Thứ Năm, 29 tháng 12, 2011

Making the Right Choice in Digital Printing Los Angeles

By Gary Davis


An understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of digital printing versus those of traditional offset lithography is crucial in making the right choice in your digital printing Los Angeles company.

Offset lithography is normally trusted high volume commercial printing technology. In offset printing, the design image is first burned onto a plate, and is then transferred from the plate to a rubber sheet, and finally to the printing surface. The lithographic process is based on the repulsion of oil and water. The image to be printed gets ink from ink rollers while the non-printing area gets a film of water keeping the non-printing areas ink-free. When you have a digital printer at home you're most likely familiar with the mechanical process of digital printing. Most of the mechanical steps required for offset printing are eliminated namely, making films and color proofs, manually stripping the pieces together, and making plates, which results in a much more affordable print solution.

Use this checklist in choosing between lithography and digital printing: Quantity - Offset printing has a front-end cost load, which means short runs (low quantities) may have a high per-unit cost. But as quantities increase, the unit cost goes down with offset printing. Short runs are more cost effective with digital printing; big quantities on the other hand have lower unit cost with offset printing; Printing Medium - When you like a special paper, finish or unusual printing surface the choices are getting bigger for digital but offset printing still provides more flexibility; Color - Digital presses use four-color process (CMYK) printing. If you need only black ink or one or two ink colors, offset printing may offer a more cost-effective solution. If you need four-color printing, digital may offer advantages in lower up-front costs. Nevertheless a few progressive modern offset printing companies are actually offering rich full-color printing with no added plate/setup fees for extra colors.

Pantone - When you're planning to print using the Pantone Matching System offset printing gives you the best match since it uses actual Pantone ink. Digital printing simulates the color with a four-color matching procedure so some digital printers may offer less accurate color matching on projects; Turnaround - If you want it fast, digital usually provides quicker delivery. Again though a few select offset print houses are actually offering print turnaround in as short a timeframe as 24 hours; Proofing - Digital offers more accurate proofs given that what you see is an actual sample of the printed piece, printed using the exact process as the intended run. For offset printing if you want hard proofs, stringently accurate color proofing may become expensive; Customization - With the ease of database driven variable data printing digital printing offers the most affordable way to personalize marketing materials, direct mail pieces, letters, etc. with a different name/address or number/code on each printed piece.

In digital printing Los Angeles many options are at hand. It depends on what the customers' desire, on what is really needed. For this reason you should check out what a good digital printing Los Angeles can do for you.




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