Printing Services - A History

By Lilith Smith

When it comes to spreading info to a great number of people, print is one of the most popular media. The present form of the printing services industry is a result of years of change & evolution in printing styles & techniques. Today it can fulfill almost any need of the clients connected to printing & its supplementary requirements.

Large volume printing services through relief printing technology began during the--00's when the world's very first printing press was invented by Gutenberg. In this method of printing the printed matter appears raised from the base of the material, like in a rubber stamp. This type of printing has however become a rarity these days, though not completely obsolete.

The industry has seen major transformation in the printing techniques used, and these innovations were most of the times propelled by progress in technology. Modern printing techniques have developed to a great extent, and each method has its own role and function. Most clients are in fact dazed by the abundance of printing choices available to them.

One of the most popular printing techniques in the market today is offset printing. In this technique, the image is transmitted onto paper from a metal plate on which the matter is first printed by the use of limited amount of ink. This method is best for bulk printing, as it is both quicker and cheaper than other methods in the market.

Other printing techniques that have evolved with progress in technology are electrostatic printing, which resembles photocopying, and thermal printing, which follows a procedure of selective heating of layered thermal paper.

However, digital printing is the newest printing method that is drawing a lot of popularity. As is evident from its name, it includes image development and manipulation on a computer, and then this computer generated image is eventually printed after review. This method is flawless and quick, but it is appropriate only for a restricted number of prints. As this method allows each print to be modified it has resulted in some novel uses like computer form printing, where documents like invoices and receipts are printed on a standard layout but with differing contents for each customer.

Another vital development in printing has dawned with the advent of the internet. Printing service providers have their commercial websites that clients can visit from right inside their homes or offices and register orders after seeing online printing samples.

Printing has always taken quantum evolutionary leaps with the progress in technology. The good news is that this trend of progress is going to continue in the future too, ushering in positive advancements to enhance efficiency and lower costs.

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