Is the Death of Offset Near?

[cosmo]

yeah, im with the decade prediction, offset presses are built to fly, the inkjet machines will be breaking to bits before they can produce that kind of output on a regular non serviced basis that offset presses can achieve, but, either way, I will be keeping my eyes open.

 

[goalpdl]

Yeah - I believe LG just announced a new screen that can rolled up like a poster. It's an LED HD screen which could totally change the game for in-store displays.

 

[KamilT]

Hi all,
you can't compare offset to Epson printers, this doesn't have meaning. Jetpress 720 is right choice to compare with offset. Quality is very good, but still, price tag is high for 2700 B2/hr machine, and there are some others catches, like primer etc.
Offset is not dead and will not be for many years from now.
Regards,
KamilT

 

[D Ink Man]

Thank you god Kamit.

 

[mattf-BCDDirect]

Anyone remember Mimeographs? I remember as a kid, my teachers copying tests and hand-outs for class on those things. Hand cranking copy after copy and sucking up vinegar fumes for hours... now look at even the most basic copier. Anything can become obsolete... even offset printing. The printing industry has changed so much in the last 15 years and will change drastically in the next 15 years... and so on. Never say Never. Just my 2 cents worth anyways.

 

[D Ink Man]

Comparing a mimeograph to offset is like comparing a grain of sand to Mt. Everest.

D

 

[mattf-BCDDirect]

I was merely comparing the replacement of one technology with another. In the sense that anything can become obsolete, no matter how long it's been used.

That's all...

 

[D Ink Man]

Offset will not be replaced, no matter how long the existence of man lasts.

D

 

[Stephen Marsh]

_____ _____

 

[almaink]

It is almost dead in my area. When I started in printing there were print shops everywhere. You needed a job? All you needed to do was walk around the conner. Our shop used to have so many jobs to do back in the day, we didn't know how we were going to get them done. Now I'm lucky to work a few hours a day. Computers killed us, everything we used to do by hand, that took hours, is now done in a blink of the eye. I used to have a 6 man crew here in prepress now it's just me. I know how Blacksmiths felt when cars started being mass produced.

 

[Sev]

It is almost dead in my area. When I started in printing there were print shops everywhere. You needed a job? All you needed to do was walk around the conner. Our shop used to have so many jobs to do back in the day, we didn't know how we were going to get them done. Now I'm lucky to work a few hours a day. Computers killed us, everything we used to do by hand, that took hours, is now done in a blink of the eye. I used to have a 6 man crew here in prepress now it's just me. I know how Blacksmiths felt when cars started being mass produced.

It is quite the opposite here. An 8 hour day is considered a short day. In prepress, I average between 9 and 10 hours a day, 5 days a week. The press room usually works 12+ hours a day. We finally had to add a second shift in the press room to keep up. We have had to hire additional help for bindery. We have become very busy in the digital world as well, and are in the process of buying a new digital press to replace our Xerox 700, since it cant keep up with the demand. This year we broke our record for the amount of business we have done in the last 30 years. Our current owner is doing something right.

-Sev

 

[Possumgal]

It is almost dead in my area. When I started in printing there were print shops everywhere. You needed a job? All you needed to do was walk around the conner. Our shop used to have so many jobs to do back in the day, we didn't know how we were going to get them done. Now I'm lucky to work a few hours a day. Computers killed us, everything we used to do by hand, that took hours, is now done in a blink of the eye. I used to have a 6 man crew here in prepress now it's just me. I know how Blacksmiths felt when cars started being mass produced.

Computers killed us in another way. All those business forms, invoices and the like, that used to be a small shop's bread and butter, are now being printed out on inkjets in the business offices.

The big jobs we had, like product instruction and installation manuals, are now either provided as online PDFs by the manufacturers or being printed in Mexico.

 

[kdw75]

It is almost dead in my area. When I started in printing there were print shops everywhere. You needed a job? All you needed to do was walk around the conner. Our shop used to have so many jobs to do back in the day, we didn't know how we were going to get them done. Now I'm lucky to work a few hours a day. Computers killed us, everything we used to do by hand, that took hours, is now done in a blink of the eye. I used to have a 6 man crew here in prepress now it's just me. I know how Blacksmiths felt when cars started being mass produced.

We are suffering from a combination of this, as well as another printshop, with almost unlimited money, that doesn't know, or care, about making a profit on their printing, as they do it for their parent company, and printing for the general public is just gravy. The only thing that helps a little is that they are somewhat inexperienced and can't hold on to any decent employees. Their main strategy is to beat any local printers prices, send salesmen to every local business regularly, and advertise like crazy. Their parent company has several dozen salesmen that they use to get print clients.

So the result has been pretty significant. Our small city has gone from having 10 local printers, not counting chains, down to 4. They turn out work with cracked up folds, colors that vary, and terrible layout, but their sales staff and insanely low prices are driving out the other printers. The only ones left now, are a very small shop with virtually no overhead that squeaks. We are a little bigger, have more overhead, but survive by offering better quality to customers that care. The other one is a shop with around 15 employees that has been locked into some major accounts that are extremely loyal, and demand perfection.

 

[narseman]

Many of those business forms are not even printed anymore. Info just entered and stored digitally..

 

[Tomtech]

We have seen a shrinking demand for offset printing, especially small offset, for some time now. It may continue to dwindle, but it won't disappear for a long time. In addition to quality and cost factors, offset inks offer a permanence not yet achieved in the digital market. For a few jobs, there is an occasional letterpress around.

tomtech