The seven-day PRINT 05 made me see a lot of new changes in the printing work. Through exchanges with exhibitors, I have a deeper understanding of these changes. In fact, every product at the show is improving. The printing press is faster, the software is more powerful, and the quality of the print is higher. Between the exhibitors or between the exhibitors and me, the concept of “widely used various forms of digital printing” is closer. However, we also found five basic elements that have been discussed in the industry, and we hope that these five points will lay the foundation for future changes in the printing industry.

1, production efficiency and profit is more important than the printing speed

In my memory, every time I exhibited, each exhibitor made a fuss about the speed of the new machine. For a long time, this is a good thing. Speed ​​is important because faster speeds allow you to complete more production tasks. Are more production tasks equal to higher profits? - At least in theory.

But profits are not as good as those told by those who once worked in print shops. They simply come from the increase in output. It also comes from other sources. In fact, some printers who have worked in printing recognize that all the techniques that guide the development of printing are very important. The efficiency of production operations is the best way to profit. It is important to properly evaluate your operations to confirm the bottlenecks in the production flow reduction of the company. When you eliminate these obstacles - your production ability matches the faster presses - you can use newer, faster machines to help you get more profits.

2, variable data is very important, but it still needs to be well handled

Many of the exhibitions and conferences of the past few years are about variable data printing. However, people often ignore the two important messages passed by its surface prosperity:

* Unless someone takes the time to conduct a comprehensive assessment to understand them and decide how to use the technology more effectively, variable data is just information in the database and has no practical significance. Unfortunately, this situation usually does not happen.

* Information is often used in a "gratis personalization" approach, but they can have a positive impact. But simply naming someone's name is not enough.

3, color is very close, but there are still challenges

Digital printing can reproduce some very beautiful color images. The huge investment in these devices requires payment in installments, and the seller also encourages users to use a variety of color files. However, there are still many files in which color information is unnecessary, and some color files have a lot of costs that exceed their true value. The rules we usually use on Océ - and it has attracted a great deal of interest on PRINT 05 - are "suitable for the color of the job." This means that the greatest value is added to the file when considering various colors. It gives a more readable and informative utility specification, or tells everyone how to connect the system used. Color is really important, but instead of having all the color files at all times, it is important to remember useful color information, sometimes less than more to improve impact and reduce consumption. A smart businessman once told me that someone can print colored handouts and promotional materials, but the handouts only need to have real value and credible content, without the need for color to help.

The key to widespread acceptance of digital printing by commercial printers is the consistency of printed products, which is another important aspect of color work. Offset presses can accurately transfer colors from the end of a mission to the beginning of the next mission, as well as achieve consistent colors across different presses. However, most digital printers cannot reach this level through conventional standards and adjustments. Some commercial printing veterans have considered the consistency of digital printing effects, which is a key reason for delaying their investment in digital color technology. Although PRINT 05 shows many digital presses, some commercial printers still want to see digital prints consistent with the prints they are used to. Consistency is the key.

4, post-press processing is equally important

In real production, a printed document seldom includes information such as folding, coating, binding, and cutting. No one wants to read books, manuals, or reports made up of some loose pages. Digital printing (as opposed to offset printing) is easier for post-press processing and can be closely linked to the printing process. Postpress and cover (or even baling) are part of digital printing. Press suppliers can not only add finishing options to digital presses, but they can also help customers by selecting different options menus. Transfer post-processing documents. You can understand the contents of a book on the cover, and people can do it every day.

5. The workflow is still the key to gaining opportunities

You can have the best staff, the fastest presses, and the most effective internal management mechanisms, but if the production process and workflow software are not the best, you are running like a leg, and you will miss the real development opportunity. Can even affect your business. Today's workflow software allows you to differentiate your service capabilities, streamline your job submission process, and remotely proof prints.

The workflow software can control each step of each production task in the integrated production process system. After connecting the MIS system and the accounting system, it can solve all problems from prepress production to finished product processing.
In short, workflow software has more investment potential than presses because it will affect every aspect of your business. Some of the most reflective questions in PRINT 05 are: Workflows, and how to use different tools to face the challenges of different printers provided by different suppliers, and ultimately help businesses succeed. If you want to make a difference in cost savings, want new services, reduce staff, increase profits, or want to try something new, start using the workflow.


Source: Bison