Digital or Conventional? Tips for Choosing the Right Printing Method

Twenty years ago, only a few small niche markets used Digital Printing. With advances being made everyday in technology, one could speculate that most printing presses will eventually become digital, at least in some form. In the meantime, digital and conventional printing will coexist, and healthcare manufacturers will need to make a choice and match the right technology to the job. Here are some tips for making those choices:

Conventional printing offers advantages when:

• Carton runs are in excess of 50,000*
• Label runs are in excess of 500,000*
• Changes are infrequent
• Variable printing is not needed

Digital Printing offers advantages when:

• Runs are short: less than 50,000 for cartons and up to 500,000 for labels*
• Copy changes are frequent
• Lead time is short
• Serialization or variable coding is needed for anticounterfeiting protection, track-and-trace initiatives, or pedigree requirements
• Inventory must be limited due to space constraints or concerns about obsolescence and waste

Sometimes the answer to the question “digital or conventional?” is “Both.” Both printing technologies typically are used in situations where multiple stock keeping units (SKUs) of a product are sold, offering consumers different strengths or dosage counts, or addressing the needs of a particular market. For example, a brand’s 100-count bottle may involve a run in the millions, while its 25-count bottle only requires a couple hundred thousand. In this situation, it makes sense to print the label for the 100-count SKU on a conventional press, while the label for the 25-count container is digitally printed.

*These numbers depend on the overall size of the label or carton

For more information, click to download Healthcare’s Digital Packaging Playbook