Printing is a method for mass producing images and text with a printing substrate. The earliest printing related products to be used commercially date back to the early 17th century, when printing glass plates was first developed by JanSport. In recent years inkjet printing and thermal printing have become commonplace in many sectors, from printing t-shirts to digitally printing company logos on items such as golf balls. Print related products also include large format photographic printing which is commonly used for large format advertising. The most popular non-traditional printing products involve thermal transfer paper products such as thermal transfer print material and thermal transfer coating.

Thermal transfer printing is made through a simple but intricate process involving thermal energy being passed through a coloured solid substrate onto a backing plate. The substrate moves from a hot plate onto the hot substrate and then rapidly moves away from the hot substrate. The substrate can be made of several different coloured materials depending on the requirements of the printing customer. The substrate can be printed with colours or designs onto a plate of low emissivity (lowest reflective qualities) or a highly reflective (transparent, highly reflective quality) plate. The type of plate is largely driven by cost and manufacturing requirements in most cases. There are a few companies that offer high quality, custom made substrate that can be easily customized with a personal logo, description, colour and shape to suit specific printing requirements.

The most common method for transferring an image onto another material is through inkjet printing. This printing technique is often used for high quality, long lasting images (sometimes images that will be displayed regularly on the Internet and/or within electronic devices). This type of printing can be done in various sizes and colours as well as in a wide range of colours (RGB).

Heat transfer printing is done with a different technique. This is often used for very large images or for graphics that need to be printed on a specialised material (such as plastic). The ink is applied to a specialised film, which is then transferred onto the target surface. This is achieved through heat transfer paper which is pressed between two sheets of either plastic or other material. When the paper is pulled away from the printer, it leaves a pattern of dots (dots) that remain on the surface of the target surface.

The technique used to create this kind of printing is similar to that used for photo processing; where a low-pressure fuel generates high volumes of ink onto a specialised film that is applied to paper. The images created can be highly detailed, simple or cartoon-like. Some printing companies use heat-excimer printers that use electricity to excite molecules at very high temperatures to generate high temperature textures. This method is also frequently used to print extremely bright, high volume prints that can be seen from afar.

With inkjet printing, images are printed directly onto a surface without the aid of heat transfer papers. This is the most commonly used printing process for T-shirts, banners and flyers. The printing process is similar to that used in photo printing, whereby digital images are fed into a computer-controlled ink jet printer head. From there, the image is electronically scanned and reproduced to produce the final printed material.

Another popular printing process is desktop publishing, where small, printable pages are produced. This method is mostly used to produce stationery such as business cards, greeting cards and posters. In addition to being used to print small items, it can also be used to print calendars, booklets, brochures, manuals for home use. Most printers used in this way have a retractable table that can be used to add the item to one’s desk.

Lithography means ‘colored’ printing and involves using pigment inks to produce photographic images. Colored negatives (sometimes called color negatives) are printed from electronic scans or from printed photographs onto colored paper. Litho printing, on the other hand, involves the direct application of ink onto a colored support. This method is often used in darkroom applications such as printing signs and menus, though it can also be used for other purposes including flat printing, envelope printing and screen printing.