affect its normal growth. Romance is therefore forever by the instant brightening and personality is presented as well, which sublimates the flower. The machine has great creativity which brings real amazement. It reflects charm and magic showing your passion and respect incisively and vividly. Here are Two kind of machinery which used for printing of f;owers. Description Printing three flowers at one time. With LCD liquid crystal display developed on the basis of FP3, customers no longer need to purchase or connect a computer. the automatic restore function of the electronic U-disk is developed and applied. In case the software system is damaged, memory data on U-disk provided with the equipment will automatically restore the system to factory defaults . Size：440X340X345mm Net Weight：16.6KG Gross Weight：20KG Power：350-380W Input Voltage: 220V 50 HZ or 110 V 50 HZ Description Printing three flowers at one time. High efficiency. Waterproof. Not affecting life of flower. (Computer and monitor should be purchased by user ). Size: 430X300X233mm Net Weight: 14 KG Gross Weight: 19KG Power: 50 W Input Voltage: 220V 50 HZ or 110 V 50 HZ

6-D Nail Printing

2008-09-21T00:02:00.000-07:00

The beauitiful Prints of Nail of foot in diferent color and design The beauitiful Prints of Nail of foot in diferent color and design Here are three kind of machinery which used for printing of nails. NP06-CF5 DSCIPTION Size: 395 x 365 x 390mm Power: 230W Net Weight: 18KG Gross Weight: 26KG Input Voltage: 220+/-10% or 110+/-10% Function: Color painting on 5 fingernails at one time, as well as on toenails, mobiles and ornamental articles; intelligent identification. Software and designs have been installed. The machine can be used directly without other external equipment.
SMART NP06-F5 DSCIPTION Size: 395 x 365 x 325mm Power: 55W Net Weight: 17KG Gross Weight: 23KG Input Voltage: 220+/-10% Or 110+/-10% Function: Color painting on 5 fingernails at one time, as well as on toenails, mobiles and ornamental articles; Intelligent identification Auto NP05-F5 DSCIPTION Size: 495X370X370mm Net Weight: 19 kg 　 Gross Weight: 28 kg Power:50W Input Voltage:220V50Hz or 110V50HZ Function: Color painting on 5 fingernails at one time, as well as on toenails, mobiles and ornamental articles intelligent identification

6-C Digital Flatbed Printer(DFP-06A3)

2008-09-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

Spring sun Digital Flatbed Printer is installed with "Three Dimensional Digital Printing System" suitable for any three dimensional objects up to 105mm thick, including glass, plastics, organic board, leather, rubber, marble, paper, metal, timber, porcelain, film, etc. For high-definition digital printing. It is easy to operate, just like a home printer. In particular, with the coat treatment liquid and special ink prior to printing, it is able to print on various medias. It can create high added value with its easy operation and low investment. Emergence and actual application of this product represents revolutionary improvement and breakthrough in the field of printing techniques in the 21st century, further progressing the development of the industry.
Printing mode 6-color ink jet mode
(Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Light Cyan/Light Magenta/Black)
Overall Dimension (Length/Width/Height) 785 ㎜ × 502 ㎜ × 390 ㎜
Maximum printing area 483mm × 329mm
Maximum resolution 2880dpi
Printing speed 9PPM (A4 color text)
Transmission mode IEEE-1284
parallel interface/USB universal serial bus Operating environment Temperature: 10 ～ 35,
Humidity: 20 ～ 80%
Weight Net weight: 60KG;
Gross weight: 105KG
Printing Medium weight Less than or equal to 20KG
Power supply AC220/110 ± 10 Power ≤ 300W

6 (b)..Digital Flatbed Printer(DFP-07A2)

2008-09-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

DFP-07A2 Digital Flatbed Printer ,it adopts a brand-new digital printing mode that can be used as the substitute of screen printing, movable printing and transfer printing. It realizes color printing on all kinds of materials without plate making or repeated color register, while it is highly waterproof, wearing resisting and adhesive. It offers higher printing quality than traditional method, simple operation and stable performance. Thus, it can completely meet batch production of large scale in various areas and improve the competitive power of products. 1. It can print on materials (wood, stone, steel, glass, leather, crystal, acrylic etc. ) and finished products (drawer, wallet, bag, tag, signboard,T-shirt, etc. ) colorfully. Printing even on unevenness surface and on flexible material are possible since it is non-contact type. 2. It can print images and maintain by simple process without plate-making or repeated color register as direct printing method by computer. 3. Ideal for industrial batch production with its high printing speed. 4. Applicable to industrial printing of large size up to 420mmX594mm. 5. 8-color waterproof ink box, clearest and highest printing quality (2880dpiX1440dpi,max.), clear levels, completely visible color block, no color deviation or mixing, higher quality than that of traditional methods such as hot transfer printing and screen printing, etc. 6. Ultra-low printing cost, over 80% lower than current hot transfer printing. 7. Applicable to customized color printing on T-shirt, pillow (pillow case), shopping bag, apron, gloves cotton socks and handkerchief, etc. 8.Floor-type design, convenient to place.

6 (a)..Flat-bed printing Characteristics

2008-09-10T21:33:00.001-07:00

The Flat-bed printing technique is now developed and now it is printed on followers, metelic object and even on nails. Here are the characterstics and main functions of flatbed printing: (1).Entrepreneurs to run a universal image shop with full personalization. Customers can choose beautiful, decorative and practical objects for printing favorite pictures, words and even their own or friends pictures, on a variety of objects including mobile phones, makeup mirror, lighter, purse, crystal, glass, organic glass, metal, pottery, canvas board, etc..
(2).Small plaque, name plaque, medal and printing industry.
(3).Seal, mark, I/D card manufacture industry.
(4).Business planning, disseminating, promoting and tourism industry.
(5).Surface printing on small-batch products.
6).Design and merchandising.
7).Interior decoration and construction materials, etc.
8).Timber, stone, furniture, craft work.
(9).Manufacture enterprises engaged in leather products, briefcases, purses, etc. (10).Dissemination personnel from movie fan club, etc.
(11).For design studio.

25...Xerography

2008-09-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

Xerography (or electrophotography) is a photocopying technique developed by Chester Carlson in 1938 and patented on October 6, 1942. He received U.S. Patent 2,297,691 for his invention. The name xerography came from the Greek radicals xeros (dry) and graphos (writing), because there are no liquid chemicals involved in the process, unlike earlier reproduction techniques like cyanotype.
In 1937 Bulgarian physicist Georgi Nadjakov found that when placed into electric field and exposed to light, some dielectrics acquire permanent electric polarization in the exposed areas. That polarization persists in the dark and is destroyed in light. Chester Carlson, the inventor of photocopying, was originally a patent attorney and part-time researcher and inventor. His job at the patent office in New York required him to make a large number of copies of important papers. Carlson, who was arthritic, found this a painful and tedious process. This prompted him to conduct experiments with photoconductivity. Carlson experimented with "electrophotography" in his kitchen and in 1938, applied for a patent for the process. He made the first "photocopy" using a zinc plate covered with sulfur. The words "10-22-38 Astoria" were written on a microscope slide, which was placed on top of more sulfur and under a bright light. After the slide was removed, a mirror image of the words remained. Carlson tried to sell his invention to some companies, but because the process was still underdeveloped he failed. At the time multiple copies were made using carbon paper or duplicating machines and people did not feel the need for an electronic machine. Between 1939 and 1944, Carlson was turned down by over 20 companies, including IBM and GE, neither of which believed there was a significant market for copiers.

24...Halftoning

2008-09-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

Halftone is the reprographic technique that simulates continuous tone imagery through the use of equally spaced dots of varying size. 'Halftone' can also be used to refer specifically to the image that is produced by this process. The idea of halftone printing originates from William Fox Talbot. In the early 1850s he suggested using "photographic screens or veils" in connection with a photographic intaglio process.
Several different kinds of screens were proposed during the following decades, but the first half-tone photo-engraving process was invented by Canadians George-Édouard Desbarats and William Leggo Jr. On October 30, 1869, Desbarats published the Canadian Illustrated News which became the world’s first periodical to successfully employ this photo-mechanical technique; featuring a full page half-tone image of His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, from a photograph by Notman. Ambitious to exploit a much larger circulation, Debarats and Leggo went to New York and launched the New York Daily Graphic in March 1873, which became the world’s first illustrated daily.
The first truly successful commercial method was patented by Frederic Ives of Philadelphia in 1881. But although he found a way of breaking up the image into dots of varying sizes he did not make use of a ===screen===. In 1882 the German George Meisenbach patented a halftone process in England. His invention was based on the previous ideas of Berchtold and Swan. He used single lined screens which were turned during exposure to produce cross-lined effects. He was the first to achieve any commercial success with relief halftones.

23...Engraving

2008-09-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold or steel are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing images on paper, which are called engravings. Engraving was a historically important method of producing images on paper, both in artistic printmaking, and also for commercial reproductions and illustrations for books and magazines. It has long been replaced by photography in its commercial applications and, partly because of the difficulty of learning the technique, is much less common in printmaking, where it has been largely replaced by etching and other techniques. Other terms often used for engravings are copper-plate engraving and Line engraving. These should all mean exactly the same, but especially in the past were often used very loosely to cover several printmaking techniques, so that many so-called engravings were in fact produced by totally different techniques, such as etching.
In antiquity, the only engraving that could be carried out is evident in the shallow grooves found in some jewellery after the beginning of the 1st Millennium B.C. The majority of so-called engraved designs on ancient gold rings or other items were produced by chasing or sometimes a combination of lost-wax casting and chasing.
In the European Middle Ages goldsmiths used engraving to decorate and inscribe metalwork. It is thought that they began to print impressions of their designs to record them. From this grew the engraving of copper printing plates to produce artistic images on paper, known as old master prints in Germany in the 1430s. Italy soon followed. Many early engravers came from a goldsmithing background. The first and greatest period of the engraving was from about 1470 to 1530, with such masters as Martin Schongauer , Albrecht Dürer , and Lucas van Leiden.

