Whether it is business cards, promotional posters or flyers for a club night there are many printing options and quality and colours will vary greatly. Print adviser and consultant Andrew Walker guides can help you decide where to get your printing done.
Choosing the right printing method for your client
Digital vs Litho Printing
The two main printing methods these days are Offset Litho Printing and Digital Printing. Both of them have their own place within the printing industry, but they are very different in the way they place colour onto the paper. Below will explain the how both methods can be used and what to be aware of.
Read on for a quick guide to perfect printing…
Offset Litho printing. (Often shortened to Litho)
The basic principle on which it works is that oil and water do not mix. A litho printing plate has non-image areas which absorb water. During printing the plate is kept wet so that the ink, which is inherently greasy, is rejected by the wet areas and adheres to the image areas. This is then transferred to a rubber blanket and then transferred to the paper. This is why it is called offset printing as the plate never touches the paper.
Offset printers come in many sizes and are able to hold many colours. A full colour press typically has at least four units (for cyan, magenta, yellow and black, the CMYK colours) and maybe a fifth or six unit for a varnish and a spot colour (Non CMYK ink also know as a special colour or PANTONE).
Advantages of Offset Litho Printing
- Consistently high quality – produces sharp and clean images and fonts
- Cost and Speed –unit costs can be much lower on longer runs. The higher running speed of the machines also means that longer runs can be completed faster.
- Matching Special colours – Pantone colours can be matched, also fluorescent and metallic inks can be used.
- More choice of Papers – Offset Litho can handle a wider range of paper stocks with very few restrictions on paper finishes.
Digital Printing
Digital printing presses are closer to laser printers than they are to the various offset litho presses. Instead of using conventional ink they use either toner or a mix of toner suspended in a liquid vehicle. The image is electrostically generated on a drum rather than a removable plate and with each revolution of the drum the image is generated again.
Advantages of digital printing
- Cost and Speed – Because no plates are needed, short runs are very cost-effective. Turnaround times can also be much faster as the job can go straight from your disk.
- Personalisation – Mailers and brochures can be personalised to each client with just their name and address or even a personalised photo.
- Larger sheets – Digital print is ideal for large format posters, banners and car signage.
Summary
As you may realise there are advantages to both ways of printing however Offset Litho printing is still far the best method for high quality printing.
Digital printing has its place in today’s economic climate and is consistently improving, digital print is ideal for short run personalised products such as personalised greeting cards, business cards and direct mailings.
The key thing to remember is ask the printer which method they will use to print your products and ask them to send samples of something similar that they have printed before.
For more information, quotes or samples, visit www.requestprint.co.uk.
Do you have a particularly perculiar printing problem? Ask the expert by leaving a question in the comments below…
Andrew Walker is a print adviser, consulant and director of Request Print
image by Stitch
