Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
offset printing
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
offset printing press
Painting of a person with a headscarf reading a newspaper, with blue and white text overlaid reading: How the middle class learned to read.
offset printing press
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
offset printing press
offset printing press Offset printing press.

offset printing

printing technique
Also known as: litho-offset, offset lithography
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

offset printing, in commercial printing, widely used printing technique in which the inked image on a printing plate is printed on a rubber cylinder and then transferred (i.e., offset) to paper or other material. The rubber cylinder gives great flexibility, permitting printing on wood, cloth, metal, leather, and rough paper. An American printer, Ira W. Rubel, of Nutley, N.J., accidentally discovered the process in 1904 and soon built a press to exploit it. In offset...

Discover the world with Britannica

Subscribe to Continue Reading

Free Trial | No Ads | Exclusive Content
Explore Subscriptions
DNA
Right
Mobile