A decade ago, digital print was a niche product, but, as Philip Chadwick finds, it has grown into a mainstream offering, capable of competing with litho.
Don't tangle with bad buys
There are plenty of businesses to be picked up cheaply at the moment, but when dealing with a failed firm, caveat emptor, warns Philip Chadwick
Offset versus litho - harnessing the power of rival processes
Canny printers will build their futures on a combination of digital and litho, says Tim Sheahan
Is digital packing a punch?
Despite lingering concerns over speed, price and spot colours,many believe digital has potential for the packaging sector, says Philip Chadwick
Knowledge is power
As marketing clients look to target their mailings with increasing accuracy, getting into data management can open up a new world of business possibilities for the astute print company
Knowledge is power
As marketing clients look to target their mailings with increasing accuracy, getting into data management can open up a new world of business possibilities for the astute print company
Digital faces clean-up test
Two of the hottest topics in the industry at the moment are the environment and digital printing. The issue of the de-inkability of digital print is the crossroads where the two meet. Improving print's environmental credentials is a crucial step towards ensuring its place in the media mix, but so is...
Wider remit adds a new dimension
Total Print! Expo's organisers promise the show will be bigger and better than any previous London print show. Barney Cox checks out what's on offer and examines if it can live up to the hype.
The digital dust-up
Ever since the introduction of digital presses, debate has raged over digital and offset print and which work each technology is best suited to. With developments in inkjet printing, which showed great leaps forward at Drupa 2008, the technological landscape is becoming even more complicated.
Where less equals more
The on-demand book market looks set for massive growth. Karen Charlesworth investigates the kit that might meet future demand.
A glimpse at the future of inkjet
Barney Cox invites you to join him in a game of inkjet Top Trumps as he reviews the latest innovations in this rapidly evolving sector that were on show at Drupa exhibition halls.
Making the most of now
Billed as the inkjet Drupa, the 2008 show delivered some stunning advances in digital kit, not always from expected quarters. Jo Francis looks at some of the unsung stars of the new digital world,
Tie web to work and growth is automatic
Have you heard the one about the rise of automation in printing, asks Neil Parr-Davies, digital services manager at Cambrian Printers. In the not-too-distant future, he says, the only handlers manning a press will be a man and a dog: The man is there to feed the dog, and the dog is there to bite the...
Enjoy the advantages of integration
To its critics, direct mail does exactly what it says on the tin - it lands on the doormat and goes direct to the bin. And its indiscriminate methods have made it an easy target. Who can forget David Miliband, former minister for the environment, and his famous declaration of war on junk mail? This...
Kit makers find a new cash cow
If there was any doubt, the ongoing consolidation of large-format digital inkjet suppliers is a sure sign of a sector attaining maturity. But while there are fewer options for sourcing hardware, there’s no indication that differentiation is going the same route.
Applications with more personality
Personalised print to date has been about brands communicating with their customers as a way to increase the appreciation of, and spending with, the brand. It has been produced on behalf of a business that is trying to engage with a customer or prospect.
From print to delivery
Over recent years, there has been a push from printers to offer a ‘one-stop shop’ solution to their customers, from print through to finishing. But one of the latest pushes, which could soon become the norm, is to offer a mailing solution as well.
How to sell digital print
There is a huge difference between selling offset and selling digital and it still presents tricky challenges to sales staff, managing directors and balance sheets. As a result, UK printers who install digital presses are having to gear up quickly to grasp the challenges of selling digital: because...
Cutting-edge kit on display
From personalisation software to high-speed presses and finishing solutions, this year’s show boasts the biggest and best selection of the latest digital printing equipment
Get the most from digital and DPW
Selling digital print is still regarded by some in the industry as being a bit of a black art.
At the flick of a switch
Digital is posing a threat to conventional offset print. The quality of digital print has improved dramatically in recent years, but digital offers much more than simply short runs and high speeds.
Targeting the customer direct
When supermarket giant Sainsbury’s launched a direct mail campaign in 2005 using new technology that married computer software with digital printing presses, it had high hopes.
Screen shares centre stage
Gradually and quietly over the past handful of years, printers in the large-format and POS sectors have stopped calling themselves screen process printers. The savvy operators are now calling themselves large-format producers, display suppliers, POS and even retail specialists.
Breaking News
When travelling overseas, we accept the fact that we will fall behind on news from home. If you are somewhere relatively close to the UK, in France for example, then you can often pick up that day’s newspaper in the afternoon, but anywhere further afield and you will be reading yesterday’s news.
Inkjet challenge to mainstream print
Over the last twenty years, printers have become well-acquainted with the idea that they must adopt new technology to survive. Desktop publishing, automatic plate changing, CTP systems and JDF have all played significant roles in printers’ struggle for a competitive advantage.
