Designing for Digital Printing Services vs. Offset Printing

The Shift Toward Digital Printing

Over the last 30 years, the printing industry has experienced a dramatic shift toward digital printing. Once viewed as a lower-quality option, digital printing technology has advanced significantly—so much so that today’s high-end digital presses can match or even surpass the quality of offset printing (often referred to as commercial printing).

Why Designers Should Think in PMS Colors

Despite the rise of digital, many designers are still unaware of how important it is to design with Pantone Matching System (PMS) colors in mind—especially for digital workflows.

Unlike traditional offset presses, which rely heavily on CMYK adjustments, digital presses are powered by advanced RIP servers with built-in PMS color libraries. These libraries are engineered to translate PMS colors into precise process matches automatically. What’s more, they can be fine-tuned at the server level to hit even closer color targets.

At PGI Printing, we’re constantly updating and optimizing our PMS color libraries. This gives us a huge advantage over offset printing, which can only adjust ink densities across the entire sheet—rather than targeting a specific PMS color.

The Color Challenges of Offset Gang Runs

Many online commercial printers offer “gang run printing,” a process that combines multiple customer jobs on a single sheet to reduce costs. While this approach is budget-friendly, it can pose serious color consistency issues.

Offset presses typically measure color bars every 250 to 500 sheets, which may be fine for large, single-run jobs. However, with gang runs and rapid production speeds, color drift can occur without immediate correction.

Ever wonder why business cards from the same company look different across print batches? That’s often due to these inconsistencies in offset runs.

Digital Printing Delivers More Consistent Color

With a well-calibrated digital press, color inconsistencies are far less common. Adjustments are made in real-time, and the PMS color libraries do the heavy lifting to ensure accurate, consistent output.

At PGI Printing, we go a step further by offering free hard copy production proofs. These physical samples allow you to see your final PMS color matches before committing to a full print run—giving you peace of mind and true-to-brand results.

Final Thoughts

If color accuracy and consistency are a priority for your brand, digital printing is a smart and reliable choice. With up-to-date PMS libraries, faster turnarounds, and color you can trust, PGI Printing makes it easy to look good on paper.