Black Swan Printers began offering lithographic or litho print services back in 1977– Most suited to print runs of 500+, this type of work still represents the majority of what we do. Our customers choose litho printing for critical matching of Pantone colours and large print quantities. They come to us for litho printing expertise and our deep knowledge of working with wet pantone inks and litho press plates.

Good examples of typical lithographic print projects include stationery sets and business cards, company brochures, direct mail flyers, corporate folders and ‘cut to shape’ products for retail packaging.

Generally perceived to be a higher quality than digital printing, litho printing takes longer to set up and dry, so you should allow five working days on average. It is not limited to a four colour process like digital printing because special or spot inks can be included to enhance the print.

Litho printing is also recommended if you need to print large areas of solid single colour because it appears very smooth with no visible pixels. The choice of paper weights is also greater than is possible with digital printing; litho presses will easily run from 60gsm up to 450gsm. If you need to use metallic inks or UV varnishing, litho printing is also recommended over digital.