Digital print has come a long way, but when speaking with clients, I often find there are still some misconceptions about it.

Here are the top five myths, as expressed to me, about digital printing.

5 Digital Printing Myths

1. Quality — Digital print is NOT a color copy. It is a press print. At Alexander’s we use the best digital offset press on the market—the HP Indigo. Our quality cannot be beat. Place a digital print next to an offset press print and 99% of the time, those who don’t have a jeweler’s loop handy won’t know the difference.

2. It’s expensive — Digital printing is very cost-effective. The price per piece may be higher, but considering all components of your project (production, shipping, delivery, distribution, warehousing, etc.), digital can and will save you money

  • Digital can boost and track your ROI. You’ll boost your return on investment by personalizing your collateral, including variable data and using Web-to-Print software like Divvy.
  • Digital has short turn times. Get faster results. Time is money and we pride ourselves on delivering on time.
  • Digital eliminates inventory and storage costs. Print only what you need, when you need it! Why tie your money up in months or years of print inventory to save a few pennies when that money can be better spent growing your business?
  • Digital significantly reduces waste. Your product and company information will always be current and you won’t be throwing away obsolete or damaged collateral.

3. Lack of variety and specialty papers — When digital machines first came out there were a lot of limitations on available stocks on which you could print. Not anymore. Now there’s a large variety to choose from: thick, thin, recycled, synthetic, sparkly, dull, smooth or textured. You’ve got a lot of excellent options to choose from.

4. Color consistency — Digital will provide color consistency that is hard to beat. It will effectively match colors from the first to the last page of the project you’re printing today, or even printing again, months or years from now. With digital, you don’t have to deal with ink aging, different ink-lot processing or a number of other variables that come up when using PMS inks. Our digital press can run up to 3 spot Pantone colors in addition to the 4-color process.

5. Digital print is only ideal for short runs — It’s true, for a short run project, digital will always maximize your print spend. However, there are a number of other factors to help determine if digital is the right approach for your project, including:

  • What’s the size of the piece you’re running?
  • Are you including variable data?
  • Will you have multiple art files that share all the same print specifications?
  • How frequently would you like to change text or information on the piece you’re printing?
  • Would it be beneficial to personalize the message?
  • How quickly do you need it (digital IS fast)?

The answers to these questions will determine if digital is the best solution for you. The traditional offset press still has its place, but if you’re not familiar with digital presses and their capabilities, get to know them! They’re taking over their share of the market and will continue to do so as technology advances.

If you have questions about whether digital or offset is the right way to go with your project, please give us a call. We’ll be happy to help.

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