Which is Better: Digital or Offset Printing?


Which is Better: Digital or Offset Printing?

 by: Brett Curry

As technology continues to improve, the quality of digital prints also improves. Technology advancements have also made it easier for more and more businesses to enter the printing industry. Good digital printers cost a few thousands dollars…good offset printing presses may cost a few million dollars.

For those companies interested in conveying the best possible image at all times, it is important to evaluate which printing process will bring the greatest result.

Let’s compare the two processes briefly:

Digital Printing: If you want a sample of digital printing, simply look at a piece that you print from your inkjet printer at your home or office. Digital printing uses a series of dots printed on top of the paper that form an image.

Offset Printing: Offset printing is done on large presses that use plates and ink. As your piece is printed on an offset press, the ink bleeds into the paper and bonds with it.

Because of the plates used, and the way the ink is absorbed by the paper, most people feel that offset printing provides deeper, richer, fuller color saturation than digital printing. While digital printing has certainly improved over the years, most printing experts would agree that it still hasn’t reached the quality level of offset printing.