Why litho

The right way to print in volume.

Lithographic printing — also called offset printing — puts ink on paper the traditional way: from a plate, on a press. It is the process built for bulk printing and long-run work. Once a litho job is set up, every copy comes out identical — the same colour, the same sharpness, whether it’s copy number ten or number ten thousand. That is why offset litho is still the standard for business stationery, books and forms printed in quantity across Pretoria and Gauteng.

It’s also why litho gets cheaper per copy the more you print. The plate setup is a fixed, once-off cost; spread that cost across a long run and the price per unit drops sharply. For runs in the hundreds and thousands, lithographic printing beats digital on both price and consistency.

We’ve been running two litho presses in Pretoria since 2000. Our finishing department — guillotine, Heidelberg platen, folding, numbering, perforating and padding — is in the same building, so jobs go from press to finished product without leaving our floor.

Lithographic press running at ColourCraft Print in Pretoria

What we print litho

Where litho earns its keep.

Business stationery

Letterheads, compliment slips and envelopes in exact, repeatable brand colours.

NCR books & forms

Invoice books, jobcards, waybills and order forms — see our NCR books page for the full range.

Medical & clinical forms

Patient forms, scripts and practice stationery for healthcare businesses across Gauteng.

Diaries, desk pads & calendars

Year-end branded items printed in volume and finished in-house.

Flyers & brochures

Marketing print in quantities where litho quality and pricing make the difference.

Numbered & perforated work

Sequential numbering and perforation done on our own finishing equipment.

The detail that matters

Litho vs digital, and where litho wins.

The honest answer is that it depends on quantity. For very short runs — a few dozen copies — digital is usually cheaper because there are no plates to make. But as the quantity climbs, litho pulls ahead: the setup cost stays the same while the cost per copy keeps falling. For most business stationery, form books and brochure runs, lithographic printing is the more economical choice once you’re into the hundreds.

Litho also holds an edge on colour. Because the ink is mixed and laid down consistently across the whole run, brand colours stay true from the first sheet to the last — important when your letterhead, quotation books and delivery books all need to match. Where a job calls for an exact corporate colour, we can print spot colours and match to a Pantone (PMS) reference rather than relying on a four-colour build.

Typical litho products

Letterheads, compliment slips and envelopes; quotation, delivery and invoice books; NCR and carbonless form books; medical and clinical forms; brochures, flyers and folders; diaries, desk pads and calendars; and business forms of every kind. If it needs to be printed in quantity with consistent colour, it’s a litho job.

Sheet sizes, stocks and finishing

We print a range of paper stocks and sheet sizes, and finish everything in-house — trimming, folding, scoring, perforating, numbering, padding and binding. Tell us the finished size and quantity you need and we’ll advise the most economical way to lay the job out.

Turnaround and delivery

Turnaround depends on the job and the finishing involved. We deliver across Pretoria and Gauteng, and arrange nationwide delivery where needed. For a firm lead time on your specific job, request a quote and we’ll come back to you directly.

Lithographic printing on our own presses.