There are a breathtakingly enormous number of printers around the world. These range from Lithographers to screen printers and include a variety in between. I will discuss lithography in some depth for those interested.

Lithography begins with the process of taking a design that has been created by a designer, who in the modern world uses a computer based software design tool, and transferring it to a transparency, which is done in turn by a reproduction expert or team thereof, so what is produced is a kind of template that can in turn be transferred to a Lithography plate, via a particular chemical process. The purpose of this endeavor is to produce a surface that will transfer a liquid ink impression onto a piece of material, most commonly paper, to be used as a graphic stimulation for the purpose of conveying some sort of message to a perceptive human being. The usual uses of this process include book production, newspaper production, magazine production, packaging for goods production, Flyers, notebooks, business cards, pamphlets, brochures, letterheads, compliment slips, tax invoices, receipts, delivery notes, bibles and Korans, and a whole collection of other stationary and media applications.

Some of the services of litho companies include, Lithographic printing, where using the abovementioned procedures, individual colours are transferred onto sheets or reams of paper, one at a time. A separate litho plate is used for each colour, and therefore a separate transparency as well. Also die cutting, where the sheets of paper are cut into specific shapes and sizes, to create aesthetic or practical items. Folding involves a machine that automatically receives and folds paper pieces or boxes into the required form. Embossing is the pushing up or down of specific areas on a printed page to create a three dimensional impression, it can be quite impressive. Varnishing is where a machine will coat the surface of a sheet or ream of paper to create a glossy and highly protective finish, this is practical and pleasing to the eye. Gold Leaf is where areas of the print are coated with a gold paint or ink to make it stand out more. Numbering is utilized in cases where a book has numbered entries in duplicate, singular, or triplicate, such as a tax invoice book or delivery book. Guillotining is where they cut the final product into its neat and completed form, such as trim the edges off of a pile of brochures or what have you.

A Printing firm or factory typically consists of various departments that correspond to the abovementioned itinerary. One will see a paper store, where reserve paper is kept in reams or rolls (in the case of web printing). A store manager will be employed to control the income and usage of paper materials. One will also see a die cutting section, where the machines and the store of dies will stay. One will normally encounter a series of lithography printing machines, which require constant attendance by an operator, and also maintenance by a technician. One would see a group of workers manually folding and finishing work that is too complex for a machine to handle.

These are to name but a few of the many aspects of lithography. The modern advances in the technology are to vast to continue discussing in one article, but rest assured, more knowledge can be found abundantly online or in libraries.