Offset printing is a popular printing method in which the fine inked design is transferred directly from a plate onto a solid rubber backing and then onto the printing paper. When utilized in conjunction with the traditional litho method, which involves the application of a hard, flat substrate to an inkscape image, the offset method uses a single, high-quality color printing material. Typically, offset printing equipment includes a printing press or an offset machine. The type of printer that you use will depend on your budget and the quality of the design. You will also need to decide if you want to outsource your offset printing. There are pros and cons to this strategy that you should consider.
The biggest advantage of offset printing is that you can produce thousands of copies of your product for a fraction of the cost. This is because you do not print on stock materials that will require expensive supplies and labor. Instead, you print on specially designed offset printing plates that are available at low cost. In addition, offset printing allows you to use special effects, templates and graphics, thereby further reducing your costs. Also, because the product is printed on an offset printing plate, you do not have to pay for offset printing supplies like ink and paper, thereby saving money on both print and shipping costs.
As offset printing has become more popular, there have been a number of new advancements that have allowed printers to produce heavier paper with higher resolution and faster printing speeds. Lithography, also known as UV lithography, was one such advance. UV lithography uses aluminum oxide inks which are highly sensitive to sunlight. These highly sensitive inks produce high quality prints that can be highly attractive. Unfortunately, the UV process is also more expensive than offset printing. Most small and mid-sized printers are unable to utilize the benefits of UV lithography due to their lower printing speed and greater costs.
The second popular offset printing method is dry printing. Unlike UV lithography, this process does not use sensitive inks. Instead, it uses inkjet or thermal printers. Although it is significantly slower than traditional offset printing methods, it can produce high quality products at a lower cost. Because most printers using this process do not have the capability to utilize complex graphics, many images are produced with simple text.
The final two printing methods commonly used by most commercial printers are duplex printing and flexography. Duplex printing requires two separate printing plates, usually made of steel, that are connected to each other through metallic channels. These plates are then “crossed” over using a conveyor. To offset the weight of the materials, duplex printing often uses rubber or nylon rollers to increase the overall footprint of the plate.
Another method commonly used in offset printing is flexography. With offset printing, a thin metal plate, usually aluminum or tin-plated, is laid over a photographic negative. The plate is then stretched to form the front of the desired image. With a flexographic offset printing press, a similar image can be produced on a sheet of thick stock, which requires fewer sheets to be made.
A third commonly used offset printing technique is duplex printing, sometimes referred to as “digital photo printing,” which utilizes inks that have digital photos on them. These inks can be scanned into a computer and images can be created from them. By using multiple digital photo inks, offset printing gives businesses the highest quality prints possible.
These are the three most common methods of offset printing, and they give businesses many options when it comes to getting the best results. Because commercial printing has been so popular for decades, these techniques are not difficult to find. There are some things to keep in mind, though, such as the difference between duplex printing and offset printing. Also, the term “commercial printing” refers to different techniques, and not all techniques are used in all commercial printing processes.