Digital Printing vs. Offset Printing
Dallas, TX – For the past twenty years the printing industry has been evolving in the process of transferring images of printed text and color graphic design onto paper. The popularity of offset printing (rotary and sheetfed) presses in the late 1950′s was the latest and greatest industry technique to bring excellent quality print at high speeds. Thirty years would pass before the offset world of printing would begin a forced morphing into a new era.
The difference between the technologies; With offset printing, the image is burned onto a plate and then is transferred (offset) onto a rubber blanket and an impression of that image is squeezed onto paper. With digital printing, images are designed using computer generated graphics that are programmed into the digital printer, usually an inkjet printer where tiny spray nozzles are used to distribute the ink onto paper. With digital printers you can reproduce quality images or change the format and graphics on each page.
With the arrival of the desktop computer and the manipulation of data in programs, a trend would take over the printing industry and slowly but surely change the face of the printing industry. New digital technologies would present an overwhelming argument that the old forms of composition (prepress) would become a technique of second hand.
Along with changing technologies and the conversion to digital printing, came the sharp rise in popularity of the small quick print companies such as Sir Speedy, offering advances in desktop publishing, quick computerized data transfers to and from the the business customer and print facility with high speed laser and ink-jet printers. Targeting their marketing services mainly to small businesses, the quick print companies realized increases in the market share of the production of short runs. This created a shrinking market for the small, medium and large printing houses with their line up of expensive and maintenance hungry offset printing equipment and the large facilities that house them. Also, the cost to man and the energy used to keep these presses rolling, makes it difficult to compete for the small customer. But for the medium to large runs, offset printing is still a viable market.
Along with the down turn in the popularity of the offset press came the reduced existence of skilled offset printing press operators. Though there will a be a need for the printed word and graphics in the high speed, medium and large run offset printing production arena, the cost and maintenance of the medium and large offset printing presses combined with the new age customers hiring their own in-house desktop publishers and graphic designers is seen taking its toll in the offset printing world for the short run business.
Today, camera ready copy can be generated at the customers’ location and quickly uploaded to a quick print facility. Documents and files can be shared online and changes made quickly eliminating costly trips to the printing facilities. Make ready time is greatly reduced with digital printing when compared to offset printing presses in all aspects of production runs.
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Phillip Crum is the Chief Idea Officer of Sir Speedy Walnut Hill located at 2414 Arbuckle Court Dallas, TX 75229, and is committed to the idea of helping small business owners do a better job of finding their next customer or client. Phillip can be reached at 214-213-7445, or via email.
Copyright © 2006-2010 Phillip Crum
