In a highly demanding sector, one obsessed with quality and accuracy of reproduction, this book was singled out above all others, it was held up as the pinnacle of printing quality in that field for that year. You'd expect nothing less from an offset litho process, but, as it happens, this one was printed digitally.

For digital printers, this will come as no surprise. They have known for some time that the evolution of digital presses has taken the medium to a level not just on a par with litho when it comes to quality, but in some areas surpassing it. For them, an award such as this was just a matter of time. But outside this growing sector, the reputation of the past is still influencing the decisions of the present, and the fog of preconceptions is preventing progress in a sector that many feel has only just started to show its true potential.

"We have been using digital for our fine art books for years," reveals Francis Atterbury, partner at Hurtwood Press. "However, I don’t flaunt the fact, because people have a perception of digital that is wrong."

This misguided view may well have had some justification in the early days. The machines of 10 years ago were producing work far inferior to the current standard of output. Since then, however, performance has constantly improved year on year, driven by substantial investment from manufacturers and an expanding adoption of the technology in the market place. The HP Indigo, for example, is in its third generation.

Ground-up rebuild
"Each generation has had a ground-up rebuild, adding on new technology and taking into consideration feedback we have had, while designing out any faults that have been identified," says Nick Loh, technical consultant for HP Indigo. "Each generation is faster than the last, the formats get bigger, and the quality has improved as we have put a massive amount of research and development into the imaging hardware and software, offered additional inks and increased the resolution of the writing head. Quality is also aided by increasing automation, which tends to mean the process is more accurate."

Loh adds that another factor in the quality improvements is the increase in ink options on digital presses. He says that the option of additional ink pumps, for an extended-gamut colour set (orange and violet/green) or specialist inks, such as light cyan/magenta for photo applications, makes for massive quality improvements and, in the case of the latter, photo realistic results due to the ability to smooth out flesh tones.

As the quality improved, the applications for digital printing expanded, which drove further innovation. Online photo store Photobox spotted the potential of the technology relatively early and it has experienced first hand how the quality has increased with each iteration of presses. In 2005, it bought its first digital press to expand its photo processing business into personalised products such as calendars and photobooks. In 2006, it switched to an HP Indigo after a merger with a French company offering comparative products. The leaps in quality since these early days have been substantial, says managing director Mark Chapman.

Quality improvement
"When we first began, the quality did not really deliver," he admits. "This did not matter so much because we were putting out products to the public that they had not seen before and it was a fairly developmental step. When we switched to the HP Indigo there was a quality improvement that was quite noticeable. Now the quality is even better."

But ‘quality’ means different things to different people. Chapman’s customers have different demands from Atterbury’s. For Photobox, Chapman says the quality of the finishing, the design around the finished product, the level of customer service and turnaround time are as important as the technical quality of the product itself. Atterbury says his clientele are as concerned with whether the basics of book production are done well, with the grain direction, type of paper, binding and good design, as with print quality.

But quality remains central. The consumer is savvier than ever and will not buy if the quality is poor. How good digital is, however, depends on your perspective. Photobox consumers only have former examples of digital print to compare to, as photobooks and personalised calendars have always been the preserve of digital print. Chapman says for them, the quality is better than it has ever been. In contrast, Hurtwood Press customers are used to a litho-produced product, and litho quality has always been thought to be beyond digital printing.

"Not any more," says Richard Owers, director at Beacon Press, who runs both digital and litho kit .

"The comparison between litho and digital is now not an issue, they are completely interchangeable," he says. "There isn’t a quality difference that makes you choose one over the other – except in digital’s favour."

Yes, you read that correctly. According to Owers, digital, in certain areas, can surpass litho in terms of quality. Beacon runs a HP Indigo press and Owers says this is key to this breakthrough. The Indigo employs an offset process that uses inks, or what some call ‘liquid toner’, which enables it to recreate the litho effect. It can print on a wide array of substrates and Owers says that on uncoated stocks, digital surpasses litho.

"The result of an HP Indigo is even better than litho on uncoated papers, because these types of paper are more absorbent," he explains. "In litho, the ink dries into the paper, so the image quality is reduced slightly in the drying process. In the digital process, ink dries in contact with the paper, giving you a better colour quality."

It is not just the Indigo that can compete in this way; digital presses are breaking through the litho quality barrier from all angles.

Chas Moloney, director of marketing at Ricoh UK, says clients are reporting that customers can’t tell the difference between litho and digital any more and this has led to an ‘agnostic’ attitude to how a product is printed.

"I was with a printer recently who had shown digitally printed work to his client that he had previously outsourced to litho. The client could not see any difference. I don’t think the end-user wants litho or digital specifically. He or she just wants added value, cost value and a high-quality product."

Printer’s choice
This is a sentiment echoed on a larger scale. Clients no longer specify how a product is printed, but rather the end result they wish to see. It is for the printer to decide how to achieve that. Digital now has to be part of that decision, says Francis Atterbury, to be seen as a credible option for any application.

To do the job properly, printers have to be open minded, and rise above the perceived limitations of a machine. Atterbury cites the example of a "beautiful" book he saw produced on a photocopier. The man who made it wiped the glass clean between each sheet, used the highest quality papers and bindings – he pushed the machine further than people thought possible. This is what is happening in digital: people are beginning to overcome the stigma to push the machines further and they are realising the quality the machines can produce if handled correctly.

As a result, digital is still in its infancy in terms of what it can achieve, says GI Direct sales director Patrick Headley.
"The market is still talking about digital and trying to work out where it fits," he says. "A lot more people are getting into it as people begin to realise the power of digital. The technology is there, it is proven, but now it is a case of the market understanding how and why and when to use it."

The market is learning quickly and the applications are growing by the day, with personalisation and on-demand printing at the forefront. The quality improvements have been key to this increase in adoption. That is not to say there is no room for improvement; matching litho for quality should not be seen as the evolutionary peak, there are still targets to hit, according to Atterbury.

"If you think what you see now represents the pinnacle of printing quality you are never going to get very far," he warns. "You shouldn’t be under the illusion that you are at the top."

One such target could be a solution to a problem identified by Photobox’s Chapman. He explains how the company ships silver halide photography in the same box as digital press work. Despite the massive advances in print quality, a reasonably untrained eye can see there is a significant gap in image quality between the two.

Some may argue that is a leap too far, that print can never match the standards of photographic process. But 10 years ago no one thought digital could match litho for quality. With the take-up of digital and the realisation of what it is capable of, the investment will be there to push forward like never before. In terms of quality, digital caught up with litho while it was still an emerging market; what it will be capable of when it is fully established could be revolutionary.