Design 101 :: Lesson 5 :: Printing

Offset Printing - Spot Color
The highest quality printing comes from offset printing. You can use as many different colors of ink as you would like, but as you add colors, the price goes up. The simplest and least expensive offset job would be 1-color. With spot colors, you can get brighter colors and unique inks like metallics. With offset printing, you choose the exact paper stock, including color and weight. An aqueous coating is recommended for pieces that get handled a lot, like postcards and folders. The aqueous coating gives a nice protective layer to prevent scratches and fingerprints.

Offset Printing - Full Color
Four color (or full color) printing is when you combine Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black inks to create most other colors. Photography prints best in full color. Since a plate must be made for each ink color used, four color printing is the most expensive.

Digital Press - Full Color Only
The digital press is the newest kind of printing. It is ideal for full color jobs with short runs. The digital press quality is not as good as the offset press, but it makes up for it in speed and price.

Bulk Printing - Full Color Only
Bulk printers print multiple jobs at the same time, providing huge cost savings for you. If you are not picky about printers and do not need to match colors exactly with Pantone colors, bulk printing will work for you. However, with bulk printing, there are limitations, such as the kind of paper used. Please ask if you think bulk printing might be right for your job.

Color Laser or Color Copies
While this is not technically professional printing, sometimes these are good options for temporary or very short run projects. While the quality is ok, color consistency is a big issue with this type of printing.