Printing techniques for your thesis
In this article, we share some important basic information about printing techniques for your thesis.
First of all: fundamentally, there is a difference between letterpress printing and digital printing. Letterpress printing uses printing plates, whilst digital printing is more like the printer you have at home, but of a higher quality.
The various printing techniques for your thesis have different advantages and disadvantages. As a general rule, the higher the price, the better the quality, but the question is whether you actually need that level of quality. We’ve listed them for you below.
Toner (laser printer) – €
The cheapest method is to use a toner machine. This is, in fact, a laser printer: with this technique, the printer prints text and images by toner (very fine powder) to the paper.
When should you use toner?
When price is a key factor and the text must be of a high standard. The quality of the images is good, but not of the very highest standard. Colour gradients are difficult to print beautifully using toner.
Inkjet (ink printer) – €€
An inkjet printer sprays ink onto the paper. Unlike a laser printer, the ink used here is not a powder but a liquid. This method is more expensive than toner, but it does produce better colours and colour gradients.
When should you use inkjet?
If your thesis contains a large number of colour figures (or, more generally, a lot more colour), we recommend using inkjet printing.
Offset – €€€ (for small print runs) / € (for large print runs)
Offset printing is a traditional printing technique that uses printing plates. The quality is very high – nowadays comparable to, or perhaps slightly higher than, that of inkjet printing. Because printing plates are used, the set-up costs (including the production of these plates) are high with this method. The cost per item only becomes lower with larger print runs.
When should you use offset?
When print runs are high – for example, 400 copies or more. For smaller quantities, the costs are significantly higher than for inkjet printing, whilst the quality is virtually the same.
