by Bobbi Stonskas

Created on: August 11, 2009

Printing is much more than simply putting ink on paper. There are various printing methods and colors that are used to provide various levels of quality for your printed piece. Depending upon what you are using the printed piece for, your budget and the image you want to present to customers all factor into what type of printing you desire. Included in this article are some basic printing types and the various quality levels involved in each.

There are several types of printing methods that are used today. Some of the most common forms are:

Offset: This involves laying the ink down on a blank sheet of paper via an offset press. The paper is usually in large or small sheets depending upon the size of the press. You can print any number of colors producing a high quality image and the ink is smooth (or flat).

Thermography: This printing is known as raised printing. The printing process involves laying down a thermographic powder and applying the ink to it. Then the product has heat applied which raises the ink. Thermography is not safe for products running through laser printers or copy machines. The ink may melt if the machine gets warm. If you have a lot of solid ink coverage, it tends to appear bumpy and uneven.

Permaraised: This printing method is very similar to Thermography except that it is safe for laser printers.

Engraving: This procedure involves using a die to press the image into the paper on the top of the sheet. Ink may be applied prior to engraving. Engraving tends to be more costly due to the dies needed to make the impression into the paper.

Embossing: This procedure is very similar to engraving except that the image is pressed on the underside of the paper so the bump is on top of the sheet.

Foil Stamping: This printing method involves using foil, rather than ink. The foil comes on a roll and a die is used to stamp the image onto the product. The die and foil itself make this printing method more costly. Plus, there is a lot of waste in comparison to presses using ink.

Web printing: The printing method is very similar to offset except that the paper is on a big roll. Web printing tends not to have the highest quality printing. The advantages of web printing is that if your product is one color type, you may never know the difference, you can select a thinner paper stock and it tends to be less expensive for larger orders.

Digital: This printing is very comparable to your laser printer. The printing method

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