Doug Curren

This question is asked alot by my clients more and more in todays high tech digital world. It used to be plate, print and deliver. A plate by the way is made of high grade aluminum with a laser image that transfers the image to a rubber surface and then to the paper. Thats called offset printing. Now that plate plays a vital pricing role. A job thats full color on two sides 8.5" x 11" 500 sheets prices higher than using the digital process so it becomes a mute point. I used to outsource thiese projects until i noticed just how much i was "giving away" so we have just installed a brand new state of the art Xerox 700 Digital Press. The color is awesome! Its vibrant, it really pops and serves our clients short run color needs.

So where does that leave the tried and true historic conventional offset printing process? I believe it will always be with us because no new process can produce the same quality and there are many clients out there who know and can see the difference but under 500 sheets of 8.5" x 11" digital printing is the way to go. You can print using a variety of papers too. From glossy text and cover papers to textured papers. They are specially made to handle the heat some digital machines dish out. That is one excellent advantage with the Xerox 700. It has decurlers to minimize curling as it exits the machine so it lays nice and flat. In addition it uses less power so it generates less heat making it a very green machine. If you would like more information contact me directly.

The following is a “fire control” email between myself and and a identity designer whose customer was unhappy with his printing on an uncoated paper versus a coated or gloss paper and I thought the subject was worthy to share. When the customer received his PDF business card proofs, he thought he would receive exactly what he saw in the PDF. A nice shiny new “jump off the paper” logo. First thing my designer should have done was to educate the client BEFORE going to press, the differences between coated and uncoated stocks and how ink appears on both. Using the Pantone Matching System each color sample appears both on coated and uncoated. As an example the “U” in PMS 431U means “uncoated.” For “coated” stocks it appears 431C, the “C” meaning “coated.” This is how it went.