specialist techniques & processes

Question 1

what does cmyk stand for?

Answer 1

cyan
magenta
yellow
key

Question 2

what does rgb stand for?

Answer 2

red
green
blue

Question 3

when is rgb used?

Answer 3

household and office printers, technology screens

Question 4

when is cmyk used?

Answer 4

commercial printing such as newspapers and packaging

Question 5

how does rgb printing work?

Answer 5

The printer has a colour cartridge containing three colours and a separate black cartridge. As the printer passes through the paper, the inks are mixed to the desired colour and jetted onto the paper in the correct place.

Question 6

how does cmyk work?

Answer 6

It divides an image up into the 4 colour areas. Paper is passed through 4 plates or rollers, each of which print the desired amount of that colour.

Question 7

what is offset lithography?

Answer 7

the process by which cmyk colours are printed

Question 8

describe offset lithography

Answer 8

For each of the 4 colours, the image is laser exposed onto an aluminium cylinder (plate cylinder). Ink and water are applied to the plate cylinder. Water is used so the ink doesn’t stick to those areas. The ink is then transferred to the blanket cylinder where it is transferred to the page.

Question 9

how does offset lithography print double sided?

Answer 9

there are rollers above and below