Digital Versus Offset Printing a Friendly Main Event
Here’s a scenario. You need to mail out 5,000 postcards to your clients, alerting them to a new retail space available (Cushing provides a number of solutions for commercial real estate printing). You set up the file, draft an email to your local digital printer, and as you are about to click Send, your boss calls… That 5,000 you needed? Bump it to 50,000 postcards. That is quite the jump in numbers and the first decision you have to make is an important one.
The process of choosing offset printing or digital printing is a fairly simple one, once you have considered the contributing factors. We’ll do our best to explain.
Let’s Get Digital
Digital printing refers to the process of printing a digital-based image onto a variety of media, using toner or pigment. This allows for a quick turnaround, easy proofing, and consistent output. Still with me or need a digital print dictionary? Don’t worry, keep reading.
Off We Go!
Offset printing is quite different, as the type of machinery used is a printing press. Ink is transferred from a plate to a rubber belt and then onto the media in separate C, M, Y, and K layers. Traditionally, pros of using this process are cost-effectiveness for high quantities, exact usage of colors on the PMS spectrum, and ease of producing plates.
Thanks Julia – I now have 5,001 postcards ready go …
Unsure of which to use for your project? Bear with me. I’ve put together identifiers/phrases for each method that should help. Remember:
Don’t forget to click our Main Event sound bite:
In other words, think of Cushing as your “go-to” for anything 5,000 and under. Anything above that number? We can easily manage the project with a partner or point you in the right direction.
The Proof is In the Printing
In the past, offset printing was considered the traditional production method for most print jobs. However, digital printing is on the rise. Large quantities can be produced at a much faster rate and at a much higher quality, soon to surpass the cost and speed advantages of offset.
This opinion may or may not have something to do with the phenomenal digital presses we use for production — but, all bias aside, the advantages of digital printing continue to best serve clients and help us continue to be creative problem solvers.
Happy Printing!
What are your thoughts on using offset versus digital printing? We’d love to hear more from you!
