plate

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plate

printing

Also known as: printing plate

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July 23, 2026

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A printing plate is a surface used in printing to transfer ink to paper or another material. In letterpress printing, the plate has a raised surface that receives ink and presses it onto the paper. For offset printing, the plate is flat, with areas treated to either attract or repel ink based on their chemical properties, typically utilizing the principle that water and grease do not mix.123

Plates can be made from various materials, including metal (like zinc, aluminum, copper, magnesium, or steel) and plastic. The preparation methods vary, involving techniques like stereotyping, electrotyping, photoengraving, and direct imaging processes. These processes create the specific surface characteristics needed to hold and transfer ink accurately for printing texts and illustrations.4231

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embossing
…means of engraved dies or plates. Crests, monograms, and addresses may be embossed on paper and envelopes from dies set either in small handscrew presses or in ordinary letterpresses. Blocked ornaments on book covers or imitation tooling on leatherwork can be effected by means of powerful embossing presses. For impressing…
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…means of engraved dies or plates. Crests, monograms, and addresses may be embossed on paper and envelopes from dies set either in small handscrew presses or in ordinary letterpresses. Blocked ornaments on book covers or imitation tooling on leatherwork can be effected by means of powerful embossing presses. For impressing…
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imprinting
…and (3) metal or plastic plates. Hectograph master cards are made with the aid of hectograph carbon, with the imprint transferred by means of a chemical solution. Up to 250 imprints may be made from a single master card. Stencil cards consist of small pieces of stencil tissue mounted in…
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…and (3) metal or plastic plates. Hectograph master cards are made with the aid of hectograph carbon, with the imprint transferred by means of a chemical solution. Up to 250 imprints may be made from a single master card. Stencil cards consist of small pieces of stencil tissue mounted in…
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offset printing
…grease-treated printing areas of the plate, while nonprinting areas, which hold water, reject the ink. The offset plate is usually of zinc or aluminum or a combination of metals, with the surface treated to render it porous and then coated with a photosensitive material. Exposure to an image hardens the…
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…grease-treated printing areas of the plate, while nonprinting areas, which hold water, reject the ink. The offset plate is usually of zinc or aluminum or a combination of metals, with the surface treated to render it porous and then coated with a photosensitive material. Exposure to an image hardens the…
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rotary press
…a cylinder containing the printing plates. It may be contrasted to the flatbed press, which has a flat printing surface. It is primarily used in high-speed, web-fed operations, in which the press takes paper from a roll, as in newspaper printing. Many of these large presses not only print as…
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…a cylinder containing the printing plates. It may be contrasted to the flatbed press, which has a flat printing surface. It is primarily used in high-speed, web-fed operations, in which the press takes paper from a roll, as in newspaper printing. Many of these large presses not only print as…
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rotogravure printing
… from depressions in a printing plate to the paper. It is an intaglio process, so-called because the design to be printed is etched or engraved below the surface of the printing plate. At the start of the gravure printing process, the plate is covered with ink and the surface is…
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… from depressions in a printing plate to the paper. It is an intaglio process, so-called because the design to be printed is etched or engraved below the surface of the printing plate. At the start of the gravure printing process, the plate is covered with ink and the surface is…
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