Business Glossary

printing process in which the printing surface is neither raised (see letterpress) nor etched into the plate (see gravure), but in which the printing and nonprinting areas exist on the same plane, and printing is effected by means of a chemical process that allows ink to adhere to only the parts of the surface to be reproduced. The process, which was developed in the late eighteenth century, depends on the fact that water and grease repel each other. Originally, the image to be reproduced was drawn on a slab of stone with a grease crayon. The stone was then dampened with water, but the grease from the crayon would repel the water so that, when a greasebase ink was rolled across the stone, the ink would adhere only to the drawing, and the stone would be ready for the application of paper to reproduce the drawing. Lithography ("writing on stone") is accomplished according to the same principle today, but the stone has been replaced by a metal plate and the technology of preparing the plate has become more sophisticated. Lithography is less expensive than either letterpress or gravure printing and is a reasonable alternative, particularly when an order calls for a short run.

printing plate used in lithography; it has a printing image base of copper or brass and a nonprinting area of aluminum, stainless steel, or chromium. The bimetal plate is used for long runs of several million images because it is much more durable than other plates. Copper and brass are used for the image areas of the plate because these metals attract ink and repel water. Conversely, aluminum, steel, and chromium are ink-repellent and attract water. Bimetal plates produce an image of equal quality to deep-etch plates but bear up better to the wear and tear of long runs.

printing process chemical that makes the nonimage areas of a printing plate nonreceptive to ink and receptive to water.

printing process, also called intaglio, where the matter to be duplicated is etched into the printing surface rather than raised from the surface as in letterpress printing. After etching, the incisions are then inked, and as the paper comes into contact with the printing surface, ink is deposited on it in varying amounts, depending on the depth of the incisions. Gravure (photogravure) printing has a soft, velvety quality with subtle gradations of tonal values that combine to produce a lovely illustrative effect, which can even be done on inexpensive paper. (Its reproduction of type, however, tends to be a bit fuzzy.) Gravure printing was used for the first time in an American newspaper in 1914 by the New York Times for its magazine supplement and is used today predominantly for the magazine sections of all newspapers.