Printing is a massive industry and it’s still the dominant medium for information. However, new audiovisual and information technologies are challenging its position in certain sectors.

3D printing uses polymer and metal powders to build three-dimensional objects. These prints are used for industrial and medical purposes. For example, surgeons have printed titanium pelvises and a plastic tracheal splint for children.

1. Lithography

Lithography is one of the most commonly used printing technologies for high-resolution, multi-colored images on a wide variety of materials. This technique uses chemically repellent properties of oil and water to displace an image from one medium onto another, allowing for a higher resolution and a greater range of colors. It is used in a wide array of industries including technology, food, jewelry and finance that utilize mailers, cards, brochures and catalogs for their direct marketing campaigns.

It is most widely used by commercial printers that will produce thousands of copies in a production run. The process uses dedicated metal plates for each color (yellow, cyan, magenta and black) which are transferred to rubber blankets or rollers that then print on paper/card. This allows for the transfer of a high resolution and high contrast image to be printed on a large scale.

The lithographic process requires a piece of limestone that has an image or design on it that is repelled by ink, while the non-image areas are absorbent and hold inks. The image can be erased after the printing is complete, allowing for a much larger number of prints to be made from an original design.

Another type of lithography is called collotype, which involves exposing light-sensitive levels of gelatin on a plate, then developing it. This produces parts of the gelatin with different swelling characteristics in relation to water, resulting in differentiated color shades and absorption capabilities.

2. Electrophotography

Electrophotography is a printing technology that utilizes dry ink (toner), light, and electrostatic charges to create a printed output. The process was originally invented in the 1930s by Chester Carlson, who named it xerography after the Greek words for “dry writing.” Electrophotography is now used in most copy machines and laser printers. It is also the basis of digital presses, which are replacing traditional offset presses for shorter print runs.

With this method, a toner image is built up layer by layer on a selenium-coated photoconductor drum or belt that has a positive electric charge. A laser or LEDs are then beamed onto the drum, cancelling out the negative image and leaving a positively charged copy of the original. Toner is then transferred to paper by a corona and fused using heat and pressure, radiant fusing technology, or chemical vapors.

While often overshadowed by more popular inkjet printing technologies, electrophotography is a robust and efficient printing technique. It is especially effective in large-format printing applications such as outdoor signage, indoor wall murals and floor graphics, or personalized print products like children’s books with each child’s name or wedding photos. It is also used to produce complex structures, such as the microstructures found in biochips1. In addition, this technology is ideal for producing medical devices and prototypes that require a high level of accuracy.

3. Vacuum coating

Vacuum coating is a process that uses the power of the vacuum to deposit a thin layer of material on to a surface. It can be used for a wide variety of products and is one of the most durable finishes available. The most common applications for this type of finishing include laminates, soft touch coatings and hard gloss.

The printing industry is constantly evolving and changing with new technology. It is important to stay updated with the latest trends and techniques in order to remain competitive and productive. People who work in this career pathway use color, lettering and images to create visual concepts for print and design projects. They then take those designs and convert them into printed materials in three stages.

3D printing is a fast growing and expanding industry. Currently, there are four different types of printing technologies that can be used to create 3D objects. Sintering, powder bed fusion and melting methods use lasers or electric arcs to melt or fuse the raw material into a finished product. Stereolithography is another popular 3D printing technology that uses light to cure polymer material and produces a cross section of the object in thin layers.

Binder jetting is a form of 3D printing that uses a powdered raw material to build an object. A print head then deposits drops of adhesive onto the build platform to bind the powder together. This can be used to build metal parts using a low melting point metal, full-color polymer or ceramic parts.

4. 3D printing

3D printing is a fabrication technique that uses layering to build up three-dimensional objects. It is a process that allows manufacturers to produce complex geometric parts with minimal cost and short production times.

Using 3D printing, a CAD model is sliced horizontally into cross-sections which are then printed in thin layers on top of each other to form the final product. There are several different types of 3D printers, including FDM (fused deposition modeling), SLA (stereolithography) and SLS (selective laser sintering). All of these technologies work on the same basic principle, but they take fundamentally different approaches to print each cross-section.

For example, a 3D printer with the FDM process heats and melts a thick string of raw material, called filament, which is then extruded through a heated nozzle onto a moving platform to create each successive layer. Unlike other print methods, there is no need for chemicals as the raw materials are made of plastic or polymer.

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Another advantage of 3D printing is that there is minimal waste, as only the amount of material needed to print a specific layer is used. This results in significant cost savings for the manufacturer. However, this technology could also eliminate many traditional manufacturing jobs and raise the issue of unemployment in third-world countries, where many low-skill jobs help to keep economies stable.