Digital Printing and Offset Printing

[indiochano]

Hello everyone, i'm looking to seek for a printer in New york city to get a few posters printed... I would require prints from 11 x 17 to 18 x 24 so i was wondering how much would a printing run cost that would be about approx 100 copies?

I know 100 copies is very little, so I was wondering what is the best quantity in order to keep things at the cheapest cost?

Also, I dunno if its better to print in digital or in offset... thing is that I would like to use FLUORESCENT pantone colors as well and digital printing doesnt allow the use of inks like true PMS colors.

Thanks for all the help..

 

[Jim Campbell]

... thing is that I would like to use FLUORESCENT pantone colors as well and digital printing doesnt allow the use of inks like true PMS colors.

PANTONE fluoros will - to the best of my knowledge - require set-up and time on a proper press, at which point a run of 100 or so will be commercially unviable. You may as well get 500 or more printed, since you will find the cost difference negligible.

You should be able to find a halfway decent print shop that will do you digital without fluoro at a manageable cost. The very cheapest alternative if you're wedded to a fluoro elemet (which I've used to good effect when promoting some very low-budget gigs) is to go for a strong b/w design and get it printed onto fluoro paper stock. This may not be the design solution you wanted, but it can work quite splendidly.

Dunno if any of that helps, but I hope it does ...

Cheers!

Jim

 

[indiochano]

PANTONE fluoros will - to the best of my knowledge - require set-up and time on a proper press, at which point a run of 100 or so will be commercially unviable. You may as well get 500 or more printed, since you will find the cost difference negligible.

You should be able to find a halfway decent print shop that will do you digital without fluoro at a manageable cost. The very cheapest alternative if you're wedded to a fluoro elemet (which I've used to good effect when promoting some very low-budget gigs) is to go for a strong b/w design and get it printed onto fluoro paper stock. This may not be the design solution you wanted, but it can work quite splendidly.

Dunno if any of that helps, but I hope it does ...

Cheers!

Jim

thanks for the response! really helpful!

i was wondering though if its better then to do this on a silkscreen and do it myself. i was worried about image quality... i'm doing very graphic works that dont require any halftone patterns... will the quality look ok if done on a screenprint?

 

[Jim Campbell]

will the quality look ok if done on a screenprint?

I'm afraid that this point you move beyond my area of expertise! My incredibly limited understanding of screen printing (which comes solely from knowing a couple of people who were quite good at it, rather than any direct knowledge, I'm afraid) is that a strong image/design with no halftones should be ideal for this sort of process.

However, perhaps someone who knows more than I do may be able to offer better or more definitive advice.

Cheers!

Jim

 

[likeavaliant]

depending on the amount of colors you plan on using, screening your poster could be a lot of fun, and look better than any print company job... i personally love the look of a hand printed poster.

unless you have a press i wouldn't print more than 2 colors...

 

[shecky]

screen-print can look amazing, the question is not "will the quality look OK if screen-printed?" the question is "will the quality look ok if YOU screen-print it?" have you ever done any printing like that? if you have not it could get a little squirrelly. i find screen-printing to be pretty easy technically but pretty hard when it comes to "perfection" of image. if you have never done it before then you are asking for some headaches depending on how anal you are about the image. there is some up-front costs if you do not have the facilities, etc... too.

jim is right about offset - you will get nailed on cost per poster for that few; its absolutely doable but each poster will cost a ton. i think that if you can pull off screen-printing thats a great way to do something really bold and graphic. look at this stuff: http://www.aestheticapparatus.com/

 

[RainForRent]

I second. Screenprinting is a heck of a lot of fun, but not if you are on a deadline and have never done it before. Simple design without too many colors work best. Do some practice prints first, you can use a good Sherwin-Wiliams paint to practice if you don't want to shell out the cash for inks. Good luck, and post your results!