10

10 Comparison of Printing and
Production Technologies
for Print Media
© H a n d b o o k o f P r i n t M e d i a, H . K i p p h a n ( I S B N 3 - 5 4 0 - 6 7 3 2 6 - 1 )
962
Contents Chapter 10
Comparison of Printing and

Production Technologies for
Print Media
10.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 963 10.5 Performance Criteria of Printing Systems
and Trends in Print Media Production . . . . 975
10.2 Overview of Methods and Technologies 10.5.1 Quality and Productivity/Run Length . . . . . 975
for the Production of Print Media . . . . . . . . 965 10.5.2 Productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 976
10.5.3 Production Costs per Printed Page . . . . . . . . 976
10.3 Production Methods and Strategies . . . . . . 969 10.5.4 Trends in Print Media Production . . . . . . . . 978
10.4 Criteria for the Selection of Printing

Technologies and Production Methods . . . . 973
963
10.1 Introduction
Figure 10.1-1 shows a summary of the production flow can be achieved to a greater or a lesser extent via
for the production of print media and in particular the data.
interaction between prepress, printing (press), and fin- In chapter 3, both analog (conventional) and digital
ishing (postpress). The individual process steps are prepress is dealt with, as well as common features and
linked by the flow of materials and data. The logistics potential for further development with a view to in-
within the production flow for the provision of mate- creasing digital integration.
rials and data are of special importance. An indepth description of the various printing tech-
In accordance with the diagram shown in figure nologies that produce the entire print run length with
10.1-1, the different technologies, equipment, and the same print image based on a permanent image
materials are explained in detail in the previous carrier is given in chapter 2. Non-impact printing
chapters. In particular, technological possibilities technologies, which require no master and can there-
with different levels of digital integration of produc- fore produce a print content that differs from print
tion equipment and production flow are discussed, to print, are described mainly in section 4.5 and
that is, the linking of the individual production steps chapter 5.
Database
Printed
Consumer, end customer
product
Information Sources
Plate, Printed
Originals etc. sheet
Customer, Printing Finishing
Agency, Prepress process Distributor
(postpress)
Publisher (press)
Data Data Data Data
Film, plate, etc. Paper, ink, etc. Material, etc.
Production flow
Warehouse
Consumables
Supplier
Fig. 10.1-1 Production flow for producing print media
964 10 Comparison of Printing and Production Technologies for Print Media
The many and diverse possibilities and equipment The following chapters give an overview, while fur-
for finishing are explained in chapter 7. ther details and additional information are contained
The flow of data and materials and the logistics in in the aforementioned chapters. Comparisons are car-
the individual areas for the production of print me- ried out, positionings worked out, and trend statements
dia and in the company as a whole are described in summarized.
chapter 8.
Based on the different printing technologies and
production methods, strategies for the production of
print media are discussed in chapter 9.
965
10.2 Overview of Methods and Technologies

for the Production of Print Media
The printing process is of central importance in the pro- Conventional printing technologies using a master
duction flow for the production of printed products. and non-impact printing technologies requiring no mas-
Figure 10.2-1 shows a general overview of the printing ter are shown together with their different technolo-
technologies. gies. In particular, possibilities for the configuration of
Printing Technologies
Hybrid Printing System

e.g., Electrophotography e.g., Ink Jet
e.g., Offset e.g., Flexographic printing
Conventional Printing Technologies Non-Impact Printing Technologies

(with master) (masterless)
e.g., Offset e.g., Ink Jet
Screen Letterpress Electro- Thermo-

Lithography Gravure Ionography Magnetography Ink jet Photography
Printing (Relief printing) photography graphy
“X”-Graphy
Letter- Flexo- Waterless Continuous Drop on
Offset
press graphy Offset Demand
Ink/toner
Sublimation Transfer
Ink Powder Liquid Magnetic Liquid Hot-melt Color donor Color

(liquid) toner toner toner ink ink (ribbon/foil) sensitive
coating
Production flow Sheet or Web

(substrate)
Originals Prepress Press Postpress Printed product

(analog and digital)
Fig. 10.2-1 Overview of printing technologies (and their use for the set-up of hybrid printing systems)
hybrid printing systems were included in this overview.

