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Views: 1 Author: packwire Publish Time: 2022-04-28 Origin: https://packwire.com/blog/digital-vs-offset-printing-for-packaging
Business owners who have little experience with designing custom product packaging end up surprised when the final product fails to look identical to the on-screen prototype. Unfortunately, printing output could never match 100% with what we see on screen because there’s a variation between the color output of a digital monitor and a real-life print. The quality of the output can be regulated based on the printing process to resemble the design very closely, however, it really depends on the type of printing used. Most packaging is printed using either digital printing methods or offset printing plates. Let's have digital and offset printing explained for a more detailed understanding.
Offset printing, also called lithography or lithographic printing, uses metal plates to layer colors onto a secondary (offset) sheet before rubber rollers transfer the design onto the final medium. Each design requires a custom plate printing plate.
Offset printing uses metal plates and rubber rollers.
Unlike offset, digital printing, prints directly onto your chosen medium. The process is as simple as creating a design on your computer and sending that file to the printer.
Digital prints directly onto the desired substrate.
One of the main differences between digital and offset printing the minimum order volume required to place an order. Offset printing ends up being cost-effective over the long term if your company has consistent large order runs for the same packaging design. Due to the costly setup for custom plates, a large deposit is required. The minimum order quantity for offset printing is usually several thousand units. On the contrary, digital printing offers lower minimum quantities for your orders, oftentimes as little as a single unit. There’s no up-front cost involved since no plates need to be used nor created, which is a huge money saver. This method ends up being significantly more economical for small orders.
Digital printing requires less commitment and ends up costing much less for small order runs. For these reasons, it’s the go-to method for smaller businesses and brands that want to invest less capital up-front.
The most significant difference between the two methods of printing definitely lies in the initial setup. While digital printing simply transfers a file from the digital sphere into a physical copy, offset printing requires a few more steps. First, the design needs to be finalized and then custom metal plates need to be created. This is not only time-consuming but also usually the most expensive part of the process. Remember that this is the case for each design. That means if there are changes to be made after the first prototype, an entirely new set of plates needs to be created (followed by another hefty invoice). It’s also important to keep in mind that very few printing companies, if any, will print less than 1000 units of an offset design. Forget about getting 10 or 100 copies of a prototype for testing! With digital printing, however, you can order drastically smaller quantities of a prototype without the massive up-front setup cost.
Digital printing is ideal for designing custom packaging prototypes since the blueprint might be altered several times before being finalized.
Even if a brand intends to use offset printing for the final product, it’s wise to go through the prototyping phase digitally. In terms of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and simplicity, it makes sense to use digital printing to create your packaging prototype and then put the final product through full production scale offset printing.
As mentioned above, the time-consuming setup involved in offset printing means it can be slow to get a project started. Offset printing was designed for large-scale production, not a quick turn-around. Most small businesses, however, will appreciate the streamlined process of using digital printing. For small runs, digital is the best choice in terms of turnaround time.
The cost per unit when using offset printing will decrease over time and potentially outcompete digital printing if your brand continues to use the same design. The substantial cost of setting up the initial plates is the majority of the investment. One of the main differences between digital and offset printing is that digital does not require custom plates or setup fees, which makes it significantly more affordable up-front. If your brand innovates its packaging often and rarely places orders in the thousands, digital printing is going to cost less.
Digital printing costs less for smaller runs, even if adjustments are made on the go. Offset printing is more economical if you are printing a single design in bulk over the long term.
Watching your packaging come to life through printing can be an extremely rewarding process. The journey from design to realization can be overwhelming, so remember to keep your end product in mind. If you pay attention to your preferred packaging material, the depth of color and detail required for your design, desired turnover time, and budget allocated to your custom packaging, you can set realistic expectations that leave you with a satisfying end result.
Most e-commerce businesses will benefit from the advantages of digital printing for packaging thanks to its ease of use and budget-friendly operations. Even if your company envisions undergoing large-scale runs and market testing, it’s still worthwhile to develop prototypes through digital print that can be later produced in bulk with the efficiency of lithographic technology.
Digital printing offers cost-effective solutions for the simple designs used with most e-commerce packaging.
