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All Systems Operational

Printing Craft Practice syllabus for NABTEB | Learn | Learn by Rightal

NABTEB course

Printing Craft Practice

NABTEB

287 topics sit in this course for NABTEB.

Practice Printing Craft Practice All subjects

Learn/NABTEB/Syllabus/Printing Craft Practice

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Practice opens in your NABTEB workspace after you sign in. Questions and lecture notes stay there.

Practice this course Open lecture notes

Official rules, eligibility, and dates stay on the NABTEB guide.

Topics with a public outline

The Planographic Process: Image and Non-Image Areas
Focus on elements like the plate, Offset/Lithographic Printing where image and non-image areas are on the same plane.
Platen Machine Parts, Functions, Operations, Problems, and Remedies
Includes platen, ink fountain, ink duct, platen guard, feedback, delivery board, impression lever, counter.
Platen Machine Packing of Tympan and Dressing the Press
Inserting hanger sheets, positioning tympan, placing press board, impression control.
Gravure Plate Making: Materials and Equipment
Includes electronic gravure engraving machine, etching machines, microscope, and main types of gravure image carriers (flat plate, wraparound, cylinder).
Applications of Litho-Plate Making Materials and Equipment
Includes whirler, vacuum frames, developing sink, finishing table, storage/drying cabinets. Covers direct image, pre-sensitized, one-step photographic, and desensitized plates.

Evolution Structures and Legal Aspects of the Printing Industry

This module covers the historical context, organizational structures, and legal framework governing the printing industry.

Photocomposing Machines: Parts, Functions, and Practical Use

Includes jobs, measurement, filmset matters, common errors, correction, and use of computers.

Uses of Composing Room Tools and Equipment

Includes frame and contents, type cases, composing sticks, typescales, galleys, chases, quoins, imposing surfaces.

Theory of Colour

Understanding primary, tertiary, complementary, and natural colours for proper visibility.

Lithographic Printing Plates and Their Uses

Albumen/surface plates, deep-etch presensitized plates, polyvying alcohol (PVA), diazo, photopolymers. Classification as Deepetch, bimetal, negative/positive acting, and aluminum base materials.

Flat-Bed Sheet-Fed Letter Press Cylinder Machines: Parts and Functions

Includes type form, chase bed, feeder unit, impression cylinder, ink rollers, ink fountain.

Historical Development of Printing in Nigeria

Including problems facing the industry related to cost and availability of materials and equipment.

Relief Process

Explore the relief printing process, from production sequence to the applications of this method.

Doctor Blade and Ink Transfer

Wipes ink from non-image area, held in firm contact with cylinder, moves back and forth.

The Monotype: Keyboard and Caster

Covers paper spool, measure on, running matters, centred matters, simple tabular matters.

Production Sequence in the Intaglio Process

Includes layout, camera work, gravure plate/cylinder preparation, proofing, press work.

Line and Half-Tone Work

Line work of solid areas and uniform density, half-tone with dots of varying shapes.

Usage of Specified Chemicals for Density Reduction and Dot-Etching

For continuous tone negatives and selected areas of half-tone negatives/positives to obtain required dot sizes.

Production Sequence in the Planographic Process

Includes layout and dummy preparation, type setting, stripping and camera work, plate making, proofing, printing/machine work.

Forme and Moulds for Duplicating Plates: Stereotype Making

Steps include assembling type and image carriers, forming matrix/mould, metal casting, and removing excess metal.

Planographic Process

This module describes the planographic printing process, its production sequence, and typical applications.

Trade Houses in the Printing Industry and Basic Activities

Covers Publishing, Commercial press, Gravure press, Screen Printing Press, Metal Printing Press and their functions.

Uses of the Work Ticket

To guide the printer on material quantity, time estimation, and machine selection.

Intaglio Process Prints

Examples include security materials like stamps, money labels, gift items, corrugated carton, light packaging wrappers, wall papers.

Process Camera Parts and Functions

Ancillary instruments like densitometer, contact cabinet, drying cabinet, developing trays/sinks. Materials include screen filters, gray scale, films, developers, and other chemicals, noting their characteristics.

Conventional Methods of Gravure Cylinder Preparation

Includes direct transfer, diffusion, electro-mechanical, and laser cutting methods.

Inking with Volatile Inks

Viscosity of ink by shell cup method, drying by absorption or evaporation, sufficient body for pulling from plate.

Operational Sequence of Gravure Printing Machine

Under-packing for plate cylinder, cylinder rotation through ink fountain, ink wiped by doctor blade, paper passes between image and impression cylinder.

Basic Principles of Design

Covers symmetric and asymmetric harmony, from thumbnail to final camera-ready artwork.

Comparison of Printing Processes

Compare relief, planographic, intaglio, and stencil print processes based on cost, time, and durability.

Methods of Measurements from Composing Sticks

12 pt letter Em lower case, 12 pt quads, quotation, mechanically set line methods.

Intaglio Process

Discover the intaglio printing process, its production steps, and common printed products.

Blanket Preservation and Machine Cleaning Procedures

Prompt and regular washup, cleaning cylinder system, lubricating parts, turning off power, covering press with dust protector cloth.

Stencil Process

This module introduces the stencil printing process, its production sequence, and applications, including a comparison with other printing methods.

Direct Stencil Work

Retouching positive coating, mixing photographic emulsion, coating screen, and drying.

Organizational Structure of a Typical Printing Industry

Including Relief/Letter press, Planographic, Intaglio process, Screen process, Commercial Printing, Package Printing, Publishing, In-plant, Quick Service Printing.

The Linotype Machines

Linotype and Monotype matrices, measurement, spaces band and spacing techniques, magazines, and distribution methods.

The Factory Act

Outline the general requirements of the Factory Act as they apply to the printing industry.

