Commercial Printers Continued…

Which type of printer do you need?

Because printing is extremely complex, commercial printers offer a wide array of processes and techniques. The most commonly used are offset lithography and photocopying.

If your needs are rather basic, such as if you are printing only in black and white, a high-speed photocopier may be all you need to get adequate results.

If you are printing more than one color, if your work includes high-resolution output, photographs or if you are printing on paper with a rough surface, it's wise to use an offset duplicator. Different machines print different numbers of colors.

If your document has four or more colors, if the pages are larger than 11 x 17 inches, or if you want more than 10,000 copies, you will probably want to choose a sheet-fed offset press.

If you have more than 50,000 copies, a web press may be the machine you need. This printer uses rolls, rather than sheets of paper. It may also have the capability of varnishing, gluing, cutting and folding the piece automatically. A mini-web press is faster than a sheet-fed press, but is not as expensive as a web press.

While the quality is much the same with offset duplicators, sheet-fed and web presses, the real difference is speed. Basically, the more colors a machine prints and the faster it runs, the more it costs.

Experience counts

Although finding the right machinery is an important step, perhaps equally important is making sure the printer you hire employs people who know how to operate the press. Look at examples of their work before hiring a printer. Focus on the printing itself, not the design. It's usually the client who has done most of the creative work. When looking at the print itself, take note of whether it has clean, bright colors, as well as smooth, dense solid areas and text and images that are focused and clear.

By Margaret Evans