What is the difference between Offset & Silkscreen printing?

Silkscreen Printing

Silkscreening is most appropriate for up to 3 color printing – especially if the colors are PMS colors, and for solid ink coverage. With silkscreening, ink is applied to a screen and forced through the holes in a stencil to create an image on the surface of the disc. Silkscreen printing can include up to 5 single colors, for 4 color process (CMYK) we recommend Offset printing over Silkscreening.

Offset Printing

Offset printing provides higher quality image at175 lines per inch (vs. 85-135 lines per inch for silkscreen). Offset printing applies 4 layers of ink (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) on-disc. The more lines per inch, the smoother and clearer the printing looks. Offset printing is ideal for intricate full-color designs, skin tones, and crisp text. It is the only choice for photo quality printing on replicated discs.