Offset Printing Plates

Printing plates are thin, flat sheets of metal commonly made from aluminum. They are used in printing products like business cards, catalogs, and brochures.

Printing Plates in Offset Printing

The term “printing plate” is often mentioned in the same breath as offset printing. Offset printing was the standard before the birth of digital printers — and some prefer offset printing to this day. The same is true for us here at PrintRunner as the majority of our products like business cards, brochures, envelopes, and catalogs are printed through offset printing.

 Although state-of-the-art commercial printing companies are moving to digital printing, many printers still use the tried-and-true offset printing method that has been the standard in commercial printing for more than a century.

Although the quality of digital printing has vastly improved, offset printing with metal plates still offers the highest possible printing quality.

Offset printing works by transferring an image onto a metal sheet known as printing plates through a photomechanical or photochemical process. Typically, there is one plate for every color in the design to be printed. Once done, the plates are attached to cylindrical plate holders where ink and water are applied as the paper material passes through.

Offset printing relies on the use of printing plates to transfer your design onto paper.