Offset Digital

Offset Digital. OffsetFlexoDigital PrintingGravurescreen PrintingIn offset lithographya printing plate which is most often made from aluminum contains an image of the content that needs to be printed When the plate is inked only this image part holds ink That inked image is subsequently transferred (or offset) from the plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface The process can be used to print on paper cardboard plastic or other materials but these have to have a flat surface Below is a picture of a 4 color sheetfed printing press At the far end is the intake where individual sheets of paper are automatically fed into the press The 4 towers or printing units each print one color typically black get printed first followed by cyan magenta and yellow The stack of printed sheets is visible on the front of the machine underneath the press console & monitor which the press operator uses to control the press For higher volume work offset presses use rolls of paper The picture below shows such a much larger web press In flexography the content that needs to be printed is on a relief of a printing plate which is made from rubber This plate is inked and that inked image is subsequently transferred to the printing surface The process can be used to print on paper as well as plastics metals cellophane and other materials Flexo is mainly used for packaging and labels and to a lesser extent also for newspapers Some packaging printing is moving from flexo to digital Digital printing can be done in various ways Two technologies dominate the industry 1 Inkjet– In an inkjet printer the image that needs to be printed is created by small droplets of ink that are propelled from the nozzles of one or more print heads Inkjet devices can print on a wide range of substrates such as paper plastic canvas or even doors and floor tiles Inkjet printing is used a lot for posters and signage It is also economical for shortrun publications such as photo books or small runs of books Inline inkjet printers are sometimes combined with other types of presses to print variable data such as the mailing addresses on direct mail pieces The press shown below is the HP PageWide C500 meant for printing on corrugated board 2 Xerography– In xerographic printers such as laser printers the image that needs to be printed is formed by selectively applying a charge to a metal cylinder called a drum The electrical charge is used to attract toner particles The Also known as rotogravure this is a technique in which an image is engraved into a printing cylinder That cylinder is inked and this ink subsequently transfers to the paper Gravure printing is used for high volume work such as newspapers magazines and packaging Gravure is gradually losing market share to offset for publication printing and to flexo for packaging applications As its name implies this printing technique relies on a screen which is a woven piece of fabric Certain areas of this mesh are coated with a nonpermeable material In the remaining open spaces ink can be pushed through the mesh onto a substrate The advantage of screen printing is that the surface of the recipient does not have to be flat and that the ink can adhere to a wide range of materials such as paper textiles glass ceramics wood and metal The image below shows a screen printing press that is used to print tshirts Increasingly screen printing is being replaced by digital printing 1 Block printing– This technique resembles potato printing which is a popular pass time for kids A handcarved wooden block is inked and pressed on the substrate Additional blocks can be used to add more colors Block printing is a slow and laborious process that is still used for printing on fabric in oriental countries 2 Flocking– used to add a (colored) velvetlike texture to.

The offset is an analogue DC voltage added to the analogue signal read from each pixel before it goes to the AD (analogue to digital) converter in the camera The offset needs to be large enough that no black clipping occurs on the output from the AD that is no pixel has a digital value of zero.

Digital Printing vs Offset Printing

Modern Offset LithographyWhat’s The Difference Between Offset Printing and Digital Printing?Choosing Between Digital and Offset PrintingWhy We Recommend Offset PrintingWhat If I Still Have Questions?You might not think much about the process that goes into printing your packaging but it’s actually quite involved Prepress productionensures that all of the files are processed correctly meaning they’re converted to CMYK finalized and plates for each color are created according to the job that’s run on the printing press You’ve seen offset lithographyall around you and may not have realized it Everything from magazines to brochures to stationery and books are normally printed using this method By using computertoplate systems (rather than computertofilm) higher quality results can be created It’s also much more economical than other types of print methods When talking about packaging and printing there’s often the question of whether to go with digital printing or offset printingfor your packages The answer to this will depend on your answers to several questions that we’ll outline below But first the most common question we receive What is the difference between Offset printing uses printing plates and wet inkIt takes longer to produce since there are several steps that need to be set up and the finished product has to be dry before it can be completed With that being said however offset printing is the more economical option when it comes to producing a large quantity of a specific design Compare this to digital printing (what used to be known simply as “copying”) With digital printing the result is output directly from electronic filesDigital printing is most frequently used for shortrun products like brochures business cards or posters The quality of digital printing is on par with offset printing however with offset printing you get a much wider spectrum of ink colors that at this time digital still cannot match Each printing process has specific core benefits and drawbacks that you should know about before you decide It might seem like the differences and drawbacks between the two types of printing are fairly miniscule but there are several other factors that come into play when designing and printing your packaging Consider asking yourself the following questions in order to better narrow down the right choice for your needs In most cases as you’ll see offset printing for more than 500 pieces can be an economical way to create packaging that truly stands out Because it offers the largest variety of color options together with high quality you can be certain that the end result will exceed your expectations In addition offset printingallows you to scale your product packaging operation as needed You can print on many different types of materials which gives you the freedom to make your retail packagingdesign truly stand out beyond its design With all of this flexibility and affordability it’s hard to go wrong with the superior quality precise color unique materials and scalability of offset printing It’s understandable to have questions about your packaging project From design to packaging material to setup and pricing the right packaging can truly bring a product to life You want to be sure that your packaging design and every stage of the process is handled by true experts in the packaging field with the knowledge experience and expertise to make even complex packaging challenges come to life with vibrant and brilliant style To learn more about offset printing our printing processes or to get quotes for your packaging needs please do not hesitate to contact us for a free quote at Refine Packaging We’ll take the time to understand your product your vision for its packaging as well as your specific brand and the tone you want to convey with your product Contact us today to learn more about our comprehensive packaging design and printing services and let’s work together to bring your product packaging vision to life! Last Updated January 1 2022.

The differences between offset and digital printing explained

PROOFING Digital printing allows you to review an actual production quality proof The proof you see is the job that will deliver Offset proofing requires an inkjet contract proof that is calibrated to our printing process and simulates the color achieved on press TURNAROUND Digital is usually a faster production turnaround Offset turnarounds depend on the project details and requirements of the job.

Printing processes Offset, Flexo, Digital, Gravure & other

Price Although there is no hard rule in our operation a run of 1500 pieces is usually the “break even” point between Quality Offset printing is sometimes a higher quality option for heavy solid ink coverage or delicate gradients (shaded Color If your company requires strict color adherence to Pantone® (PMS) or “spot colors” you should choose offset Paper Traditionally offset printing equipment handles.