940 copies, four reprints a year: digital or offset for a 92% navy solid
A 24-page A4 self-cover brochure is 4/4 on 170 gsm silk text, with a full-bleed dark navy solid at about 92% area coverage and 6 pt reversed-out white type in the headline panel. Demand is 940 copies, repeated with minor copy edits four times a year; 40 copies are also needed in 72 hours for a press event. The digital supplier quotes €1.15 per copy all-in, next-day delivery, no minimum. The offset supplier quotes €2,400 fixed for plates and make-ready plus €0.22 per copy for any quantity up to 3,000, but needs five working days and cannot meet the 72-hour requirement. On the digital first-off the navy solid looks mottled under a loupe and the 6 pt reverses are partially filling in; the offset contract proof shows a clean solid and open counters. Sales prefers digital because at 940 copies it is roughly €1,500 cheaper and can meet the event deadline.
1. Work out the numbers and recommend a route for the 940 copies, explaining to a sales director who is looking only at the €1,500 saving why quality still has to enter the decision.
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Arithmetic
- Digital: 940 × €1.15 = €1,081.
- Offset: €2,400 + (940 × €0.22) = €2,606.80.
- Difference: €1,525.80, so sales is right on the figure.
- Break-even: 2,400 ÷ (1.15 − 0.22) = 2,581 copies. Below that, digital is cheaper; above it, offset is.
What this means At 940 copies the offset option is 2.4 times the digital price. Four separate editions of 940 (3,760 copies a year) still do not beat the break-even, because each edition re-inccurs the full fixed cost: plates and make-ready cannot be amortised across editions that carry edited copy.
Recommendation Run the 40 urgent copies digitally regardless - they are a deadline, not a production decision. For the 940, default to digital with the artwork mitigated and a signed first-off, and hold offset in reserve as a quality premium of about €1,500 per edition. If the 6 pt reverses are a fixed brand asset that cannot be adjusted, the €1,500 buys the only process that can hold them, and it should be presented as a quality cost, not hidden in a paper argument. Also flag that any edition forecast above about 2,600 copies flips the decision permanently to offset.
2. If digital is chosen, list the artwork and RIP changes that would protect the navy solid and the 6 pt reverses, and say how you would verify them before the run.
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Artwork
- Take the reverse type to 7.5–8 pt, or change it to a sans with open counters if the brand allows; at 6 pt a serif reverse in a 4-colour solid will fill in on any toner device.
- Rebuild the navy as a two-colour build (for example C100 M70 K20 with a small Y) instead of four hits, and hold total area coverage at or below about 240%. Heavy four-colour solids are where toner mottle and sheet curl come from.
- Add 0.3 mm letter spacing to the reverses and avoid any reverse smaller than 7 pt placed in the densest part of the solid.
- Keep the solid away from the fold and from the sheet edge, and keep no critical element within 5 mm of the trim.
RIP and machine
- Resolution 1200 × 1200 dpi or higher, enhanced or high-quality screening, toner-save off, and the density calibrated with the machine's own linearisation before the job.
- Feed the 170 gsm silk from the same lot; a smoother sheet transfers more evenly.
Verification Print a test sheet: inspect reverses at 10× for fill-in and broken counters, measure the solid at five positions across the sheet (uniformity within ΔE00 1.0), check curl after conditioning, then get the approved sheet signed and retain it as the run standard.
3. Build a supply structure for the four annual editions that respects the 72-hour rushes and the minor copy edits.
Read the worked answer
Separate the constraint from the volume. The 72-hour requirement applies to a handful of copies, not to the edition, so it should never drive the process choice for 940.
Structure
- One master file, version-controlled per edition, with the edited text on a separate layer so that only the affected pages are re-proofed. Supply PDF/X-4 with output intent to both suppliers so a switch between them does not re-open the artwork.
- A framework agreement with the digital supplier: fixed price for four editions, next-day standard, and a standing 40-copy rush option at a pre-agreed rate so the emergency is priced, not negotiated at the moment of need.
- Keep the offset quote live and revisit it annually. If copy stabilises and editions can be ganged, or if any edition exceeds roughly 2,600 copies, move that edition to offset. If four of the six formes are unchanged between editions, ask the offset printer to price plate and make-ready replacement for the changed formes only - that reduces the fixed cost and moves the break-even point in offset's favour.
- Hold a 5% overrun on each edition for damaged copies and late requests, and record the rush copies against a cost code so the pattern is visible next year.