Digital or Litho Printing? It’s a common query from our customers which option is best for printing their material? What do you recommend? This depends, so below we have outlined the main differences between digital and litho printing?
Main Differences between digital and litho printing:
- Quantity – Digital is more suited to shorter print runs and litho the larger ones.
- Process – Digital printing will print one complete copy of the file at a time whereas Litho Printing will produce the required number of copies from Page 1, then Page 2 and so on. The pages will then be collated afterwards away from the Press. Litho printing requires an intermediate, such as a plate, whereas Digital prints direct from the file to the machine and each copy comes off the machine collated.
- Set-Up – Digital set ups are generally quicker and more simple than Litho setups which are more complex and take longer.
- Stock – In general, most Digital machines will run on stock weights between 70 gsm and 300 [sometimes 350] gsm. Offset presses will run onto both lighter weights and heavier weights.
- Length of Run – If full colour printing Digital presses are more suitable for the shorter run lengths, generally from 1 up to around 500 although this last figure may vary depending on the particular job needs
- Turnaround Time: Digital printing is faster than Litho printing since no complicated setups are required nor is there a need to make plates.
- Quality: Litho printing produces the best quality and that is still true today. However, Digital printing quality is now so good that to the average layman, in most cases it is hard for them to tell the difference, if not impossible.
- Cost: – Digital is generally less expensive for the shorter runs and Litho for the longer runs. Prices
- Image Quality: Digital is slightly more forgiving in that it will produce good quality from images as low as 150dpi. Litho needs considerably more resolution.
- Personalisation – This makes each print a unique print and as such is most suited to Digital printing. The use of this service will considerably increase the return on investment and response rate for mailing campaigns compared with the shotgun approach.
For more details on how Avalon Print can help you with your business printing digital or litho,
Call our Print team on 01 8258011 email: paul@avalonprint.ie