22...Technological developments Wood Cut

2008-09-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Woodcut is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges. The areas to show 'white' are cut away with a knife or chisel, leaving the characters or image to show in 'black' at the original surface level. The block is cut along the grain of the wood (unlike wood engraving where the block is cut in the end-grain). In Europe beechwood was most commonly used; in Japan, a special type of cherry wood was popular.
Woodcut first appeared in ancient China. From 6th century onward, woodcut icons became popular and especially flourished in Buddhist texts. Since the 10th century, woodcut pictures appeared in inbetweenings of Chinese literature, and some banknotes, such as Jiaozi (currency). Woodcut New Year picture are also very popular with the Chinese.
In China and Tibet printed images mostly remained tied as illustrations to accompanying text until the modern period. The earliest woodblock printed book, the Diamond Sutra contains a large image as frontispiece, and many Buddhist texts contain some images. Later some notable Chinese artists designed woodcuts for books, the individual print develop in China in the form of New Year picture as an art-form in the way it did in Europe and Japan.
In Europe, Woodcut is the oldest technique used for old master prints, developing about 1400, by using on paper existing techniques for printing on cloth. The explosion of sales of cheap woodcuts in the middle of the century led to a fall in standards, and many popular prints were very crude. The development of hatching followed on rather later than in engraving. Michael Wolgemut was significant in making German woodcut more sophisticated from about 1475, and Erhard Reuwich was the first to use cross-hatching (far harder to do than in engraving or etching). Both of these produced mainly book-illustrations, as did various Italian artists who were also raising standards there at the same period. At the end of the century Albrecht Dürer brought the Western woodcut to a level that has never been surpassed, and greatly increased the status of the single-leaf (ie an image sold separately) woodcut.

21...Digital press

2008-09-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

Digital printing is the reproduction of digital images on a physical surface, such as common or photographic paper or paperboard-cover stock, film, cloth, plastic, vinyl, magnets, labels etc.
It can be differentiated from litho, flexography, gravure or letterpress printing in many ways, some of which are;
• Every impression made onto the paper can be different, as opposed to making several hundred or thousand impressions of the same image from one set of printing plates, as in traditional methods.

20...Dye-sublimation printer

2008-09-09T20:25:00.002-07:00

A dye-sublimation printer (or dye-sub printer) is a computer printer which employs a printing process that uses heat to transfer dye to a medium such as a plastic card, printer paper or poster paper. The process is usually to lay one color at a time using a ribbon that has color panels. Most dye-sublimation printers use CMYO colors which differs from the more recognised CMYK colors in that the black dye is eliminated in favour of a clear overcoating. This overcoating (which has numerous names depending on the manufacturer) is effectively a thin laminate which protects the print from discoloration from UV light and the air while also rendering the print water-resistant. Many consumer and professional dye-sublimation printers are designed and used for producing photographic prints.

19...Inkjet printer

2008-09-09T20:25:00.001-07:00

Inkjet printers are a type of computer printer that operates by propelling tiny droplets of liquid ink onto paper.

18...Dot matrix printer

2008-09-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

A dot matrix printer or impact matrix printer refers to a type of computer printer with a print head that runs back and forth on the page and prints by impact, striking an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against the paper, much like a typewriter. Unlike a typewriter or daisy wheel printer, letters are drawn out of a dot matrix, and thus, varied fonts and arbitrary graphics can be produced. Because the printing involves mechanical pressure, these printers can create carbon copies and carbonless copies.
Each dot is produced by a tiny metal rod, also called a "wire" or "pin", which is driven forward by the power of a tiny electromagnet or solenoid, either directly or through small levers (pawls). Facing the ribbon and the paper is a small guide plate (often made of an artificial jewel such as sapphire or ruby) pierced with holes to serve as guides for the pins. The moving portion of the printer is called the print head, and when running the printer as a generic text device generally prints one line of text at a time. Most dot matrix printers have a single vertical line of dot-making equipment on their print heads; others have a few interleaved rows in order to improve dot density.

17...Laser printer

2008-09-09T20:23:00.002-07:00

The laser printer, based on a modified xerographic copier, was invented at Xerox in 1969 by researcher Gary Starkweather, who had a fully functional networked printer system working by 1971. Laser printing eventually became a multibillion-dollar business for Xerox.
The first commercial implementation of a laser printer was the IBM model 3800 in 1976, used for high-volume printing of documents such as invoices and mailing labels. It is often cited as "taking up a whole room," implying that it was a primitive version of the later familiar device used with a personal computer. While large, it was designed for an entirely different purpose. Many 3800s are still in use.
The first laser printer designed for use with an individual computer was released with the Xerox Star 8010 in 1981. Although it was innovative, the Star was an expensive system that was only purchased by a small number of laboratories and institutions. After personal computers became more widespread, the first laser printer intended for a mass market was the HP LaserJet 8ppm, released in 1984, using a Canon engine controlled by HP software. The HP LaserJet printer was quickly followed by other laser printers from Brother Industries, IBM, and others.
Most noteworthy was the role the laser printer played in popularizing desktop publishing with the introduction of the Apple LaserWriter for the Apple Macintosh, along with Aldus PageMaker software, in 1985. With these products, users could create documents that would previously have required professional typesetting.

16...Thermal printer

2008-09-09T20:23:00.001-07:00

A thermal printer (or direct thermal printer) produces a printed image by selectively heating coated thermochromic paper, or thermal paper as it is commonly known, when the paper passes over the thermal print head. The coating turns black in the areas where it is heated, producing an image.

15...Photocopier

2008-09-09T20:22:00.001-07:00

Xerographic office photocopying was introduced by Xerox in the 1960s, and over the following 20 years it gradually replaced copies made by Verifax, Photostat, carbon paper, mimeograph machines, and other duplicating machines. The prevalence of its use is one of the factors that prevented the development of the paperless office heralded early in the digital revolution.

14...Flexography

2008-09-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

Flexography (also called surface printing), often abbreviated to flexo, is a method of printing most commonly used for packaging (Labels, Tape, Bags, Boxes, Banners, Etc).
A flexo print is achieved by creating a mirrored master of the required image as a 3D relief in a rubber or polymer material. A measured amount of ink is deposited upon the surface of the printing plate (or printing cylinder) using an anilox roll. The print surface then rotates, contacting the print material which transfers the ink.
Originally flexo printing was basic in quality. Labels requiring high quality have generally been printed Offset until recently. In the last few years great advances have been made to the quality of flexo printing presses.The greatest advances though have been in the area of PhotoPolymer Printing Plates, including improvements to the plate material and the method of plate creation. —usually photographic exposure followed by chemical etch, though also by direct laser engraving

13...Screen Printing

2008-09-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

Screenprinting has its origins in simple stencilling, most notably of the Japanese form (katazome), used who cut banana leaves and inserted ink through the design holes on textiles, mostly for clothing. This was taken up in France. The modern screenprinting process originated from patents taken out by Samuel Simon in 1907 in England. This idea was then adopted in San Francisco, California, by John Pilsworth in 1914 who used screenprinting to form multicolor prints in a subtractive mode, differing from screenprinting as it is done today.

12...Offset press

2008-09-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

Offset printing is a widely used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier on which the image to be printed obtains ink from ink rollers, while the non-printing area attracts a film of water, keeping the non-printing areas ink-free.

11...Chromolithography

2008-09-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

Chromolithography was the first method for making true multi-color prints. Earlier attempts at polychromed printing relied on hand-coloring. The type of color printing stemmed from the process of lithography, and it includes all types of lithography that are printed in color. It replaced coloring prints by hand, and eventually served as a replica of a real painting. Lithographers sought to find a way to print on flat surfaces with the use of chemicals instead of relief or intaglio printing Depending on the amount of colors present, a chromolithograph could take months to produce. To make what was once referred to as a “’chromo’”, a lithographer, with a finished painting in front of him, gradually built and corrected the print to look as much as possible like the painting in front of him, sometimes using dozens of layers. The process can be very time consuming and cumbersome contingent upon the skill of the lithographer.
The technique for using color in printing was invented in 1796 in Germany. Considering the fact that it stemmed from lithography, there have been debates over whether chromolithography was created by Alois Senefelder, the same person who came up with printing by way of lithography. Senefelder introduced colored lithography in his 1818 Vollstaendiges Lehrbuch der Steindruckerey (A Complete Course of Lithography), and in the work, Senefelder told of his plans to print using color and he also explained the colors he wished to be able to print someday. Although Senefelder recorded ideas on chromolithography, it turns out that other countries besides Germany, such as France and England, were also heavily involved in trying to find a new way to print in color. Godefroy Engelmann of Mulhouse proved to be one of the few searching for ways to produce colored printed images when he was awarded his patent on chromolithography in July 1837. Even after Engelmann received his award, disputes over whether chromolithography was already being used continued to rise. Some sources point to the idea that chromolithography was already being used in areas of printing such as the production of playing cards.

10...Lithography

2008-09-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

Invented by Bavarian author Aloys Senefelder in 1796,

lithography is a method for printing on a smooth surface.

Lithography is a printing process that uses chemical

processes to create an image. For instance, the positive part

of an image would be a hydrophobic chemical, while the

negative image would be water. Thus, when the plate is

introduced to a compatible ink and water mixture, the ink

will adhere to the positive image and the water will clean the

negative image. This allows for a relatively flat print plate

which allows for much longer runs than the older physical

methods of imaging (e.g., embossing or engraving).

9...Intaglio Printing

2008-09-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

Intaglio is a family of printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface, known as the matrix or plate. Normally, copper or zinc plates are used as a surface, and the incisions are created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint or mezzotint. Collographs may also be printed as intaglio plates. To print an intaglio plate the surface is covered in thick ink and then rubbed with tarlatan cloth to remove most of the excess. The final smooth wipe is usually done by hand, sometimes with the aid of newspaper or old public phone book pages, leaving ink only in the incisions. A damp piece of paper is placed on top and the plate and paper are run through a printing press that, through pressure, transfers the ink from the recesses of the plate to the paper.

