Digital vs. Offset Pricing

By now most people are familiar with the capability of digital print production; that it's fast, high quality, and, at low quantities, very affordable. Those of us who work in printing are so enthusiastic about this process that people probably wonder why we print anything with plates anymore. The answer is that the low-quantity price advantages of digital don't scale up very well and, past a certain point, offset printing is still the best value. Here's why.

Any price for printing is a calculation of fixed costs, which are incurred regardless of quantity, (e.g. proofing or machine set up), plus running costs which are directly tied to the amount to be printed, (e.g. paper, press or copier time). The key to understanding the dynamics of print costing is to examine the main driver for each type of production. For digital it's the ubiquitous "click charge", or cost per impression. For offset they are proofing, plate making, and machine setup.

There are three factors which limit the digital print model's ability to render a low unit cost at medium runs.

The first factor is that digital printing costs almost nothing to set up but is expensive per impression, due to high purchase, maintenance, and consumables costs. The second is that digital is usually limited to a smaller sheet size (e.g. letter size 2-up) whereas offset is often twice or four times that size, cutting the run length proportionately. The third factor, not unrelated to cost, is speed. In an environment oriented to a high quantity of small jobs it's not cost effective to tie up a slow digital system for an extensive run. They just plain don't run fast.

Let's look at theoretical pricing for a job which can be easily printed by either method; a 16 page saddlestitched booklet, 8.5 x 11 with bleeds, full CMYK color on 100# gloss text. This is a typical annual report or catalog and we do a lot of them. You can see that the crossover point is about 1,000 copies, which is a pretty good rule of thumb.



In a nutshell, digital printing starts quick but runs slow, has expensive consumables, and the unit price hits a plateau quickly. Conventional offset is just the opposite; once you're over the big hump of getting the job set up the unit cost continues to decline nicely. The real treat is that a modern print shop can now provide affordable prices across the entire spectrum at a level of quality customers love. As I've said before, there has never been a better time to buy printing!

Best Wishes for your New Year as we embark on 2012,

Hugh Butler
Your Friend in the Printing Business.