Offset lithography is the most widely used print process. About 40% of all print jobs are produced with offset printing. It is an indirect printing process which means that an image is transferred, or offset, from one surface to another. A printing plate mounted on a cylinder transfers the image to a rubber blanket mounted on another cylinder. The image is then transferred from the blanket cylinder to the substrate as the substrate passes between the blanket cylinder and an impression cylinder. The image on the plate is "right reading" and when the image is transferred to the blanket it becomes "wrong reading". When the image is transferred to the printing surface it becomes right reading again.

Thermography is sometimes called the 'Poor Man's Engraving' because the thermographical effect looks very similar to an engraved effect, and actually sometimes looks better than an engraved look. The process of thermography is faster than engraving and it is less expensive.

Thermography can add value to many ordinary print applications. Among the many applications that can benefit from thermography are letterheads, greeting cards, invitations, business cards, marketing applications, announcements, and envelopes. Thermography can make the appearance of many print applications more distinctive, providing a customized appearance that cannot be achieved with any other method.