How It Works…
You don’t have to understand it to appreciate it, but here’s a brief explanation if you’re the inquisitive type! Full colour (process colour) is a system which allows a multiplicity of shades to be created from just four primary printing ink – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. 

Full colour means you can have virtually every colour of the rainbow, without worrying that you’ll need the pot of gold at the end to pay the extra costs. As many colours as you want. As many photographs as you want. One price. Simple.

Offset vs. Digital Printing
Now you understand how colour works it’s time for a little education about our two different printing processes we offer at printing.com North Shore and how to decide which is right for your needs.

Digital Printing
Digital printing eliminates many of the mechanical steps required for conventional printing, including making films and color proofs, manually stripping the pieces together and making plates.

Advantages of Digital

• Shorter turnaround
• Cheaper low volume printing
• Customizable. Using information from a database, text and or graphics can be changed on each piece without stopping or slowing down the press. For example, personalized letters can be printed with a different names on each.

Offset Printing
In offset printing, the desired print image is burned onto a plate and is then transferred (or offset) from the plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. The process is based on the repulsion of oil and water. The image to be printed gets ink from ink rollers, while the non printing area attracts a film of water, keeping the non printing areas ink-free.

 

 

Advantages of Offset

• High quality print
• The unit cost goes down as the quantity goes up
• Quality and cost-effectiveness in high volume jobs

Still not sure which is right to use?

Use this check list to help decide:

• Quantity Offset printing has a front-end cost load. Short runs may have a high unit cost. But as quantities increase, the unit cost goes down with offset printing. Very short runs can be much more cost effective with digital printing; while larger quantities are likely to have a lower unit cost with offset printing.
• Printing medium Do you need or want a special paper, finish or unusual printing surface, or unique size? The options are increasing continually for digital, but offset printing still offers the most flexibility.
• Turnaround If you need it fast, digital usually offers quicker delivery.
• Proofing Digital offers accurate proofs since you see an actual sample of the printed piece. Accurate color proofing for offset printing can be expensive.
• Customization Without question, digital printing offers the most affordable way to customize marketing materials, direct mail pieces, letters, etc.

Well we hope that we have given you a little inside information on colour and the printing process and next time we talk or quote about digital or offset options you won’t stare blankly at us!