Waterless printing delivers superior reproduction to conventional printing. More tonal contrast. More shades of color. More saturation in every area. Finer detail throughout. Greater color fidelity. Better shadows and highlights. Less dot gain. Sharper color.

How is this possible?

    By eliminating fountain solution and using special plates, ink is easier to control. It's a simple fact, ink and water do not mix. Emulsification reduces vibrancy and so does alcohol.

    All inks have vehicle and pigment. Water destroys ink in the process of getting it to paper. Waterless printing delivers the ink direct to the paper without dilution, so colors are brighter, more dynamic and much cleaner than with traditional methods.

What are the advantages of 300 line screen waterless printing?

Brighter, cleaner, saturated and more vibrant colors
Smoother blends and gradations
Tints so fine you would swear they were spot color
A dot pattern that is virtually invisible to the naked eye
Greater detail in photographs and illustrations
Greater control of color balance
Quicker drying times and lower heat buildup
Cleaner printing with no water spots
Less dot gain and better definition
The most environmentally friendly printing process available
  

300 Line Screen

    Waterless printing is an easier process to operate than conventional printing. So easy, in fact, we are able to offer 300 lines per inch as our standard ruling. Typical printing companies offer 150 or sometimes 175 line screen. While these screen values are acceptable as a traditional industry standard, consider the possibilities of a dot pattern twice as fine as 150 line screen. The dot pattern is virtually invisible to the naked eye, unlike 150 or even 175 line screen printing.

    Waterless printing offers other results you can see with the naked eye. But even more fascinating is what you can see up close...under magnification.

Dot Gain: A difference you can see!
Conventional Printing Dot Pattern

    In this side by side enlargement, one can clearly see the difference in dot gain between conventional printing and waterless printing. With conventional offset lithography, ink sits on top of a raised plateau on the printing plate. To transfer ink from this raised image area to the press sheet, conventional printing uses fountain solution (a complex mixture of chemicals). This produces dots that are larger and less round. The result is known as dot gain.

Waterless Printing Dot Pattern

    With waterless printing, ink sits in a recessed image area on the printing plate. To transfer ink from this "valley" to your press sheet requires no fountain solution. This is why it's called "waterless." Waterless produces dots that are a more accurate reproduction of the film which generated them. With Waterless there is less dot gain. What's more, the waterless plate can transfer even more ink. That's why images look so sharp, saturated and colorful.