Digital vs. Offset explained.

Printing has come a long way since it's beginnings. Today's graphic designers will quickly tell you that offset printing is the best choice for your new print project, but has anyone described why (or why not) it is the best option for you? I am not going to get uber-technical, but will just quickly cover the difference between digital and offset.

What is digital printing?

In a way, digital printing works a lot like your color copier. It doesn't move incredibly fast, but there is no setup, and it is fairly inexpensive to use. Digital is always the discount option for smaller quantity projects.

What is offset printing?

Offset printing is more a chemical process than a computer process. In an offset job there are four rollers that have etched metal plates on them. These four rollers typically represent the CMYK you hear about. C = Cyan, M = Magenta, Y = Yellow, K = Black. (K is used to avoid possible confusion as Blue) The paper runs through these four (or more) rollers at lighting fast speeds and "offsets" the image from the plate to the paper. There are more technical details here, but why bore you? Offset also offers spot color ability to better match your PANTONE. This guarantees perfect color representation. (More on PANTONE and SPOT colors later)

What is the difference?

Avoiding technical jargon, offset is traditionally used for high volume projects, and digital is used for short run projects on a budget. The offset press provides the highest quality printing, most accurate color and runs at the fastest rate, so typically this is the best option. Because offset printing is done through a beast of a machine, it does take significant time to set up, and this is where most of your cost comes in. If you are printing thousands of sheets, this cost isn't as significant, but if you are printing a short run, the set-up alone could be half (or more) of the entire project.

Digital on the other hand, requires little set-up other than throwing the paper in. This means for short runs, there is not nearly as much manual labor, resulting in lower cost. This money saving option does have it's downsides such as color-accuracy loss, image quality loss, and limited paper options. (It is important to note that recent advancements have made digital quality and color representation nearly indistinguishable from offset. Some digital printers even claim 99% PANTONE accuracy!)

What does this mean for you?

If you are printing thousands of pieces, the obvious answer is offset, no contest. If you are printing a smaller run project you may want digital, but keep in mind unless your printer has one of the new state-of-the-art digital presses (3 in Iowa, 2 of which are private) your digital project mind end up looking like a desktop printer production, specifically when you match specific colors.

Do you have a personal experience negative or positive? Do you have something to add? Let me hear you, please comment!