-----Sheetfed presses typically belong to the offset family of presses. Offset refers to how the images are transferred onto the paper. In offset printing, there are two separate times that the image is transferred, or offset. The first is when the image is transferred from the plate to the blanket cylinder. The second instance is when the image is offset from the blanket onto the paper. Both transfers are susceptible to dot gain.

Dot Gain----------------------------------------Dot gain on sheetfed presses is the lowest of all the printing processes. Dot gain is largely dependent upon the absorbency of the paper onto which the image is printed. Coated paper dot gain ranges between 5 and 11 per cent (depending on the grade and coating), and uncoatd papers range between 10 and 18 per cent. The higher the line screen, the higher the dot gain will be.

Screening Frequencies-----------------------While some sheetfed offset presses are capable of printing screens as fine as 300 lpi, the most common screening frequencies range between 85 lpi and 150 lpi.