Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique for carbonless forms, also known as NCR (no carbon required) forms. It is a popular choice for businesses that need high-quality, durable, and professional-looking carbonless forms. In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know and discuss the offset printing technique and how it is used for carbonless forms.
Offset printing is a type of printing that uses a flat metal plate to transfer ink to a rubber blanket, which then applies the ink to the printing surface. It is called “offset” because the image is first transferred from the plate to the rubber blanket before being applied to the paper. Offset printing is capable of producing high-quality prints with sharp details and vibrant colours, making it a popular choice for a wide range of printing applications. Some common print products that can be printed on lithography printing presses are business cards, brochures and flyers and other marketing materials.
You would not typically offset litho printing for large format printing such as roller banners.
Offset printing is an excellent choice for printing NCR forms because it can produce consistent and high-quality prints over long print runs. Carbonless forms are commonly used in business for invoices, receipts, purchase orders, and other documents that require multiple copies. In offset printing, the carbonless paper is typically run through the press in sets of two or three, depending on the number of copies required.
There are as you would imagine many different machines and processes regarding how a company that uses offset lithography operates. When we use traditional offset commercial printing on genuine heidelberg printing presses, we do so for our long-run form printing. When this method is used it is a 4-colour process lithography or 4-colour printing method. It is called that because it uses four colours of ink, which are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black and is the standard colour palette used in digital printing services.
There are other machines where other companies that use the same form of printing. They may use a single colour machine and this process is often the method used by those just offering one colour-only NCR for example black only. With us offering full-colour NCR we use process lithography or 4-colour printing where we need one plater per colour. Each of the four colours of ink is applied separately at different stages of the printing process. 4 colour offset printing enables us to make full-colour imagery by using small dots of the four inks
The offset printing process for carbonless forms involves several steps:
The first step is to create the design (the art and text) for the form and prepare the metal plate. The design is usually created using specialized software and then transferred to the plate using a set up process is called plate making. Images are broken down to create separate layers suitable for printing each colour of ink. The plate is then mounted onto the press.
As we mentioned the printing process is often called 4-colour and uses one plate per colour of the ink, the ink is deposited in specific patterns that make our eyes believe we are seeing a wide range of colours. Quite clever when you think about it! The inks are oil-based and as we know oil and water don’t mix! Next, ink is applied to the plate, and the press is set up to print. The ink goes directly from the plates and is transferred to a rubber cylinder, which intern transfers from the plates to the paper.
The presses are fed carbonless paper, and the oil-based ink adheres from the plate to a rubber blanket to the paper. For each copy required, the paper is run through the press the same number of times as the number of NCR required.
Once the printing is complete, the carbonless forms are typically cut and collated, ready for use. Some printers may also offer additional finishing options, such as numbering, perforating, or binding.
There are several advantages of using offset printing for carbonless forms, including:
High-Quality Prints: Offset printing produces high-quality, sharp prints with accurate colours and details. (this is the same for our digital setup too but 4 colour offset printing enables us to be competitive on the high volume NCR)
Consistency: The offset printing process ensures consistent quality across long print runs, making it ideal for businesses that require large quantities of carbonless forms. Today inkjet printing puts the cost of short-run NCR within an excellent range and enables small businesses to compete for work the same as larger companies using the standard offset printing process.
Durability: Carbonless forms produced using offset printing are more durable than those produced using other printing techniques. This is because ty
Customization: Offset printing allows for a wide range of customization options, including colour, design, and finishing. We wrote about the Advantages of multi-part forms and this is the same whether offset printing or digital NCR printing.
On larger print runs using offset printing, you can Save your business time and money. In today’s market costs are always important, however there is usually a compromise along the line. Whilst in the long run, the offset printing process is often cheaper this typically comes at the cost of a lower paper weight. Digital techniques have gotten better and as a standard, we offer 80gsm Carbon paper, this paper is not suitable for our offset machines. It is one of the reasons we quote both methods when asked. Some people will compromise over quality to save others would prefer the quality it is up to them and dependent on your printing needs.
So there you go you have learnt a little more about some of the paper and ink techniques used with the products we offer! Offset printing is a printing technique best used for long-run NCR carbonless forms, offering high-quality, consistent, and durable prints. The process involves several steps, including plate preparation, ink application, printing, and finishing. By using offset printing for carbonless forms, businesses can ensure that their forms are professional-looking, easy to read, and long-lasting.
No matter what you order from NCR Invoice Pads, whether it be a digital or offset or litho printed NCR you can rest assured that our high-quality and affordable NCR are right for you and your business! Remember if you want to learn anything about NCR including why pads and books our blog is the place to go! If your looking for help regarding your NCR feel free to contact us.
