Printing plates are used in printing products like business cards, catalogs, and brochures.
The term “printing plate” is often mentioned in the same breath as offset printing. Offset printing was the standard before the birth of digital printers — and some prefer offset printing to this day.
Offset printing works by transferring an image onto a metal sheet known as a printing plate through a photomechanical or photochemical process. Typically, there is one plate for every color in the design to be printed. Once done, the plates are attached to cylindrical plate holders where ink and water are applied as the paper material passes through.
Offset printing relies on the use of printing plates to transfer your design onto paper.
Donor Donelan attached this note to her donation: "During my last days at Quad I was taking a college entrance exam, I saw what looked like a printing plate. That was what it was. I asked the plant manager if we could let the employees sign it. He agreed. We left this in the lunchroom and people left their signatures, some the dates that they worked. I removed it from the plant 12-28-2017.”
