MECHANICAL PRINTING

By Jessica Curtis
LETTERPRESS PRINTING
 Letterpress printing is a term for the relief printing of text
and image using a press with a ”type-high bed" printing
press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised
surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to
obtain a positive right-reading image. It was the normal
form of printing text from its invention by Johannes
Gutenberg in the mid-15th century until the 19th century
and remained in wide use for books and other uses until
the second half of the 20th century. In addition to the
direct impression of inked movable type onto paper or
another receptive surface, the term Letterpress can also
refer to the direct impression of inked printmaking blocks
such as photo-etched zinc "cuts" (plates), linoleum blocks,
wood engravings, etc., using such a press.[
GRAVURE
 Rotogravure (roto or gravure for short) is a type of intaglio
printing process, that is, it involves engraving the image onto
an image carrier. In gravure printing, the image is engraved
onto a copper cylinder because, like offset and flexography, it
uses a rotary printing press. The vast majority of gravure
presses print on rolls (also known as webs) of paper, rather
than sheets of paper. (Sheetfed gravure is a small, specialty
market.) Rotary gravure presses are the fastest and widest
presses in operation, printing everything from narrow labels
to 12 feet (4 m)-wide rolls of vinyl flooring. Additional
operations may be in-line with a gravure press, such as saddle
stitching facilities for magazine/brochure work. Once a staple
of newspaper photo features, the rotogravure process is still
used for commercial printing of magazines, postcards, and
corrugated (cardboard) product packaging.
SCREEN PRINTING
 Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a
woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The
attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that
transfer ink as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate.
A roller or squeegee is moved across the screen
stencil, forcing or pumping ink past the threads of the
woven mesh in the open areas.Screen printing is also
a stencil method of print making in which a design is
imposed on a screen of silk or other fine mesh, with
blank areas coated with an impermeable substance,
and ink is forced through the mesh onto the printing
surface. It is also known as Screen Printing,
silkscreen, seriography, and serigraph.