IntroDP II

Introduction to Digital Print
Second edition
Dr Sean Smyth
Published by
Pira International Ltd
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Surrey kt22 7ru
UK
T +44 (0) 1372 802080

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In association with
Take your business to new levels with collateral-on-demand
End-to-end HP Indigo
digital print solutions
It’s time to print

As a commercial printer, you know that today’s Specially developed HP Indigo Printing Paper includes
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in some cases customised with personalised or uncoated and speciality substrates.
versioned content.
HP partners provide end-to-end solutions
The new market demands have prompted the growth of
To allow your customers to submit files and print orders
Web-to-print services which are destined to have a
seamlessly over the Web, HP Indigo digital presses
huge, positive impact on the printers’ gross margins.
support the industry’s best of breed Web-to-print
Through an easy, online interface, your customers application providers, including Printable Technologies,
use approved templates for assembling and ordering TripleArc (in EU), TechnoDesign and PressSense*.
print-on-demand materials. Produced on a "just-in-time"
HP also completes the solution by supporting innovative
basis, it meets their smaller quantity needs, as well as
variable data printing partners, such as Datalogics,
custom messaging requirements and tight schedule
DirectSmile and GMC*, as well as finishing solutions
demands.
providers, including the Duplo Production Digital Colour
(PDC) booklet maker, the Duplo DC-645 cutter, and
Take command – with
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collateral-on-demand from HP
At the core of the HP end-to-end solution is our exclusive
offset look and feel. Enabled by HP ElectroInk liquid ink,
it’s the only digital print technology that matches and
often exceeds the quality of offset printing.
HP Indigo digital presses also offer the best colour
offering for printed collateral with up to 7-colour printing
processes, expanded gamut, and easier-to-match
PANTONE® colours to meet strict corporate brand colour
requirements.
HP Indigo digital presses – the engines Committed to the total customer
of growth experience
The HP Indigo family of digital presses includes models HP’s principle of enhancing “Total Customer
to meet the size and scope of any commercial print Experience” includes the following:
operation:
Full setup and maintenance services. Encompasses site
HP Indigo press 1050. This entry level offering features preparation, workflow setup, on-site field service, fast
up to 6-colour printing and speeds up to 2,000 4- parts delivery and hotline help desks.
colour or 8,000 single-colour A4 images per hour
Instant support/remote diagnostics. The HP Service
(two-up).
Support Centre is automatically alerted when a problem
HP Indigo press 3050. This high-performance, requires remote troubleshooting. Available for HP
affordable solution delivers up to 7-colour printing, high Indigo presses 1050, 3050 and 5000.
definition images and outstanding substrate selection.
World class training. Ranges from basic to advanced
Throughput reaches 4,000 4-colour A4 single sided
levels, covering prepress, maintenance and
images per hour (two-up) or 16,000 single-colour A4
troubleshooting.
images per hour (two-up).
HP Financial Services. A range of leasing and financing
HP Indigo press 5000. An ideal solution for commercial
options enables customers to acquire the technology
printers who seek an affordable, 7-colour digital press
they need – from equipment acquisition through its
with productive, continuous printing performance.
entire lifecycle.
Includes built-in workflow manager and Web
connectivity. Runs up to 4,000, 4-colour, A4 images per My HP Indigo. HP’s secure online portal features vital
hour (two-up), or up to 8,000, 2-colour or single colour, tools, training and development materials.
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HP – a global brand and a trusted
HP Indigo press w3200. The industry's fastest and most
productive 7-colour, web-fed production press – prints partner
high quality, 8,000 4-colour, A4 images per hour HP innovation – plus a commitment to maintaining the
(two-up), and allows for near-line or in-line finishing. industry's lowest total cost of ownership – helps you
HP Production Flow. A high performance workflow transform your business. Through higher value services,
management system and RIP. Uses JDF job ticketing to such as photo-related services, as well as personalised
automate prepress, printing and processes; accepts direct mail, collateral-on-demand and versioned
Postscript and PDF files, as well as personalised or manuals, you can establish a leading position in the
variable data files. expanding world of digital printing.
North America Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific

