What comes to your mind when you hear commercial printing? For business owners who have availed such service, they may think about good quality business cards, brochures, flyers, catalogs, posters or banners. But if you are new in the biz and is grappling with your budget, you may opt to do such materials by yourself by getting a desktop printer.

That is your call. Although commercial printing services are not that expensive as you think these may be. But it all lies in finding the right printing company. Before proceeding further, do you know the differences between a desktop and a commercial printer? Here is a quick overview.

1.    A desktop printer refers to the hardware that is connected to your PC or network of computers. From the PC, the file will be sent to the machine and will be printed after a short while. The setup can be done easily. And the machine comes with handy troubleshooting guide to help you fix technical problems when they arise. Some samples of this type include laser printers, inkjet printers and the dot matrix printers.

2.    Commercial printer is the business itself. It already refers to the machines, the people who are operating them and, of course, the owners. A good commercial printer will give you options when you avail their services. Most of them got the offset and digital kinds.

Digital produces faster results. It can accommodate materials with no minimum number of orders. This can be trusted to process materials from the basic ones like business cards and postcards, to brochures and catalogs and the large format ones like posters and banners.

The offset method of printing has been trusted in the industry for its color consistency. Between digital and offset, this is the more affordable choice. But this is recommended for bulk orders. Printing companies require a minimum number of orders for any materials that will be processed through this. This can also print large format ads like posters, but the size will be smaller than what digital printers can provide.

If you want to avail the services of a commercial printer, you have to provide the file that will be printed according to its preference for each material. You have to abide the safe margins in the design department. Its pre-press team will check your file and will send you PDF proofs for approval before your materials get to be printed.

If you opt for the digital process, the one day turnaround usually applies. As per the offset kind, you have to wait for two or more business days to get your orders.

Although the printing technology is continuously booming, allowing you to print good materials even at home, it is still advisable to seek professional services when it comes to your marketing tools. The least thing that you want to happen is for people to think that you are unprofessional. Your ads are your representation to the public, so you have to do everything right in order to execute your goals to the fullest.