Processes
How offset printing works, and why it still wins long runs
Plates, blankets, make-ready, and the automation built to hit ISO 12647-2: the workhorse process from plate to printed sheet, and why its economics beat digital once runs get long.
Section
Processes
How the trade actually puts ink on substrate: offset, screen, letterpress and the specialty inks, treated as documents to read, not releases to reprint.
Processes
Screen printing explained: mesh, ink and where it still wins
The heaviest ink film in the trade, why it still owns textiles and heavy-coverage work, the water-based range made in Brookvale, and the safety framework that governs a screen shop.
Processes
Specialty inks: metallics, fluorescents, glow and UV, minus the mystique
The chemistry behind the effects, which processes carry them well, the Australian-made options, and the compliance questions that come with them.
Trade community
Letterpress in Australia: where the working heritage actually lives
Penrith's working museum, Melbourne's dispersed collection, and the craft that still bills: where letterpress survives in working order, and what was lost.