Digital print can print from one copy upward. Waste is minimal, however paper choice is not as extensive at Litho and there is an optimium print quantity after which this process becomes less cost-effective. Delivery times are also very responsive as there is no drying time required. We can gererally provide a 48hr turnaround on digital print, depending on complexity and volume. Print quality is not as professional as litho and cannot print special colours, there are also size restrictions as most digital printers can only handle A3+.

Waterless litho is more envoirmentally friendly due to the ink that it uses, this is waterless which means that this printer can print onto materials other than paper and there is less chemical waste. Colour control is more accurate than standard litho so to run to densitometer readings takes only a handful of sheets rather than hundreds and with the Karat74 the printing system is direct to plate, thus no film work is required (although this process is becoming more standard). On the downside is the price. This is a quality printer and in our experience can be up to 15% dearer than standard litho.

Standard litho is the inexpensive way of producing print on volume. The rule of thumb is the higher the quantity the lower the unit cost. The process is possibly the most versatile for the unit cost printing predominantly from CMYK, but six colours is not unusual making specials (spot colours) common and simple to work with. There are few size restrictions, but the process in not the ‘greenest’, so by using part recycled or FSC material we can reduce our carbon footprints a little.

Flexo is basically an updated version of letterpress that can be used for printing on almost any type of substrate including plastic, metallic films, cellophane, and paper. It is widely used for printing on the non-porous substrates required for various types of food packaging (it is also well suited for printing large areas of solid color).

Gravure is a type of intaglio printing process, in that it involves engraving the image onto an image carrier. In gravure printing, the image is engraved onto a  cylinder because, like offset and flexography, it uses a rotary printing press. The vast majority of gravure presses print on reels of paper, rather than sheets of paper. (Sheetfed gravure is a small, specialty market.) Rotary gravure presses are the fastest and widest presses in operation, printing everything from narrow labels to 4 metre wide rolls of vinyl flooring. Additional operations may be in-line with a gravure press, such as saddle stitching facilities for magazine/brochure work. Once a staple of newspaper photo features, the gravure process is used for commercial printing.