8...Rotary printing press

2008-09-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

A rotary printing press is a printing press in which the impressions are curved around a cylinder so that the printing can be done on long continuous rolls of paper, cardboard, plastic, or a large number of other substrates. Rotary drum printing was invented by Richard March Hoe, and then significantly improved by William Bullock

7...Printing houses

2008-09-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

Early printing houses (near the time of Gutenberg) were run by "master printers." These printers owned shops, selected and edited manuscripts, determined the sizes of print runs, sold the works they produced, raised capital and organized distribution. Some master printing houses became the cultural centre for literati such as Erasmus.
• Print shop apprentices: Apprentices, usually between the ages of 15 and 20, worked for master printers. Apprentices were not required to be literate, and literacy rates at the time were very low, in comparison to today. Apprentices prepared ink, dampened sheets of paper, and assisted at the press. An apprentice who wished to learn to become a compositor had to learn Latin and spend time under the supervision of a journeyman.
• Journeyman printers: After completing their apprenticeships, journeyman (so called from the French "journée" for day) printers were free to move employers. This facilitated the spread of printing to areas that were less print-centred.
• Compositors: Those who set the type for printing.
• Pressmen: the person who worked the press. This was physically labour intensive.
The earliest-known image of a European, Gutenberg-style print shop is the Dance of Death by Matthias Huss, at Lyon, 1499. This image depicts a compositor standing at a compositor's case being grabbed by a skeleton. The case is raised to facilitate his work. The image also shows a pressman being grabbed by a skeleton. At the right of the printing house a bookshop is shown.
Financial aspects
Court records from the city of Mainz document that Johannes Fust was, for some time, Gutenberg's financial backer.
By the sixteenth century jobs associated with printing were becoming increasingly specialized. Structures supporting publishers were more and more complex, leading to this division of labour. In Europe between 1500 and 1700 the role of the Master Printer was dying out and giving way to the bookseller—publisher. Printing during this period had a stronger commercial imperative than previously. Risks associated with the industry however were substantial, although dependent on the nature of the publication.
Bookseller publishers negotiated at trade fairs and at print shops. Jobbing work appeared in which printers did menial tasks in the beginning of their careers to support themselves.
1500–1700: Publishers developed several new methods of funding projects.
1. Cooperative associations/publication syndicates—a number of individuals shared the risks associated with printing and shared in the profit. This was pioneered by the French.[citation needed]
2. Subscription publishing—pioneered by the English in the early 17th century.[citation needed] A prospectus for a publication was drawn up by a publisher to raise funding. The prospectus was given to potential buyers who signed up for a copy. If there were not enough subscriptions the publication did not go ahead. Lists of subscribers were included in the books as endorsements. If enough people subscribed a reprint might occur. Some authors used subscription publication to bypass the publisher entirely.
3. Installment publishing—books were issued in parts until a complete book had been issued. This was not necessarily done with a fixed time period. It was an effective method of spreading cost over a period of time. It also allowed earlier returns on investment to help cover production costs of subsequent installments.
The Mechanick Exercises, by Joseph Moxon, in London, 1683, was said to be the first publication done in installments.
Publishing trade organizations allowed publishers to organize business concerns collectively. Systems of self-regulation occurred in these arrangements. For example, if one publisher did something to irritate other publishers he would be controlled by peer pressure. Such systems are known as cartels, and are in most countries now considered to be in restraint of trade. These arrangements helped deal with labour unrest among journeymen, who faced difficult working conditions. Brotherhoods predated unions, without the formal regulations now associated with unions.
In most cases, publishers bought the copyright in a work from the author, and made some arrangement about the possible profits. This required a substantial amount of capital in addition to the capital for the physical equipment and staff. Alternatively, an author who had sufficient money would sometimes keep the copyright himself, and simply pay the printer for the production of the book.

6...Flat-bed printing press

2008-09-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring an image. The systems involved were first assembled in Germany by the goldsmith Johann Gutenberg in the mid-15th century. Printing methods based on Gutenberg's printing press spread rapidly throughout first Europe and then the rest of the world, replacing most block printing and making it the sole progenitor of modern movable type printing. As a method of creating reproductions for mass consumption, The printing press has been superseded by the advent of offset printing.
Johannes Gutenberg's work in the printing press began in approximately 1436 when he partnered with Andreas Dritzehen—a man he had previously instructed in gem-cutting—and Andreas Heilmann, owner of a paper mill. It was not until a 1439 lawsuit against Gutenberg that official record exists; witnesses testimony discussed type, an inventory of metals (including lead) and his type mold.
Others in Europe were developing movable type at this time, including goldsmith Procopius Waldfoghel of France and Laurens Janszoon Coster of the Netherlands. They are not known to have contributed specific advances to the printing press. While the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition had attributed the invention of the printing press to Coster, the company now states that is incorrect.
In this woodblock from 1568, the printer at left is removing a page from the press while the one at right inks the text-blocks
Having previously worked as a professional goldsmith, Gutenberg made skillful use of the knowledge of metals he had learned as a craftsman. He was the first to make type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, which was critical for producing durable type that produced high-quality printed books and proved to be more suitable for printing than the clay, wooden or bronze types invented in East Asia. To create these lead types, Gutenberg used what some considered his most ingenious invention, a special matrix enabling the quick and precise moulding of new type blocks from a uniform template.

5...Movable type Printing

2008-09-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

Movable type
Movable type is the system of printing and typography using movable pieces of metal type, made by casting from matrices struck by letterpunches.
Around 1040, the first known movable type system was created in China by Bi Sheng out of porcelain. Metal movable type was first invented in Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty (around 1230). Neither movable type system was widely used, one reason being the enormous Chinese character set.
It is traditionally summarized that Johannes Gutenberg, of the German city of Mainz, developed European movable type printing technology around 1439 and in just over a decade, the European age of printing began. However, the details show a more complex evolutionary process spread over multiple locations. Also, Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer experimented with Guttenburg in Mainz.
Compared to woodblock printing, movable type page-setting was quicker and more durable. The metal type pieces were more durable and the lettering was more uniform, leading to typography and fonts. The high quality and relatively low price of the Gutenberg Bible (1455) established the superiority of movable type, and printing presses rapidly spread across Europe, leading up to the Renaissance, and later all around the world. Today, practically all movable type printing ultimately derives from Gutenberg's movable type printing, which is often regarded as the most important invention of the second millennium.
Gutenberg is also credited with the introduction of an oil-based ink which was more durable than previously used water-based inks. Having worked as a professional goldsmith, Gutenberg made skillful use of the knowledge of metals he had learned as a craftsman. Gutenberg was also the first to make his type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, known as type metal, printer's lead, or printer's metal, which was critical for producing durable type that produced high-quality printed books, and proved to be more suitable for printing than the clay, wooden or bronze types used in East Asia. To create these lead types, Gutenberg used what some considered his most ingenious invention, a special matrix wherewith the moulding of new movable types with an unprecedented precision at short notice became feasible. Within a year after his B42, Gutenberg also published the first coloured prints.
The invention of the printing press revolutionized communication and book production leading to the spread of knowledge. Rapidly, printing spread from Germany by emigrating German printers, but also by foreign apprentices returning home. A printing press was built in Venice in 1469, and by 1500 the city had 417 printers. In 1470 Johann Heynlin set up a printing press in Paris. In 1473 Kasper Straube published the Almanach cracoviense ad annum 1474 in Kraków. Dirk Martens set up a printing press in Aalst (Flanders) in 1473. He printed a book about the two lovers of Enea Piccolomini who became pope Pius II.In 1476 a printing press was set up in England by William Caxton. Belarusian Francysk Skaryna printed the first book in Slavic language on August 6, 1517. The Italian Juan Pablos set up an imported press in Mexico City in 1539. The first printing press in Southeast Asia was set up in the Philippines by the Spanish in 1593. Stephen Day was the first to build a printing press in North America at Massachusetts Bay in 1638, and helped establish the Cambridge Press.
The Gutenberg press was much more efficient than manual copying and still was largely unchanged in the eras of John Baskerville and Giambattista Bodoni, over 300 years later. By 1800, Lord Stanhope had constructed a press completely from cast iron, reducing the force required by 90% while doubling the size of the printed area. While Stanhope's "mechanical theory" had improved the efficiency of the press, it still was only capable of 250 sheets per hour. German printer Friedrich Koenig would be the first to design a non-manpowered machine—using steam. Having moved to London in 1804, Koenig soon met Thomas Bensley and secured financial support for his project in 1807. Patented in 1810, Koenig had designed a steam press "much like a hand press connected to a steam engine." The first production trial of this model occurred in April 1811.

4...Stencil Printing

2008-09-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

Stencils may have been used to color cloth for a very long time; the technique probably reached its peak of sophistication in Katazome and other techniques used on silks for clothes during the Edo period in Japan. In Europe, from about 1450 they were very commonly used to colour old master prints printed in black and white, usually woodcuts. This was especially the case with playing-cards, which continued to be coloured by stencil long after most other subjects for prints were left in black and white. Stenciling back in the 2600 BC's was different. They used color from plants and flowers such as indigo (which extracts blue). Stencils were used for mass publications, as the type didn't have to be hand-written.

3...Metal block printing

2008-09-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

After the introduction of woodblock printing to the Islamic world, possibly from China, a unique type of block printing (tarsh in Arabic) was developed in Islamic Egypt during the 9th-10th centuries: print blocks made from metals such as tin, lead and cast iron, as well as stone, glass and clay. The first printed amulets were also developed there, and were printed with Arabic calligraphy using metal block printing. This technique, however, appears to have had very little influence outside of the Muslim world, since metal and other non-wooden forms of block printing were unknown in China, which later developed metal movable type printing instead. Though Europe adopted woodblock printing from the Muslim world, the technique of metal block printing was also unknown in Europe. Block printing later went out of use in Islamic Central Asia after movable type printing was introduced from China.

2...Woodblock printing

2008-09-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

Woodblock printing
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. As a method of printing on cloth, the earliest surviving examples from China date to before 220, and from Egypt to the 4th century.Ukiyo-e is the best known type of Japanese woodblock art print. Most European uses of the technique on paper are covered by the art term woodcut, except for the block-books produced mainly in the fifteenth century.
The use of round "cylinder seals" for rolling an impress onto clay tablets goes back to early Mesopotamian civilization before 3,000 BCE, where they are the commonest works of art to survive, and feature complex and beautiful images. In both China and Egypt, the use of small stamps for seals preceded the use of larger blocks. In Egypt, Europe and India, the printing of cloth certainly preceded the printing of paper or papyrus; this was probably also the case in China. The process is essentially the same - in Europe special presentation impressions of prints were often printed on silk until at least the seventeenth century.
In China
The earliest woodblock printed fragments to survive are from China and are of silk printed with flowers in three colours from the Han dynasty. The earliest Egyptian printed cloth dates from the 4th century.
It is clear that the Chinese were the first by several centuries to use the process to print solid text, and equally that, much later, in Europe the printing of images on cloth developed into the printing of images on paper (woodcuts). It is also now established that the use in Europe of the same process to print substantial amounts of text together with images in block-books only came after the development of movable type in the 1450s
In Europe
Block printing first came to Christian Europe as a method for printing on cloth, where it was common by 1300. Images printed on cloth for religious purposes could be quite large and elaborate, and when paper became relatively easily available, around 1400, the medium transferred very quickly to small woodcut religious images and playing cards printed on paper. These prints were produced in very large numbers from about 1425 onwards.
Around the mid-century, block-books, woodcut books with both text and images, usually carved in the same block, emerged as a cheaper alternative to manuscripts and books printed with movable type. These were all short heavily illustrated works, the bestsellers of the day, repeated in many different block-book versions: the Ars moriendi and the Biblia pauperum were the most common. There is still some controversy among scholars as to whether their introduction preceded or, the majority view, followed the introduction of movable type, with the range of estimated dates being between about 1440–1460.
The volume of Joseph Needham's Science and Civilization in China dealing with Paper and printing has a chapter that suggests that "European block printers must not only have seen Chinese samples, but perhaps had been taught by missionaries or others who had learned these un-European methods from Chinese printers during their residence in China.", but he also admitted that the "only evidence of European printing transmitted from China is a lack of counterevidence". However, paper itself was needed for the printing process and this came to Europe via trade with the Arabs from China. Historians acknowledge that paper indeed came from China without which printing would have been impossible, however, there is less direct evidence of the influence of printing technology from Asia and its influence on European printing technology.

