<H1><B>Offset vs Digital Printing - Cost & Profit Comparison</B></H1>

Comparing offset printing with digital printing is a much discussed topic. But the bottom line is cost and profit.  So here I would like to explain where both offset and digital intersect one another. 

The bottom line is this - COST.  But let's break it down even further.  What costs keep both offset and digital printing in their respective sides of the boxing ring?  Here is a cost and profit comparison for offset and digital printing.

Looking at this graph, the advantage is weighed heavily to digital printing.  Why?  Easy answer - run length.  Only 1,000 copies.  An offset press can't compete.  Let's look at each of those costs and see why.

1. Paper - As the graph shows, both have a similar cost.  But the cost is slightly higher for offset why?  Likely because of waste.  Some presses require 1,000 copies printed before they have an acceptable product.  Digital printing can achieve an acceptable product in just the first copy.  

But let's turn the tables.  

The advantage would be reduced if the run was longer. If the length of the print run was 100,000 copies, the extra waste would be negligible.

2. Plates.  This is a no brainer.  Digital printing often does not require printing plates.  This is a sole overhead of offset printing.  No matter the run length, digital printing will never have this cost.

3. Ink.  Now here's where it gets interesting. Inks for digital printing are expensive in comparison with offset printing inks.   On this short run above, only 1,000 copies were printed, so the amount of ink used is negligible. But if the run were 100,000 or more, the difference in cost would be exponentially more.  Here is where offset printing shines.  Digital printing can't touch it.

4. Prepress labor. Offset printing requires more labor.  This will likely not change depending on the run length and so remains a constant.

5. Press labor.  The factors affecting cost are two fold: time and the number of employees.  An offset printing press, especially web, can require and entire crew.  Digital printing can require just one.  Hence a short run will require much less labor on a digital press.  

But now let's turn the tables....

If the run were 100,000 or more, the digital printer would require many hours or days to finish the print job.  Whereas an offset printing may require only a few hours.

So here is the big question....

At what point does offset printing make more economic sense than digital.

The answer lies in the run length.  

Here is the result of a study done to examine at what point offset becomes more profitable than digital printing.  The analysis is done as a cost per sheet and thus is really showing profitability.  

This cost comparison graph makes the point. At a certain point, offset printing becomes more profitable than digital printing. This is because of the cost of time and material.

There are however other factors to keep in mind.  Take note that both of these graphs are comparing different job types with different materials.  The two lines may intersect at different points for different jobs.  

It's up to the print manager to have done this cost and profit comparison for each type of equipment in the press room, both digital and offset. 

Conclusion

Until costs of materials come down significantly, offset printing will remain dominant in the longer run categories.  Additionally, the speed of digital printing equipment will have a bearing on this.