Can you print digital on top of offset prints?

[Matt2364]

I want to print a background via offset printer and then print the white part on a digital printer to allow me to offer more prints. Right now I am selling patent prints and to be competitive I have to purchase 1k of each print which means I carry a lot of inventory. I am hoping I can purchase 10k offset images that are just the background and then I can just print the white patent on top of the chalkboard background.

What do you think? Would this method work? It would allow me to be much more flexible in the prints that I am able to offer my customers. I just want to make sure that the continuity is there so that if someone buys 10 prints and 5 are fully printed offset and some are printed with offset and then add the white patent via digital if these are going to look pretty different?

Here is an example:

 

[jrsc]

Do you have a digital printer that can print white?

 

[Richard]

Hi, if you can get some offset samples, or shells, then try your didgital over print. See how it looks before you buy a big skad. See if you get the result your looking for.

 

[Matt2364]

No, I currently do not have a digital printer that can print white. Kind of hoping someone might have some recommendations.

Honestly very new to printing so not sure if it is possible etc. Just dont really know where to start looking; could anyone recommend a model to test out?

 

[Sherbert]

HP Indigo Presses can print white ink. May need a few hits however.

 

[MailGuru]

Typically, "white" is not a color on most digital presses (there is no combination of CMYK that can produce white). There are a couple of high-end (very expensive) digital presses that can do it (Indigo, X1000, NexPress,etc.) because they have a 5th color station. Usually "white" is produced on a digital print as a "knockout", or, "reverse print".

Also, keep in mind that, "color" as our eyes perceive it, is a result of reflection off the white-point of the paper that it is printed on. If that paper is colored, in any way, the result will not be what you are expecting. Tried digital printing "blood red" on a black background once to try and help a client who had inadvertently left something off their pre-printed offset pieces. What a mess! Ended up telling the client that it just can't be done. They would either need to reprint and have it delivered here, or, alternatively, we could print on a clear peel-n-stick label and affix it to the piece.

Best

-MailGuru

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

I had a girl come in yesterday who wanted some wedding invitations printed on a kraft cardstock with white ink. Sounds pretty "straight forward" right? Well she had done the entire layout in Photoshop, and was looking to get 225 invitations @ 5 x 7" plus the RSVP's and envelopes (also in kraft) for each size. Her top dollar was $300. Yeahh.. Well anyways, I'll send her quotes for the items in a few different configurations and see how that goes.

White ink is a red flag in our store.

 

[Matt2364]

Yeah, not the answer I was hoping for but that makes sense.

Thanks for your help guys!

 

[gordo]

Have you considered screen printing? One pass opaque white over black is no problem. The screen is kept so you can order one or more anytime you like. Heck, the process is simple enough that you could even do it at home. You could print on bkack paper or bkack card stock to eliminate the offset cost for the background.

 

[Matt2364]

Yeah, have considered that for sure. Was just hoping not to have to go that route as it is obviously a lot more labor and time consuming than click and print ;-)

 

[gordo]

Yeah, have considered that for sure. Was just hoping not to have to go that route as it is obviously a lot more labor and time consuming than click and print ;-)

But at least it works! LOL

 

[Graeme NZ]

For what it's worth I hear there is a new Ricoh coming out with a 5th colour unit (your choice of spot gloss or white as the 5th colour). It is based on the 751 model... I imagine it would be at a cheaper price point than the Indigo/Nexpress etc. Not too sure how far away it is from release yet.

 

[Matt2364]

Graeme,

have you ever seen a unit like this print onto a black background? Just curios how it would look? Seems like the consensus is that the white is not going to be as bright as it typically is, what is your opinion?

 

[Graeme NZ]

Yes, it was a sample business card from the Ricoh Showroom in Australia, so printed under controlled conditions by super technical Ricoh wizards. It wasn't overprinting offset ink as you are looking to do, simply white toner on black card.

The technician who showed me said they had to run it through half a dozen times to get the white to really punch through, which I imagine can make registration an issue.

In saying all that it looked fine to me...

 

[kyprinter]

Oki C941 has option for Clear or White as 5th color. There is a video on youtube about it…I'm waiting for some sample output and pricing

 

[jotterpinky]

the Oki C941 can print with white toner. I doubt it will be opaque enough for your application however but it might be worth trying since it's the least expensive printer I know of that will do so. The other presses mentioned (HP Indigo, Xerox, Nexpress, etc) will set you back 250K on the low end. I think you will find that many of these options will end up costing more to do than just doing the press run.

 

[jrsc]

I don't think I've seen anybody ask what size these prints are? If they are smaller than 13 x 19 just print the whole thing digital and call it a day. Simple and cheap.

 

[Tomtech]

Except for black and opaque white, almost all offset inks are transparent. That means that any overprint appears as a combination the colors. Thus the need for knockouts when overprints need to retain their their true color. The only way to make a colored ink opaque is to mix it with and opaque ink, thus affecting the true color of the ink. I did see where someone printed an image in opaque white on black paper and then overprinted in register the color they wanted. That might work to add an image over something already printed. Ink manufactures know this stuff. You might give one a call and ask them.

tomtech

 

[JustinB]

Yeah how big are we talking?

There are wide format printers with white ink options. Then again, just print on a white canvas and call it good.