Hybrid printing systems, combining different printing Page or
Originals sheet to be
technologies in one printing system, are capable of pro- (layout draft) printed
ducing special printed products while maintaining a
high level of economic efficiency and productivity (see
chap. 6). Image Text Graphics
Printing takes place on sheet or web material as shown
in figure 10.2-1. The question of whether web-fed or
sheet-fed printing systems are to be used essentially de-
pends on the run length. Sheet-fed printing systems are Scanning
generally characterized by a higher degree of format
flexibility, web-fed systems by a higher productivity.
The evolutionary development in the graphic arts in- Image processing Text processing Design
dustry, in printing companies, and in publishing hous-
es was essentially determined by the digitization in all
stages of the production process.
Color separation
In particular in prepress, the change from analog to
digital technology has been of outstanding importance
and resulted in a considerably changed mode of oper-
ation. The digitization of prepress, which made it possi-
Page layout
ble to describe the entire print job with text, graphics,
and single- or multicolor images (fig. 10.2-2) com-
pletely digitally, was the driving force and the basis for Print sheet
the development of new productive equipment. imposition
Digital
Figure 10.2-3 shows what is called computer to ... tech- description of
nologies. Based on the digitally defined/described print the entire page
job, the production process for the production of the Data file (or sheet)
printed products can be digitized to various extents, (e.g., PostScript format)
and that the number of production stages can be
reduced. It ranges from computer to film to comput-
er to plate and, finally, to computer to press systems, Raster Image Processor and Printing System
which enable production of the printed product di-
rectly upon acceptance of data in the press without a Fig. 10.2-2 Digital prepress
separate prepress stage for film or plate making. These
computer to ... technologies are described in detail in
chapter 4.
Print media are being produced to an increasing ex-
tent by what is called digital printing. Figure 10.2-4 technical equipment, possibilities available to coop-
again shows the various possibilities, methods, com- erating companies, and associated production steps,
ponents, and systems for digital printing. Depending such as prepress or postpress. What is essential is that,
on the technology used, there is a difference in the levels when using the technical possibilities and the modu-
of integration of digital techniques in production. lar system structure of production equipment, the in-
What they all have in common is that the printed prod- creasing standardization of materials, data, and pro-
uct is produced by equipment that can be controlled ductive equipment enables continuous expansion of
and operated on the basis of the complete digitally de- companies as digital integration for the production of
scribed print job. print media grows. System solutions and flexible pro-
Which systems are used for digital printing depends duction concepts are increasingly becoming the state
on the company’s order structure as well as on its of the art.
10.2 Overview of Methods and Technologies for the Production of Print Media 967
Data file Digital full page/sheet

Specifications for (e.g., PostScript format) (image, graphics and text, multicolor)
the output device
RIP Raster Image Processor

Digital proof Bitmap
Computer to Film Computer to Plate Computer to Press
Direct Imaging Computer to Print

(with master) (masterless)
Film
imaging
Once
Films imageable Re-imageable
master master
Plate
Platemaking
imaging
Plate Imaging
Plates Plates Surface imaging Imaging directly
imaging (print by print)
with ink
Inking Inking (print by print)
Printing Printing
Printing Printing
Printed Sheet
Fig. 10.2-3 Computer to ... technologies
Conventional printing technologies

