1. Industrial Practices
GCSE Graphics
AQA

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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

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

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

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

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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.

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

23. 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