What Is the Process of Printing Magazines?

Printing Methods

There are three methods used in modern book manufacture: digital, gravure and offset. All three are used in printing magazines, with the choice depending on the means of the printer and the desired quality for the product.

The offset process works by transferring images, typically from original materials, to printing plates and then to rubber plates, which are used for printing. Typically these originals are now digital in origin. For larger production run, large rolls of paper are fed into the press.

The gravure process involves transferring images through the use of small, ink-filled depressions in the plate. After the excess ink has been scraped off, the paper is rolled across the plate by a rubber roller. These plates are always metal (as opposed to offset, which can often be rubber), and are typically made of copper. The results of the process are sharp, high-quality images often desired in magazines that are meant to have a long shelf life and/or carry a large number of color photographs.

An increasing number of niche magazines are now the product of desktop publishing. They are not only designed, but also printed and cut in a garage-style, "do it yourself" setup. While the printers and paper involved tend to be of a higher quality than the typical deskjet printer, all of these materials are available through any computer and/or paper shop.

The paper rolls from a commercial press are cut and folded into bundles, typically of 16 pages. These bundles are then either glued or stapled together.