Painotuotanto

Painotuotanto (Finnish for "print production") refers to the industrial and craft processes used to reproduce text and images on physical media such as paper, cardboard, plastics and textiles. It encompasses all stages from design preparation to final finishing and distribution, serving sectors including publishing, packaging, advertising and commercial print services.

Core stages in painotuotanto include prepress (file preparation, layout, color management and proofing), press operations (the actual printing process) and postpress or finishing (cutting, folding, binding, varnishing and packaging). Common printing technologies are offset lithography, digital inkjet and laser printing, flexography, gravure and screen printing, each chosen for run length, substrate, image quality and cost considerations.

Materials and consumables—paper grades, inks, plates and coatings—affect appearance, durability and recyclability. Quality control is maintained through color calibration, press checks, density and registration measurements, and standardized workflows to ensure consistency across runs.

Environmental and regulatory considerations are increasingly important in painotuotanto. Industry trends include reduced VOC inks, recycled and certified papers, energy-efficient press designs and waterless or UV-curable printing methods. Digitalization has shifted many short-run and variable-data tasks to digital presses, while automation and workflow software improve turnaround and reduce waste.

Painotuotanto remains a multifaceted field balancing technical, aesthetic and economic requirements, adapting continuously to new materials, sustainability demands and digital technologies.