Flatbed digital printer
Encyclopedia
Flatbed Digital printing is the reproduction of digital image
s using inkjet printing, typically on plastic or paperboard, although a wide variety of materials can be printed (common
, photographic paper
, film
, cloth, plastic
, etc.). Flatbed digital printers use inks made of acrylic monomer
s that are then exposed to strong UV-light to cure, or polymerize them. This process allows for printing on a wide variety of surfaces such as wood or metal, carpet, tile, and even glass. The adjustable printing bed makes it possible to print on surfaces ranging in thickness from a sheet of paper often up to as much as several inches. Typically used for commercial applications (retail and event signage), flatbed printing is often a substitute for screen-printing
. Since no printing plates or silkscreens must be produced, digital printing technology allows shorter runs of signs to be produced economically.
Environmentally, flatbed digital printing is based on a more sustainable system than its commercial predecessor of solvent printing as it produces fewer waste cartridges and less indoor air pollution.
Digital image
A digital image is a numeric representation of a two-dimensional image. Depending on whether or not the image resolution is fixed, it may be of vector or raster type...
s using inkjet printing, typically on plastic or paperboard, although a wide variety of materials can be printed (common
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
, photographic paper
Photographic paper
Photographic paper is paper coated with light-sensitive chemicals, used for making photographic prints.Photographic paper is exposed to light in a controlled manner, either by placing a negative in contact with the paper directly to produce a contact print, by using an enlarger in order to create a...
, film
Photographic film
Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film...
, cloth, plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
, etc.). Flatbed digital printers use inks made of acrylic monomer
Monomer
A monomer is an atom or a small molecule that may bind chemically to other monomers to form a polymer; the term "monomeric protein" may also be used to describe one of the proteins making up a multiprotein complex...
s that are then exposed to strong UV-light to cure, or polymerize them. This process allows for printing on a wide variety of surfaces such as wood or metal, carpet, tile, and even glass. The adjustable printing bed makes it possible to print on surfaces ranging in thickness from a sheet of paper often up to as much as several inches. Typically used for commercial applications (retail and event signage), flatbed printing is often a substitute for screen-printing
Screen-printing
Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate...
. Since no printing plates or silkscreens must be produced, digital printing technology allows shorter runs of signs to be produced economically.
Environmentally, flatbed digital printing is based on a more sustainable system than its commercial predecessor of solvent printing as it produces fewer waste cartridges and less indoor air pollution.
See also
- Digital printingDigital printingDigital printing refers to methods of printing from a digital based image directly to a variety of media. It usually refers to professional printing where small run jobs from desktop publishing and other digital sources are printed using large format and/or high volume laser or inkjet printers...
- Variable Data PrintingVariable Data PrintingVariable-data printing is a form of digital printing, including on-demand printing, in which elements such as text, graphics and images may be changed from one printed piece to the next, without stopping or slowing down the printing process and using information from a database or external file...
- Digital image acquisition
- Digital image processingDigital image processingDigital image processing is the use of computer algorithms to perform image processing on digital images. As a subcategory or field of digital signal processing, digital image processing has many advantages over analog image processing...
- Digital image display
- Graphical output device