Introduction Printing ink is so much more than just the black stuff that you put on a page. It has been around for thousands of years, and it's been used in everything from newspaper presses to digital printers. As you can see, we're not talking about offset printing ink which is oil based. I want to have a little fun and talk about how you can make your own ink for your printer. At home! Ready? Ingredients You will need the following ingredients: Soot (5 tbsp) : This is as purest as it gest. You can make the soot yourself by holding a glass up to a flame. This will allow you to slowly accumulate the soot. Water (2 tbsp): For the base of your ink, use distilled water so that you don't introduce any impurities into the mix. Distilled water is also easier to clean up than tap water because there are no minerals or residue left behind from tap water. Alcohol (2 tbsp) (grain alcohol): This ingredient works as a preservative for your ink and allows it to last for several mo
To the average person, both heatset and coldset processes may produce the same product and look exactly the same. The difference lies in the process with which they were produced. The essential difference with heatset is that it has the potential to produce much higher quality. Let’s explore the difference between these two forms of offset printing . Coldset Printing Many newspaper printers nowadays use the coldset form of printing. This basically means that they do not apply any heat to the ink to make it dry. It dries primarily through absorption into the paper and evaporation into the air. Ever get dirty hands from handling a newspaper? Sometimes ink will rub off on your hands. That’s coldest. The oils in the ink never completely dry – hence the smell and scuff from newspapers. Heatset Printing Many heatset printers also print newspapers. But in addition, they also print flyers, glossy magazines and other high quality work. This is because the process allows