Careers in the Printing Industry

Such as Machine operators, Camera men, Proof readers, Binders, Estimators, Sales people, Sales Manager.

Hand Tools and Materials in Letter-Press Printing

Imposing stones, quoins, quoin keys, planner blocks, reglets, chases, furnitures.

Feeding Systems

Fanning paper on feed pile, automatic feeders, fronts and side lays, conveyor tapes, wheels and brushes for smooth running.

Electroplating Duplicate Plates: Advantages

Includes sharpness of image, retention of original size, perfect register, and longevity.

Health and Safety

This module focuses on identifying and applying safety rules to prevent hazards and industrial mishaps in the printing industry.

Basic Exposure Bases and Under-Cutting

Causes and remedies, such as failure to use vacuum plate maker or multiple source light.

Precautions for Good Litho Plate Production

Use point source light, platemakers, transparent gray scale, vacuum frame plate maker.

Supply of Ink

Inking roller, bearers, adjusting to type height gauge, ink-on-slab, duct keys, doctor roller, vibrator roller.

Instruments and Materials

Identify and describe the proper use and maintenance of design instruments and materials.

Layout Preparation

This module enables students to identify paper properties and typefaces, and to combine design elements for typographic layouts.

Processing Non-Metallic Plates

Steps include obtaining blank sensitive plate, placing plate and negative in vacuum frame, exposure, spray etching solution, installing plate and printing.

Colour Combinations

Explain the theory of colours and practically apply them in designs involving multiple colours.

Electronic Engraving Principles

Involves attaching original copy to cylinder, photoelectric cell scanning, and transferring to the cutting head (e.g., varioklischograph).

Binding Operations

Quarter binding, half-binding, full-binding, book edge decoration, spring-line and colouring.

Hand Composition

This module covers the identification and correct use of composing room tools, accurate measurements, and handling of various typesetting tasks.

Printing Inks: Composition and Properties

Pigment, vehicle, additives. Letter-press inks must be viscous, tacky, and dry mainly by oxidation.

Mechanical Composition

Identify and explain the functions of various mechanical composing machines, and perform basic operations and maintenance.

Thermographic Materials and Their Applications

Metallic powder and thermography machine, used for greeting cards, business cards, formal announcements.

Photo-Composition

This module focuses on operating photocomposing machines, processing materials, and proofing composed jobs.

Proof-Reading and Correction

Learn to read proofs, detect errors, and understand the legal aspects of publishing and printing.

Cameras and Ancillary Equipment

Identify and state the functions of process camera parts, ancillary instruments, and materials used in process camera work.

Photographic Image Production

This module explains the optical principles of image formation, various light sources, and how to evaluate image density in process photography.

Process Camera Operations

Apply principles of half-tone dot filtration and exposure calculation, and produce various types of combined and specialized prints.

Computer Operation

This module introduces the computer, its components, software, and its application in colour separation for printing.

Retouching Instruments and Materials

Identify and describe instruments and materials used for retouching and colour correction.

Application of Chemicals

Explain the chemistry and application of various chemicals, and use colour charts to deduce dot size combinations.

Retouching Techniques

Rectify defective negatives and positives and apply various techniques like air-brushing on continuous tone originals.

Process Engraving

Describe and use instruments, equipment, and materials for process engraving, including powderless and electronic etching methods.

Duplication Process and Foundry-Work

Describe tools and materials for duplicate plate making, prepare formes for stereotyping, and produce electrotype shells.

Litho Plate Making

Identify, select, and use various litho plate making materials and equipment, and understand the importance and principles of litho plate preparation.

Gravure Plate Making

Describe materials and equipment for gravure plate making, expose and process carbon tissue, and etch copper plates to obtain good proofs.

Stencil Preparation

Produce various types of stencils, prepare screen mesh, and develop/register stencils for printing.

Letter Press: Materials, Equipment, and Job Planning

Set out and interpret work ticket specifications, identify and classify hand tools/materials, and understand printing papers and inks.

Letter-Press Make-Ready Operations

Obtain correct packing of the tympan, demonstrate embossing, correctly fan and stack paper, and match colours.

The Platen Machine Operations and Job Production

Describe major parts of the platen machine, operate it, and troubleshoot common running problems.

Flat-Bed Cylinder Machines: Make-Ready Operations

Dress the impression cylinder and competently carry out cylinder machine operations with attention to registration and precautions.

Flat-Bed Sheet-Fed Letter-Press Cylinder Machines

Operate and maintain flat-bed sheet-fed letter-press cylinder machines, including cutting, creasing, perforating, and numbering operations.

Letter Press Rotary Machine: Make Ready Operations

Describe materials and processes for duplicate plates, and operate letter-press rotary machines.

Lithographic Printing Materials

Identify and state the correct uses of various lithographic printing materials, including plate types and chemical solutions.

Lithographic Printing: Make Ready Operation

Interpret work ticket specifications, identify tools/materials, and write the sequence of operation for a lithographic job, focusing on make-ready processes.

Lithographic Production

Identify and explain the functions of major parts of a single-colour offset lithographic machine, produce various jobs, and perform routine maintenance.

Gravure Machine Printing

Describe gravure machine plates, common solvents, and determine ink viscosity for gravure printing.

Gravure Printing Make Ready Operations

Describe photogravure machines, outline operational sequences with precautions for registration and performance, and identify/remedy production defects.

Screen Printing

Identify and use common tools, materials, and equipment for various screen printing jobs.

Print Finishing

List and describe equipment and accessories used in print finishing operations, and explain common technical terms.

Warehouse Routine

Take inventory of materials in the warehouse and classify paper according to various properties.

Print Finishing Operations

Carry out different types of print finishing operations, including folding, collation, stitching, and various binding methods.