Litho vs Digital Print

There are two main types of printing methods used in modern print facilities: Litho and Digital.  Let’s explain each process, when it should be used and why.

Litho Print

Litho is sometimes called ‘offset printing’ and is used on an industrial scale using printing presses where inks are transferred onto aluminum plates to make an impression.

The process:

1. Printed colour images are made up of four primary colours know as ‘Process Colours’ or CMYK: CYAN (blue), MAGENTA (red), YELLOW and Black (also known as ‘Key’). It is also possible to use ‘Spot Colour’ such as Pantone, metallic or fluorescent colours.
2. Once the artwork has been designed it is sent to plate making facility. A plate is an aluminium sheet which is photosensitive and is exposed, like a photograph, with a high-powered laser.  Each Colour = 1 Plate
3. The printer and inserts each plate to a separate tower on the printing press. One Tower = One colour
4. The plates are coated in ink and the resulting coloured image is rolled or ‘offset’ onto a cylinder (blanket), which makes an impression on paper being fed through the press.
5. As the paper moves through each set of rollers, the colours mix to create a full colour image on the page.
6. Pages are guillotined and collated in the finishing department ready for binding.

When to implement Litho printing?

It is not always the case because each printed document should be produced to the best possible quality and prices depending on its own merits. However, we would suggest the following ‘rules of thumb’ for using litho print:

• Cost effective at Large Quantities
• Better Print Quality (although this is becoming debatable with advancements in digital print technology))
• Ability to print on a wide variety of paper
• Print Spot (PANTONE) colours
• Print large areas of solid colour

Digital Printing

There are various Digital printing methods including inkjet or laser, that deposit pigment or toner onto the paper.

The process

The digital process involves printing directly from a file created on Mac or PC and, therefore, does not require the use of plates.

Digital presses still use the same CMYK colours but apply them to the paper in a single pass. They print both sides of the sheet in one pass and print the next sheet immediately after the first. This means a collated, ready to bind, document is produced or personalisation can be applied to the output meaning unique printed items.

Generally, digital print is more costly per sheet than litho but does not require the skilled setup. This means it is ideal for shorter runs making it ideal for print on demand applications such as training manuals.

A summary of the benefits of digital print:

• Cost effective on smaller quantities
• Personalised print
• Print on demand
• CMYK Process Colours
• Faster turnaround

 

Got More Questions?

We hope this overview will be useful to you - when you speak to our customer service team, they will recommend the best print option for you based on your requirements anyway. If you have any further questions though, do get in touch with us. You can reach us via phone, email or simply leave a message below. 

Call Us For Free On 0800 917 6377, email [email protected] or just leave us a message below.