Mass Appeal
In case you haven't heard, digital print is an expanding sector—and if you're not selling it, now's the time to start. Within the next three years, it's expected to consume 20.6 percent of the print market and rake in $187.7 billion, according to the Smithers Pira study, "The Future of Offset vs. Digital Printing to 2018." That's up from last year's total of $131.5 billion. In the end, global digital print volumes are expected to increase 68.1 percent, while offset sales are expected to decrease by 10.2 percent between 2008 and 2018.
If the numbers haven't convinced you, keep reading: We spoke with three suppliers who elaborated on the advantages of digital print, as well as the challenges and misconceptions that digital still faces.
Onward and Upward
Digital print has been trending upward for years, and all signs point to bigger and better developments thanks to new substrates and equipment, noted Brian Coats, CDC, marketing director for MAR Graphics, Valmeyer, Ill. "Printers will keep finding ways to feed an ever-increasing array of materials through digital machines, [as well as the addition of] more specialty substrates and applications," he said.
To obtain that quality finish, MAR Graphics recently invested in a Memjet Super Web Digital color inkjet system. The equipment, Coats explained, has allowed for larger sheet sizes, increased flexibility and cost savings—all of which have improved the company's bottom line. "The larger 14x26" sheet size on our color device has not only secured us more business, it also has made us more productive," he noted. "Our other new color machine has made digital color print more cost effective for applications that are more trans-promo in nature."
Edison, New Jersey-based Prodigital Printing has had similar success with its Kodak NexPress SX3300, which was installed about a year ago. "It has increased productivity, increased our up time and it's given us the ability to run oversized brochures that we were never able to do [before]," mentioned vice president Darren Solomon. "We can now print an oblong saddle-stitch book that's 22x8.5" flat size, going down to 8.5x11", as well as oversized brochures."
Meanwhile, Fenton, Missouri-based FormStore Incorporated's 2009 investment in a Kodak NexPress has paid off in the dimensional digital printing sector. In addition to the traditional cyan, magenta, yellow and black toners, the press holds a fifth toner that can add dimension, watermarks, a glossy finish or security features. "Raised, textured dimensional digital printing can be created by adding another level to the design file," Paul Edwards, CDC, FormStore's president, said of the option that can enhance features such as blades of grass. "Then using special clear toner, we can give raised textures to the specific design elements within the printed piece.
Why Digital?
According to Solomon, the ability to have quick turnarounds, do short runs and include variables are the top three advantages of digital print. "I can't tell you how many times we get a call in the morning for anything as small as one lot of business cards or 1,000 trifold brochures that somebody needs shipped out same day," he shared. "And with the turnaround that customers are looking for these days, it's very difficult to run some of these jobs offset. [...] Nobody wants to wait for anything, so telling someone that their order is going to go out in a couple days from now usually doesn't work for them."
A lot of print has shifted to digital due to the options it offers, including lower quantities and printing on demand. "A tremendous amount of print moved from offset to digital, especially on the low end," Edwards remarked, noting that 10 percent to 40 percent of printed products that are warehoused end up getting destroyed. "Digital will allow you to print when you need it."
The Challenges
Regardless of how quickly technology evolves, a few challenges remain. At FormStore, delays occur when the company receives a low-quality or incorrectly formatted file, or when the company doesn't receive all necessary components, such as fonts. Distributors should know the latest requirements, or simply ask for them.
On the other hand, while digital is beginning to incorporate special effects, such as foils, metallic inks and coatings, there are some requests it can't handle. "Large quantities that are just 20,000, 25,000, 200,000 of the same thing—I would say, 'No, we're not going to do that,'" Edwards said.
There are technical challenges, too. New Jersey's fluctuating temperatures caused enough paper issues that Prodigital switched from large sheets to ream-wrapped stock. "The way the paper holds the moisture can affect the way the toner weights down on the paper, so we've had issues where we can run a sheet through the press one day and it works great, and let's say maybe the temp drops 30 degrees the next day—we try to run the same stock and the print does not appear the way that it should," Solomon explained.
And then there is ink quality, which can waver due to basic equipment wear-and-tear. "It's very important to us and it's very important to our customers to make sure as jobs repeat, if it was a certain color blue last time that it prints the same color blue," Solomon said. "And although we do take a lot of time maintaining our equipment, we do have to spend time adjusting art files on press to make sure the output is the same as previous jobs."
Squashing Misconceptions
Digital may not be perfect, but a few beliefs about the printing process simply are not true. Both Coats and Edwards agreed that consumers assume the quality of digital print is poor. However, users are becoming more and more accepting of ink-jet quality, Edwards noted. "The old misconception was the digital print quality was crummy," he said. "Good digital print, I think, you can stack up against offset for 75 [percent] to 80 percent of the applications."
Coats maintained that new toner technologies and print engines are just as good as offset, though he cautioned that digital equipment isn't necessarily easier to operate. "While certain aspects of that may be true, it still takes great staff to run and maintain equipment, and those staff require a higher degree of technological savvy," he mentioned. "Plus, it still takes just as much file prep time, and, in many instances, more to get a file prepped for digital printing and variable imaging when you include the programming required."
Future Outlook
Looking forward, all three agreed that digital print hasn't finished growing yet, proven by the increasing numbers and demand. "We've seen for ourselves the volume that we push to our digital department continues to rise every year," Solomon said. "I think the future, both short and long—it's very bright, and especially as the demands of customers continue to get harder and harder and everybody needs everything this afternoon, it's only going to go up.
And with that, not only will digital print's capabilities improve with technology, so will the knowledge of its expanding presence in the printing world. "Everybody's just better at it," he concluded. "I think that bodes well for the industry."
- Companies:
- FormStore
- MAR Graphics
- Places:
- Edison, New Jersey
- Valmeyer
Amanda L. Cole is the editor-in-chief of NonProfit PRO. She was formerly editor-in-chief of special projects for NonProfit PRO's sister publication, Promo Marketing. Contact her at acole@napco.com.