Offset printing is a method used primarily for multicolor imprints on larger quantity orders. The UV inks used are not as opaque as screen print inks, meaning the vast majority of jobs are printed on white cups. It is a fully automatic process where all imprint colors are printed on the cup in one, single pass… resulting in vibrant imprints with exact registration. The stacks of cups are loaded into the press, flame treated, imprinted up to 8 spot colors, UV cured, counted, stacked & packed… all in one operation. The bigger machines can run approximately 400 cupsper minute. Because of this speed & automation, cup pricing is drastically reduced in the larger quantities & the addition of extra imprint colors incurs minimal costs.

The printing method involves the creation of a metal printing plate per imprint color. Each plate is affixed to its own plate cylinder. During the imprinting, each plate is inked by a series of rollers & this is then transferred to a blanket, which is located on another, larger cylinder. Each plate, in series, transfers its imprint to this blanket & then this combined imprint is then transferred in a single pass to the cup. In essence, we are printing one color at a time to the blanket, and then the blanket prints the completed design upon the cup. The machine then indexes to the next position & the process continues. Full wrap designs with a very small ¼” gap are possible. For most operations, true 4 color process printing is not possible. What is normally used, is what is referred to as modified process, where the artwork is specially separated into 8 spot colors. This process normally incurs a steep artwork charge & higher minimums, but is used by bigger users… such as movie studios & major league sports.

The setup of these designs takes much longer than screen print. It can easily take hours between jobs… including cleanup of many ink rollers & plates. Also, because the press is so fast, manycups can be wasted getting the design in register & printing properly. Several hundred cups can be wasted before the first good cup is ready to go. For this reason, offset print normally has much higher minimums than screen print. Anywhere from 5000 to 25,000 piece minimums are normal, however some suppliers offer as few as 500 piece minimums with a 4 color imprint.

To summarize, offset printing is used primarily for multicolor imprints on white cups & provides exceptional tight registration. The minimums are higher than screen print & the production time is normally considerably longer. Screen print production is measured in hours & days normally while offset is measured in days & weeks.

Jim Knecht, President of the Dooley Company, USA makers of premium stadium cups and an Educator Member / Advisor to SellPromos.com presents an ongoing discussion to assist Promotional Product distributors on How To Sell stadium cups, who to target and how to present the concept.