(“mechanical” printing)
With master,
i.e., permanent, fixed image
e.g., Offset
Convent. Printing
Digital print job/sheet RIP C to Film plate- press
(image, graphics making
and text, multicolor) e.g., Offset, Gravure
C to Plate Printing Print Sheet
RIP (C to Cylinder) (full page)
press
Data file Digital e.g., Offset
Prepress (e.g., Printing C to Press/ Finishing Printed
PostScript (processes, RIP product
Direct imaging
format) systems)
RIP C to Press/
Direct imaging
Electronic printing processes with re-imageable
(NIP technologies) master
Without permanent master, e.g., Electro-
i.e., no fixed, stored image photography
Imaging Inking Printing
Imaging &
RIP C to Print Printing
Inking
e.g., “X”-Graphy
Inking direct
onto paper
e.g., Ink jet
Fig. 10.2-4 Digital printing: Possibilities, components and systems
969
10.3 Production Methods and Strategies
Figure 10.3-1 shows the production flow for the produc- pact printing technologies enables the production of
tion of print media in greater detail, to complement fig- print media without master.
ure 10.1-1 corresponding to section 8.2. The functional The data of the digitally described print job can also
blocks in figure 10.3-1 correspond to production steps be used to control production steps in off-line finishing
that can be combined by digitization to an ever in- for increased economic efficiency and quality. In the
creasing extent. case of computer to print systems, finishing can be in-
As explained before, digitization has made it pos- tegrated relatively easily (dry ink on the sheet, variable
sible, particularly in prepress, for typesetting produc- image, low production speed) so that the complete pro-
tion, image capture and processing, as well as graphics duction of a printed product (e.g., a brochure of sev-
preparation and page or sheet assembly to be per- eral pages) can be performed in-line.
formed completely digitally, while further processing is The overview in figure 10.3-2 shows that all types of
performed by the various computer to ... technologies equipment in the entire workflow can be controlled and
shown in figure 10.2-3. operated on the basis of the digitally described print job
In the printing section, the production steps of plate as per figure 10.2-2. In the prepress stage, for example,
making and printing are being brought together more digital proof and computer to film systems are operated
and more by digitization using computer to plate and using the same data file. In the prepress department or
direct imaging technologies. In particular the use of in the press room computer to plate systems are also used
computer to print systems that are based on non-im- for the production of plates for sheet-fed or web-fed
Production flow Prepress Press Postpress
Typesetting
Computer to Plate
Image capture/ Page assembly Sheet Plate Printing Print Finishing

processing (layout) assembly imaging plate
Print Printed
job Graphics product
order design
Digital prepress Data file Computer to Press/ Production system

Direct Imaging system for print media
(masterless:
Computer to Print)
Fig. 10.3-1 Workflow (production flow) for the production of print media
Press
Computer
Data file Direct imaging
Computer to Print
to Film
Comp.
Plate to Press
6. 11 10 7
Digital Proof Data file 2 15 14 3 Presetting:

– Ink zones
– Format
Computer to Plate – Register Measuring and
(Print
sheet) marks control systems
– Control
Imposition strips
Data file, –…
CIP3/PPF
(Print file
page) Prepress Interface
Cutting Cutter
Layout data
Folding Folder Printed
Text Data file data product
(digitally described print job)
Graphics Binding Binder
data
Image
Prepress Postpress
Fig. 10.3-2 Digital process control and networking different means of production within the digital workflow
presses. Using the same data file, the computer to Figure 10.3-4 shows different production methods and
press/direct imaging system or computer to print systems distribution options for print media. The digitization of
can be operated via suitable raster image processors. prepress and the possibility of describing the print job
For presetting presses and finishing systems, relevant completely digitally has created new methods and
items of information can be filtered out of the data of strategies for distributed production of print media. It
the print job via an appropriate prepress interface and is now possible to print short run jobs at different loca-
then used for automatically performing fast, precise, tions close to customers both simply and cost-effective-
and job-specific presetting on production equipment. ly. Centralized printing of the entire print run length,
Figure 10.3-3 again shows in compact form how pro- which is then transported to the different distribution
duction systems for print media can be set up on the locations, is still of great economic importance. How-
basis of the structure shown in figure 10.1-1 using avail- ever, depending on the product and the location, com-
able technologies with prepress, press, and postpress panies employ both the “print and distribute” and the
integrated in one single system. How systems of this “distribute and print” production strategies.
type operate can briefly be described as “data in, prod- In particular for distributed printing, figure 10.3-4
uct out.” shows how production can be performed at various lo-
10.3 Production Methods and Strategies 971
Database
Production system
for print media
Printed
product
Consumer, end customer

