What is digital printing?

The print industry has gone through huge changes over the last few decades and the arrival of digital printing has had a huge impact on cost, efficiency and quality. Much of the print we see today is printed digitally. But what’s the difference?

What are the different types of printing?

The two main types of printing used are digital printing and the more tradition offset litho printing.

With litho, the artwork image is burned onto a plate then transferred to a rubber blanket before finally being printed on to paper.

Digital printing eliminates these mechanical steps. The artwork goes directly from computer to paper. That means there are no plates, less wastage of materials and no need for the chemicals required in the litho process.

How does digital printing work?

Digital printing works in the same way as your desktop printer or colour copier but with a much more highly advanced digital press. You simply supply your artwork as a high resolution PDF file and the digital press transfers it to paper. If you’re unsure about whether your artwork is print-ready have a look at our support page.

What is the digital printing process?

With digital printing, the artwork is converted to a pixelated image. This digital image dictates the levels of toner (a fine, coloured powder) and exposure required to accurately replicate your artwork file. The image then goes straight on to the paper.

What are the advantages of digital print?

There are many advantages of using digital printing.

• Lower costs

The process saves time, materials and therefore money. There’s none of the set-up time required for litho so your job goes straight to print. With litho print, the time and costs required for setting up your job are the same for one copy as they are for 1000. Digital print eliminates all of these costs and vastly reduces waste.

• Quick turnaround

Because your artwork goes straight to print the turnaround is much quicker than with litho, where the use of plates and the mechanical process can add days to print time.

• Sharper images

Litho printing transfers images from artwork to plate, plate to blanket and finally to paper. A tiny movement on the press can get exaggerated each time your image is transferred so photographs can appear softer. The digital process prints your images as they appear on your artwork so they’re sharper and clearer.

• Less waste helps the environment

We’re more aware than ever of the issues affecting our planet. Digital printing produces fewer waste materials and there’s no minimum quantity so you only print exactly what you need.

At DigitalPrintingIreland.ie we use only market leading HP Indigo digital presses. These cutting edge presses produce perfect print with rich colours and exceptional image reproduction. That’s why we guarantee the quality of every job we produce. To find out more about how we supply perfect print to our business customers or to see our full range of products visit www.DigitalPrintingIreland.ie today.