On Body Print in London & the UK
This is the process to print onto the face of a CD or DVD. There a two types of printing used for this process; Screen or Litho (offset) Printing.
A number of options are offered for on-body CD/DVD printing.These include:
- High speed silk screening printing up to six colours
- High speed off set litho printing up to six colours
- Spot colour choices including all PMS colours, pastels, fluorescents and metallic.
- On Body Print
Screen Printing
The vast majority of silk screen printings are used for design with the use of solid colours.
- A screen is made of porous, finely woven fabric (originally silk, but typically made of polyester or nylon) stretched over an aluminium frame.
- Areas of the screen are blocked off with a non-permeable material (a stencil), this is a positive of the image to be printed, open spaces indicate where the ink appears
- The screen is placed on top of the disc
- Ink is placed on top of the screen and a rubber blade (squeegee) is used to push the ink evenly into the screen openings and onto the disc
- The ink passes through the open spaces in the screen onto the disc below
- If more than one colour is being printed on the same surface, the ink is rapidly dried under a UV lamp
- The process is repeated with another screen and different colour ink
Litho Printing
- Litho (offset) printing is a widely used printing technique where the linked image is transferred (or offset) from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface.
- When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier on which the image to be printed obtains ink from ink rollers. The non-printing area attracts a film of water so this is kept ink-free.
- Litho printing is mainly used for more complicated designs where images need to be very clearly defined.
- The advantage of offset printing is that the different images in the design will be separated and not run together.