Digital Offset Presses

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Are Direct Impression, Digital Offset presses as good at color management as they claim?

I am considering converting all of our print to CMYK and sending to a DI printer, but I am concerned about color matching, sustainability, and the claims of 24 hour turn-around time.

the trades say they are taking over the print market, currently at 45%. Is that true? Any horror stories?
 
Re: Digital Offset Presses

DI press can be just as consistance as any offset press.

di's taking over the market place. don't tell heidelberg they don't make a di anymore.
 
Re: Digital Offset Presses

"DI" is a pretty broad term. You have the original Heidelberg DI which is an offset process using plate material imaged right on the press. You have high-speed xerographic devices, like the docucolors, which use electro-static and toner technology. You have inkjet solutions, like the Screen TruePress, using high-speed inkjet on rolls of paper. And you have "dry-ink" devices like the Indigo and/or the NexPress which combine electro-static and offset techniques with a state-change (solid to gas or solid to liquid) of the "ink".

As to "taking over the print market", it's all a numbers game. The breaking point on digital print is usually around 2500-5000 impressions - not pieces, impressions. After that conventional offset processes become more cost effective. There are also substrate restrictions involved. You're not gonna' be able to run 24 point board or 30# newsprint through any digital print devices that I know of. On the other hand you may find that there are plastics that move very nicely through these devices - yields a pretty cool business card.

Depending on the process used, consistency of the color ranges from good to unstable. Some of the processes are laying what is basically a colored plastic on the paper and so may show cracking when folded. Some of the processes yield a product that may change color over time, but the market sectors involved aren't any that require archival properties. These are quick products - quickly produced, quickly distributed and quickly consumed.

rich

Edited by: Rich Apollo on Jun 4, 2008 11:23 AM
 

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