Press vs Digital Printing – What you need to know?

When it comes time to print your book, one of the most important decisions you will need to make is whether to print digitally or to use press printing. Digital book printing is a fairly recent phenomenon and only began in earnest in the early 90’s. Press printing has been around for hundreds of years and it is likely that the majority of the books you have read in your lifetime have been produced using this tried-and-true process. This does not mean that digital printing cannot produce a great result, or that it is not the right choice for printing your next book, however there are some factors you need to take into account when deciding which route to take.

Digital printing

Benefits:

· The most obvious benefit of digital printing is cost. If you are printing 200 copies of your book or less then you will find digital printing significantly cheaper. If your print run exceeds 250 then you may want to look at press printing.

· Digital printing often has a faster turnaround than press printing as there is no setup required. This is also the reason why short print runs are generally cheaper with digital. So if you must have your book ready in 2 weeks or less then digital should be your first choice.

Things to consider:

· Digital does have some limitations when it comes to color reproduction – color range and accuracy is generally not as good as press printing. At Hemei we use the world’s best digital printing equipment, HP Indigo digital press and Konica Minolta Bizhub press, sometimes it really is difficult to tell the difference, but press printing generally has better color saturation and brightness.

· At Hemei we offer a range of sizes for digital print however many digital printing companies only provide a narrow selection of paper sizes and binding options.

Press printing

Benefits:

· Press printing has fantastic color reproduction which makes it a perfect choice for children’s books, coffee table books and other colorful book categories. The accuracy from one book to another is also consistent as colors are pre-mixed to the same specifications for every copy.

Things to consider:

· Press printing is, by its nature, more costly than digital print as custom plates or films must be produced along with other print press preparations. When the number of book copies exceeds 250 these costs may become negligible.

· Press printing can take longer than digital. In addition to the setup time, the final product must be allowed to dry before cutting, folding and finishing.

When you submit your book at Hemei a project manager will be assigned to guide you through the selection process to ensure you get the right printing product to suit your needs and budget. Whether you decide on digital printing or press printing, we guarantee you will be delighted with the result.