Information sources
Plate, Printed
Originals etc. sheet
Customer, Printing Finishing
Agency, Prepress process Distributor
(postpress)
Publisher (press)
Data Data Data Data
Film, plate etc. Paper, ink etc. Material etc.
Warehouse
Consumables
Data in Supplier Product out
Fig. 10.3-3 Production systems for print media (“data in, product out“)
cal printing companies and organizations on the basis In the case of centralized print production, the print-
of digital job data and with different levels of digital in- ing section of the company can, of course, be equipped
tegration of the equipment. The possibilities range from in accordance with the variants for machinery equip-
digital prepress to digital film or plate production and ment as shown in figure 10.3-4b. As mentioned above,
conventional printing up to “book on demand” pro- in many companies both production methods – cen-
duction, where one single book can be produced from tralized and distributed – are used depending on cus-
the first through to the last page by means of non-im- tomers and products.
pact printing technologies with data transferred via
the network.
a Centralized print production

“print and distribute”
Different locations
Printed D1
Printer/Publisher
Customer/consumer
Print job product Distributors
D2
Distributor Transpor-
Prepress Printing Finishing Warehouse
(D) tation
(content, D3
Database by road
layout, etc.) Digital job by railway
by air D4
Centralized job preparation and production
b Distributed printing (decentralized) Local printing companies

“distribute and print”
Digital Conv.
Digital job Data prepress printing Finishing Location # 1
Print job C to film D1
Warehouse
C to plate
Customer/consumer
Digital Database Transpor-
Distributor Finishing
prepress tation Direct Imaging Location # 2
Network (C to press)
Warehouse D2
Centralized job preparation Satellite
Data carrier NIP (C to print) Finishing Location # 3
& mail
Warehouse D3
Premedia/publisher
“Book on demand”/NIP
(Book store)
Fig. 10.3-4 Production methods and strategies with distribution channels for print media.
a Print and distribute;
b Distribute and print
973
10.4 Criteria for the Selection of Printing Technologies

and Production Methods
The various printing technologies and production pos- The production system itself must be critically re-
sibilities complement rather than compete with each viewed as regards productivity and reliability and meet
other. The selection of specific technologies depends, the specified requirements (particular caution must be
among other factors, on the printed product and the employed when making decisions about excess dimen-
markets, the locations and the qualification of the op- sioning/reserve, measured against the requirements of
erating staff, as well as on the infrastructure of the com- the current planning).
pany’s operations. Quality and costs are determined by the consumables
Figure 10.4-1 shows some of the criteria and subject and services required to operate a production system or
areas that must be taken into account if decisions about a system within the process chain for the production of
investments in new productive equipment and new print media.
production methods are to be made. Also of special importance are the demands placed
In figure 10.4-2, decision criteria and detailed ques- by the production system on the qualification of the op-
tions are listed that need to be answered in order to erating staff as well as an assessment of the acceptance
make decisions about investments into new equipment of necessary operating routines and working tech-
and production methods. niques required by the system from the operator.
The main factors to be taken into consideration are The level to which new equipment can be integrated
the type of print jobs to be processed, the contractor/cus- into the printing company’s already existing equip-
tomer, and the form in which the order/print job is re- ment and its potential for expansion is also important.
ceived. The actual technology – including all its details –
As regards the printed product, the question of costs, which is integrated into the production system for per-
as well as of deadlines and quality, is particularly im- forming its task is of minor importance for decision-
portant. making. The realised technology within the system
Fig. 10.4-1
Criteria for strategic decisions and subject What kind of
areas concerning investments in production technology? Which markets,
equipment and production methods (printing process, prepress, which products?
finishing)
What level of Which locations?

