Thanks to the advancement of technology, the printing process has now become easier and more affordable and faster than ever. One of these printing advancements has been Digital Printing.
Think of Digital Printing as a paperback novel and Offset Printing the hardback book with the nice fancy dust cover. Both are great, yet each serves its purposes.
What Is The Difference Between Offset vs. Digital Printing?
Offset is the most common printing technique that utilizes large plates and a 4-color CMYK print process. These 4 colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black) are mixed together and transferred onto the paper stock.
Offset printing provides some of the highest print quality pieces and is most often used for print jobs where quantities over 500 are needed. Due to the use of plates, the turnaround time for Offset jobs is typically a day or two longer than that of a digitally printed job.
This brings us to Digital Printing, where no plates are used. Instead, artwork files are printed directly onto the paper stock, similar to a home printer, but with much better quality.
Without the steps to set up a plate, these jobs have quicker turnaround times and lower costs; however, the quality of the print is not as clear as that of an Offset piece. Digital printing is often used when lower quantities are needed or for variable data jobs such as direct mail addressing, tickets and envelopes.
But don’t think that Digital Printing will give you a lesser quality. It often takes a keen eye to see those subtle differences. Photos and rasterized images lend well to digital printing. Vector art and designs will be more crisp with offset printing.
Curious if your next print job will be Offset or Digital? Reach out to our Customer Service team today at info@printcartel.com
