Let’s talk about printing plates…

What the heck are those?

This is a printing plate. Oh no, another trip back to grade school…

Remember those rubber stamps that teachers would always use on your school work? They usually said something like “Fantastic! or “Terrific!” in red ink. Same thing. Printing plates = rubber stamps.

Except no one uses rubber anymore. Demand for higher quality printing means most printers are now using photopolymer.

How are they made?

Photopolymer is a soft material. That is until light hits it. Artwork from an electronic file like logos, graphics, text etc. is blasted onto the photopolymer sheet using lasers. This cures or stiffens the material where it was hit by laser light. The remaining areas of photopolymer that were not treated are brushed and washed away leaving a raised image like the photo above.

The smarty-pants among us will notice that the raised image is reversed. Once ink is applied to the raised portions, it will be stamped onto a substrate, like our barricade tape.

What about multi-color spot printing?

Multi-color spot printing works the same as above except each ink color requires its own printing plate. A three color print means three printing plates. It takes a great deal of skill for the print machine operator to align all three printing plates perfectly. The result is something of a work of art.

See how the green print is nestled snugly inside the black outline?

What about MY printing plates?

When you pay for us to create custom printing plates for you, we keep them here in a protective, climate-controlled storage area. This ensures they will remain safe, flexible, and supple to produce the highest quality print impressions. Once your plates are made, they are ready to print your products at a moment’s notice.

We have a very generous policy at Highland regarding the storage and maintenance of your plates. Many printers require a storage fee and/or have time limits. At Highland, you do not pay for plate storage. There is no time limit to use ’em or lose ’em.

If your printing plates should ever become lost, worn, damaged, stolen by fire-breathing dragons, or literally any other thing, we will replace your printing plates at no cost to you for life.