When Will Digital Printing Overtake Offset Printing?
There has been a lot of discussion over when digital printing in Coimbatore will overtake offset printing. There's also a lot of misunderstanding about what offset printing near me is and what the advantages of digital printing over offset printing are.
Many people believe that offset printing is of higher quality than digital printing, which was true in the past, but digital printing has come a long way in the previous decade.
The truth is that both solutions have their own set of advantages, so it's more a question of which option is best for your specific print project rather than which option is superior in terms of quality.
To answer when digital printing in Coimbatore will supersede offset printing, we must first consider the following:
Is it true that offset printing is superior to digital printing?
Simply put, the answer is no. Offset printing near me is neither 'better' or 'higher quality' than digital printing, but it does have capabilities that go beyond what digital printers in Coimbatore can currently do. Because of this, it will undoubtedly be more suitable for specific print jobs, but the same cannot be said for digital print projects.
When do you think you'd want to use offset printing?
When your print job meets any of the following criteria, offset printing is the best option:
1. You'll need a lot of it:
It's difficult to say when offset printing near me becomes more cost efficient than digital printing because it depends on the size of the item being printed.
The majority of digital printers in Coimbatore print on slightly larger-than-A3 sheets of paper, known as A3+ or SRA3, which measure 450 by 320mm. Offset printers can print on even larger sheets of paper, sometimes as large as A1 (594 x 841mm) or A2 (420 x 594mm), so if you're printing a business card or an A6 flyer, it'll be laid up on this sheet as many times as it will fit.
A standard sized business card, for example, can be laid out 21 times on an A3+ sheet of paper/cardboard, requiring just 12 A3+ sheets to print a box of 250 business cards, and even fewer for a larger offset printing press. Because an A4 flyer can only fit twice on an A3+ sheet of paper, 250 A4 flyers would take 125 A3+ sheets, and even less for A1 or A2 sized offset presses.
As a result, the total quantity of what you're printing isn't the sole consideration; the size of what you're printing is as well. It is the overall number of sheets required, not the total number of produced items, that determines whether printing offset or digital is more cost effective.
Digital printers in Coimbatore runs at a slower speed than an offset printing press and uses a click rate (a fixed fee per sheet printed), but the setup time and expenses are substantially lower. In other words, when the digital click rate exceeds the offset press's set-up cost, offset printing becomes the most cost-effective choice.
2. Pantone colour inks must be used to print it:
While digital printers in Coimbatore can only print in full colour (CMYK), offset printing can employ both CMYK and Pantone (spot) colour inks.
Full colour inks are pre-mixed to a specific colour as defined by the Pantone Matching System, whereas pantone or spot colour inks are pre-mixed to a specific colour as defined by the Pantone Matching System (PMS). Because the ink colours match Pantone's swatches and have particular names to identify them, frequently a number, I often relate them to household paints. For example, 485 is a regularly used red ink.
Although CMYK can produce a wide range of colours, some colours, such as fluorescents and metallics, are not viable to reproduce with this method. Certain colours, such as vivid orange, will never appear as vibrant when printed in CMYK versus PMS colour.
Pantone inks are most typically utilised in the printing of business stationery like letterhead and envelopes. When colour matching, quality, and consistency are important for branding, they are a suitable choice.
3. Throughout the print run, the identical page design is produced repeatedly:
Each single page design involves additional set up time and cost with offset printing near me, hence it is better suited to printing the same page design multiple times.
Print tasks that entail the same page design being printed multiple times include A4 flyers, envelopes, posters, notepads, and invoice books. As a result, these objects can be offset printed in smaller quantities.
Magazines, newsletters, and booklets, on the other hand, are made up of a variety of page designs, so if there are a lot of pages with variable data but just a small quantity, the set-up cost will be too expensive, making them more ideal for digital printing in Coimbatore.
This isn't to suggest that an A4 flyer must be offset printed or that a magazine must be produced digitally, but the number of different page designs influences offset printing set-up costs and is thus a factor, along with quantity, in determining which technique of printing is best.
Offset printing is not ideal for changeable data printing or other printing runs that require personalization for the same reason.
What is the difference between sheet-fed offset printing and digital printing?
The most significant distinction between digital and sheet-fed offset printing near me is that digital printing does not require printing plates, whereas offset print runs do.
Digital print runs require almost no setup costs or time because the digital file is transferred directly from the computer to the digital printer.
Because the digital file or picture cannot be transferred directly to the printing press, offset printing requires printing plates. The image is submitted to a plate maker, who creates the printing plates, in order to move the page design from the computer to a printed sheet of paper. The printing press is then set up with the plates, and the image is offset from the plates onto the paper.
Because each individual page design and colour requires a distinct plate, the cost of producing the plates and the time it takes to put them up on press makes offset printing more expensive than digital printing. An offset printing press, on the other hand, may print at a far faster rate than a digital printer once it is set up.
Other distinctions between offset and digital printing include:
- Full colour (CMYK) and Pantone (spot) colour inks can be used in offset printing, however only CMYK inks can be used in digital printing.
- Printing presses that use offset printing near me can handle larger sheets of paper than digital machines.
- Offset printing rates are dependent on set-up expenses and print run time, while digital printing costs are based on a click rate.
So, to return to the initial question, 'When will digital printing in Coimbatore supplant offset printing?' - It will only overtake offset printing when it can generate colour outside of the CMYK spectrum, and it will only make offset printing obsolete when it can produce colour outside of the CMYK spectrum.
