Printing coasters with offset printing?

from Wiki:

“Advantages of offset printing compared to other printing methods include:

* Consistent high image quality. Offset printing produces sharp and clean images and type more easily than letterpress printing because the rubber blanket conforms to the texture of the printing surface.”

At first I was going to ask if your printer could handle something so thick, then I read that the coaster surface is so porous. Ink jet just ain’t gonna cut it. (if that’s what you’re using…)

You can use silk screening, but that is largely a ‘per piece’, and one color applied at a time method, and as such, is far more costly. The ink is applied in thicker layers than offset, so it would also affect the absorbtion rate of the substrate.
Offset printing will usually print several of these items on a single sheet. They are run through a press with one to 4 passes for color application. (On both sides) Then they are die cut, producing a number of coasters.
I know of no other means of printing that would be as efficient as offset printing.

Your issue on offset printing will be thickness of your substrate. Most printers don’t want to print over .018—.024” although some can go up to .040”. This is due to the substrate not bending around the cylinder very well. From what I read you maybe pretty thick. If it is just type and line art that you are trying to print you might could consider letterpress printing and getting a cut made and crash imprinting. It seems to be back in vogue right now and we are having ad agencies ask about it again. Hope that helps.