Offset verse Digital ... Do I need to know?
No not really.
Today the quality from Digital Print technology is so close to Offset printing that the average person (ie your customer) would not notice on everyday items like business cards, leaflets, or stationery.
Printmax has invested in the latest Fuji Xerox high quality colour and black & white digital printing equipment.
Printmax operates an advanced Heidelberg four colour offset press.
Investments in technology that allow us to provide high quality colour printing for you without you having to worry!
A few quick pointers:
Digital printing is faster turnaround, eg 3-24 hours from signed off proof, compared to 3-7 days for offset printing. This is because with offset printing the ink must dry before the pages can be trimmed or folded.
Digital printing is more economical for most runs of less than 1,000 pages. Generally offset printing is more economical for runs over 1,000 pages.
Sometimes the way a document is to be finished, for example folded or creased because offset ink soaks into the paper, while digital toner can sometimes flake off if folded. Some additional finishing like gold foiling or over-printing with personal information may require the initial printing to be offset because digital printing could remove the original image if it was toner based because of the heat involved in the second printing process.
Colour matching
Sometimes you will already have printed long-runs of letterhead and brochures for your business. These will probably have been printed offset. A new employee joins and you what her business card tomorrow. There is not time to print the business card by offset printing. If the business card is printed digitally for you there may be a slight difference in the colours from your original letterhead. This is because the colour spectrum produced by offset inks and digital toners is subtly different. For most situations the colour difference will not be noticeable in everyday usage. If it is important to your business please talk to our trained consultants we can help advise you or arrange for a colour proof for you to sign-off before we start printing.
- Just tell us:
- how quickly you require your printing
- the number of copies
- how you want it to look
- And any special effects or appearance that is important to you
When is it important for me to choose?
- You should specify the method of printing when:
- If you are wanting to portray exceptional quality, luxury or wealth
- If the pages will be folded or creased
- You require an exact match to a corporate colour