Printing is generally divided into 2 types “short” and “long” run printing.

Short run printing is generally below around 1000-5000 units, and is usually cost effective to run on digital machines. This gives it the added benefits of being customisable (eg different designs, names etc) and being quick to print – often within 24 hours. Samples are also possible of the final print, as there is no set-up required

Long run printing is for larger quantities and usually run on offset printers. Because a lot of the cost of the job is in the setup, the actual price per unit for printing thousands of copies can be very low and therefore great for larger campaigns (because the setup cost is also spread over a large quantity). It is however generally a slower process, taking 5-7 days on average to completion so needs to be planned in advance.