Fast Offset Printing, Done Right Here in NYC

When you have a large printing job, offset printing is often the best way to get a good result. Thomas Group Printing has been operating in NYC since 1912, and while offset or lithographic printing has been around even longer, it remains a great choice for high-quality, sharp printing at large volumes. 

Why Offset Printing?

Instead of digital printing, which is perfect for smaller projects, offset lets us run thousands of pages in one printing. Plus, it makes large print runs much more affordable, since it becomes cheaper as you print more. There is an initial cost always associated with creating printing plates and setting up an offset press, but that cost spreads out over the number of prints made. Once you reach a certain volume — which will vary depending on the nature of the product and the complexity of the print — costs go down sharply in comparison to digital printing, which will typically cost the same for the thousandth print as it does for the first one. 

An offset printing job coming off of the press.

Offset Printing Process

The process, sometimes called lithography, works by transferring the image to be printed directly onto a printing plate from the image file. This method is called direct-to-plate or computer-to-plate offset printing, in contrast to the older method of developing film negatives with the images, then transferring the negatives to plate. The plates are typically separated into CMYK colors, or can be just done in black. That means we’d prefer to receive your image files for offset jobs in CMYK format as well — get in touch with our press team for details.

From the printing plates, it’s transferred to a flexible rubber sheet on the press, which then rolls ink onto the paper to create the image. It may sound complex, but it produces clear, defined images at high volume and speed in a way that digital printing can’t match, and modern methods of offset printing now rival digital printing in flexibility and precision. 

Products That Work With Offset Printing

Offset printing can be used for any job needing a high volume of print products. That can include reports, catalogs, magazines, posters, and even books. Any order that’s higher than 10,000 pieces or so is a great candidate for using offset printing. We often use offset printing for annual reports, brochures, booklets, and other large jobs. 

The large paper sheets used in this printing process also mean our customers aren’t limited by size when they need larger products done. We can print full color, spot color and even add coatings to protect the quality of the final product, and many paper choices are available. 

Finishing options after the prints come off the press can be customized to your needs, such as saddle-stitching a booklet, folding a brochure, or binding a report. There’s more information about our binding offerings available here. 

Examples of Offset Printing Projects We’ve Done:

We Deliver Quality Offset Jobs Fast

With many offset printing companies, you have to schedule work far in advance, and can’t expect a short turnaround time. Thomas Group Printing is different. Our Manhattan location allows us to deliver faster to NYC print clients and make good on our quick-turnaround promises. The quality produced in offset printing is also noticeably high, with clean lines and bright colors carefully rendered.

How We Work

Thomas Group Printing is a fourth-generation, family-owned company serving all five boroughs of NYC with a wide range of commercial printing services. We pride ourselves on quality and speed, and focus on good service. Thomas Group Printing offers messenger delivery anywhere in NYC and fast shipping nationwide for our customers’ convenience.

For a fast, friendly quote for offset printing in NYC, or if you’d like to discuss whether offset printing would fit your project well, contact us at (212) 947-6400, or through the form below.