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!

I don't get it. (Connecting designers and their clients)

Everyone is simply going to disagree on what looks good as far as design is concerned. Trends are always changing, and multiple demographics respond differently. For the most part, designers can use these road blocks as advantages. One issue however, can easily destroy your next project.

The big problem that designers run into is their tendency to design for designers. In other words, they complete projects and judge their success by approval from colleagues or awards from within the industry. One should ask, does this truly judge success?

Here is an example:

When was the last time you moseyed through an Art Gallery and found yourself disgusted at how terrible some of the artwork was? You most likely wondered who would buy the junk you

were looking at? Am I right? If you took time to read the description of the piece, it may be more appealing to you. If you ask a professional, perhaps the art starts to look acceptable. (if at all!) Where is this disconnect? The problem starts when artists create art for other artists, and not the general public. For this reason, the "best" artists are not necessarily the ones that are the most successful, keeping in mind someone needs to buy the art.

The harsh reality is, people are looking at graphic design projects in the same way. I would agree that a breakthrough for a truly great designer, might not be a breakthrough for the audience he or she is designing for. If a designer misses the target audience, there is no description plaque for them to read, and they certainly aren't going to take time to ask a professional to judge whether your work influenced them. Designers must listen to their target audience and the ones paying the bills!

Sound off! Have you experienced this or do you have any examples to share? Please comment!

Get rid of that clutter!

Because of the costs associated with hiring a graphic designer, people with no formal design training are more likely to create a website or ad on their own. With modern design tools becoming more accessible, anyone can roughly hack through the software and create something viewable by the world. While it is true you will save money initially, you could pay the ultimate price in the way your audience interacts with your content.

Great amounts of research have been done to determine what you can process at fast rates, and what triggers your brain will react too. One result of this research is why publishing companies choose serif fonts for books and publications, why Pepsi chooses a specific blue, and why McDonalds uses yellow and red. It should be obvious that shapes and structure play a role as well.

If you have created content on your own without help from a good designer, is your content as effective as you want it to be? Is your audience having trouble cutting through the clutter? Until you come across the funds, here are some tips to get you by:

• Leave Negative Space (Or white space): Just like your lungs, your eyes need room to breath. If a website is cluttered with tons of text and images all over the page, your brain is quickly overwhelmed. In order for your site to be more effective, use lots of white space. This allows your content to stand out and it drastically increases its effectiveness.

• Chunk Your Text: We are all lazy by nature. When we see a daunting task ahead of us, we aren't as enthusiastic to undertake it. We need to take "baby steps" to complete larger jobs. Your readers will respond the same way; when they see an enormous paragraph, they will be less likely to engage. Make it easier for them by shortening phrases and separating ideas with lots of negative space. The shorter the paragraph, the more likely people will read it.

• Use Columns: Remember you always have limited space. When creating a website, for example, you have about 1024 pixels across to work with. It would be a mistake on your part to create a sentence that is 1024 pixels across. Long sentences are hard to read because your readers will quickly lose their spot, and your post or paragraph will seem more daunting.

• Images Can Help: When starting a new idea, use an icon or image to illustrate this. This is not always necessary, but it certainly does help.

• Bullets are necessary: Use bullets or lists frequently, people love progressing through lists because they are easy to keep track of. Bullets also separate ideas, making your content easy to understand. (If you use Images as Bullets than you are really engaging your audience!)

• Build on a firm foundation: Treat your blog or website as a building. Make sure to keep it arranged and aligned. Humans are used to structure and your content is not an exception. If gravity suddenly became a factor that altered your content, would your piece crumble or would it stand on its own?

Of course these are only a few tips that play a factor in your original content creation. Recognizing these basic helpful tips will assist your audience substantially. I am sure their brains will thank you.

Got a tip of your own that you want others to know about? I highly suggest you leave a comment for others to take advantage of.