automation?
Product Selection Training Optimal Financing Investment

selection of supplier employees timing concept decision
Fig. 10.4-2
Criteria and questions concerning invest- Production system for print media
ment decisions for equipment and produc-
• Reliability? Operator
tion systems within a printing company
• Productivity? • Qualification?
Contractor/
• Technology? Customer
Customer
Print job Printed product

• Customer? • Costs per printed page?
• Job specification? • Profit?
– Data (analog, digital)? Consumables • Customer satisfaction?
– Substrate? • Costs? – On-time delivery?
– Required quality? • Quality? – Quality of the printed product?
– Run length? • Environmental factors?
– Delivery time? • Extent of service?
Printing company
must result in a fulfillment of the requirements placed tions, and that the system can be operated so that the
on the system, in particular as regards the costs per print printed products and fulfillment of the specifications
page, reliability of the system, productivity, and quality as required by the customer are met in terms of costs,
of the printed product. The technology must guaran- quality, and deadlines, while maintaining economical-
tee that the system is optimally integrated into opera- ly successful operations.
975
10.5 Performance Criteria of Printing Systems

and Trends in Print Media Production
10.5.1 Quality and Productivity/Run Length a master. These are also preferred, however, on account
of their economic efficiency in long run lengths. The
The portfolio as in figure 10.5-1 shows a positioning of corresponding printing technologies and production
printing technologies and corresponding printing sys- systems for gravure, web-fed and sheet-fed offset print-
tems for multicolor printing. Positioning is done in ing are described in detail in the previous chapters
terms of print quality and run length. (principally in secs. 2.1.6 and 2.2.2). Because of their
It can clearly be seen that maximum print quality is special applications and quality specification, flexo
achieved using conventional printing technologies with printing and screen printing are not included in this
NexPress 2100
(Heidelberg/Kodak)
New NIP system?
Dig.
Proof
Approval ? C to Press/DI
high
(in total for color, image, graphics and text)
(Kodak) ? QM DI 46-4/SM 74 DI Sheet-fed Web-fed Gravure

DCP 9500 (Heidelberg) Offset Offset
(Kodak) Dominant 745C DI
IRIS (Scitex)
etc. C to Print (Adast) etc.
(Production) ?
Print quality
E-Print 1000 74 Karat (KBA/Scitex)

medium
(Indigo) TruePress (Screen)

DCP (Xeikon) DICOweb (MAN Roland)
etc.
ADOPT (Goss)?
CLC 1000 (Canon) MD 300 (Mitsubishi)?
C to Print DocuColor 40 (Xerox)
(Office) DCP (Scitex)?
etc. DocuTech 6180 (Xerox)
Digimaster 9110 Modell 200 (Elcorsy)?
(Heidelberg) 3125C (Océ)?
low
VersaMark (Scitex)
Demandstream 4000
(Océ) etc. Single-color
(high quality)
1 10 100 1000 10 000 100 000 1 000 000

