Digital printing is a contemporary method of reproducing a digital image directly onto a variety of media without damage. Generally, it refers to specialist professional printing wherein many-to-many projects from desktop printing and other digital media are printed by using high-volume and/or large-scale laser or ink jet printers. The advantage of digital printing lies in the fact that the process minimizes consumables – time, labor, material, etc. – while maximizing production-quality. Digital printing offers several advantages such as: quick turnaround time, economical on resource usage, digital quality, variety of file formats, customization options, and quality assurance.
Digital printing is also called offset printing and this method is utilized by most contemporary printing shops. Digital offset printing involves printing directly onto a substrate, which could be polyester, fiberboard, linen, or other materials. An example of a substrate is a t-shirt. This is an advantage because it eliminates the need for cutting (the case of the printing of posters and catalogs) and reduces storage space since the images are printed directly onto the substrate.
One more advantage of digital printing lies in the use of solid ink cartridges. The image is printed directly onto the toner plates which are then transferred to paper. There is no need to apply the ink to the paper as it is already applied on the toner plates. Digital offset printing also utilizes various types of inks including permanent and semi-permanent. Permanent ink is thicker and lasts longer than non-permanent ones and is used in mass production. Semi-permanent ink runs out after printing and needs to be replenished whereas non-permanent ink can be reused for a longer period of time.
With digital printing, there is also a reduction in cost. Since there is no need for cutting, you can save a lot on paper and labor costs. Also, since the image is printed directly onto the substrate, there is no need for cooling the print head and this results in a higher quality print. Also, because digital printing does not require the use of ink cartridges, there is a significantly lower environmental impact. This is an advantage especially in today’s environmentally conscious society.
The biggest disadvantage of digital printing lies in the high cost of the toner and the possibility of running out of ink during large runs. Also, offset printing has a shorter lifespan when it comes to printing large amounts of text. Print shops that do digital printing must have a large staff since they can handle a large number of print jobs at the same time. The printing of collateral also requires a skilled eye and many hours of work. The print shop that have digital printers can create a large number of press runs in a relatively short time and the turnaround time is much shorter.
However, even with all its advantages, digital printing is limited by the quality of the images and by the speed of the printing process. There are some printing methods that offer excellent image quality, but they are very expensive and their lithography processes are slower. In addition, the image resolution and color quality will not be as good when used in interior rooms or indoors. Also, the printout of fine art images will not look as nice as the one created using the digital presses when used outdoors or in extremely low light conditions. When you use digital printing, the best results are obtained when the image is captured using the top end of the available technology. For more details on digital printing visit Dallas print shop website at https://www.northdallasprintingservices.com/plano-tx/