Silk Screen vs Offset Disc Printing

If you’re looking for a way to make your DVD project stand out, “Photo Quality” offset may be the choice for you. The offset process uses a 175 line screen while the silk screen process uses a 100 line screen. Nordex provides both options.

So which printing method is best for your project?  Your artwork will determine that. If your artwork is composed of spot colors, with no screens, then silk screening would be best.  Silk screening your disc handles solid areas of color very well.  Generally, silk screening is less expensive than offset printing.

If your artwork is composed of process colors (CMYK + white background), has photos or four color logos, then offset is probably the best choice. The difference between the two techniques is the size of the printing dot, (halftone). The size of the dot (halftone) used in the silk screen process is 100 lines per inch.  This is comparable to the size of the dot used in most newspaper printing.  This large dot makes screened images and photos look a bit grainy when compared to an image printed with a smaller dot.

The size of the dot (halftone) used in the offset printing process is 175 lines per inch.  This is comparable to the quality found in the highest quality brochures.  This finer dot makes the images sharper, resembling a photograph.