These presses use four colors of ink - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK) - to produce the vast majority of full-color projects printed worldwide. Most of our Printing 101 resource pages focus on four-color sheet-fed offset printing since those are the machines used by PrintNinja’s factories. Games and books follow the same printing process, but post-press is where the similiarties end. Offset printing can be used to print on paper, cardboard, plastic, and even chocolate! This printing method is a popular choice for card and board games, record jackets, and multi-page projects. This approach is best used for small runs (1 to 150 units). Digital printing uses equipment similar to a large home laser or inkjet printer. Web presses are used for high-volume printing (10,000+ units).ĭigital printing (also known as Print-On-Demand or POD) is not an offset printing method, but it’s a good one to understand. They are far more complicated than sheet-fed presses and can be as large as an entire building. Web offset printing presses use a roll of paper that is continuously fed through the printing press. They are best used for short or mid-range runs (250 to 10,000 units).

These machines use pre-cut sheets of paper, called parent sheets, that are fed through the printing press one sheet at a time. The most common alternative to offset printing is known as digital or print-on-demand. There are two primary types of offset printing: sheet-fed and web. First, your images are digitally transferred onto a set of plates, which collect ink to transfer your images onto a rubber blanket that transfers images onto paper. Each step in this printing technique involves the transfer of images (text and art) from one material to the next.

When you think of offset printing, think of the word transfer. Offset printing, also called lithography, uses a large printing press with a series of printing plates that transfer ink onto paper, which is then cut, folded, and bound to form a final product. This article serves as a basic introduction to offset printing.

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