Offset vs. Digital Printing
Blog
31 March 2016
| DIGITAL | OFFSET | |
| Quantity | Ideal for low volume | Ideal for large volume |
| Size | Can accommodate smaller print sizes | Can print on larger sheets of paper |
| Variable printing | Best for customized copy of each individual piece | Limited to what is on the press, plate or film |
| Pricing | Cheaper for smaller runs because of less setup required, but can be expensive for high volume runs because of fixed cost per print | More expensive because of setup needed and manpower involved in printing but prices usually go down as the volume of printing goes up |
| Quality | Modern digital presses is capable of high quality prints like offset, but some printers still encounter problems in color consistency. | Consistent high image quality. Offset printing produces sharp and clean images and type more easily than, for example letterpress printing; this is because the rubber blanket conforms to the texture of the printing surface. |
| Pantone | Digital printing is limited in color matching options but some digital printers can be calibrated to match pantone colors | Offset can print any Pantone or PMS colors |
| Finishing | Digital printing is limited in finishing options | Offset printers have multiple press heads that allows for an infinite array of finishing |
| Materials | Limited to paper and materials that can run through digital printers | Can print on wide variety of surfaces: wood, metal, cloth, plastic, etc. |
| Turnaround | Faster turnaround time | Takes longer because of setup processes and ink drying time |
| Popular products | Printing labels, envelopes, certificates, letterheads, tickets | Brochures, posters, postcards, business cards, folders, flyers |
| Ink | Uses fuser fluids with heat process (toner) or UV curing process (ink) | Uses ink that are highly viscous or thick |
| Proofing | Provides a more accurate proof: actual sample of printed piece, printed using the exact process as the intended run | Proofs can slightly differ from actual prints due to factors that can affect the printing process. |
| Eco-friendly | More environmentally friendly because it requires no chemicals such as fountain solutions and alcohol substitutes unlike offset printing | Offset printing requires wasteful test prints, uses too many chemicals such as fountain solutions and alcohol substitutes, uses films or film processing that needs to be disposed after printing. |