Hewlett-Packard Company Africa/ Latin America Hewlett-Packard Company
20 Perimeter Summit Blvd. Hewlett-Packard Company 460 Alexandra Road
Atlanta, GA 30319 Limburglaan 5 PSA Building #01-02
P.O. Box 616 6221 SH Maastricht Singapore 119963
USA The Netherlands Tel: +65 6361 7000
Tel: +1 800 289 5986 Tel: +31 43 356 5656 Tel: +65 6361 7806
Fax: +1 404 648 2054 Fax: +31 43 356 5600 Fax: +65 6276 3160 *With optional HP Production Flow workflow manager and RIP.
© 2005 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change
without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements
accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional
warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
www.hp.com/go/graphic-arts
5983-1454EEIL, 3/2005 This is an HP Indigo digital print.
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© Copyright For Mary, Mary, Chris and Frances

Pira International Ltd 2005
ISBN 1 85802 505 2
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Contents
List of tables vii Personalisation 37

List of figures viii Asset management databases 38
1
Front-end and RIP functions 38
Introduction and context 1

Digitisation 1
Context of digital printing 3
5
Technology in digital printing 41
Buyer’s checklist for investment in digital
2
printing 43
Digital print considerations 45
On-press imaging 46
Printer duplicators 51
Applications for digital print 9 Variable data printing technologies 51
Digital print market sectors 10 Electrophotographic technology 52
Types of digitally printed products 11
Potential developments in toner-based
Packaging 11
laser printing 59
Publishing for profit 13
Liquid toner electrophotography 59
Promotional print 14
Inkjet printing systems 61
3
Binary inkjet 63
Greyscale inkjet 64
Novel printing systems 68
Electron beam imaging or ion
Cost issues of digital printing 21
deposition 68
Comparison between short-run colour
Magnetography 70
litho, on-press (DI) and variable digital
Electrostatic printing 71
printing 23
Comparison between DI press and litho Electrocoagulation 71
with CTP 25 Material handling and print
finishing 72
4
Origination and prepress for digital
printing 31 6
Finishing equipment 73
Origination and design 31 Supply side of digital technology 75

Prepress workflow 31 On-press (DI) imaging suppliers 75
Output file preparation – preflight Variable data printing machines 83
checking 33 Sheet-fed monochrome presses 84
Automatic make-up 35 Web-fed monochrome presses 88
Image capture 35 Colour electrophotographic systems 91
Digital photography 35 Inkjet digital printing systems 99
Digital stock libraries 36 Wide-format inkjet printing 115
Colour management 36 3D and material deposition inkjet 120
Page v © Copyright Pira International Ltd 2005

Introduction to Digital Print Second edition
Contents
8
Suppliers of binding and finishing
equipment 121
Papers for digital printing 123
7
Case studies: digital print success
stories 125
Future prospects for digital
printing 133
Business process re-engineering
opportunities 134
Packaging/POS 134
Book production 125 Book publishing 140
Web-to-print applications 126 Overview 143
In-house production 129
Point of sale 129
Packaging 130
Page vi © Copyright Pira International Ltd 2005

List of tables
1.1 Timeline in the development of 6.2 Commercially available toner-based

digital printing 4 variable data print engines 84
1.2 Split of print processes across Europe, 6.3 Commercially available inkjet
1999–2009 5 printing systems 99
2.1 Direct mail expenditure forecasts 6.4 Strengths and weaknesses of
worldwide, 2004–09 19 VersaMark printers 113
3.1 Cost build-up of a print job by 6.5 Wide- and grand-format inkjet
production method 23 manufacturers’ revenues,
3.2 Cost build-up comparison between 2004–09 116
process-colour conventional and DI 6.6 Wide- and grand-format market (pay
printing 26 for print) revenues, 2004–09 117
3.3 Impact of volume on digital print 6.7 Wide-format inkjet printers 118
unit cost 28 8.1 Colour variable digital presses:
5.1 Criteria to consider in an investment technology transition table to
decision 44 2010 133
6.1 Commercially available on-press
imaging (DI) printing presses,
2005 75
Page vii © Copyright Pira International Ltd 2005

