Offset printing
printing technique where an inked image is transferred from plate to printing surface via a rubber blanket
Offset printing (offset lithography) is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier. Ink rollers transfer ink to the image areas of the image carrier, while a water roller applies a water-based film to the non-image areas.
The modern "web" process feeds a large reel of paper through a large press machine in several parts, typically for several meters, which then prints continuously as the paper is fed through.
Development of the offset press came in two versions: in 1875 by Robert Barclay of England for printing on tin and in 1904 by Ira Washington Rubel of the United States for printing on paper. Rubel's contemporary in Continental Europe was Kašpar Hermann, the author of the offset machine prototype (1904), holder of a patent for an offset disc machine (two rubber transfer rollers facing each other) – rolling-press. In 1907, he successfully started printing in Germany on his Triumph sheetfed offset press.
History
Lithography was initially created to be an inexpensive method of reproducing artwork. This printing process was limited to use on flat, porous surfaces because the printing plates were produced from limestone. In fact the word "lithograph", which comes from Greek (λιθογραφία), means "an image from stone" or "written in stone".
“Offset printing” enters the record as printing technique where an inked image is transferred from plate to printing surface via a rubber blanket. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Offset, printing and technique can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q190408. The Library of Congress control number is sh85094211. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1875, 1904 and 1907.
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This entry incorporates text from “Offset printing” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.