Offset lithography

Offset litho is an established high end, high volume print method. In the hands of experts with years of printing experience, litho is both versatile and accurate.

‘Offset’ means that the printed image is first transferred from a plate to a rubber ‘blanket’, and then on to paper, under pressure. Litho guarantees faithful reproduction in thousands of colours, including fluorescents and metallics, on a huge range of printing substrates up to 600gsm.

Calverts bought its first Heidelberg press in 1977. Since then, we’ve grown by always investing in the best equipment.

You can send artwork to us by email up to around 5mb file size, upload through our WeTransfer channel for larger files, or deliver in person.

We ask that you provide us with native artwork, such as an InDesign packaged file with fonts and linked images, so that we can make adjustments or amendments if needed. A PDF is useful as a reference.

Before you send artwork files, please quickly run through the following checklist:

• Have you included all the image files?
• Have you added (3mm) bleeds at page edges?
• Have you specified relevant Pantone numbers and kept them consistent throughout?
• Are the images high enough resolution to reproduce well (minimum 300 dpi)?
• Have you included either a PDF visual so that we can see what it should look like when printed?

If you’re not sure about settings or how to supply artwork, please get in touch.

Offset litho uses Pantone inks, which means that in addition to CMYK there is a choice of thousands of specially mixed ‘spot’ colours, as well as fluorescents, metallics and varnishes. We even have UV activated inks.

Offset litho is suitable for leaflets, brochures, postcards, posters, books, magazines menus, invitations – and just about anything else you can think of. It’s economical for print runs of around 500 or more.