It seems the long-standing
flexo versus digital printing debate has finally come to an end. Kind of. Instead of fretting over which printing technology is the best, printers have come to accept that the two technologies actually
complement each other. More and more printers find themselves investing in both flexo and digital so that they can print virtually any job that needs to be done. The question, then, is when to choose flexo printing over digital printing, and vice versa. Continue reading to find out!
Over 15,000 prints a run
To companies who print average runs of 15,000 pieces or more, decent flexo presses are indispensable. Printing companies whose jobs mainly consist of smaller and
variable data jobs, however, are better off investing most of their funds in digital presses to allow for much quicker turnarounds.
Digital versus flexo printing: mind the quality
Next to quantity, quality plays an important part in the decision-making process as well. If you’re after bright and vivid colours, smooth gradations,
photographic image quality and ever so subtle drop shadows, digital is your go-to technology. Do you want to be able to print on an extensive range of
substrates and have endless finishing possibilities at your disposal? Then flexo is your friend, enabling you to print on just about anything with
innovative inks and have the prints laminated, UV-coated, foil embossed, … you name it.
Mind you, flexo is catching up to digital when it comes to
colour. Meanwhile, digital is continually exploring
new finishing techniques.
Total cost of ownership analysis
At the end of the day, though, it’s the bottom line that matters the most. Comparing flexo to digital in terms of investment, capacity, margins and return on investment will tell you all you need to know to decide between digital and flexo print and
determine the crossover point on when to run a
hybrid printing solution.
Inspired by Label and Narrow Web
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