With many office workers staying at home during COVID, the printing industry has seen a decline. However, certain industries such as logistics, healthcare, and the finance industry still need hard copies of certain documents.
Printers are still necessary for many industries, so if your business is looking for printing solutions, there are several options you can utilize.
Keep reading to learn about the top three solutions!
1. Digital Print Solutions
Digital printing is most likely the most common solution, similar to a home printer and color label printer.
This solution is so popular because it is the most cost-effective way of printing smaller jobs and projects. Digital or cloud printing solutions don’t use plates, like offset printing, but produce high-quality products by taking the digital file and transferring it on a physical surface.
There are two forms of digital printing, inkjet and xerography. Inkjet uses ink cartridges, while xerography uses laser toners. Both processes use black and white and color printers.
2. Offset Printing
As mentioned above, offset printing uses plates to transfer ink onto the desired surface. This is highly beneficial for high-volume projects such as printing brochures, flyers, or other items.
Offset printing also uses large continuous rolls of paper that are then cut into sections after print. As a result, it is fast, flexible, and consistent in quality.
The process is similar to sheet-fed printing as they both use rollers to press the ink unto the surface. However, sheet-fed printing has pre-cut sheets instead of a continuous roll of paper. The sheets are often cut up to 120″X160″.
3. Screen Printing
Not all printing is done on paper; sometimes, you need to think outside the box and print promotional items on shirts, bags, and other fabrics.
Screen printing is perfect in these situations. The process of screen printing requires a stencil. The ink is pushed through the screen and the stencil blocks some of the ink to provide the desired design.
Screen printing is also very popular for cakes, mugs, and anything else you can think of, as it is highly versatile.
4. Flexography
Flexography is the closes to the early printing process of the letterpress. It is mostly used for plastic bags, packaging, and wrapping paper.
The design is engraved onto a plate, either rubber or plastic. That plate is then dipped into ink and transferred to the surface. The engraving needs to be mirrored to make the wording and design legible once it is on the promotional item.
Flexography is becoming increasingly popular as it is fast and effective to produce large quantity items. However, it is not necessarily affordable for smaller jobs.
The Best Printing Solutions
There are plenty of printing solutions you can choose from as a business. However, you need to be aware of the differences between each. Speak with an expert to determine which solution is best for your project.
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