Monthly Archives: February 2010
Printing Resolution of text books, brochures, visiting cards etc
A question from one of our readers
QUESTION
Good Morning Robert,
I am very sorry to trouble you again. Vendors here are not so clear with the explanation.
All they do is praise their brand name.
I tried to google but couldn’t get accurate information.
Some color laser printers print at 600x600dpi…some at 1200×1200 and
some at 2400×600 dpi.
I am unsure which one to choose to print proof for school books.
I also would like to print my own brochure, pamplets and visiting cards.
Kindly advice me on this. I’ll be happy with less pages per minute model.
Speed is not the criteria here.
- Xerox phaser 6125 says it can print upto 600x600x4 dpi.
What exactly does this x4 mean? Can you please let me know?
Requests:
- What exactly is the print resolution in educational text books like CBSE/Ncert Books?
- What exactly is the print resolution in brochures of vodapone or any corporate stationery?
- What should be the print resolution on visiting cards?
Kindly educate me and resolve my doubts.
Thanking you once again…
Regards,
Vijay
ANSWER
Hi Vijay,
You can go for a entry level Konica Minolta Multi Function color laser printer which would cost under Rs. 4,00,000/-. The cost per A3 size page would be around Rs. 8 depending on the ink coverage. At 100% coverage the cost is around Rs.14 to 15 excluding paper and including wear and tear of the machine for an A3 size printout. The speed is I think around 25 pages per minute. I am not sure about the model but it is in the bizhub category. You can go to this website http://www.biz.konicaminolta.com/ to see the printers. These printers come under the category of business automation as the quality is suitable for everyday office printing. You can print fairly good enough quality with these printers. Visiting cards, brochures and pamphlets won’t be a problem. The only thing you have to keep a check on is your cost of printing. For higher copies it may be cheaper to outsource it to your local offset printer.
CBSE textbooks are printed in high quality offset machines and you won’t get that color quality in the machine I mentioned above. But mostly textbooks are not in color and any offset machine could give you a decent quality in one or two colors. Vodafone brochures are also printed in high quality offset printing. There are some printed through variable data digital printing too. But these are all printed in high quality machines whether they be digital or offset.
For most printing jobs whether they be digital or offset, 300 dpi pictures are sufficient. To learn more about dpi (dots per inch) and lpi (lines per inch) you will find plenty of material in Google.
Hope this helps.
Robert.
Questions on Paper For Digital and Offset Printing – Costs, Quality and Ink Consumption.
QUESTION
Hello Robert,
Thank you very much for the information.
I’d request you to suggest me about paper stuff.
I am sorry, I am really dumb about printing industry. I’d like to go to another city and find out
information. But I’d like to have first hand information and tips from you on paper.
Kindly answer my questions.
- How much would a 11×17 paper would cost in India approximately?
- Are there any different qualities of paper? Can you please name them and price for each page?
- Do offset and digital printers use same paper or different?
- Which paper consumes less ink?
Thanking you…
Regards,
Vijay
ANSWER
Hello Vijay
11×17 inch paper would cost around Rs. 3 to Rs. 5 depending on the thickness of the paper which is known as grammage of the paper or gsm (grams per square metre). Paper cost also depends on the quality of the paper and may reach upto even Rs. 100 for an A4 size sheet. Sheets which can be run in digital machines depend on the type of printer you are going to purchase. Not all sheets can run on all printers. You have to check with the seller regarding this. The same goes for offset printing. Glossy paper will consume the least amount of ink and coarse paper like newsprint consume more ink. For offset printing the ink density is therefore adjusted in prepress before printing depending on the type of paper to be printed. For digital printing such adjustments are usually done by the printer while selecting the paper type before printing. Have a nice day.
Robert.
Digital Printer with Low Cost per page
A question from one of our readers
QUESTION
Hi Robert,
I’ve gone through your site “my printing tutorials”…
It is very informative.
I’d like to choose a color printer/copier to print school text books for kids.
I’d like to take your advice on this.
What is the best color copier that has lowest cost per page to print a color page?
I am thinking of Toshiba e-Studio2830c or e-Studio281c or Ricoh Aficio MPc3300 or MPc2800.
In your blog you mentioned few lines about Ricoh Aficio MPC 2030
“The drawback of this machine is the high cost per copy. An average A4 size page costs around Rs. 2.5/- at 10 percent coverage.”
Can you suggest any printer with low cost per page at 10 percent coverage?
I’d be able to think of any machine around 7 lakhs or so. (15000$).
I’ll be too glad if you can spare sometime and reply me.
Thanking you so much.
Regards,
Vijay
ANSWER
Hello Vijay,
You will not get many printers with low cost per page at 7 lakhs. At this range you may get the xitron prism printer or some of the models from xerox. You can enquire with the xerox dealer for more information. You will get the konica minolta 6501c for around 30 lakhs which has a very low cost per page at around Rs. 5 for any coverage for a 13 x 19 size page with outstanding quality. Most of the xerox printers at around 7 lakhs will cost you around Rs. 8 to 10 per 12×18 size page at any coverage if you go for the company policy of charging per copy printed irrespective of coverage. The only feasible models according to my opinion will be from xerox. Ricoh printers have a very high cost per page compared to xerox though there may be a difference in quality. I am not very sure of toshiba.
Robert.