Understanding Print and Mail Operations

• Offset, he explained, is characterized by relatively high startup costs but dramatic economies of scale. It may be the best way to produce large numbers of identical pieces.

• Toner-based production, on the other hand, is economical for short-run and variable production, a trend that many colleges and universities are adopting. Since a large amount of printed material is mailed, and since variable print strategies allow mail to be addressed during the imaging process, it makes good sense to align the mail center with print production.