Offset (Litho) Printing

Offset printing is a printing method where the image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then onto the paper or paperboard.

This lithographic process based on the repulsion of oil and water uses a plate as a carrier on which the image to be printed takes ink from ink rollers and at the same time, repels ink in the non-printing area through using a fountain solution that keeps the non-printing areas ink-free.

Offset printing is the most common form of high-volume printing, due to advantages in quality and efficiency. Higher the print run, lower the unit cost because the fixed cost of offset preparation diffuses with quantities.

Advantages of offset printing compared to other printing methods include consistently sharp and clear image print quality, easy production of printing plates through the use of computer-to-plate technology, printing plates capable of long impression as there is no direct contact between the plate and the printed surface, and it is the most cost effective method of producing high volume work with high quality printing.

Offset printing comes in two forms: Sheet-fed and Web Offset. Sheet-fed describes how paper is being fed into the printing press. Literally, sheet by sheet. Web-offset uses paper in rolls. Difference between Sheet-fed and Web-offset is the speed of printing to produce the ultra high runs. This is why large print run products like the newspapers printing or even magazines printing are produced on the web-offset presses.

Obvious disadvantage of offset printing is mainly the cost of producing low print runs. This is when the fixed cost of production becomes significant. Alternative cost effective solution to do small print runs would be Digital Printing.

C.O.S. Printers offers Sheet-fed offset printing. Our presses are well maintained and continuously upgraded. We further employ technologies like Image Control by Heidelberg to help maintain colour consistency on the run. Integration between prepress and press which allows ink profile information from prepress to be captured on the press shortens make ready time, thus achieving high level of productivity in our plant.

Typical products using sheet-fed presses are coffee-table books, travel guides, Annual Reports or Financial Reports, school magazines, manuals, calendar printing, journals, catalogues, directories, and brochures printing. Our presses cater both the quantity range and the quality required to manufacture those products.

Continue Reading - Who We Work With >>