A sheetfed press is fed one sheet of paper at a time, instead of being fed from a roll. Because of the machine's slow speed, it is mostly used to print small jobs of under 50,000 copies. Long ago, it was thought that sheetfed presses were used for quality, while web presses were used for quantity. Today, that is no longer the case, as each type of printing press is able to produce high-quality products. It is now just a matter of saving the web presses for the high-volume projects, such as glossy magazines, which often need thousands of printed copies. Typically, sheetfed presses range from one- to six-color printers. They print each color in a predetermined order, which is usually black, cyan, magenta and yellow. The two extra color cartridges on the six-color machines are for specialty colors and can be added depending on the project's needs. Turning a piece of paper over to print both sides is known as "perfecting." This is done by transferring the paper from the first cylinder to the second cylinder by using a pair of "grippers." By changing the timing on the transfer cylinder, the piece of paper can essentially be turned over, allowing the backside to be printed. Although sheetfed presses were dependent on people a few years back, everything is now automated. The new automated machines, such as those made by AB Dick, mean that workers aren't required to manually change ink or watch over the presses to ensure accuracy, which was often a guessing game. Now, once the offset plate has been scanned, and the image processed by the press console, there is very little manual labor for the operator to do. His main responsibility is to oversee production and make necessary adjustments along the way. |
