Digital printing refers to the method of printing from a digital based image directly to a variety of media types. Digital printing is more of a recent phenomenon, whereas offset printing has been the norm of the printing industry for years. Offset printing utilizes ink, plates, and rollers in a printing press to complete a printed sheet. Digital printing generally differs in that it does not use wet ink to create prints. Instead, dry toner and fuser oil are heated to create the image in digital printing. While both methods result in similar printed product, the differences in quality and cost should be made known to any potential printing buyer.
Offset printing offers higher quality printing than digital printing. However, if you are printing in small quantities, such as 1000 or less, it will be much too costly to use offset printing. In general, however, the price per piece of an offset printed product is lower than that of a digital print product. Businesses can typically benefit greatly from the speed of digital printing, since the turnaround time for digital printing is usually one or two days at the most, whereas it may take up to a week for an offset printer to produce the same amount of product.
ColorFX offers both offset commercial printing as well as digital printing services so that your company’s printing needs can better be met. Choosing ColorFX means not having to choose between offset and digital printing; you have the best of both worlds!