Got a printing Question?

Have a look below we normally have all the answers.  If you question is not answered below please give us a call 01242 237652 or send us an email estimator@cbfnet.co.uk

Digital or Litho printing?

Lithographic Printing
The traditional form of printing using large machinery to place colours onto paper and card stocks via a Plate (similar to a stencil) to determine where the ink is placed on the sheet.  As the paper stock passes through the machine a full colour image is create using the four basic coloured inks CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and key/black).  Once printed these inks can take up to 24 hours to dry before cutting down to size.
The machinery used is determined by size of paper that can pass through i.e. B3, B2, B1 etc.


Digital Printing
Using what is a commercial version of a laser printer, digital printing applies the four colour process (CMYK) using heat to burn the ink onto the paper or card.  With no setup costs i.e. plates digital printing is charges by the copy or click i.e. one piece of paper = one click.  The costs however stay quiet consistant regardless of volume so it works out cheaper to only print short to medium runs before litho becomes more costs effective.

The two basic forms of printing items regardless of size and quantity but over the last 10-15 years a revolution has been taking place with the increase quality of the digital technologies.  This has not only lowered the costs of shorter run materials but enabled the world to witness the rise of VDP (Variable data print) which gives marketers and businesses the chance to print items completely unique to the receiver using images and text to portray a message.


Turnaround times
How long will a print job take to turnaround?  Most lithographic jobs take approximately 5 working days from proof approval to delivery to your door anywhere nationwide.  This is dependent on size of the job and the finishing involved (binding, stitching, folding, laminating or varnishing).

With digital materials the printing process is a lot quicker i.e. 24 hours again dependent on finishing but CBF can get you materials to your door within 48 hours.


Artwork
Whether your used to creating artwork for printed materials or not.  There are always guidelines to adhere to in order end up with the right printed materials.

Where to start:
What software package do you use? There are a few on the market now some better than others but the main group are used the world over and are used by the printing industry as standard.  They include Adobe In-design, Adobe Illustrator, Quark and Adobe Photoshop.  All these are professional tools but with some practice and some help from text books, you can create a reasonable piece of artwork.