How to Choose Between Digital and Litho Printing Techniques for a Print Job

December 13, 2011 · Print This Article

Choosing between digital printing and litho printing in Kempton Park can be a challenge. Both forms of printing have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. To help you reach a decision, read this quick comparison of the benefits and drawbacks of each type of printing:

Litho printing

Lithography is a printing technique that has existed for more than 200 years and is still extremely popular. It creates images through the basic principle that water and oil repel each other.

Benefits:

  • Printing quality: Litho printing provides superior printing quality compared to most other printing methods.
  • Printing on variety of surfaces: Litho printing can be done on virtually any smooth surface.

Drawbacks:

  • Cost: Using this method is expensive unless printing high volumes. Litho printing only starts to make economic sense when print volumes go up.
  • Alteration is difficult: Changes cannot be made on the fly. The presses will have to be stopped and reset.

Digital printing

Digital printing is becoming increasingly popular. Digital printers are able to transfer images onto paper through the use of computer controlled systems.

Benefits:

  • Speed: Setup time for digital printing is fast, meaning that material can be printed in a short timeframe.
  • Personalization: Digital printing allows for personalization such as printing 100 flyers with individual customer names. It also allows for printing on demand.

Drawbacks:

  • Per page pricing: This means that price won’t really come down when volume goes up.
  • Lower quality: Digital printing quality has improved dramatically but it isn’t always as good as litho printing.

Considerations when choosing the right technique for your printing job?

  • Quantity: When printing in small volumes, digital printing will be much cheaper compared to litho printing. The bigger the volume, the more cost-effective litho printing will be.
  • Quality: If quality is very important in the particular print job, litho printing should be used as its quality is far superior to that of digital printing.
  • Flexibility: If you want to print on surfaces other that paper, litho printing is the best choice. It can print on almost any smooth surface.
  • Cost: If cost is an issue, digital printing will be the best choice for small volumes and litho printing for large volumes.

Choosing between digital printing and litho printing in Kempton Park just became a bit easier. Contact Minuteman Press Kempton Park for all your printing needs

  • Kempton Park

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Subject

    Your Message

    Captcha Code:

    captcha

    Enter Captcha Code:

Written by Minuteman Press · Filed Under Kempton Park 
Tagged: ,

Kempton Park News