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When you have a print job, you may be wondering how to know what should be printed on a traditional offset press and what can be done on a digital press. Digital printing in Reston is, in some ways, more than simply printing. It is a complete workflow process and, as such, that is much of where the advantages of digital come into play. From pre-press to post-production, the digital workflow is seamless and completely integrated. Digital printing processes eliminate the need for much work that is still required with offset, such as photo processing, stripping, platemaking and more.
A general rule of thumb is that print jobs with quantities of less than 500 or even 1,000 are good candidates for digital printing in Reston. However, this is not a black and white rule as the overall size of the finished product also plays a big part in determining the viability of using a digital press. Most digital presses only accommodate paper sheets up to 12” x 18” so anything larger must automatically go on an offset press. If a print project is small enough in size and in quantity to be able to be produced on a digital press, you will benefit from lower costs due to the reduction in up front pre-press work and setup. With very large quantity jobs, the set up costs become minimal for offset projects but can have quite an effect on the price if the quantity is not too high.
Many local, neighborhood type businesses that frequently utilize direct marketing as a key method of sustaining and growing their business can find digital printing in Reston to be quite effective and beneficial for them. Postcards and other such items that need customized mailing information are ideal projects for most digital printing processes. Similarly, these jobs can be produced very quickly and efficiently so your business may even be able to do them more frequently than you could if you had to pay for offset printing every time.
If you have a good relationship with your local company that offers offset and digital printing in Reston, you will be able to rely on the expertise of the staff to guide you as to how best to produce your projects. You are also likely to get feedback from them on how to adjust the setup of your files so that you can better accommodate less expensive printing methods. Leveraging the knowledge of your professional printer will go a long way toward getting the most bang for your printing buck.