Which printing process uses raised printing surfaces?

Which printing process uses raised printing surfaces?

• A. Offset Printing
• B. Letterpress
• C. Flexography
• D. Digital Printing

Answer: (B)

Raised printing surfaces are a hallmark of letterpress, where the image is created on a relief that sits above the printing surface. Ink sticks to those raised areas, and the paper is pressed against them so the ink transfers directly from the raised surface to the paper, producing the print. In offset printing, the image sits on a flat plate and ink is transferred first to a rubber blanket and then to paper, so there isn’t a raised surface contacting the paper in the final transfer. Digital printing doesn’t use a printing plate with raised areas at all; it deposits ink or toner directly from the printer onto the substrate. Flexography does involve raised relief plates, especially for packaging, but the classic example of a process defined by raised printing surfaces is letterpress.

Raised printing surfaces are a hallmark of letterpress, where the image is created on a relief that sits above the printing surface. Ink sticks to those raised areas, and the paper is pressed against them so the ink transfers directly from the raised surface to the paper, producing the print. In offset printing, the image sits on a flat plate and ink is transferred first to a rubber blanket and then to paper, so there isn’t a raised surface contacting the paper in the final transfer. Digital printing doesn’t use a printing plate with raised areas at all; it deposits ink or toner directly from the printer onto the substrate. Flexography does involve raised relief plates, especially for packaging, but the classic example of a process defined by raised printing surfaces is letterpress.