Digital Versus Litho Printing

Digital vs Litho Printing

When it comes to printing, you can choose between Litho and Digital. And to select the best option, it’ll come down to what you actually want to print.

Quick Overview

In layman’s terms, Digital printing is done using a laser printer very similar to the one you'd find at home or in the office - just a lot bigger, and in much better quality!

Litho printing is a traditional printing method and more premium too. It uses custom-made printing plates that apply colours to a roller, which is then used to print to the paper.

Fast turnaround required!

If you need prints, and you need them now, then our recommendation is to opt for digital. Digital printing works in the same way as printing from a PC to any other printer i.e. you open up the file and click Print.

The reality is that the actual process is a little more complicated than that when it comes to professional-quality digital prints. But compared to litho printing, where printing plates need to be made up, prepared for printing, and tested, digital printing is much faster.

That said, once the printing plates are made up and ready to go, litho printers are quicker than digital printers, producing high-end prints at a rate of circa 18,000 sheets per hour.

Quality is key!

When it comes to print quality, litho has the edge, and it’s much cooler to tell everyone that you had your project litho printed! However, with recent developments in the world of digital, it’s fair to say that most people will not be able to spot the subtle differences between the two methods.

The best choice for quality really does depend on what you're printing, and what paper you’ve chosen. Litho prints are often the preferred option for designs with large blocks of colour or gradients, as they'll look smoother than a digital print. There's no chance of pixilation.

Digital can be trickier to work with on coloured or textured paper, whereas a litho print's inks will handle the differences more easily. However, a digital print onto coloured paper might also give you a particularly vivid effect that you're looking for.

In short, litho has a slight advantage in terms of quality.

Low volumes

If you're looking for a small number of flyers / leaflets / posters for a one-off, then digital printing is the most cost-effective option. There are no setup costs; you just send a PDF and we'll print. You only pay for the number of prints you get, and you can get quite a lot of digital prints for the cost of a lithograph set-up.

High volumes

Once a litho is up and running, the cost-per-print is cheaper than digital, so if you're in the market for a lot of copies, then the set-up cost of litho printing is a very worthwhile investment indeed, in the long run. Once you're into the thousands, you'll be paying less for litho, and when it’s tens of thousands, there’s a huge difference.

Multiple designs

More than one design means more than one set of plates, so if you've got multiple designs in the same order then we'd recommend going for digital. There will be a tipping point depending on how big your run of each design is, of course, but you'll end up with a lot more prints before it becomes economical compared to a digital run.

Conclusion

Both digital and litho printing have their pros and cons, and if you're still not sure about the best option for you, then please don't hesitate to get in touch, as we’re here to help!