Designers' Corner: Offset vs. Digital: Pros and Cons

• Offset printing allows more control over color. In digital printing, the digital information controls the density of the colors being printed. Very little adjustment can be made. In offset printing, the printer has more leeway in making color adjustments on a broader scale.
• Offset printing is capable of process and/or match (flat) colors.
• Most digital printing equipment offers process colors only. (Some match colors cannot be matched exactly in process.)
• Offset is preferred for handling solid coverage, vignettes and screens which have a tendency to streak and band when printed digitally. (Although this varies with equipment and quality is constantly improving.)
• Some digital printers and presses are limited in the kinds of paper stock you can use, because of inks and dyes used in the process. Some work better on coated; some on uncoated. Others require a special coating on the paper to produce the desired print performance.
• Sheet size is also more limited with digital equipment.
• Digital Printing is faster. There's no separate proofing, no film or plates, and little make-ready time is needed.
• Offset presses that still use plates are more expensive and require time to make plates.
• Hanging plates (if required), as well as adjusting color and register adds time and expense to make-ready.
• Offset requires a separate proofing process. With digital, the printing is the proof.

Source: www.ippaper.com/printers_101.html#pro_con

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