Digital verses Offset Printing
The differences and advantages of each process and deciding which is best for your project.
Digital printing and its technology have grown exponentially the past few years, bringing about more advancement and in turn, many more options when it comes to printing. However, it has also brought about some confusion amongst printing clients. An understanding of the differences between digital printing and the more traditional offset printing process, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of both, is vital in making the right choice.
Most Commonly Used Process
Offset lithography is the most commonly used high volume commercial printing process. In offset printing, the desired print image is burned onto a plate which is then transferred, or ‘offset’, from the plate to a rubber blanket, and then to the printing surface. The process of lithography is based on the repulsion of oil and water. The print image attracts the ink from the rollers, whilst the non-printable area attracts a film of water, which therefore keeping those areas ink free.
Digital Printing
* Shorter turnaround time.
* Elimination of the numerous mechanical checks and steps required with offset such as making colour proofs and printing plates.
* Cheaper costs for low volume printing. When you waive setup costs associated with offset printing, digital provides lower per unit costs for small print runs.
* Can only use the CMYK process to replicate Pantone colours and therefore some colours such as orange cannot be produced accurately.
* Offers Variable Data Printing as a way of customising your digital printing at a low cost. Using information from an excel spreadsheet for example, unique text can be printed on each item without stopping or slowing down the press.
Offset Printing
* High image quality.
* Minimum print runs, as larger quantities are much more economical – Offset printing is the cheapest method to produce high quality printing in commercial printing quantities i.e. the unit cost goes down as the quantity goes up.
* Same colour each time around. The use of Pantone colours mean that your chosen colour will not vary from print run to print run. Especially important for corporations with logos (think ‘Coca Cola red’).
* Offset can also print with CMYK process but can be expensive with low runs due to the cost of the plate’s make-ready time.
For more assistance with offset and digital printing services including business cards, brochures, posters and much more visit www.admc.com.au