Flexographic Printing Machinery

2008-09-03T01:15:00.000-07:00

Flexography (also called surface printing), often abbreviated to flexo, is a method of printing most commonly used for packaging (labels, tape, bags, boxes, banners, etc.).
A flexographic print is made by creating a positive mirrored master of the required image as a 3D relief in a rubber or polymer material. A measured amount of ink is deposited upon the surface of the printing plate (or printing cylinder) using an engraved anilox roll whose texture holds a specific amount of ink. The print surface then rotates, contacting the print material which transfers the ink.
One method of plate development uses light-sensitive polymer. A film negative is placed over the plate, which is exposed to ultra-violet light. The polymer hardens where light passes through the film. The remaining polymer has the consistency of chewed gum. It is washed away in a tank of either water or solvent. Brushes scrub the plate to facilitate the "washout" process. This method is considered "old-fashioned," but is still widely used in smaller operations, and is still taught in most high school and college flexo programs.
Originally flexographic printing was basic in quality. Labels requiring high quality have generally been printed using the offset process until recently. In the last few years great advances have been made to the quality of flexographic printing presses.
The greatest advances in flexographic printing have been in the area of photopolymer printing plates, including improvements to the plate material and the method of plate creation, usually photographic exposure followed by chemical etching, though also by direct laser engraving.
Digital direct to plate systems have dominated the industry recently with their better resolution and the ability to print four color process (or more) as well as offset. Companies like Dupont in DE and PlateCrafters in Colmar, PA have pioneered the latest technologies with advances in FAST washout and the latest screening technology, even companies who make plates in house are going to trade shops to get these high quality plates.
Laser-etched anilox rolls also play a part in the improvement of print quality. Full color picture printing is now possible, and some of the finer presses available today, in combination with a skilled operator, allow quality that rivals the lithographic process. One ongoing improvement has been the increasing ability to reproduce highlight tonal values, thereby providing a workaround for the very high dot gain associated with flexographic printing.
Flexo has an advantage over lithography in that it can use a wider range of inks, water based rather than oil based inks, and is good at printing on a variety of different materials. Flexographic inks, like those used in gravure and unlike those used in lithography, generally have a low viscosity. This enables faster drying and, as a result, faster production, which results in lower costs.
Printing press speeds of up to 600 meters (2000 FPM) per minute are achieveable now with modern technology high-end printers, like Flexotecnica [1], which introduced the world's first 12-color central impression (CI) drum press at Drupa 2008. Other press formats, such as in-line and stack presses, are available from Tresu and other suppliers.
History
The process of flexography was originally called “aniline printing,” named for the aniline oil used in the ink. In 1890, the first patented press was built in England by Bibby, Baron and Sons. The water-based ink smeared easily, leading the device to be known as “Bibby’s Folly”. In the early 1900’s, other European presses were developed using rubber printing plates. But by the 1920s, most presses were made in Germany, where the process was called “gummidruck”.
During the early part of the 20th century, the technique was used extensively in food packaging in the United States. However, in the 1940’s, the Food and Drug Administration classified aniline dyes as unsuitable for food packaging. Printing sales plummeted. Individual firms tried using new names for the process, such as “Lustro Printing” and “Transglo Printing,” but met with limited success. Even after the government approved the aniline process, sales continued to decline. Intent on re-popularizing aniline printing by changing its name, Franklin Moss, president of Mosstype Corporation, surveyed the industry in 1951 and received over 200 different name suggestions. In October of 1952, the new name was announced; “flexography.”[1]
Products
Typical products printed using flexography include brown corrugated boxes, flexible packaging including retail and shopping bags, food and hygiene bags and sacks, flexible plastics, self adhesive labels, and wallpaper. A number of newspapers now eschew the more common offset lithography process in favour of flexo.

In education
The Flexo in Education Program, formerly The Flexo in High School Program, was started at South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, North Carolina by the Flexographic Technical Association in 1993. Since its inception many other high school programs have been started. For example Asheville High School in Asheville, NC, The Applied Technology Center in Rock Hill, SC, Fort Mill High School in Fort Mill, SC, and others. The program has even gone international with the inclusion of Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School in Missasauga, Ontario Canada. The program was re-named to become The Flexo in Education Program because post-secondary institutions began to participate in the program. Many technical colleges and universities incorporate flexography into their curriculum. For example The Department of Graphic Communications and the Clemson University Printing and Converting Research Center at Clemson University, Central Piedmont Community College, Chowan University, Appalachian State University, the Graphic Communications Management program at Ryerson University, and others include flexography in their curriculum.
Sadly, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the school district where Flexo in Education got its start, announced in 2008 that the first ever Flexo in High School program at South Mecklenburg High School would be discontinued. The building where their flexography lab was located was demolished Monday, July 7, 2008, to make way for a new 3-story building to house the school's science and technology department. The school district determined that it would be too difficult and expensive to move, store, and re-install press and equipment in the old lab. It was, instead, donated to another school in North Carolina to start a new flexo program.
Flexographic printing inks
The nature and demands of the printing process and the application of the printed product determine the fundamental properties required of flexographic inks. Measuring the physical properties of inks and understanding how these are affected by the choice of ingredients is a large part of ink technology. Formulation of inks requires a detailed knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of the raw materials composing the inks, and how these ingredients affect or react with each other as well as with the environment. Flexographic printing inks are primarily formulated to remain compatible with the wide variety of substrates used in the process. Each formulation component individually fulfils a special function and the proportion and composition will vary according to the substrate.

Print Process Descriptions:
Printing Industry

Flexographic presses are capable of producing good quality impressions on many different substrates and is the least expensive and simplest of the printing processes used for decorating and packaging printing. The use of flexographic printing presses is on the rise. There are two primary reasons for this: 1) it is a relatively simple operation; and 2) it is easily adapted to the use of water-based inks. The widespread use of water-based inks in flexographic printing means a large reduction in VOC emission compared to the heatset web or gravure printing processes.
Publication flexography is used mainly in the production of newspaper, comics, directories, newspaper inserts, and catalogs. Packaging flexography is used for the production of folding cartons, labels, and packaging materials. Large quantities of inks are used during normal runs on flexographic presses; however, some printers are able to recycle a majority of their spent inks and wash waters. Major chemicals used in flexography include platemaking solution, water and solvent based inks, and blanket/roller cleaning solvents.
Flexography is a form of rotary web letterpress, combining features of both letterpress and rotogravure printing, using relief plates comprised of flexible rubber or photopolymer plates and fast drying, low viscosity solvent, water-based or UV curable inks fed from an "anilox" or two roller inking system. The flexible (rubber or photopolymer) plates are mounted onto the printing cylinder with double-faced adhesive. Plates are sometimes backed with thin metal sheets and attached to the cylinder with fastening straps for close register or ink alignment. This adds additional cost to the plate and requires more makeready time, but when quality printing is critical this type of plate can make the difference.

DIFFERENT TYPE OF PRINTING MACHINES

Now a days a various types of machines is in use in the market. The main purpose of no doubt is printing but for various items various type of machines are used. fes instances are given below.

SOFT PRINTING MACHINES

SOFT

PRINTING

MACHINE

Model

HSR-320

C Type

Characteristics:

1.Adopts ceramic mesh roller to convey ink.

2.Magnetic powder brake and slutch control the feeding and rolling or discharging. It can be equipped with automatic color register controller.

3.Each printing unit adopts 360-degree registering adjuster.

4.Each printing unit is equipped with an assemble of auto infrared drying installation.

5.The inking roller can depart from the machine and rotate at low speed in order to keep the ink from drying when its stops.

6.The main motor adopts stepless governor converter.

7.This machine can finish processing one web from feeding,printing polishing,auto infrared druing, laminating and discharging in one processing. The machine is an ideal trademark printing machine for the printing housed to print slips, high grade self adhesive trademarks.

Technical parameters:

Printing speed(m/min) 50
Printable color 4 colors
Max Web Width(mm) 320
Max printing width(mm) 310
Max feeding diameter(mm) 600
Max rolling diameter(mm) 550
Printing circumference(mm) 175-320
Registering precision(mm) +-0.01
Overall dimension(mm) 2000X1100X2100
Complete Weight(kg) about1800

SOFT PRINTING MACHINE

SOFT

PRINTING

MACHINE

Model

HSR-320

D - Type

Characteristics:

1.Adopts ceramic mesh roller to convey ink.

2.Magnetic powder brake and slutch control the feeding and rolling or discharging.It can be equipped with automatic color register controller.

3.Each printing unit adopts 360-degree registering adjuster.

4.Each printing unit is equipped with an assemble of auto infrared drying installation.

5.The inking roller can depart from the machine and rotate at low speed in order to keep the ink from drying when its stops.

6.The main motor adopts stepless governor converter.

7.This machine can finish processing one web from feeding,printing polishing,auto infrared druing,laminating and discharging in one processing.The machine is an ideal trademark printing machine for the printing housed to prin slips,high grade self adhesive trademarks.

