Litho Vs Digital - What’s Best For You?

Lithographic (Litho) V’s Digital - Which way to go?

Well, there’s so much to consider when you’re looking to print something that represents your company, but the answer to fulfil your mix of marketing literature, is a combination of both!

Both processes are great for certain jobs, whether your considerations are purpose, quantity, quality or price. It’s worth investing some time talking to your print partner about the many options you have before deciding on the perfect method for your job.

So, we just thought it’d be worth helping you out with a couple of reasons why you’d choose digital or litho for your next print project.

Litho

-Litho presses use wet ink, printing plates and usually have a skilled operator overseeing the job for ink consistency and quality.

-It’s more expensive to set up but once the machine is running, it churns out a high number of pages at an economical rate, therefore great for longer runs.

-It won’t be as competitive on shorter runs but the quality is superior to digital print.

-It’s much better for prestigious jobs with large print coverage as there are no pixels (dots that the digital machines use), so the quality is excellent.

-There are lots of fancy finishes you can have such as spot UV to enhance your print job and stand out from the crowd.

-Perfect for quality brochures, corporate folders, long run printed stationery, books and forms

Digital

-Digital machines use toner cartridges, a bit like a photocopier.

-The set-up time is minimal as everything’s ready to go but longer runs eat up the toner which is expensive, so the click rate becomes uneconomical.

-So, it’s great for smaller print quantities but the quality is not quite as good!

-It’s great for jobs that you need in a rush as the process is quicker than litho and if you want a job personalised with variable data it’s the only option. This is one of the biggest benefits of digital printing and lots of people don’t use it.

-Perfect for flyers, business cards, small booklets, postcards, small mail merge mailings and posters.

To Summarise…

You will have a need for both methods of print depending on your purpose, quantity, cost or time constraints. All you need to do is give the specification to a good printer and they’ll satisfy your requirements in the right way to achieve your objective.

At LG Davis we really take the time to find out what our customers want. Colin and David (our expert print consultants) are two of the most knowledgeable people in the print trade.

They’ll come and talk to you about your job and offer sound advice to help you achieve your print objective.

Call us on 0121 430 9000 for advice on your next project.