IT research company Gartner, which polled more than 400 print and procurement managers in the UK, Germany, France and the US, said: "Respondents indicated that digital printing provides better image quality and better value for money than offset printing does."

Respondents were asked to rate the image quality of the printing technologies on a scale of one ("poor quality") to seven ("excellent quality"). Among the 104 UK respondents, liquid ink digital averaged 5.83, followed by toner then inkjet and finally offset with a score of 4.85.

Those in the US weighted toner at the top with an aggregate score of 5.81, and litho as the worst quality with 5.14, below inkjet.

The global average put toner at the top with a rating of 5.68, with offset lowest at 5.17. Germany was the only country that rated offset as having the highest quality.

RSPCA print manager Christopher Vickers said: "To get a really good result, you have to go litho. You'll get a better dot and cleaner registration with a litho job."

However, he added: "It's easier to produce passable work with an untrained person on a digital press."

Brian Jeal, head of procurement at Badenoch & Clark, said he didn’t believe the results. "Litho is still better. I'm yet to see any digital samples that beat offset."

"I wonder which manufacturer commissioned the research," asked Jeal.

Gartner PR manager Holly Stephens stressed that the organisation never conducts research on behalf of others. "We're monitoring different technologies and look out for things worthy of investigation.

"Market share is something we'll track regularly. Sometimes in response to industry reports or things analysts believe are hot topics," added Stephens.

Respondents were also asked if they operated their own production printing equipment. Of the 72 UK respondents who answered, 33.3% were operating digital presses or printers, while only 13.0% were running offset presses. Across all responses, 43.7% had digital presses while 27.2% had offset.

What do you think? Is digital finally beating litho in the quality stakes? Or does offset still have the edge? Please leave your comments below.