38 ■ October 3, 2010 • GRAPH EXPO
Paradigm Shift for Commercial Printers
Service providers are embracing inkjet technology to satisfy turnaround, VDP, and environmental needs
By Jeffrey Steele A
s traditional print markets erode, commercial printers are seeking new profit cen- ters. Many are embracing color inkjet to supplant the analog printing methods formerly used. Not coincidentally, the use of color inkjet also allows them to meet several other goals, from being more environmen- tally friendly to generating less waste to speeding turnarounds.
These trends came under the micro- scope when Weymouth, MA-based InfoTrends released a report called “Inkjet in Commercial Print: A Map for the Coming Decade.” The authors were clear about directions: “Produc- tion level color inkjet today is mainly found in forms, books, direct mail, and TransPromo applications, with the most emphasis on variable printing. We believe this will serve as a stepping stone for inkjet to play an even greater role in commercial print, ultimately leading toward offset replacement.” The conviction that inkjet will grow
ever more dominant spurs no discord from LaToya Hodge, Agfa market- ing communications manager, North America. Not that many years ago, Hodge said, retailers Sears and J.C. Penney came out with biyearly giant “big book” catalogs jammed with products. But with today’s budgets
INKJET
Agfa ............................................. 844 Allen Datagraphic Systems ....... 4836 Atlantic Zeiser ........................... 4507 Bri-Lin ........................................ 4323 Buskro USA ................................ 4015 Collins Ink .................................. 4625
ColorHQ.com .............................. 2630 Color-Logic .................................. 155 Count Machinery ....................... 3856 Digital Information Ltd. ................ 204 Dixie Reproductions .................. 2566 Document Data Solutions .......... 4611 Eastman Kodak ................ 1227, 5227 EFI .............................................. 2000 Epson America ............................. 617 Fujifilm ............................... 1469, 627 Gerber Scientific .......................... 246 Graphic Systems Services ......... 2536 Hewlett-Packard ........................ 1200
shrinking and consumers being blasted by choices, marketers must be more strategic in targeting the right mes- sages to the right consumers. To do that, they need short runs, Hodge says. “Inkjet allows you to do short runs cost effectively. Over the years, the technology has gotten better and better so you’re getting better qual- ity. It’s the reason you’ll see more of it.” Another issue is that commercial printers recognize they can capture more business from existing custom- ers by expanding their portfolio of services, says EFI’s president Fred Rosenzweig.
Utilizing inkjet technology allows print customers to wait on a job lon- ger, incorporate last minute changes more efficiently, create versions of the campaign and meet increasingly swift turnaround times more expeditiously than they could using offset printing. He cites a national clothing chain that created 40 to 60-feet wide window banners on cling material that appeared at hundreds of stores. “In the past, they might have used offset equipment, but they wanted to wait on the job as long as possible, and do different versions for varying store regions,” he says. Another example centers on a sand- wich cookie known to anyone who ever craved an after-school snack, Rosen- zweig says. Once, that cookie was offered in just one version, but today
InfoPrint Solutions ....................2017 Inspectron .................................4816 INX International Ink .................2512 IT Supplies ..................................240 I-Web ..........................................440 Lake Image Systems ................4307 MagnetNotes ............................3336 MCS ..........................................4511 MGI USA ....................................3217 Mutoh America .........................3535 OCE North America ...................1217 Pitman Company ......................2611 PRISCO ........................................417 Ricoh ........................................2017 Riso ...........................................3111 Screen USA ...............................1673 Superior Paper Handling ..........4608 Think Ink ...................................5217 TKS (USA) .................................1466 Walco Systems .........................5223 Xerox .................................. 400, 600 Xpedx ........................................3200
comes in seven. Thus, shorter press runs for the packaging and labels are needed. Instead of 100,000 of the same package, 15,000 packages of each cookie version are needed. The shorter run is tailor made to color inkjet, he says. Of the 3 analog forms of printing—
offset, flexo, and screen—the last is the one most rapidly being replaced by digital inkjet printing, Rosenzweig says. Within several years, a large portion of what’s traditionally been screen-printed will be digitally printed, he predicts. “In the commercial space, a great portion of the wider-format print output will be captured by digital color inkjet printers,” he says. But don’t count on offset completely going away, interjects John Kaufman, product marketing manager, Graphic Systems Division, with Fujifilm North America Corporation. “You’ll still see offset for the extremely long runs,” he says. “But there are more jobs going through these print houses. Doing most of them on an offset press is inef- ficient, based on the time and costs of makereadies—not to mention the environmental aspects.”
Hodge also sees the green move- ment as spurring the move to inkjet. “What’s happening is we’re having more environmental restrictions, and with UV inkjet you don’t have VOCs,” she notes. “It’s just another reason the growth continues unabated. I think there are still great opportunities in print, but it will be more customized.”
Lines are blurring
Because the litho printing industry is migrating toward short-run jobs, the industry is beginning to better comprehend the benefit of adding wide-format as a revenue source. So says, Mimaki USA marketing direc- tor Steve Urmano. “In the past, it was a question of how they would price wide-format,” he notes. “In a volume sheetfed operation, they’re going for high-yield jobs. But in a short-run printing operation, the tendency is to move toward lower-print-count jobs that are highly customized and may have variable data.” Adds Mimaki’s Urmano, “That’s adding value. The total run may be much lower—in the hundreds rather than thousands or tens of thousands – but the offsetting benefit is it’s a much more customized one-on-one commu- nication with that customer.” With this trend setting the stage for
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the addition of banners, backlit posters and the like by commercial print hous- es, it’s no longer far fetched to think of such places producing wide-format poster work or flatbed work. “So the lines that were dividing sign shops and commercial printers are blurring,” Urmano says. “And in some cases, they are disappearing.”
Into the future It’s difficult to say just how far color inkjet printing can go, Urmano says. Some of the paradigm changes will take place in printed electronics like RFID tags, which are destined to proliferate and be found virtually everywhere. These types of printed electronics pieces will be printed by inkjets, Urmano says. Another trend worth noting is the utilization of new types of inks that themselves will be used as light sourc- es, and with electric stimulus will become signs. “It’s going to be a very cheap source of coating objects,” Urmano says. “Today, the objects have to be some type of flat media. But in the future, different printing systems will be developed to do three-dimensional printing. We actually showed this type of product a few years ago.” Once three-dimensional printing is in place, items can be illuminated. A good example would be safety apparel for individuals in high risk jobs. A firefighter’s uniform might also feature some type of identification code. “Much of this is taking place in label application and printing,” Urma- no “For instance, single-pass inkjet technology for coding packages to improve inventory applications has been around for quite a while. But this same kind of single print array is now being used in branding applica- tions in printing four-color labels, for instance. Because they’re starting to migrate toward water-based inks and aqueous coatings, they can be used for high quality food labels and stickers in individual store brands at big retailers like Kroger and Publix.”
The bottom line? “The ecology
movement, the desire for less waste, the goal of buying only what’s needed, the appeal of versioning and the need to respond to faster turnaround times is all leading to more digital, and taking away from offset, flexo and screen” printing,” says Rosenzweig. Just as digital took over some of the shorter run color jobs in commercial space, observes Kaufman, the next step will be inkjet’s evolution into the go-to technology for the high quality, short- run commercial jobs. “Offset will still be around for those
extremely long runs, and toner-based products will still be out there and take up a part of the business,” he says. “But look out, inkjet’s coming.” Adds Urmano: “I just think we’re going to stay busy.”
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