Future of printing industry ?

I think digital printing is the future but they need to change the business model. The click charges need to go. I like the direction that inkjet is heading. The craft of is all gone. Very sad!
 
I have been involved with the printing industry for over 25 years. Ups and downs have been the norm, except that this last "down" has been harsh and long. I can see that it has stabilized and regained some steam. Some of my customers are printing material that was sent to China in the past. That is a good feeling. My sales, which are based on equipment breakdown, hence usage, have almost doubled compared to last year. Keep fingers crossed.

Francois
controlgraphicsusa.com
 
You just have to do one thing that always keep your self updated with the latest knowledge and skills and keep your machinery updated too with the passage of time with the changing in demands so the business can not be effected ever.
 
The future of the printing industry is the ability to reduce waste. The amount of waste generated within the industry is so great that is greatly slashes into profits. I've read a few things about how some ambitious interns have created ways in which to greatly reduce waste.

The one that stuck with me the most is the concept of creating a formula to determine the number of overs for a large project. One intern found a way to calculate the number of overs needed for a certain project and saved millions in the process.

This is just one example of ways in which the future of the industry will revolve around the ability to reduce waste.
 
padrao said:
What do you think will happen with offset printing?
Packaging is the last refuge?
Much of the work offset are disappearing with the Internet, information, newspapers, and the printing lenght are getting shorter
Regarding digital printing i don´t see a good future for tonner based machines, for me inkjet might be the future .
What is your opinion?

All the Best

Padrao
Click to expand...

In my 30 years in the industry I have never seen such a bad time to be in printing. Sadly, I see commercial printing dead period. Regardless of whether it is digital or offset it will go the way of the horse and buggy. Soon your kids will not even know what a book or magazine is. Tablets/ digital readers will come down in price and when they fall below say $50.00 practically every person on this planet will get content from that device via the internet.

That said packaging and large format are the only viable options left that can not be put on the internet, however even large format is going to melt away once digital lcds come down in price you will simply upload your own content to a digital sign.
For now packaging seems to be on a solid track that I actually can not see an end to IMHO.
 
It always makes me thin of the line from Ghostbusters: "Print is dead". While int he 80's that was one big joke, now it's becoming more of a reality. Unfortunately even though the industry is dying, the cost of running the business hasn't seem to have gotten the memo.
 
D Ink Man said:
I don't want it sugar coated and I won't take it as gospel either. Believe me. D
Click to expand...

Let me guess you are a supplier correct.
Not a business owner trying to make the numbers match up. Go ahead you can say it.
Trust me Commercial Printing is dead period.

See the suppliers prices have not gone down to match the dwindling amount of jobs coming in, they actually have gone up.
You do not need a calculator to figure that one out.
I just recently installed a Prinergy system in a shop that ran about 400+ plates a day, you know the average quantity of the runs? 1000 sheets.

Sure you can go out and buy some toner based digital machine. But so can the people who are buying the print from you!
I remember a Xerox guy trying to sell us the same equipment he was trying to selll our print buyers!
 
I am D Ink Man.

And the sad truth is the selling price of an offset sheet fed process series is lower and cheaper than what it was 20 years ago. Enormous faults here, by mostly the ink vendors. But we can also credit many of the printers that accept these cheap prices at huge sacrifice. By now, everyone should know the costly sacrifice. D
 
D Ink Man said:
I am D Ink Man.

And the sad truth is the selling price of an offset sheet fed process series is lower and cheaper than what it was 20 years ago. Enormous faults here, by mostly the ink vendors. But we can also credit many of the printers that accept these cheap prices at huge sacrifice. By now, everyone should know the costly sacrifice. D
Click to expand...

Before I reply could you please explain what is "an offset sheet fed process series"
Is this a new line screen!
 
They are four printing inks, that make up a group called a process series. Black, cyan, magenta and yellow. I assume you know what inks are hansman. If not, I can go into simple thesis. D
 
Bob Peterson said:
This is future of the printing industry take a look at these two links:

Nanography - Landa

The Landa Nanographic Printing Process (Official Video) - YouTube
Click to expand...

Nice cartoons. The future of printing or I should say selling print technology is animated cartoons shown on digital technologies.

Landa has potential but it can't print a sellable copy yet. It is not a printing process yet.

Will it be? Hopefully it will when and if they get all the problems worked out. I am curious to find out but I would not bet on it. Too many unknowns still.
 
hansman said:
Before I reply could you please explain what is "an offset sheet fed process series"
Is this a new line screen!
Click to expand...
ok so this has what to do with the topic "The Future of the Printing Industry"
Or the fact that it costs less than 20 years ago!!!!!!!What does that even remotely have to do with this topic?
 
It's basically a liquid toner that evaporates the liquid and you're left with a toner film. Remember toner is just wax, carbon, and pigment. The nano concept just doesn't have the charge process to make the toner "jump" from some surface to the paper. Toner could in theory be mostly pre-melted onto a heated belt, or what we call a fuser and then transferred again to a substrate.

----------------

Here's what I'm surprised that no one has mentioned yet. Let's assume the nano technology concept works well and takes off.

Initially the price of the machines is going to be outrageous. First introductions always are.

Second, there will only be one supplier for everything for quite some time in relations to this technology.

Third, and this one is the biggest. All other technologies will inevitably be either obsolete (which is really unlikely); more likely that all other technologies will have a massive price reduction due to huge supply, competitive forces, etc.,

What does that mean? It means that more and more people will be able to cut out the commercial printer by buying up surplus amounts of equipment and supplies from other technologies. These people could be print buyers, print brokers, or other individuals that now find the cost of entering the print business even less costly.

If nano is a success, ultimately it will drive down the cost of print even further and not just at the printers' level but at the retail level. For this not to happen, nano would have to bring along with it serious cost reductions and efficiencies that would at least match the overall price reduction in the market due to the other forces as explained above.


Erik Nikkanen said:
Nice cartoons. The future of printing or I should say selling print technology is animated cartoons shown on digital technologies.

Landa has potential but it can't print a sellable copy yet. It is not a printing process yet.

Will it be? Hopefully it will when and if they get all the problems worked out. I am curious to find out but I would not bet on it. Too many unknowns still.
Click to expand...
 
This question haunts every printer out there today. As the above poster mentioned...It sure isn't the Good ol' days.
With the Advent of the internet, Gigantors like Vista-Print are dominating. Why are people going to pay us for something when they can get it for free? The answer undoubtedely is THEY'RE NOT. We have to go after a different type of clientele. People who wan't Quality and Service. We have to think outside of the "box" and find a Niche. Like many industries today, Printing isn't dieing it's evolving. Check out our blog post on the topic Is The Printing Industry Dead?
 
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