List of figures
1.1 Collation capabilities of digital 5.14 Schematic of the HP Indigo printing

printing systems 6 mechanism 60
3.1 Total job cost comparison of 5.15 Schematic of single-nozzle
conventional offset, on-press (DI) continuous jet inkjet printing 62
and variable digital print 24 5.16 Schematic showing array of inkjet
3.2 Unit cost comparison of conventional heads 63
offset, on-press (DI) and variable 5.17 Comparison of binary and greyscale
digital print 25 inkjet printing 65
3.3 Cost build-up comparison between 5.18 Comparison of M-Class and Galaxy
process-colour conventional and DI heads 67
printing 27 5.19 Spectra Inc. grouped heads 67
3.4 Relation of unit cost of digital print 5.20 Direct electron beam imaging engine
with monthly volume 29 from Delphax 68
4.1 Typical prepress workflow for digital 5.21 Schematic of the indirect belt
printing 32 transfer system of electron beam
4.2 Good2Print workflow schematic 34 imaging 69
5.1 Schematic of the different types of 5.22 Schematic of the magnetography
digital printing 41 printing process 70
5.2 Technology map showing the 5.23 Schematic of the elcography
relative positions of digital print system 72
processes 42 6.1 Heidelberg Quickmaster 46-4 DI
5.3 Mechanism for laser ablation for Pro 76
on-press plate imaging 47 6.2 Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 DI
5.4 Truepress plate exposure showing positions of the imaging
technology 48 heads 77
5.5 Schematic of the DICOweb imaging 6.3 Schematic of the Karat 74 press 78
process 50 6.4 MAN Roland DICOweb press 79
5.6 Schematic of the Karat 74 press 51 6.5 Screen TruePress 344 80
5.7 Schematic diagram showing the 6.6 Schematic of the Screen
mechanism of laser printing 53 TruePress 544 81
5.8 Schematic diagram showing 6.7 Wifag 471 Evolution DI unit 83
development of image transfer in 6.8 Imaggia II printer 85
colour toner laser printers 54 6.9 Digimaster E150 engine 86
5.9 Schematic showing paper 6.10 Océ VarioPrint 5000
path through base unit of the 6.11 Xerox sheet-fed DocuPrint
Digimaster E 55 machine 88
5.10 Schematic of the Xeikon 5000 6.12 Delphax CR1300 89
press 56 6.13 IBM Infoprint 4100 89
5.11 Schematic of the Xerox DocuColor 6.14 Océ VarioStream 6100 90
7/8000 range 57 6.15 Canon CLC5100 92
5.12 Schematic of the Xerox DocuColor 6.16 Schematic of the HP Indigo 5000 93
iGen3 press 57 6.17 NexPress 2100 94
5.13 Kodak NexPress 2100 58 6.18 The Xeikon 5000 96
Page viii © Copyright Pira International Ltd 2005

