Printing is the process of reproducing text and images on paper. It is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing, but it has also come to be associated with other forms of information storage that don’t involve physical media.
The earliest form of printing was woodblock, which was used for religious images before 220 A.D. Later it transferred to other media, such as cloth and paper.
A print is an image that has been produced from a matrix, such as a relief woodblock, lithographic stone, or serigraphic silkscreen. These matrices are often inked and signed by the artist, which gives each one an edition number.
In offset lithography, the printing and nonprinting areas of the plate are on the same plane surface; however, the image is obtained by ink rollers while the non-image areas obtain a film of water that keeps them ink-free.
Screenprint or silkscreen is a planographic technique that involves adhering a stencil to a silk or metal mesh screen, and then using a squeegee to pull ink through the open areas of the screen onto the paper. The resulting prints are called screenprints or serigraphs in the United States.
If you need to print a document for work or school, you might want to consider finding a local printing center at a shipping store or office supply shop. These businesses typically offer a full range of printing services, including photo printing. Many even provide a pickup service, so you can drop your documents off for printing on the way to work or school.