In this article we are going to discuss the two most popular printing techniques. Offset lithography method and digital printing. There are many other printing techniques a swell like engraving, laser printing, screen, thermography, flex printing etc. We are comparing offset and digital printing because they are the most widely used and common printing techniques.
Offset printing is the more mechanical technique of the two. In offset printing, the desired text or image is burned onto metal plates. It is then transmitted from the metal plates to rubber cylinders. The rubber cylinders then offset the matter onto the desired surface. The image that has to be printed uses ink from the fitted ink rollers and the areas that don’t required to printed draws water to it making sure those areas are ink free. Compared to the mechanics of offset printing, digital printing is much simpler. It eliminates the plates and rubber cylinders. The material that needs to be printed is accessed directly from the computer and printed like a copy.
There a few things those need to be kept in mind while choosing between the two. Offset printing has a front-end cost load. Both offset printing and digital printing are favorable for large quantity printing. For smaller quantities it’s advisable to opt for digital printing. Consider the printing surface while choosing between offset and digital printing. What paper do you require? Is there any particular finish you are looking for? While offset is said to be more versatile, digital printing does offer a fair amount of flexibility as well. The room for errors is much lesser in digital printing as it s cheaper to ask for a printing proof or dummy. In offset printing a proof can be very expensive because of mass or bulk printing.
Digital printing machines use four-colour printing. So if it’s a black and white print you need offset may work out to be cheaper, but if you need a colour job digital printing is the best choice. Digital printing is also faster than offset printing. The colour output and print quality is constantly improving with digital prints.