Offset Printing Has Distinct Advantages

The benefits of offset printing over digital printing fall into the following four categories.

Precise Color Matching

Offset printing is a true "ink on paper" process that uses precisely-colored inks that are blended according o the PMS or other color specifications. This means that the process can accurately match the colors in a logo or design. in contrast, digital printing relies on a mixture of toner particles of four colors - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black ("CMYK"), that are fused together. The result is a very good but not precise approximation of a color.

Ideal For Printing Envelopes

Envelopes slightly vary in thickness because of the seams that are inherent with producing the envelopes. This small variation causes problems with most toner-based digital printing processes because they affect the paper feed mechanisms. Also, the high pressure that is exerted during the fusing step in digital printing may produce "ghost" images of the seams on the front of the envelope. Finally, most normal envelope window materials can not stand up to the high fuser temperatures that is inherent with the toner-based digital printing process.

Economical For Long Runs

The production costs of digital printing generally are generally independent of quantity and there is no set up cost. In contrast, offset printing has an inital cost for the printing plates andd press set up but it has a much lower operating cost. Therefore, offset is generally less expensive for long runs.

Laser Safe

As mentioned above, the toner-based digital printing process involves fusing the CMYK toner partices together under high pressure and temperaure. If a digitally printed letterhead, envelope or form is then run through another laser printer, the second fusing step may cause the initial images to come off. With offset printed forms, there is no such problem - offset links are laser safe.