8. Aautomatic error correcting.

Main Technical Parameters:

printing speed(m/min) 50

Printable color 4colors

Max Web Width(mm) 320

Max printing width(mm) 310

Max feeding diameter(mm) 600

Max rolling diameter(mm) 550

Printing circumference(mm) 175-320

Registering precision(mm) +-0.01

Overall dimension(mm) 2000X1100X2100

Complete Weight(kg) about1800

6 COLOURS 900 MM AUTOMATIC FLEXOGRAPHIC

PP. / PE. SACK PRINTING MACHINE

TECHNICAL FEATURES
1. Model: OZ - 4 - 900 Automatic Stack Type
2. Net Printing Width : 900 mm.
3. Maximum Possible Film Width : 1000 mm.
4. Maximum Possible Printing Lenght : Max: 1100 mm , min: 350 mm.
5. Type of ink machine can work: FA series, FX series, FE series.
6. Maximum Possible Printing Speed : 140 m/min.
7. Winding and Unwinding system over motor
8. Babana Roller System will be exist 1 piece each in both winding and unwinding. 9. Uncoiler system tension controlled (Loodcell)
10.Coiler system tension controlled (Loodcell)
11.Automatic PLC control system.
12.The main rollers are rigid chromium plated. 200 microns per dot.
13.Ability of printing from coil to coil.
14.Roller Cylinders movement transfer reduction gear system with AC speed control.
15.5.7 ‘‘ touchable control screen
16.Drying System of 30 kw PLC controlled
17.Main motor with electronic speed control of A.C. 5,5 kw 1500 rpm/min.
18.Stop switch (Enables automatic stopping in case of any breaking of film.) 19.PLC controlled metric measurement indicator.
20.Possible print types (44+0)-(2+2)-(3+1)-(2+1).
21.Winding and unwinding units integrated to machine ( optional )
22.Thickness of cliché: 2,54 mm – 2,84 mm.
23.Manual and automatic operating ability in all situations
24.Main motor movement transfer reduction gear system.
25.Corona Device will be exist before printing.
26.Exhaust fan (Suction fan): 2,2 kw 1500 rpm/min.
27.Pneumatic rigid pallet and pressing system.
28.Electronic solid stade roller PLC heat control.
29.2 pieces of ladders for the use of upper printing groups.
30.Dyeing circulation pumps (Motorpump) 4 pieces.
31.Border control unit.
32.Rail-Winch style system.
33.Electronic PLC control system.
34.Modem connection line.
35.Failure notice parameters.
36.Total electricity load: 48 kw.
37.Total weight of the machine: 6500 kg.

YT600-1000 series Flexographic Printing Machine

MODEL

YT 2600

This is 2 color

Printing

machine

with a

variable

width

adjustment

device

Main Technical information:

MODEL YT- 2600

PRINTING WIDTH 600mm

PRINTING LENGTH 180-1200mm

PRINTING SPEED 80m/min

PLATE THICKNESS 2.38mm

MACHINE DIMENSION 2300X1600X2200mm

MODEL YT- 2800

PRINTING WIDTH 800mm

PRINTING LENGTH 180-1200mm

PRINTING SPEED 80m/min

PLATE THICKNESS 2.38mm

MACHINE DIMENSION 2300X1600X2200mm

MODEL YT- 21000

PRINTING WIDTH 1000mm

PRINTING LENGTH 180-1200mm

PRINTING SPEED 80m/min

PLATE THICKNESS 2.38mm

MACHINE DIMENSION 2300X2000X2200mm

6 COLOURS 900 MM AUTOMATIC FLEXOGRAPHIC RUBBER ROLLER HDPE PLASTIC BAG PRINTING MACHINE

TECHNICAL FEATURES
1. Model: OZ - 6 - 900 Automatic.
2. Net Printing Width : 900 mm.
3. Maximum Possible Film Width : 1000 mm.
4. Maximum Possible Printing Lenght : Max: 800 mm , min: 260 mm.
5. Type of ink machine can work: FA series, FX series, FE series.
6. Maximum Possible Printing Speed : 140 m/min.
7. Possible Printing Coil Diameter : 800 mm.
8. Possible Maximum Coil Weight : 220 - 220 kg.
9. Uncoiler system tension controlled (Loodcell) 1 piece of magnetic brake.Manual.
10.Coiler system tension controlled (Loodcell) 1 piece of DC Motorized.Manual.
11.5,7 ‘‘ touchable control screen.
12.The main rollers are rigid chromium plated. 200 microns per dot .
13.Printing ability from coil to coil
14.Drying System of 32 kw.
15.Main motor with electronic speed control of A.C. 5,5 kw 1500 rpm/min.
16.Stop switch (Enables automatic stopping in case of any breaking of film.)
17.PLC controlled metric measurement indicator.
18.PLC controlled piece counter.
19.Possible print types (6+0)-(4+2)-(3+3)-(3+2).
20.Cliché cyliders collective move pneumatic system.
21.Thickness of cliché: 2,54 – 2,84 mm. Thickness of cliché sticking band: 0.1 - 0.3 mm. 22.Manual and automatic operating ability in all situations.
23.Measurements : Lenght : 6500 mm, Height : 3800 mm , Width : 1400 mm .
24.Cliché cylinder gear backlash: 5 mm.
25.Exhaust fan (Suction fan): 2,2 kw 1500 rpm/min.
26.Pneumatic rigid pallet and pressing system.
27.Electronic solid stade roller PLC heat control.
28.Airy shaft facility in rolling up and unrolling.3 Pieces (1 piece is mechanic) .
29.Dyeing circulation pumps (Motorpump) 6 pieces.
30.Border control unit.
31.Rail-Winch style system.
32.Electronic PLC control system.
33.Modem connection line.
34.Failure notice parameters.
35.Total electricity load: 55 kw.
36.Total weight of the machine: 8500 kg.
37.Total electricity power : 50 kw

6-Color Flexo Model JXG-6500

Features:
1. Variable frequenecy drive (Taiwan TECO) for regulation. Power saving and easy operation.
2. Both sides printing. If 6 colors, 6 + 0, 5 + 1, 4 + 2, 3 + 3.
3. Printing materials: PE, PP, OPP, BOPP, kraft paper, tissue and other web rolls.
4. All pulling rollers are made of stainless steel to insure

Advantages:

Zero plate bounce:
Print cylinders are locked up in steel clumps, eliminating print cylinder bounce. Plate is fixed by self adhesive tapes.

Precise Impression Control:
Print impression and ink delivery operate independently, allowing the operator to always set a perfect kiss impression for better print quality.

Capable to print on web paper and even tissue:
If to add automatic tension controller and ceramic anilox. Giant unwinder and rewinder is available.

OTHER TECHNICAL DATA

No. MKW-M1
Name 6-Color Flexo
Model JXG-6500
Size 20"
Print Width 500mm
Print Length 1,000mm
Print Speed 10-70 m/min

No. MKW-M2
Name 6-Color Flexo
Model JXG-6650
Size 25"
Print Width 650mm
Print Length 1,000mm
Print Speed 10-70 m/min

No. MKW-M3
Name 6-Color Flexo
Model JXG-6750
Size 30"
Print Width 750mm
Print Length 1,000mm
Print Speed 10-70 m/min

No. MKW-M4
Name 6-Color Flexo
Model JXG-61000
Size 425"
Print Width 1000mm
Print Length 1,000mm
Print Speed 10-70 m/min

6 COLOR PRINTING MACHINE YT-61000

Use:
it uses sensitization resin as flexible printing plate, suitable for printingsuch packing materials as polyethylene, polypropylene bag, cellophane and rollpaper. It is a kind of ideal printing equipment for producing paper packing bag forgood, supermarket handbag, vest bag and clothes bag. Performance and characteristics:
1) Easy operation, flexible starting, accurate color register
2) The meter counter can set printing quantity according to the requirements. Stop the machine automatically at the quantity or when the material is cut off
3) Pneumatic printing cylinder lift and lower, it will stir the printing ink automaticallyafter lifting 4) The printing ink is spread by the cylinder with even ink color
5) Reliable drying system coordinated with high-speed rotation, it will automaticallybreak circuit when the machine stops
6) 360°continuous and adjustable longitudinal register device
7) The frequency control of motor speed adapts to different printing speeds
8) There are jogging/stopping buttons on the plate roller base and material rollingrack so as to make it easy operate the machine when the plate is installed

Main technical variables:

1) Type/item:YT-61100
2) Printing entrance width:1100mm
3) Printing width:1060mm
4) Length of printing product: 191 ~ 194mm
5) Diameter of roll material: 455mm
6) Printing speed: 5 ~ 50m/min
7) Thickness of printing plate: 2.3mm
8) Total power:21kW
9) Overall dimensions (mm): 3,900 x 2,160 x 2,950
10) Weight (kg):5,500

Flat-Bed Printing Machinery

2008-09-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

Flat-bed printing, flower printing, nail printing
Flat-bed printing
The Flat-bed printing technique is now developed and now it is printed on followers, metelic object and even on nails. Here are the characherstics and main functions of flatbed printing:
(1).Entrepreneurs to run a universal image shop with full personalization. Customers can choose beautiful, decorative and practical objects for printing favorite pictures, words and even their own or friends pictures, on a variety of objects including mobile phones, makeup mirror, lighter, purse, crystal, glass, organic glass, metal, pottery, canvas board, etc..
(2).Small plaque, name plaque, medal and printing industry.
(3).Seal, mark, I/D card manufacture industry.
(4).Business planning, disseminating, promoting and tourism industry.
(5).Surface printing on small-batch products.
(6).Design and merchandising.
(7).Interior decoration and construction materials, etc.
(8).Timber, stone, furniture, craft work.
(9).Manufacture enterprises engaged in leather products, briefcases, purses, etc.
(10).Dissemination personnel from movie fan club, etc.
(11).For design studio.
few detail of such machinary is given hereunder.
Digital Flatbed Printer(DFP-07A2)
DFP-07A2 Digital Flatbed Printer ,it adopts a brand-new digital printing mode that can be used as the substitute of screen printing, movable printing and transfer printing. It realizes color printing on all kinds of materials without plate making or repeated color register, while it is highly waterproof, wearing resisting and adhesive. It offers higher printing quality than traditional method, simple operation and stable performance. Thus, it can completely meet batch production of large scale in various areas and improve the competitive power of products.
1. It can print on materials (wood, stone, steel, glass, leather, crystal, acrylic etc. ) and finished products (drawer, wallet, bag, tag, signboard,T-shirt, etc. ) colorfully. Printing even on unevenness surface and on flexible material are possible since it is non-contact type.
2. It can print images and maintain by simple process without plate-making or repeated color register as direct printing method by computer.
3. Ideal for industrial batch production with its high printing speed.
4. Applicable to industrial printing of large size up to 420mmX594mm.
5. 8-color waterproof ink box, clearest and highest printing quality (2880dpiX1440dpi,max.), clear levels, completely visible color block, no color deviation or mixing, higher quality than that of traditional methods such as hot transfer printing and screen printing, etc.
6. Ultra-low printing cost, over 80% lower than current hot transfer printing.
7. Applicable to customized color printing on T-shirt, pillow (pillow case), shopping bag, apron, gloves cotton socks and handkerchief, etc.
8.Floor-type design, convenient to place.

