What Is Digital Printing?

Digital printing is taking digital images and printing them onto a surface, so chances are that if you have used an inkjet or laser printer, you already use digital printing. Digital printing in NYC and other cities is commonly used in the print-on-demand industry (which came about at the advent of digital printing), personal printing needs (home, school and/or small business), and for some corporate printing needs.

In digital printing, an image is sent directly to the printer using digital files such as PDFs and those from graphics software. This eliminates the need for a printing plate, which is used in offset printing, which can save money and time. Without the need to create a plate, digital printing has brought about fast turnaround times and printing on demand. Instead of having to print large, pre-determined runs, requests can be made for as little as one print. While offset printing still often results in slightly better quality prints, digital methods are being worked on at a fast rate to improve quality and lower costs.

What you need to know about Digital Printing in NYC, LA, and other Cities

Digital printing doesn’t require expensive or extensive printing equipment. Anyone who can print a document or image from a program on a home or office computer on a standard inkjet or laser printer is using digital printing and any printer that can directly accept digital data and print is adequate.

What digital printing does is it takes a different approach than traditional printing. It assembles each image from a complex set numbers and mathematical formulas. Those images are digitized and that now digitized image is reproduced usually by controlled deposition of ink, toner or exposure to electromagnetic energy or light.

Different Expenses involved with Digital Printing 

As mentioned earlier, with digital printing there is no need for a plate so there’s no need to replace parts that used to have to be repeatedly changed. Now, the items most needed are ink and toner. Because of this there is a quicker turnaround time and lower costs when using digital printing, but as with every new technology there are some downsides. In the case of digital printing, the images may not be as fine tuned as they would be with traditional methods of printing.

Digital printing technology gives designers more options of substances to print on due to its non-contact printing. Again, no press is needed. This eliminates the distortion of images that sometimes occurs in analog process, like screen printing. This also means that fabrics, very thin paper, and even ceramics can be safely printed on which in turn gives customers more choices in designing.

Digital printing in NYC and other cities best serves the demand for: personalization, customization, less spoilage, a faster proof cycle, smaller archival storage, quick response, and short print runs which be as little as 25 prints to as many as 1000 pieces. While some printers are still employing analog print methods they also have the ability, with digital printing, to offer their customers more options and to provide better service.

You can do digital printing on your own, or for larger jobs, you can hire a printer. Companies like Superior Resource and other digital printers offer a variety of services.

Stacey Gotsulias writes for a variety of publications and websites.