Short run color printing
Run length (prints per job)
Key: Announcements/market launch; ? Date for market launch?; further systems?
Fig. 10.5-1
Positioning of printing processes and technologies for multicolor printing, with product examples and product announcements (selection,
status: 1999)
description. Explanations of the application can be portance. Depending on the length of run, the print-
found in sections 2.3.3 and 2.4.3. ing speed is an essential factor. Printing speed and the
Based on computer to press/direct imaging technolo- makeready time required for preparing the press for a
gies (C to Press/DI), printing systems using a master print job must be assessed together with the length of
have been developed that are generally used for rela- run.
tively short run length demanding high quality. The The printing speed alone is not decisive for the pro-
corresponding systems are described in section 4.4. ductivity of a printing system. The makeready time re-
Printing systems based on non-impact printing tech- quired for a job change must also be taken into account.
nologies (C to Print) that do not need a master are suit- In addition, the extent to which the press is available,
able for very short run length. For process-inherent rea- that is, how long it can be used for production, is im-
sons, however, the quality level attained is low in com- portant. The rate of utilization based on the order situ-
parison with printing systems using a master, as shown ation and working method must also be taken into ac-
in fig. 10.5-1. The digital printing systems developed dur- count.
ing the last few years, which are based on non-impact This means that an evaluation of the productivity of
printing technologies, are designed for higher produc- different printing systems is a complex process that will
tivity than systems for office or DTP applications (see not be dealt with in this chapter (see also sec. 9.1.2.3).
sec. 4.5). They enable economical and fast (on demand, Figure 10.5-2 is a comparison, only by way of example,
just in time) production in what is known as “short run between printing systems for digital multicolor print-
color printing”. The print quality of these systems is good ing on the basis of non-impact printing technologies
and meets the requirements of numerous applications/ and printing systems using a master such as the direct
print products, yet does not equal the quality of meth- imaging system and the conventional sheet-fed offset
ods requiring a master, in particular the high-level qual- printing press. (In the case of the conventional sheet-
ity achieved by offset printing. As indicated in figure fed offset press, it was assumed that the masters had al-
10.5-1, it can be expected that, by using innovative, im- ready been produced off-line and could be mounted
proved non-impact printing systems of high productiv- directly in the printing units, while imaging of the mas-
ity, further improvements of the print quality will be ters is included in the makeready time in the case of the
achieved as well. direct imaging systems.)
A very high print quality can also be achieved with It is evident in figure 10.5-2 that printing systems us-
non-impact printing technologies, for instance, with ing a master have longer makeready times than non-
systems for digital proofing, mostly in connection with impact based printing systems, yet they produce the job
special substrates. Explanations and examples of sys- in a shorter time even with a relatively short run length
tems are given in sections 3.2.11, 5.5 and 5.6. due to their considerably higher production speed.
According to the explanations in the previous chap- NIP-based computer to print systems have, of course,
ters regarding new system concepts and product an- the advantage that they can print a different content
nouncements, the illustration in figure 10.5-1 contains from print sheet to print sheet, that is, that a run length
indications concerning the positioning of the an- of “one” is possible in a cost-effective and customer-
nounced systems as regards quality and length of run, specific manner.
in particular for additional computer to press/direct
imaging and computer to press systems. There is also
information with which new developments of multi- 10.5.3 Production Costs per Printed Page
color printing systems can be expected for new systems,
based on existing high-speed systems for single-color By way of an example, figure 10.5-3 shows the costs per
printing. Relevant information is given in chapters 5 print page as a function of the run length for different
(NIP Technologies) and 6 (Hybrid Printing Systems). printing technologies and printing systems. The costs
include consumables, such as ink and paper, as well as
financing and depreciation costs for the printing sys-
10.5.2 Productivity tem, distribution and administration costs, cost of of-
fice and workshop space, and the costs for operating
As shown in the diagram in figure 10.4-2, the produc- staff, service, and maintenance. The sum of these costs,
tivity of a system and its reliability are of special im- which is known as total cost of ownership (TCO), is de-
10.5 Performance Criteria of Printing Systems and Trends in Print Media Production 977
CLC 900 (Canon) CLC 1000 (Canon) E-Print 1000 (Indigo) NexPress 2100
100 (3.5 A3 pm) (15.5 A3 pm ) (16.7 A3 pm) (Heidelberg/Kodak)
(35 A3 pm)
90 DCP/32D (Xeikon)
(17.5 A3 pm, on
80 each side of a
Time needed for producing a job (in minutes)
web/simultan.)
70 DocuColor 40 (Xerox)
(20 A3 pm)
60
50 Direct imaging: QM DI 46-4 (Heidelberg)

