Digital or Litho?

[ajr]

We are quoting on some awkward jobs, we think they should be done produced digital customer says they were produced litho. We can't tell from the samples. Any tips for checking how a job was done before?

AjR

 

[lfelton]

I'm sure there are better ways, but...

most digital presses (all?) have to embed data in every print by "voluntary" agreement with the US government. This is in the form of a faint pattern of yellow dots, which encodes the serial number of the machine printed on, the date/time printed and so on. Check any blank areas in the printed item with a loupe and if you see tiny yellow dots, you are 100% certain it's digital.

 

[leetaylor]

I'm sure there are better ways, but...

most digital presses (all?) have to embed data in every print by "voluntary" agreement with the US government. This is in the form of a faint pattern of yellow dots, which encodes the serial number of the machine printed on, the date/time printed and so on. Check any blank areas in the printed item with a loupe and if you see tiny yellow dots, you are 100% certain it's digital.

If it's not obviously Digital then yep, that's a fail safe method.

 

[ajr]

Does an Indigo lay these dots down, I know Xerox do.

AjR

 

[pcmodem]

I'm sure there are better ways, but...

most digital presses (all?) have to embed data in every print by "voluntary" agreement with the US government. This is in the form of a faint pattern of yellow dots, which encodes the serial number of the machine printed on, the date/time printed and so on. Check any blank areas in the printed item with a loupe and if you see tiny yellow dots, you are 100% certain it's digital.

I have never heard of this. Can you point me to some documentation about this?

 

[gordo]

I have never heard of this. Can you point me to some documentation about this?

Start here: Printer dots raise privacy concerns - USATODAY.com

best, gordon p

 

[lfelton]

Does an Indigo lay these dots down, I know Xerox do.

AjR

I just grabbed a sheet printed on an indigo and no - I can't see the pattern of yellow dots.

So, I can tell you from ("yellow dot") experience:-

Xerox - yes
K-M - yes
HP Indigo - no

I wonder why Indigo was let off having to comply with this?

So, you can tell whether it's a Xerox/KM print, but still looking for a method of identifying an Indigo print?

 

[rich apollo]

We are quoting on some awkward jobs, we think they should be done produced digital customer says they were produced litho. We can't tell from the samples. Any tips for checking how a job was done before?

Doesn't really matter how it was produced before, does it? The quantity will determine which is the most economical way to produce the job now. I understand that it should match the previous printing, but the flexibility of digital print makes it so that that wouldn't bother me much at all.

Looking through a scope at some sheets from our Indigo - the digital dots are impossibly round. Do any of the digital presses have other than round screens available?