Offset Printing Primer for Newcomers

If you are new to the world of publishing and offset printing, then you are in the right article. This primer will help you learn all the basic and important things about offset printing, as well as some explanations about long run printing and the overall costs of these processes. You will find all the information that you need below, as well as the key answers to your most common questions about offset printing. Read and learn well.

1. Defining offset printing – Offset printing in layman’s terms is basically a popular printing process in use by many professional commercial printing companies. It uses 3 main cylinders where the design is first offset to a rubber medium and then introduced directly to the paper itself.

The process uses the chemical or physical fact about oil and water wherein they do not mix, causing a more accurate and more well defined printed material. Almost 40% of all printed materials today use this process, so in most cases you would probably have encounters prints that used this process.

2. Why should one use offset printing? – Besides it being a standard for most commercial printers, you should use the offset printing process simply because it gives great quality prints. Anything from magazines, flyers, booklets, catalogs, business cards and even product labels and packaging use offset printing.

The vivid colors and the extreme quality of the prints in this process all contribute to make this really one of the best professional standards that one should match. So if you really want that professional print, you should hire printers that use offset printing.

3. Where can I find printers that use this process? – You can find them anywhere really. Most of your local commercial printing services should have one form of this printing process or another. To be sure though, you can actually go online and look for an online printing company that uses such a process. Believe me, there will be no shortages of printing companies that will use this process as it is a professional practice. So you will not have trouble finding a good one to hire.

4. Is printing like this expensive? – No. Since this is standard, there are no custom prices in offset printing. The normal quotations for printing typically apply when it comes to this process. In fact, this can even be less expensive than digital printing, especially for big bulk orders where you need thousands of copies. So you do not have to worry about printing costs really in offset printing. As long as you are wise with this process, you do not have to worry about them too much.

5. What are the drawbacks? – The big drawback though in offset printing is basically the cost when it comes to small orders. If you are only planning to print less than a hundred pieces or so of your material, the cost may not be worth it. Since real plates and rubber impressions will be done, the initial cost of printing is actually high when you calculate things on a “per piece” level.

Also, you cannot expect printing in an instant just like digital printers really as there is some processing and setting up involved. So if you require only small printing orders in really super quick time, offset printing might not be practical for you.

So that is your primer for offset printing. Now you should know have a good idea of what offset printing is all about and how it factors into your printing processes. Just review all these before you really go for that offset printing service.


For more information, you can visit this page on offset printing