(142 A3 pm, max. 167 A3 pm)
40
30
Sheet-fed offset: SM 52 (Heidelberg)
20 (216 A3 pm, max. 250 A3 pm)
10
0
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Run length
(number of prints per job; A3 format, printed on both sides, in 4 colors)
Key: (...) printing speed: A3 pages per minute
Fig. 10.5-2
Comparison production times (A3 format, multicolor, printed on both sides) when using different printing systems (selection, status: 1999)
cisive for the selection of a printing system, and not systems and conventional multicolor sheet-fed offset
merely the necessary expenses for consumables or the presses results in a break-even point of approximately
initial cost of the printing system itself. 5000 prints per job, in particular due to the higher ini-
Only trends/tendencies and relations are shown in tial cost. As expected, the use of web-fed offset printing
the illustration in figure 10.5-3. Absolute costs will systems results in the lowest production costs with a run
change with the systems’ improvements and the con- length of more than about 30000 prints per job.
sumables required.
The break-even points in the comparison between dif- Summary/Conclusions
ferent printing systems, as shown in figure 10.5-3, are a The aforementioned comparison criteria of printing
relatively good indication of when which system will be quality and run length, printing speed and run length,
of advantage in terms of costs, that is, how long the run and total cost of ownership and run length show, by way
should be to produce at minimal costs. As a rough of example and in terms of trends, where the strong
guideline, it can be said that non-impact printing systems points of the different printing technologies lie and
with a relatively high productivity are more cost-effi- where they are therefore mainly used.
cient in production up to a run length of about 350 than It is essential to take into account that the use of dif-
computer to press/direct imaging systems (however, with ferent printing technologies and printing systems de-
a lower quality as explained in fig. 10.5-1). A compari- pends on the company’s order structure. However, it is
son between computer to press/direct imaging printing also of strategic importance and essential for safe-
5
(A3 format, 4 colors, 15% area coverage per color, both sides)
Sheet-fed Offset (conventional)

