DRY LITHOGRAPHY
Identical to offset lithography but without the use of water, the non-printing areas of a special plate being silicon and non-receptive to the special inks that are used. 

FLEXOGRAPHY
Printing from a relief image with a rubber or plastic plate using liquid ink, either solvent or water based, plus pigment dyes, and is used mainly for packaging products. 

GRAVURE (Photogravure)
Printing from an intaglio copper plate or cylinder (Rotagravure) where the image is formed by the same size small squares, but of varying depth, the deeper cells producing the greater print density, or as more common today by using an invert halftone when the print density range is produced by both the depth and size of dots.  The ink is of low viscosity, mainly solvent with pigment, dyes and binder.  For good quality printing it requires a smooth paper. 

INKJET
Non-impact printing process where the image is formed by a continuous stream of ink droplets of the same size and frequency.  The position of the dot on the substrate is determined by an electrostatic charge.  The unwanted droplets are diverted to a waste tray. 

LASER
Describes the process where digital information from computer is used to generate pulses of light to form images on a light sensitive drum.  Thereafter the actual non-impact printing process is xerographic. 

LETTERPRESS
Printing from a relief printing image of metal, rubber or plastic with a viscous ink direct to the paper.

LETTERSET
Uses a shallow-depth relief letterpress printing plate which transfers the printing image first to an offset blanket then to the paper. 

LITHOGRAPHY
Printing from a planographic metal plate, the printing and on-printing areas being on the same plane, with the non-printing areas only accepting water, and the printing areas only accepting a greasy ink.  When the inked image is directly transferred to the paper it is known as “direct lithography”, but when, as in most cases, the ink is first transferred to a rubber offset blanket and then to the paper, permitting good quality printing on the less smooth papers, it is termed “offset lithography”. 

NON-IMPACT PRINTING
A term used to describe modern printing processes such as Laser and Ink Jet printing.  These processes are described as non-impact as there is no direct physical contact between the printing mechanism and the paper. 

SCREEN
The printing image is produced through a mesh made by  a cut or photographic stencil, the ink being forced through the mesh by a squeegee.  The ink film thickness of the printed image is significantly greater than that produced by other printing processes.  Can print on a wide range of material. 

THERMAL
An impact printing process where the image is formed by an electrically heated printing head contacting a special paper, coated or surface treated, containing a concealed colour dye and an activator which becomes coloured when touched by a heated element, forming a letter or number.  Used for recording information on charts and supermarket instant weight and price labels. 

THERMOGRAPHY
A method of imitating the more expensive die stamping, as used for stationery.  The printing is as normal for letterpress or lithography, but the wet printed image is dusted with coloured resin and immediately fused by heat, producing a similar relief image to die stamping but without the embossing on the reverse sides of the sheet. 

XEROGRAPHY
Non-impact printing using an electrostatic charge to produce a printing image on a drum which then attracts a resinous powder and is transferred to the paper and fused to give the finished print.  Now able to produce colour printing.