Litho and digital printing are both commonly used but print in very different ways.
What's the difference?
Litho printing is the most popular for high quality and high volume commercial printing. The desired print image is burned onto a plate and then transferred from the plate to a rubber blanket and on to the printing surface. The lithographic process is based around oil and water not mixing. The image that's going to be printed gets its ink from ink rollers, while the non-printing area attracts a film of water, keeping the non-printing areas ink free.
Advantages of Litho Printing
- It produces a high quality image
- The unit cost decreases in price as the quantity rises
- Works on a variety of printing surfaces such as paper, cloth, wood and plastic
- More cost effective in high volume jobs
Digital printing is ideal for smaller print runs and eliminates many of the mechanical steps required for conventional printing. It's a four colour process that uses electronic files (such as PDF files) and dots of colour to produce an image using toner or ink. This type of printing is not the same as running copies from your PC to a laser or inkjet printer, the digital print presses used by printers are much more sophisticated than that.
When it comes to printing there can be a lot of technical terms used which you are not too familiar with and can make the printing process a little confusing. Whatever your project may be, you need to get it printed but how do you know which printing avenue to go down? We are here to help you understand the difference between two of the most popular ways of printing.
Advantages of Digital Printing
- A short turnaround time
- Very cost effective for small print runs as there is less initial setup involved
- Every print is the same and creates less waste and fewer variations
- Some jobs can be personalised as they are printed with variable data ( i.e. name or address)
We hope this has answered some of your questions and cleared up any confusion you may have had between litho and digital printing. If you require a printing service for your project or one off piece then please feel free to contact us on 01603 488001.
