| Whether you want a flier or a brochure to publicize | | | | need to publish 10,000 copies of your newsletter, you |
| your products and services, wish to communicate with | | | | obviously cannot use your personal printer to do so. |
| other people through a newsletter or in-house | | | | Production is the second step wherein the project is |
| magazine or want to publish a magazine as a | | | | run on a printing press using printing plates, paper and |
| commercial prospect, printing is the technology that | | | | ink. In more complex jobs that are also expensive, this |
| becomes the most essential factor. Commercial | | | | is the stage when the printer provides a sample of the |
| printing is a highly technical task and most people, not | | | | final unfolded product that is known as a press proof. |
| familiar with the processes, are easily overwhelmed by | | | | This must be read and checked for accuracy before |
| the many parameters involved. Printing is not just | | | | the final go-ahead is given for the printing of all copies |
| putting words on paper. It involves the choice of text | | | | to take place. The final step is the post-press stage |
| design, images (either photographs or graphics or a | | | | that happens after the ink has dried. The printer then |
| combination of both), the quality of paper the final | | | | collates, folds, trims and binds the pages to create the |
| output is produced on as also the packaging in terms | | | | finished product as per the originally conceived and |
| of folding, lamination or binding. | | | | approved design. |
| To ensure that the end product is of the same quality | | | | The other factors that need to be studied to |
| as you had desired, the various stages of the printing | | | | understand commercial printing solutions include the |
| process must be understood. The first is what is | | | | quality of paper suitable for the project, color |
| referred to as pre-press and this involves the | | | | combinations available and the type of printer that will |
| assemblage of text, graphics, illustrations and | | | | print the job. Printers specialize in many niches. Like in |
| photographs that you want printed. With computers | | | | continuous-form materials which are needed for |
| now working as desktop publishing systems, it is | | | | purchase orders and invoices. Or maybe, newspapers, |
| possible to choose the style and design of your | | | | books, inserts, postcards. There are also different |
| document(s) and the same can be transferred to a | | | | printing methods such as offset lithography or gravure |
| printer or handed over to a commercial printing agency | | | | printing, each of such suitable for the specific nature of |
| for reproduction in mass volume. For example, if you | | | | the project. |