Strip away the marketing and the difference between offset and digital comes down to one thing: plates. Offset makes a physical plate for each color and prints from it. Digital makes no plate and images every sheet from data. Everything else, cost curves, color range, run length, follows from that single fact.
Head to head
| Factor | Offset | Digital |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Plates made per color, press made ready | None, the file goes straight to press |
| Color range | CMYK plus true spot, Pantone and metallic inks | Process color, spot colors are simulated |
| Run length economics | Unit cost keeps falling as quantity rises | Unit cost stays broadly flat with quantity |
| Versioning | Each version needs new plates | Every sheet can be different at no extra cost |
| Substrate range | Broad, including heavy and specialty boards | Narrower, press dependent |
| Large solid areas | Very even coverage | Can show banding on large flat solids |
The plate question, answered differently here
In most quotes, offset carries a plate charge that makes short runs look expensive, and that charge is the main reason buyers get pushed to digital. On iBox orders the plates and the die are included, so that line is not on your quote. It changes the decision: choose the process for what it does to your artwork and your run length, not to dodge a setup fee. If plates are the part you are unsure about, whether custom boxes need a plate covers it in detail.
Corrugated is its own conversation
On corrugated the choice is not offset versus digital but three routes. Direct flexo prints onto the outer liner and suits bold line art and larger runs. Litho lamination prints a sheet offset and laminates it to the board, which is how photographic corrugated packaging is made. Digital prints straight onto the sheet and suits short runs and multiple versions. The printed corrugated boxes page compares those three directly.
How to decide in practice
- Does a specific brand color have to be exact across every reprint? That points to offset with a spot ink.
- Are you printing several versions, flavors or languages of the same box in one order? That points to digital.
- Is the run large and the artwork stable? Offset unit cost keeps improving as the quantity grows.
- Is the design still moving? Digital lets you change it between runs without new plates.
- Is there heavy solid coverage across a large panel? Offset lays it down more evenly.
Proofs are not press sheets
Whichever process you choose, the digital proof you approve shows layout, dimensions and content, and it is issued on every order. What no proof viewed on a screen can do is guarantee an exact color match, because your monitor emits light and a box reflects it. If a specific brand color is critical, specify it as a spot ink on an offset run and say so at quote stage rather than assuming a process color build will land on it.
What does not change either way
The minimum is 100 boxes, unit pricing starts at about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes and is confirmed on your written quote, and a digital proof is issued before anything prints on either process. Production runs from about 7 business days plus 2 to 5 days for delivery, with specialty imported items up to about 12 weeks. Design support and US shipping are included.
Not sure which one your job needs
Describe the artwork, the run length and whether you need versions on the quote form, and the written quote will name the process. If your artwork is not built yet, start with how to design packaging artwork.
