Printing Methods
Comprehensive knowledge of the printing process is not required to submit work to a printer.
However, some knowledge will help ease communication and avoid mistakes or confusion in the process.
It is also good to note that most printers won't facilitate the design of a book. Many will require the pre-designed files supplied to them.
This is a simplified summary of the two most common processes, offset printing and digital printing.
A summary of the pros and cons of each method appears at the end of this article.
Offset printing or offset lithography
Most large print jobs use offset printing.
It is typically the most reliable printing method that guarantees quality and consistency of product.
Offset printing is not cheap and usually needs a large print order to be financially viable.
This printing technique has a longer pre-press preparation time as the printer must convert all the book’s files from the computer to the printing plates.
To achieve consistency, every page of the book being printed is made into its own plate. The plate is a thin sheet of metal that the page’s imagery and text is burnt onto through exposure to light.
The term “offset” refers to the process of the inked images being transferred from the plate to the rubber blanket and finally to the page surface.
The minimum order number for hardcover offset print runs is typically 500 units and 1,000 units for softcover.
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