Digital Printing vs Offset Printing

Digital Printing vs Offset Printing

Digital printing is a relative newcomer in the world of printed media and we often face a lot of questions with regard to when we choose to use one process over the other. On this episode of The Messengers podcast, Chris Searles and Rob Seifert of Searles Graphics discuss the differences between digital printing and offset printing, the pros and cons of each print process, and when you might choose to use one instead of the other.

For anybody that finds themselves buying marketing materials and printing, this is an information-packed episode that will absolutely add value to your future print-buying activities!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Google Podcasts, find a link to your podcast app here, search for The Messengers on your favorite podcast platform, stream the audio by clicking the play button below, or scroll to the bottom of this page to watch the episode on YouTube.

 

Show Notes:

Here is a really good blog article on the basics of digital printing.

[01:12] We discuss why price-per-piece changes when your quantity changes. If you're looking for more information on this in particular, here's a good article on how price-per-piece relates to quantity.

[04:49] Details on why doing half the print run won't cut your price in half

[05:40] The biggest difference between digital printing and offset printing 

[07:20] Why digital printing isn't economical for long print runs

[08:05] Why offset printing isn't economical for short print runs

[11:00] The reasons we'll generally choose digital over offset (or vice versa)

[13:25] The differences in the way finished pieces look when run on a digital press vs an offset press (and why)

[18:00] Finishing processes on digital and offset, how to achieve the look you want on both, and some ideas for ways to achieve interesting looks without spending a lot of money

[20:40] What happens to ink from an offset press when put on an uncoated sheet vs a coated sheet and how that affects the look you're trying to achieve

[22:05] How the finishing options you choose (binding, die-cutting, etc.) can affect your prices when run digitally vs offset

[25:30] Variable data: The reason all of the stuff above might not matter and you'll run your job on a digital press no matter what! This is a good article to help with ideas on how to leverage variable data printing in your marketing.

[28:46] Great information for non-profits on how to use variable data to drive up donation levels

[30:30] How a printer that has both offset and digital capabilities can help optimize costs across a campaign