Digital Printing VS. Offset: Three Innovations You Should Know

Three Innovations You Should Know

In the last 15 years there has been a lot of talk about print maintaining relevance in the digital age. Luckily, presentation folders, business cards, advertisement posters, and other tangible promotional products haven’t lost their edge. Even more so, leaders in the presentation folder industry  have seen a convergence between print technology and digital technology that has progressed the capabilities of the industry for the better. One major innovation, known as digital printing, has expanded capabilities of print which have in turn allowed for creativity at a cost-efficient price. In a world driven by mass-produced online content, a commitment to tangible, user-driven design has been an integral aspect to keeping  print alive. And ironically, the implementation of digital technology is allowing us to keep this commitment. The following paragraphs will outline a few innovations that digital technology allows for, including: variable data, lower prices on short runs, and specialty finishing services.

Variable Data

Variable Data is the usage of different data point in one printing “run.” If you are looking to print business cards for your office, each employees name would be a different point in the job. With a traditional offset press, each business card would carry unique data, meaning that each card would require a unique plate to print. Cleaning and replacing each plate per business card adds up time and cost of ink quickly, which is why many clients chose to opt out of the personalization of their products when partnering with an offset printing supplier. Digital printing, however, adds no extra cost in time or cleanup to add variable data as its software is equipped to add the changes, meaning that the possibilities for personalization are not only economically practical, they are encouraged in the framework of digital machines. Customizing presentation folders, business cards, and other promotional products with variable names, key terms, and imagery becomes a seamless ergonomic process when utilizing digital printing presses. Digital printing makes the possibilities for personalized marketing truly palpable.

Lower Prices, Shorter Runs

In the same token, shorter runs become cost and time efficient, again placing value on  personalization and authenticity that just wasn’t practical with offset printing. Because there is no need to clean off and separate plates between vastly different jobs, unique promotional products with smaller quantities are affordable and recommended with the horsepower that digital printing offers. Printing short, unique runs of presentation folders, business cards, and posters have never been easier.

Specialty Finishing Services

Lastly, many Digital Printing presses offer specialty finishing services that not only augment the design of an array of promotional products, they also ensure a quality and durability not guaranteed by products printed elsewhere. Specialty lamination (matte, gloss, scuff-proof and more), Raised UV Coating, and Raised Digital Foil are all within reach on Digital Presses.

A Note from the PFI team: We love to track the newly innovated while keeping the authenticity of age. While we are powered by the surge for new design that comes with digital presses, we cannot help but feel nostalgia for more minimal business cards hand letterpress-ed with wood type. We strive for a balance in human and software power, and with all of the digital capabilities mentioned above, we keep many offset and Letterpress presses in-house, and cherished by many of our staff. We have an array of digital, offset, and letterpress printing presses to fit the unique needs of you and your clients.