Digital Flatbed Printer(DFP-06A3)
Spring sun Digital Flatbed Printer is installed with "Three Dimensional Digital Printing System" suitable for any three dimensional objects up to 105mm thick, including glass, plastics, organic board, leather, rubber, marble, paper, metal, timber, porcelain, film, etc. For high-definition digital printing. It is easy to operate, just like a home printer. In particular, with the coat treatment liquid and special ink prior to printing, it is able to print on various medias.
It can create high added value with its easy operation and low investment. Emergence and actual application of this product represents revolutionary improvement and breakthrough in the field of printing techniques in the 21st century, further progressing the development of the industry.
Printing mode 6-color ink jet mode (Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Light Cyan/Light Magenta/Black)
Overall Dimension (Length/Width/Height) 785 ㎜ × 502 ㎜ × 390 ㎜
Maximum printing area 483mm × 329mm
Maximum resolution 2880dpi
Printing speed 9PPM (A4 color text)
Transmission mode IEEE-1284 parallel interface/USB universal serial bus
Operating environment Temperature: 10 ～ 35, Humidity: 20 ～ 80%
Weight Net weight: 60KG; Gross weight: 105KG
Printing Medium weight Less than or equal to 20KG
Power supply AC220/110 ± 10 Power ≤ 300W

Nail Printing

The beauitiful Prints of Nail of foot in diferent color and design
The beauitiful Prints of Nail of foot in diferent color and design

Here are three kind of machinery which used for printing of nails.

NP06-CF5

DSCIPTION

Size: 395 x 365 x 390mm
Power: 230W
Net Weight: 18KG
Gross Weight: 26KG
Input Voltage: 220+/-10% or 110+/-10%
Function: Color painting on 5 fingernails at one time,
as well as on toenails, mobiles and ornamental articles; intelligent identification. Software and designs have been installed. The machine can be used directly without other external equipment.

SMART NP06-F5

DSCIPTION

Size: 395 x 365 x 325mm
Power: 55W
Net Weight: 17KG
Gross Weight: 23KG
Input Voltage: 220+/-10% Or 110+/-10%
Function: Color painting on 5 fingernails at one time,
as well as on toenails, mobiles and ornamental articles;
Intelligent identification

Auto NP05-F5

DSCIPTION

Size: 495X370X370mm
Net Weight: 19 kg 　
Gross Weight: 28 kg
Power:50W
Input Voltage:220V50Hz or 110V50HZ
Function: Color painting on 5 fingernails at one time,
as well as on toenails, mobiles and ornamental articles
intelligent identification

Flower Printing

The following pictures the Flower Art Color Painter draws and paints out is clear and can stand for a long time, just like growing naturally on the petal. Meanwhile, the whole process will not damage the natural appearance of the petal or affect its normal growth. Romance is therefore forever by the instant brightening and personality is presented as well, which sublimates the flower. The machine has great creativity which brings real amazement. It reflects charm and magic showing your passion and respect incisively and vividly.

Here are Two kind of machinery which used for printing of f;owers.

Description
Printing three flowers at one time. With LCD liquid crystal display developed on the basis of FP3, customers no longer need to purchase or connect a computer. the automatic restore function of the electronic U-disk is developed and applied. In case the software system is damaged, memory data on U-disk provided with the equipment will automatically restore the system to factory defaults .

Size：440X340X345mm
Net Weight：16.6KG
Gross Weight：20KG
Power：350-380W
Input Voltage: 220V 50 HZ or 110 V 50 HZ

Description
Printing three flowers at one time. High efficiency.
Waterproof. Not affecting life of flower. (Computer and monitor should be purchased by user ).

Size: 430X300X233mm
Net Weight: 14 KG
Gross Weight: 19KG
Power: 50 W
Input Voltage: 220V 50 HZ or 110 V 50 HZ

1...History of Printing

2008-09-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

My subject is Flexographic Printing Machineries. But before going to this subject I want to describe briefly the history of printing and its various stages, and latter on I will discuss the process of Flexographic Printing and machinery involved.

History of printing

The history of printing began as an attempt to make easier and reduce the cost of reproducing multiple copies of documents, fabrics, wall papers and so on. Printing streamlined the process of communication, and contributed to the development of commerce, law, religion and culture.
Following are the various stages and types of Printing.

Name of Printing Year

Woodblock printing AD 0200
Movable type 1040
Intaglio 1430s
Printing press 1439
Lithography 1796
Chromolithography 1837
Rotary press 1843
Mimeograph 1876
Flexography 1890s
Offset press 1903
Screen-printing 1907
Dye-sublimation 1957
Photocopier 1960s
Pad printing 1960s
Laser printer 1969
Dot matrix printer 1970
Thermal printer
Inkjet printer 1976
Digital press 1993

Woodblock printing
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. As a method of printing on cloth, the earliest surviving examples from China date to before 220, and from Egypt to the 4th century.[1] Ukiyo-e is the best known type of Japanese woodblock art print. Most European uses of the technique on paper are covered by the art term woodcut, except for the block-books produced mainly in the fifteenth century.
The use of round "cylinder seals" for rolling an impress onto clay tablets goes back to early Mesopotamian civilization before 3,000 BCE, where they are the commonest works of art to survive, and feature complex and beautiful images. In both China and Egypt, the use of small stamps for seals preceded the use of larger blocks. In Egypt, Europe and India, the printing of cloth certainly preceded the printing of paper or papyrus; this was probably also the case in China. The process is essentially the same - in Europe special presentation impressions of prints were often printed on silk until at least the seventeenth century.
In China
The earliest woodblock printed fragments to survive are from China and are of silk printed with flowers in three colors from the Han dynasty (before 220 CE).[2] The earliest Egyptian printed cloth dates from the 4th century.[3]
It is clear that the Chinese were the first by several centuries to use the process to print solid text, and equally that, much later, in Europe the printing of images on cloth developed into the printing of images on paper (woodcuts). It is also now established that the use in Europe of the same process to print substantial amounts of text together with images in block-books only came after the development of movable type in the 1450s
In EuropeBlock printing first came to Christian Europe as a method for printing on cloth, where it was common by 1300. Images printed on cloth for religious purposes could be quite large and elaborate, and when paper became relatively easily available, around 1400, the medium transferred very quickly to small woodcut religious images and playing cards printed on paper. These prints were produced in very large numbers from about 1425 onwards.
Around the mid-century, block-books, woodcut books with both text and images, usually carved in the same block, emerged as a cheaper alternative to manuscripts and books printed with movable type. These were all short heavily illustrated works, the bestsellers of the day, repeated in many different block-book versions: the Ars moriendi and the Biblia pauperum were the most common. There is still some controversy among scholars as to whether their introduction preceded or, the majority view, followed the introduction of movable type, with the range of estimated dates being between about 1440–1460.[4]
The volume of Joseph Needham's Science and Civilization in China dealing with Paper and printing has a chapter that suggests that "European block printers must not only have seen Chinese samples, but perhaps had been taught by missionaries or others who had learned these un-European methods from Chinese printers during their residence in China.", but he also admitted that the "only evidence of European printing transmitted from China is a lack of counterevidence".[5] However, paper itself was needed for the printing process and this came to Europe via trade with the Arabs from China. Historians acknowledge that paper indeed came from China without which printing would have been impossible, however, there is less direct evidence of the influence of printing technology from Asia and its influence on European printing technology. [6]

Metal block printing

After the introduction of woodblock printing to the Islamic world, possibly from China, a unique type of block printing (tarsh in Arabic) was developed in Islamic Egypt during the 9th-10th centuries: print blocks made from metals such as tin, lead and cast iron, as well as stone, glass and clay. The first printed amulets were also developed there, and were printed with Arabic calligraphy using metal block printing. This technique, however, appears to have had very little influence outside of the Muslim world, since metal and other non-wooden forms of block printing were unknown in China, which later developed metal movable type printing instead. Though Europe adopted woodblock printing from the Muslim world, the technique of metal block printing was also unknown in Europe. Block printing later went out of use in Islamic Central Asia after movable type printing was introduced from China.[7]

Stencil
Stencils may have been used to color cloth for a very long time; the technique probably reached its peak of sophistication in Katazome and other techniques used on silks for clothes during the Edo period in Japan. In Europe, from about 1450 they were very commonly used to colour old master prints printed in black and white, usually woodcuts. This was especially the case with playing-cards, which continued to be coloured by stencil long after most other subjects for prints were left in black and white. Stenciling back in the 2600 BC's was different. They used color from plants and flowers such as indigo (which extracts blue). Stencils were used for mass publications, as the type didn't have to be hand-written.