SM 52
4
Computer to Press/DI
(Direct Imaging) Web-fed Offset
M-600
QM DI 46-4
Cost units per sheet
3
M-3000
E-Print 1000
Computer
2 to Print DCP/32D
1 DocuColor 40,
CLC 1000, etc.
0
20 40 80
10 100 1000 10 000 100 000 1 Mio
Run length (prints per job)
Fig. 10.5-3
Comparison of the total cost of ownership (TCO) for multicolor printing (A3 format, printed on both sides), using different printing tech-
nologies and selected printing systems (status: 1999, based on information from various manufacturers, unconfirmed)
guarding a company’s future for an adequate level of ferent criteria for evaluation, it was determined that all
flexibility to exist as regards the production possibilities. printing technologies, implemented as state-of-the-art
This leads to a mixed machinery pool, that is, the in- printing systems, have strong points in the production
stallation of different printing technologies and print- of specific printed products. The main printing tech-
ing systems and the use of hybrid technologies for spe- nologies, therefore, have corresponding shares in the
cial printed products. market, and it is of interest to estimate how their use
It is true that printing companies will, in the future, for the production of printed products will develop in
produce more and more on the basis of digital data and the future.
with an increasing level of digital integration in the As already explained in sections 1.1.4 and 1.1.5, the de-
workflow, but they will also have to deal with mixed mand for printed products is also set to increase signifi-
order specifications of their customers, that is, analog cantly in the long term.The question is which of the vari-
and digital print jobs will have to be processed, and pre- ous printing technologies will be used for production
press will have to be flexible as regards systems and and what will their respective shares in the market be.
qualification of the staff. Figure 10.5-4 shows an estimate of the extent to
which the different printing technologies are used for
the production of print media vs. the value of the print-
10.5.4 Trends in Print Media Production ed products sold to the end user (i.e., not the value of
investments in machinery).
Based on the previous statements and comparisons of It can be seen that gravure printing has a constant
printing technologies and printing systems using dif- market share due to its high printing quality. However
10.5 Performance Criteria of Printing Systems and Trends in Print Media Production 979
Fig. 10.5-4
Proportion of the use of various printing Share of turnover in the
technologies, based on the value of printed print media market [%]
products sold (share of turnover in the print 100
media market; national and international Gravure 15%
estimates and analyses, status: 1999) 80
Offset Printing (incl. digital workflow, computer
60 to plate, computer to press/direct imaging) 40%
NIP Technology
(computer to print,
40 masterless)
20%?
20
Letterpress and Flexography 25%
0
1970 74 78 82 86 90 94 98 2002 2006 2010 2014 Time
this share is comparatively low since this method is Offset will remain the dominant production method,
only economical with very long print runs due to the and this will be connected with an increasing digitiza-
high costs for producing the gravure cylinders. For a tion of the workflow and a spread of the computer to
long time, offset printing experienced an increasing press/direct imaging technology.
share in the market at the expense of letterpress print- It should be noted that, as shown in figure 10.5-4,
ing. This was, in particular, a result of cost-effective there will be a relative change in the proportional dis-
platemaking, increased use of automation technology, tribution of the individual printing technologies but
a considerable reduction of makeready times, and with a decline in offset printing. However, due to the
printing at maximum quality level. clearly increasing demand for print media the absolute
Due to developments made in flexo printing, which figure for offset printing will rise.
led to a distinct increase in printing quality, and with
the growing use of flexo printing, for instance, in pack- As already explained in section 1.1.5 (see fig. 1.1-8),
age printing, letterpress printing saw a slight increase. electronic media will show a higher growth rate than
Offset printing, in particular in the field of sheet-fed print media but the demand for print media will sig-
printing, is losing market shares to printing systems nificantly increase for a long time into the future. This
based on non-impact printing technologies and flexo will result in additional innovations in the setup of
printing. The spread of the NIP technologies results printing systems and in the provision of production
from their advantages when printing short or very concepts and solutions for economical production
short print run lengths and the possibility of new pro- close to the customer and at the required quality.
duction strategies, such as “print on demand,” “book Chapter 12 gives a comparison of the distribution
on demand,” and personalization, as well as improve- and use of print media and electronic media.
ments in printing quality and productivity.

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10 Comparison of Printing and

Comparison of Printing and

10.4 Criteria for the Selection of Printing

Fig. 10.1-1 Production flow for producing print media

10.2 Overview of Methods and Technologies

Hybrid Printing System

Conventional Printing Technologies Non-Impact Printing Technologies

Screen Letterpress Electro- Thermo-

Ink Powder Liquid Magnetic Liquid Hot-melt Color donor Color

Production flow Sheet or Web

Originals Prepress Press Postpress Printed product

hybrid printing systems were included in this overview.

Data file Digital full page/sheet

RIP Raster Image Processor

Computer to Film Computer to Plate Computer to Press

Direct Imaging Computer to Print

Fig. 10.2-3 Computer to ... technologies

Conventional printing technologies

Imaging Inking Printing

Fig. 10.2-4 Digital printing: Possibilities, components and systems

10.3 Production Methods and Strategies

Production flow Prepress Press Postpress

Image capture/ Page assembly Sheet Plate Printing Print Finishing

Digital prepress Data file Computer to Press/ Production system

Digital Proof Data file 2 15 14 3 Presetting:

Consumer, end customer

a Centralized print production

b Distributed printing (decentralized) Local printing companies

10.4 Criteria for the Selection of Printing Technologies

What level of Which locations?

Product Selection Training Optimal Financing Investment

Print job Printed product

10.5 Performance Criteria of Printing Systems

(Kodak) ? QM DI 46-4/SM 74 DI Sheet-fed Web-fed Gravure

E-Print 1000 74 Karat (KBA/Scitex)

(Indigo) TruePress (Screen)

1 10 100 1000 10 000 100 000 1 000 000

50 Direct imaging: QM DI 46-4 (Heidelberg)

Sheet-fed Offset (conventional)

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