Industrial Practices GCSE Graphics AQA

Industrial practices Learning Objectives By the end of this lesson you will have developed a knowledge and understanding of: what is meant by one-off, batch and mass production the demands made by industrial techniques of manufacture why different commercial printing methods are used for different applications the printing stages: pre-press, print and finishing finishing techniques that can be applied after printing Processes used by hand

Methods of production One-off production – the making of a single product. Batch production – small ‘runs’ of a product; can be as few as 10 or as many as 2000. Mass production – the making of thousands of the product; the machines are likely to be working for 24 hours non-stop.

Just in time (JIT) Advantages Improves efficiency and therefore competitiveness. Cuts down waiting and transport costs to the smallest amount. Prevents too many products being made. Saves on materials and the money spent. Removes the concern about where or how to store the stock. Maintains the quality. Disadvantages The system is expensive to implement in terms of time and energy. The supply of materials can be interrupted. Demand may outstrip availability, creating a lag in the supply.

Quality assurance Quality assurance (QA) is the process through which the designer actually states what quality he or she wants the product to have when it is finally made. QA – is built into the planning for production. Standards are produced for designers to work to, with the aim of designing products which give value for money and are economical, efficiently produced and safe for the consumer. AQA GCSE Design and Technology: graphic products

Quality control Quality control (QC) are the measures that are put into place to ensure that the quality standards are met at critical points of the making process. QC – measures and checks that the designer puts into place to ensure the quality of the finished product. AQA GCSE Design and Technology: graphic products

Key points Sequencing is an important part of making sure that a product comes together without hitches. The correct sequence can save time, effort and money. Scale of production will directly influence this range of common factors: time, materials, labour, quantity, cost and the type of product. A prototype will frequently: help you to get a sense of whether it will work give you some idea of the proportions of the product resolve problems of how it works prove if the product functions the way you wanted help rehearse the production methods determine any problems with materials or processes.

Key points Maintaining quality Quality control – carried out by the manufacturer at every stage by sampling. This checking can be done by measurement, testing and supervision of the various processes. Quality assurance – achieved by the manufacturer when their product consistently meets a pre-determined set of quality standards.

Task On the back of your sheet fill in advantages and disadvantages The top table is just for the manufacturer The bottom table is just for the consumer

Processes Now we are going to look at processes and how they relate to production methods

Printing Pre-press procedure – the pre-press operations could include the following: the digitised artwork artwork check colour separation. Printing processes – you need to be aware of five printing processes: Offset lithography Flexography Gravure Screen printing Digital printing.

Printing processes Offset lithography Suited to text and illustration in runs up to 1,000,000. Used for general commercial work, quick printing, forms and documents. The ink is not directly applied to the plate. Flexography Process used for packaging materials, such as corrugated containers, cartons, sacks, milk and beverage cartons, labels, adhesive tapes and newspapers. The four major stages are; image preparation, plate making, printing, and finishing.

Quality control marks and symbols used in the printing industry At the start of production, the machines used (tooling) will be set to make the exact size. As production continues, there will be slight tooling wear or tooling movement. When quality sampling is carried out, as long as the finished sizes are within the tolerances then production continues. If the size of the sample falls outside the tolerance then production is stopped. This prevents waste product and saves money on materials. AQA GCSE Design and Technology: graphic products

Registration marks These are cross-haired lines that help visually ensure that a set of films or printing plates are in line or in register to produce a sharp registered result. AQA GCSE Design and Technology: graphic products

Colour bars These are a pattern of varying colours that enable visual and numeric quality control comparisons to be made across multiple printed sheets or pages. AQA GCSE Design and Technology: graphic products

Crop marks These are crossed lines placed at the corners of an image or a page to indicate where to trim it. They are also known as trim marks. AQA GCSE Design and Technology: graphic products

Crop marks, registration marks and colour bars Throughout a print run crop marks, registration marks and colour bars are used to ensure a consistent quality. Other checks include checking the density of the inks, the quality and weight of the paper or card, on a book it could also include the binding would be checked and that the pages are in the correct order and orientation. AQA GCSE Design and Technology: graphic products

Printing features To position print and check quality the following features are used. Registration marks Colour bars Crop marks

Printing features Types of print finish – the most common types of print finishes are: varnishing/spot varnishing Lamination Embossing foil blocking die cutting special colours.

Printing processes Gravure is used in long runs, is of a high quality and is costly. Used for wrapping paper, greeting cards, magazines, food packaging. The four major stages are; image preparation, cylinder preparation, printing and finishing. Screen printing is versatile and can print on a variety of materials of any shape, thickness and size. Used for posters, labels, signage, textiles and electronic circuit boards. The three major stages are; preparation of screen, printing, finishing Digital printing requires no plate. Used for quick print applications, copies and photographs, easy one-off image.

Plastic processes Injection molding is used in long runs of the same product, is of a high quality and is costly to set up. ABS is a typical plastic used in injection molding.

Hand tools Craft knives with mats, Scissors, Rotary cutters, Compass cutters,

Task One off Batch Mass Copy out the table and fill in the blanks Production method Cutting out a net A plastic product Printing artwork on paper Protecting graphics Cutting a curve on card Cutting out an arc on card Shaping plastic Printing artwork on plastic One off Craft knife 3D printer Inkjet printer Rotary cutter Compass cutter Laser cutter Batch Mass Copy out the table and fill in the blanks