Movable type
Movable type is the system of printing and typography using movable pieces of metal type, made by casting from matrices struck by letterpunches.
Around 1040, the first known movable type system was created in China by Bi Sheng out of porcelain. Metal movable type was first invented in Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty (around 1230). Neither movable type system was widely used, one reason being the enormous Chinese character set.
It is traditionally summarized that Johannes Gutenberg, of the German city of Mainz, developed European movable type printing technology around 1439[8] and in just over a decade, the European age of printing began. However, the details show a more complex evolutionary process spread over multiple locations.[9] Also, Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer experimented with Guttenburg in Mainz.
Compared to woodblock printing, movable type page-setting was quicker and more durable. The metal type pieces were more durable and the lettering was more uniform, leading to typography and fonts. The high quality and relatively low price of the Gutenberg Bible (1455) established the superiority of movable type, and printing presses rapidly spread across Europe, leading up to the Renaissance, and later all around the world. Today, practically all movable type printing ultimately derives from Gutenberg's movable type printing, which is often regarded as the most important invention of the second millennium.[10]
Gutenberg is also credited with the introduction of an oil-based ink which was more durable than previously used water-based inks. Having worked as a professional goldsmith, Gutenberg made skillful use of the knowledge of metals he had learned as a craftsman. Gutenberg was also the first to make his type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, known as type metal, printer's lead, or printer's metal, which was critical for producing durable type that produced high-quality printed books, and proved to be more suitable for printing than the clay, wooden or bronze types used in East Asia. To create these lead types, Gutenberg used what some considered his most ingenious invention, a special matrix wherewith the moulding of new movable types with an unprecedented precision at short notice became feasible. Within a year after his B42, Gutenberg also published the first coloured prints.
The invention of the printing press revolutionized communication and book production leading to the spread of knowledge. Rapidly, printing spread from Germany by emigrating German printers, but also by foreign apprentices returning home. A printing press was built in Venice in 1469, and by 1500 the city had 417 printers. In 1470 Johann Heynlin set up a printing press in Paris. In 1473 Kasper Straube published the Almanach cracoviense ad annum 1474 in Kraków. Dirk Martens set up a printing press in Aalst (Flanders) in 1473. He printed a book about the two lovers of Enea Piccolomini who became pope Pius II.In 1476 a printing press was set up in England by William Caxton. Belarusian Francysk Skaryna printed the first book in Slavic language on August 6, 1517. The Italian Juan Pablos set up an imported press in Mexico City in 1539. The first printing press in Southeast Asia was set up in the Philippines by the Spanish in 1593. Stephen Day was the first to build a printing press in North America at Massachusetts Bay in 1638, and helped establish the Cambridge Press.
The Gutenberg press was much more efficient than manual copying and still was largely unchanged in the eras of John Baskerville and Giambattista Bodoni, over 300 years later.[11] By 1800, Lord Stanhope had constructed a press completely from cast iron, reducing the force required by 90% while doubling the size of the printed area.[11] While Stanhope's "mechanical theory" had improved the efficiency of the press, it still was only capable of 250 sheets per hour.[11] German printer Friedrich Koenig would be the first to design a non-manpowered machine—using steam.[11] Having moved to London in 1804, Koenig soon met Thomas Bensley and secured financial support for his project in 1807.[11] Patented in 1810, Koenig had designed a steam press "much like a hand press connected to a steam engine."[11] The first production trial of this model occurred in April 1811.

Flat-bed printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring an image. The systems involved were first assembled in Germany by the goldsmith Johann Gutenberg in the mid-15th century.[8] Printing methods based on Gutenberg's printing press spread rapidly throughout first Europe and then the rest of the world, replacing most block printing and making it the sole progenitor of modern movable type printing. As a method of creating reproductions for mass consumption, The printing press has been superseded by the advent of offset printing.
Johannes Gutenberg's work in the printing press began in approximately 1436 when he partnered with Andreas Dritzehen—a man he had previously instructed in gem-cutting—and Andreas Heilmann, owner of a paper mill.[8] It was not until a 1439 lawsuit against Gutenberg that official record exists; witnesses testimony discussed type, an inventory of metals (including lead) and his type mold.[8]
Others in Europe were developing movable type at this time, including goldsmith Procopius Waldfoghel of France and Laurens Janszoon Coster of the Netherlands.[8] They are not known to have contributed specific advances to the printing press.[8] While the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition had attributed the invention of the printing press to Coster, the company now states that is incorrect.[12]

In this woodblock from 1568, the printer at left is removing a page from the press while the one at right inks the text-blocks
Having previously worked as a professional goldsmith, Gutenberg made skillful use of the knowledge of metals he had learned as a craftsman. He was the first to make type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, which was critical for producing durable type that produced high-quality printed books and proved to be more suitable for printing than the clay, wooden or bronze types invented in East Asia. To create these lead types, Gutenberg used what some considered his most ingenious invention, a special matrix enabling the quick and precise moulding of new type blocks from a uniform template.

Printing houses

Early printing houses (near the time of Gutenberg) were run by "master printers." These printers owned shops, selected and edited manuscripts, determined the sizes of print runs, sold the works they produced, raised capital and organized distribution. Some master printing houses became the cultural centre for literati such as Erasmus.
• Print shop apprentices: Apprentices, usually between the ages of 15 and 20, worked for master printers. Apprentices were not required to be literate, and literacy rates at the time were very low, in comparison to today. Apprentices prepared ink, dampened sheets of paper, and assisted at the press. An apprentice who wished to learn to become a compositor had to learn Latin and spend time under the supervision of a journeyman.
• Journeyman printers: After completing their apprenticeships, journeyman (so called from the French "journée" for day) printers were free to move employers. This facilitated the spread of printing to areas that were less print-centred.
• Compositors: Those who set the type for printing.
• Pressmen: the person who worked the press. This was physically labour intensive.
The earliest-known image of a European, Gutenberg-style print shop is the Dance of Death by Matthias Huss, at Lyon, 1499. This image depicts a compositor standing at a compositor's case being grabbed by a skeleton. The case is raised to facilitate his work. The image also shows a pressman being grabbed by a skeleton. At the right of the printing house a bookshop is shown.
Financial aspects
Court records from the city of Mainz document that Johannes Fust was, for some time, Gutenberg's financial backer.
By the sixteenth century jobs associated with printing were becoming increasingly specialized. Structures supporting publishers were more and more complex, leading to this division of labour. In Europe between 1500 and 1700 the role of the Master Printer was dying out and giving way to the bookseller—publisher. Printing during this period had a stronger commercial imperative than previously. Risks associated with the industry however were substantial, although dependent on the nature of the publication.
Bookseller publishers negotiated at trade fairs and at print shops. Jobbing work appeared in which printers did menial tasks in the beginning of their careers to support themselves.
1500–1700: Publishers developed several new methods of funding projects.
1. Cooperative associations/publication syndicates—a number of individuals shared the risks associated with printing and shared in the profit. This was pioneered by the French.[citation needed]
2. Subscription publishing—pioneered by the English in the early 17th century.[citation needed] A prospectus for a publication was drawn up by a publisher to raise funding. The prospectus was given to potential buyers who signed up for a copy. If there were not enough subscriptions the publication did not go ahead. Lists of subscribers were included in the books as endorsements. If enough people subscribed a reprint might occur. Some authors used subscription publication to bypass the publisher entirely.
3. Installment publishing—books were issued in parts until a complete book had been issued. This was not necessarily done with a fixed time period. It was an effective method of spreading cost over a period of time. It also allowed earlier returns on investment to help cover production costs of subsequent installments.
The Mechanick Exercises, by Joseph Moxon, in London, 1683, was said to be the first publication done in installments.[citation needed]
Publishing trade organizations allowed publishers to organize business concerns collectively. Systems of self-regulation occurred in these arrangements. For example, if one publisher did something to irritate other publishers he would be controlled by peer pressure. Such systems are known as cartels, and are in most countries now considered to be in restraint of trade. These arrangements helped deal with labour unrest among journeymen, who faced difficult working conditions. Brotherhoods predated unions, without the formal regulations now associated with unions.
In most cases, publishers bought the copyright in a work from the author, and made some arrangement about the possible profits. This required a substantial amount of capital in addition to the capital for the physical equipment and staff. Alternatively, an author who had sufficient money would sometimes keep the copyright himself, and simply pay the printer for the production of the book. For further developments, see main

Rotary printing press

A rotary printing press is a printing press in which the impressions are curved around a cylinder so that the printing can be done on long continuous rolls of paper, cardboard, plastic, or a large number of other substrates. Rotary drum printing was invented by Richard March Hoe, and then significantly improved by William Bullock

Intaglio
Intaglio (pronounced in-TAL-yo, IPA: /ɪnˈtælɪoʊ/) is a family of printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface, known as the matrix or plate. Normally, copper or zinc plates are used as a surface, and the incisions are created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint or mezzotint. Collographs may also be printed as intaglio plates. To print an intaglio plate the surface is covered in thick ink and then rubbed with tarlatan cloth to remove most of the excess. The final smooth wipe is usually done by hand, sometimes with the aid of newspaper or old public phone book pages, leaving ink only in the incisions. A damp piece of paper is placed on top and the plate and paper are run through a printing press that, through pressure, transfers the ink from the recesses of the plate to the paper.

Lithography (1796)
Invented by Bavarian author Aloys Senefelder in 1796,[13] lithography is a method for printing on a smooth surface. Lithography is a printing process that uses chemical processes to create an image. For instance, the positive part of an image would be a hydrophobic chemical, while the negative image would be water. Thus, when the plate is introduced to a compatible ink and water mixture, the ink will adhere to the positive image and the water will clean the negative image. This allows for a relatively flat print plate which allows for much longer runs than the older physical methods of imaging (e.g., embossing or engraving).

Chromolithography
Chromolithography was the first method for making true multi-color prints. Earlier attempts at polychromed printing relied on hand-coloring. The type of color printing stemmed from the process of lithography, and it includes all types of lithography that are printed in color.[14] It replaced coloring prints by hand, and eventually served as a replica of a real painting. Lithographers sought to find a way to print on flat surfaces with the use of chemicals instead of relief or intaglio printing.[15] Depending on the amount of colors present, a chromolithograph could take months to produce. To make what was once referred to as a “’chromo’”, a lithographer, with a finished painting in front of him, gradually built and corrected the print to look as much as possible like the painting in front of him, sometimes using dozens of layers.[16] The process can be very time consuming and cumbersome contingent upon the skill of the lithographer.
The technique for using color in printing was invented in 1796 in Germany. Considering the fact that it stemmed from lithography, there have been debates over whether chromolithography was created by Alois Senefelder, the same person who came up with printing by way of lithography.[17] Senefelder introduced colored lithography in his 1818 Vollstaendiges Lehrbuch der Steindruckerey (A Complete Course of Lithography), and in the work, Senefelder told of his plans to print using color and he also explained the colors he wished to be able to print someday. Although Senefelder recorded ideas on chromolithography, it turns out that other countries besides Germany, such as France and England, were also heavily involved in trying to find a new way to print in color. Godefroy Engelmann of Mulhouse proved to be one of the few searching for ways to produce colored printed images when he was awarded his patent on chromolithography in July 1837.[17] Even after Engelmann received his award, disputes over whether chromolithography was already being used continued to rise. Some sources point to the idea that chromolithography was already being used in areas of printing such as the production of playing cards.[17]

Offset press (1870s)
Offset printing is a widely used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier on which the image to be printed obtains ink from ink rollers, while the non-printing area attracts a film of water, keeping the non-printing areas ink-free.

Screenprinting (1907)

Screenprinting has its origins in simple stencilling, most notably of the Japanese form (katazome), used who cut banana leaves and inserted ink through the design holes on textiles, mostly for clothing. This was taken up in France. The modern screenprinting process originated from patents taken out by Samuel Simon in 1907 in England. This idea was then adopted in San Francisco, California, by John Pilsworth in 1914 who used screenprinting to form multicolor prints in a subtractive mode, differing from screenprinting as it is done today.

