The quality of any printed product – from a simple leaflet to an original calendar or banner – depends directly on the print shop that executes the order. The final result is influenced by a set of equipment installed in the company, the professionalism of employees and a number of other factors.
Printing Business Process
The process of manufacturing printed products consists of several stages, each of which should be performed at a high level. The first stage is called prepress. At this stage the design of the future product is created, all the necessary preparatory operations are performed. This stage is the most labor-intensive in the case of offset printing. The second stage is the direct printing of the image on the selected material (paper, cardboard, plastic, etc.). The final, third stage of work is postpress processing. At this stage specialists perform additional operations, a set of which depends on the features of the final product – it could be;
- cutting,
- embossing,
- lamination,
- stitching, etc.
Thus, the production of printed products may require a whole complex of operations for which different equipment is used. Therefore, the equipment of a modern printing house includes not only printing machines, but also;
- cutters,
- glue machines,
- sheet-picking modules, etc.
Not every printing house can afford the whole range of equipment for the production of high-quality printing products. Some companies offer only printing, while others offer printing and certain types of finishing operations. Only printing companies of full cycle are able to perform all works to produce a printed product. Such companies offer customers both prepress (including design creation) and printing, and a wide range of postpress operations.
Printing Company Advantages
Cooperation with a full-service printing company is usually more convenient and profitable for customers. Applying to such a company, you can immediately agree on all the necessary work and save time on coordinating several orders in different places.
In conditions of high competition among Moscow printing houses, the companies that offer a complete cycle of work are in more favorable conditions. Having the entire order executed in one place means you do not have to worry about coordination of specialists’ actions at all stages of work. For example, at the prepress stage the printing house staff can fully take into account the peculiarities of the printing presses where the order will be executed.
The advantage of large full-cycle print shops is the wider range of services available to customers. As a rule, such companies offer customers not only offset and digital printing but also other popular imaging technologies such as risography and silkscreen printing. In addition, large printing houses usually you can order and large-format printing – with the help of this technology you can produce various materials for outdoor advertising.
Printing and printing – what are the differences?
Many customers of printing products think that printing and printing are the same thing. What is the difference between printing and printing?
Print shops are a universal branch of the printing industry. Books, newspapers and calendars, for example, can be printed within its walls at the same time. Printing houses can print large-format posters, tickets and business cards. A print shop can print any number of copies. In modern printing houses it is possible to carry out mass production of printed products using two basic technologies – digital and offset printing. The difference in these technologies lies in the use of analog and digital methods to produce the finished product.
Because of their versatility, print shops fulfill the different requirements of their customers. Specific tools are available for one task or another. To print a large circulation of books, it is most convenient to use an offset machine. And if the printing company received an order to print a small number of flyers, then to perform this task will involve digital printing, because digital technology does not require a long preparation of settings before starting, and can print the required number of copies in the shortest possible time.
These technologies do not become obsolete, because printed advertising is actively used, despite the development of the Internet and television. Production of printing companies is characterized by affordability. In order to read about something, you don’t have to buy a TV, computer or radio.
Printed Products
The question arises – what is meant by the term “Printed Products”? Today, printing is a good way to spread new ideas. Polygraphy can be thought of as products that are produced by modern printing houses with the help of different technologies. It is a generalized concept, meaning many areas of the printing industry, which every day, for different purposes, produces a huge number of finished printed products. Without polygraphy the existence of any sphere of business, industry, trade and even state structures would be impossible.
We are faced with printing products every day:
- Books, magazines, newspapers, brochures;
- Advertising leaflets, brochures, catalogs, banners;
- Bulletins, certificates, travel vouchers for government agencies and various businesses;
- Postcards, invitations, posters, posters and much more.
The definition says that printing is a way of replicating images on printed material, by transferring colors from another medium. But without printers, the processes of replication of printed products would not be possible, because they are engaged in its printing. Summing up, we can denote the difference between printing and printing in one short definition: printing houses are printing enterprises, where almost any printed matter is produced.
As you can see, printing and printing are two closely related concepts which are quite easy to understand.