Digital printing method use (below)

The Graphic Express printing company in Boston purchased Agfa's color press (Chromapress) in August 1995 and recently printed four-color folders on heavy-coated paper. Inside the folder is paper that can be sold separately in full color on Chromapress. Skip Dyer, the company’s manager, said: “Chromapress, a color press, offers customers another service that can respond quickly to other needs.” He sees digital printing as a complement to traditional printing technology, not It's replaced. He said: "The reason we are developing this new market is to use new technologies to attract new customers."
Craig Gagliano, managing director of the Digital Direct branch of ST.Joseph’s company in Toronto, agrees. "There are many resources allocated to digital applications, but there is no real transformation between current trends and traditional printing. They are still a new trend," he said. Digital Direct used IBM's InfoColor color printing system and recently introduced Heidelberg's Quickmaster direct imaging press.
“Digital presses did not reduce the work of traditional offset printing,” said the deputy general manager of Mary-Lee Schneider RRDonnelley Large Print Technologies. “For us, our impression is the opposite. It is a replacement for traditional printing.” Donnelley The company produces a large number of digital color prints for direct mailing companies, publishing catalogs, advertising for special markets, like HMOs and other health-conscious factories.
Schneider explained: "One factor is that Donnelley is a company that is mainly responsible for web printing. We didn't do short-run color business before we had a digital press, so digital printing opens up new markets for us." In fact, the general number Printing customers are generally not generally interested in the economic price of short-run printing. The reason for forcing them to find digital presses is the time limit. Many vendors that own this technology often do not respond to this demand. Very short short-run printing - like less than 50 copies of four-color printing, a 12-page report or presentation - is often another level.
The non-quantitative printing - so far an unfulfilled promise - may be the edge of digital printing. When digital printing appeared four years ago, there was no software to really handle non-quantitative printing. But now - like Agfa, Indigo, Scitex, Barco, Xeikon, Varis, Atlas Software, and ColorAge's DocuPress (required by the recent Splash technology) these companies join in the quantitative digital market - personalized printing technologies will have digital printing A huge driving force. However, truly realizing non-quantitative printing really requires a lot of data processing capabilities. At the same time, the user is required to obtain an orderly data foundation. "Now most of the non-quantitative output work depends on the user's data base. If only one comma is not in place, then you have to give up all the processes," said Bob Sacco.
To date, the non-quantitative imaging capabilities used by RR Donnelley have strictly adhered to the changes in monochrome text throughout color pages. “We use a variable data range to create print jobs for a certain market. Mary-Lee Schneider said. But they didn't do a whole page change job.”
Digital Direct has been successfully used by IBM's InfoClor in full-color, non-quantitative printing—just less often. In short, it is often used for very short editions of giving information, market information, and prepress proofing.
Attract new customers: Digital printing is still quite attractive - once the printer introduces one, there are many people asking every day. Lexington's Sacco said: "Sometimes customers don't know what a short version really is. They asked us to use Indigo to print 2,000 prints, but it's more economical to print with offset presses, but we'll Both prices are offered to customers, indicating their differences.” Digital Marketingy, a subsidiary of the Miner- lia Group of the Miner Group, introduced Indigo's E-Print digital press in 1995. “It reinforces and expands the boundaries of traditional printing work,” said manager Joel Hoefle. “We got customers who asked us to print a new digital print of the catalog.” Digital Marketing got the job and handed it over. The Miner Group specializes in directory printing companies - or any company that customers require.
Manufacturers using digital presses face two types of customers: one that requires traditional printing, and the other that requires digital printing—short version, high-speed rotary printing, or variable imaging. What overlaps with it is - how many customers also print in other ways - this implies that digital printing has an impact on traditional printing.
"We kept this overlap as high as possible, about 80%-90%, and we wanted to sell our services to Miner Group's existing customers as much as possible. If we don't In doing so, other companies will do the same," said Joel Hoefle of Digital Marketing.
Sequel's Mike Chiricuzio said: “Our digital press has become part of offset printing, and it provides sellers with a cone that could not have been involved before.” Suquel's digital printing capabilities led Honeywell, Motorola to focus on Heritage Graphics and make them become Their customers.
"'Is all the printing job positioning detracting from the other side on the one hand?' This issue is very narrow," said Graphic Express's Skip Dyer. "Customers come not only for short-run color printing, but because we provide high Quality and good service."
Bottom line: The boundaries between offset printing and digital printing are very vague. The key to whether you choose digital printing or traditional offset printing is not just the amount you want to print - you also need to think about time. The complexity of the work, and whether it involves variable imaging. It is also related to the workflow used and the relevant requirements for different printing presses and printing staff. “I didn't see the transformation of traditional printing into a new technology. The changes that have taken place are just a few steps. In the process of designing, customers are looking at the goals associated with them and specifying related target strategies.” Craig Gagliano, Digito Direct Say.
Short-run color digital printing on demand also takes a long time to brewing. This technology has already begun to be accepted by printing and prepress manufacturers, but printers seem to be more successful.