Flexography
Flexography (also called surface printing), often abbreviated to flexo, is a method of printing most commonly used for packaging (Labels, Tape, Bags, Boxes, Banners, Etc).
A flexo print is achieved by creating a mirrored master of the required image as a 3D relief in a rubber or polymer material. A measured amount of ink is deposited upon the surface of the printing plate (or printing cylinder) using an anilox roll. The print surface then rotates, contacting the print material which transfers the ink.
Originally flexo printing was basic in quality. Labels requiring high quality have generally been printed Offset until recently. In the last few years great advances have been made to the quality of flexo printing presses.The greatest advances though have been in the area of PhotoPolymer Printing Plates, including improvements to the plate material and the method of plate creation. —usually photographic exposure followed by chemical etch, though also by direct laser engraving

Photocopier (1960s)

Xerographic office photocopying was introduced by Xerox in the 1960s, and over the following 20 years it gradually replaced copies made by Verifax, Photostat, carbon paper, mimeograph machines, and other duplicating machines. The prevalence of its use is one of the factors that prevented the development of the paperless office heralded early in the digital revolution.

Thermal printer

A thermal printer (or direct thermal printer) produces a printed image by selectively heating coated thermochromic paper, or thermal paper as it is commonly known, when the paper passes over the thermal print head. The coating turns black in the areas where it is heated, producing an image.

Laser printer (1969)
The laser printer, based on a modified xerographic copier, was invented at Xerox in 1969 by researcher Gary Starkweather, who had a fully functional networked printer system working by 1971.[18][19] Laser printing eventually became a multibillion-dollar business for Xerox.
The first commercial implementation of a laser printer was the IBM model 3800 in 1976, used for high-volume printing of documents such as invoices and mailing labels. It is often cited as "taking up a whole room," implying that it was a primitive version of the later familiar device used with a personal computer. While large, it was designed for an entirely different purpose. Many 3800s are still in use.
The first laser printer designed for use with an individual computer was released with the Xerox Star 8010 in 1981. Although it was innovative, the Star was an expensive ($17,000) system that was only purchased by a small number of laboratories and institutions. After personal computers became more widespread, the first laser printer intended for a mass market was the HP LaserJet 8ppm, released in 1984, using a Canon engine controlled by HP software. The HP LaserJet printer was quickly followed by other laser printers from Brother Industries, IBM, and others.
Most noteworthy was the role the laser printer played in popularizing desktop publishing with the introduction of the Apple LaserWriter for the Apple Macintosh, along with Aldus PageMaker software, in 1985. With these products, users could create documents that would previously have required professional typesetting.

Dot matrix printer (1970)

A dot matrix printer or impact matrix printer refers to a type of computer printer with a print head that runs back and forth on the page and prints by impact, striking an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against the paper, much like a typewriter. Unlike a typewriter or daisy wheel printer, letters are drawn out of a dot matrix, and thus, varied fonts and arbitrary graphics can be produced. Because the printing involves mechanical pressure, these printers can create carbon copies and carbonless copies.
Each dot is produced by a tiny metal rod, also called a "wire" or "pin", which is driven forward by the power of a tiny electromagnet or solenoid, either directly or through small levers (pawls). Facing the ribbon and the paper is a small guide plate (often made of an artificial jewel such as sapphire or ruby [1]) pierced with holes to serve as guides for the pins. The moving portion of the printer is called the print head, and when running the printer as a generic text device generally prints one line of text at a time. Most dot matrix printers have a single vertical line of dot-making equipment on their print heads; others have a few interleaved rows in order to improve dot density.

Inkjet printer
Inkjet printers are a type of computer printer that operates by propelling tiny droplets of liquid ink onto paper.

Dye-sublimation printer

A dye-sublimation printer (or dye-sub printer) is a computer printer which employs a printing process that uses heat to transfer dye to a medium such as a plastic card, printer paper or poster paper. The process is usually to lay one color at a time using a ribbon that has color panels. Most dye-sublimation printers use CMYO colors which differs from the more recognised CMYK colors in that the black dye is eliminated in favour of a clear overcoating. This overcoating (which has numerous names depending on the manufacturer) is effectively a thin laminate which protects the print from discoloration from UV light and the air while also rendering the print water-resistant. Many consumer and professional dye-sublimation printers are designed and used for producing photographic prints.

Digital press (1993)
Digital printing is the reproduction of digital images on a physical surface, such as common or photographic paper or paperboard-cover stock, film, cloth, plastic, vinyl, magnets, labels etc.
It can be differentiated from litho, flexography, gravure or letterpress printing in many ways, some of which are;
• Every impression made onto the paper can be different, as opposed to making several hundred or thousand impressions of the same image from one set of printing plates, as in traditional methods.

Technological developments
Woodcut

Woodcut is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges. The areas to show 'white' are cut away with a knife or chisel, leaving the characters or image to show in 'black' at the original surface level. The block is cut along the grain of the wood (unlike wood engraving where the block is cut in the end-grain). In Europe beechwood was most commonly used; in Japan, a special type of cherry wood was popular.
Woodcut first appeared in ancient China. From 6th century onward, woodcut icons became popular and especially flourished in Buddhist texts. Since the 10th century, woodcut pictures appeared in inbetweenings of Chinese literature, and some banknotes, such as Jiaozi (currency). Woodcut New Year picture are also very popular with the Chinese.
In China and Tibet printed images mostly remained tied as illustrations to accompanying text until the modern period. The earliest woodblock printed book, the Diamond Sutra contains a large image as frontispiece, and many Buddhist texts contain some images. Later some notable Chinese artists designed woodcuts for books, the individual print develop in China in the form of New Year picture as an art-form in the way it did in Europe and Japan.
In Europe, Woodcut is the oldest technique used for old master prints, developing about 1400, by using on paper existing techniques for printing on cloth. The explosion of sales of cheap woodcuts in the middle of the century led to a fall in standards, and many popular prints were very crude. The development of hatching followed on rather later than in engraving. Michael Wolgemut was significant in making German woodcut more sophisticated from about 1475, and Erhard Reuwich was the first to use cross-hatching (far harder to do than in engraving or etching). Both of these produced mainly book-illustrations, as did various Italian artists who were also raising standards there at the same period. At the end of the century Albrecht Dürer brought the Western woodcut to a level that has never been surpassed, and greatly increased the status of the single-leaf (ie an image sold separately) woodcut.

Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold or steel are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing images on paper, which are called engravings. Engraving was a historically important method of producing images on paper, both in artistic printmaking, and also for commercial reproductions and illustrations for books and magazines. It has long been replaced by photography in its commercial applications and, partly because of the difficulty of learning the technique, is much less common in printmaking, where it has been largely replaced by etching and other techniques. Other terms often used for engravings are copper-plate engraving and Line engraving. These should all mean exactly the same, but especially in the past were often used very loosely to cover several printmaking techniques, so that many so-called engravings were in fact produced by totally different techniques, such as etching.
In antiquity, the only engraving that could be carried out is evident in the shallow grooves found in some jewellery after the beginning of the 1st Millennium B.C. The majority of so-called engraved designs on ancient gold rings or other items were produced by chasing or sometimes a combination of lost-wax casting and chasing.
In the European Middle Ages goldsmiths used engraving to decorate and inscribe metalwork. It is thought that they began to print impressions of their designs to record them. From this grew the engraving of copper printing plates to produce artistic images on paper, known as old master prints in Germany in the 1430s. Italy soon followed. Many early engravers came from a goldsmithing background. The first and greatest period of the engraving was from about 1470 to 1530, with such masters as Martin Schongauer , Albrecht Dürer , and Lucas van Leiden.

Halftoning
Halftone is the reprographic technique that simulates continuous tone imagery through the use of equally spaced dots of varying size.[21] 'Halftone' can also be used to refer specifically to the image that is produced by this process.[21]
The idea of halftone printing originates from William Fox Talbot. In the early 1850s he suggested using "photographic screens or veils" in connection with a photographic intaglio process.[22]
Several different kinds of screens were proposed during the following decades, but the first half-tone photo-engraving process was invented by Canadians George-Édouard Desbarats and William Leggo Jr.[2] On October 30, 1869, Desbarats published the Canadian Illustrated News which became the world’s first periodical to successfully employ this photo-mechanical technique; featuring a full page half-tone image of His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, from a photograph by Notman.[3] Ambitious to exploit a much larger circulation, Debarats and Leggo went to New York and launched the New York Daily Graphic in March 1873, which became the world’s first illustrated daily.
The first truly successful commercial method was patented by Frederic Ives of Philadelphia in 1881.[22][23] But although he found a way of breaking up the image into dots of varying sizes he did not make use of a ===screen===. In 1882 the German George Meisenbach patented a halftone process in England. His invention was based on the previous ideas of Berchtold and Swan. He used single lined screens which were turned during exposure to produce cross-lined effects. He was the first to achieve any commercial success with relief halftones.[22]

Xerography
Xerography (or electrophotography) is a photocopying technique developed by Chester Carlson in 1938 and patented on October 6, 1942. He received U.S. Patent 2,297,691 for his invention. The name xerography came from the Greek radicals xeros (dry) and graphos (writing), because there are no liquid chemicals involved in the process, unlike earlier reproduction techniques like cyanotype.
In 1937 Bulgarian physicist Georgi Nadjakov found that when placed into electric field and exposed to light, some dielectrics acquire permanent electric polarization in the exposed areas.[4] That polarization persists in the dark and is destroyed in light. Chester Carlson, the inventor of photocopying, was originally a patent attorney and part-time researcher and inventor. His job at the patent office in New York required him to make a large number of copies of important papers. Carlson, who was arthritic, found this a painful and tedious process. This prompted him to conduct experiments with photoconductivity. Carlson experimented with "electrophotography" in his kitchen and in 1938, applied for a patent for the process. He made the first "photocopy" using a zinc plate covered with sulfur. The words "10-22-38 Astoria" were written on a microscope slide, which was placed on top of more sulfur and under a bright light. After the slide was removed, a mirror image of the words remained. Carlson tried to sell his invention to some companies, but because the process was still underdeveloped he failed. At the time multiple copies were made using carbon paper or duplicating machines and people did not feel the need for an electronic machine. Between 1939 and 1944, Carlson was turned down by over 20 companies, including IBM and GE, neither of which believed there was a significant market for copiers.[[cn}}