Introduction to Digital Printing II
List of figures
6.19 Spectra MM-Class inkjet head 101 7.3 Typical property schedule from
6.20 Toshiba Tec CA3 print head 102 GSPC 128
6.21 Xaar OmniJet 760 inkjet head 102 7.4 Inca Digital Eagle press 130
6.22 Xaar’s next-generation HSS1 print 7.5 Inkjet-printed aerosol cans from
head 103 Crown 131
6.23 Chromas Argio 75 SC 106 8.1 Xaar heads positioned in the Philips
6.24 A-Series printer with single print Lighting line in Roosendal 135
head and base-level controller 107 8.2 Secondary printed boxes 136
6.25 Domino ON Demand head 108 8.3 Primary sleeves printed by the
6.26 Inca Digital Columbia press 109 integrated inkjet line 137
6.27 Kodak VersaMark VX 5000 111 8.4 Outline of conventional carton
6.28 Kodak VersaMark VT 3000 112 packaging supply chain 138
6.29 Orphis HC 5000 colour inkjet 8.5 On-demand manufacture of product
printer 113 and carton/filling supply chain 139
6.30 ScitexVision CORjet 114 8.6 Conventional book supply chain 141
6.31 Modes of inkjet printing 119 8.7 In-store production for books 142
7.1 The Dream Books website 126 8.8 Heidelberg UV Concept Press
7.2 Online ordering of business assembly 143
cards 127 8.9 Agfa/Thieme M-Press 144
Page ix © Copyright Pira International Ltd 2005

Introduction and context
1
The nature of printing and publishing is changing as the age of digital information
develops and matures. The importance of customer service is higher than it ever has been,
with consumer demands driving the move toward ever shorter runs and faster turnaround
of jobs. All commercial printing is digital at some stage in its genesis until a plate or
cylinder is produced to carry the image, and a growing proportion only becomes analogue
after the printing process. This is produced by digital printing methods using
predominantly laser printing and inkjet technologies for variable data applications, and
using on-press imaging to develop offset printing.
Digital printing is now an integral component of the printing market – it is one of the
key technologies used in printing today. This represents a huge shift from conventional
production over the past 15 years, radically changing the nature of the printing industry.
The increased computer power in imaging systems allowed this change to happen, but did
not instigate it. The new technology was an enabler, allowing operations to provide
additional and new products and services. Digital print is successful because it provides
solutions to new consumer demands:
very short run high-quality print, economically
customised and personalised print.
Individual consumer demands are becoming increasingly exacting – consumers have come
to expect what they want, at the lowest price, and when they want it. This is a fact of
business life for all industries including printing. It is the end consumer that is driving
industries to provide better products and services, faster, and at lower cost. This driver will
not go away. These changes are occurring because the requirements of the end consumer
are changing. Demand for customised and personalised products and services is a key
driver for the future of printing. New technology is developing that allows consumers to
achieve these requirements across all sectors. Conventional printing is being subsumed
into a wider communications process as a result.
Digitisation Creating and storing information digitally has been a fundamental change, with
significant implications for every business. Information is increasingly key to both human
society in general and to business. Digitisation of information – the ability to store,
process, manipulate, analyse, transmit and display information via computers – is
changing the way we live and work, and the way business is run and organised.
Digital printing allows the production of short-run, personalised single-copy printing
to be technically and economically feasible. It is because the information to be printed is
digital that the concept works. The real power of digital print is in the enabling ability of
the underlying IT. When information is digitised, it becomes a resource to be used over
and over again – perhaps combined with any other digital information; it can be chopped
up and used in bits, and it can be distributed to any location.
Digital information can be stored, copied and transferred with no loss of quality,
easily and almost instantaneously. However, the human beings who use this information
have not changed quite so much. The key issue for the future is not ‘how much more
Page 1 © Copyright Pira International Ltd 2005

information’ or ‘how fast can it be processed’, but ‘how can this information be of value’.
Digital printing helps add value to information for consumers in the following ways:
movement to smaller volume, high added-value products and services
decrease in the proportion of product value derived from ‘manufacturing’
increase in the proportion of product value derived from service
it requires greater commitment to customer service
it enables the supplier to provide higher added value for any product or service.
These are the key benefits driving companies to invest in digital printing technology. The
significance of digital print, however, is that it encourages and enables:
change in workflow, since it is one of the computer-to-plate (CTP) technologies;
change in industry structure, since it simplifies operation to the point that non-
printing companies may easily adopt it.
Digital printing technology is being increasingly adopted across most sectors of the
printing industry. Some is a direct replacement for existing conventional technology, where
digital proves more economical or offers faster turnaround. Other installations produce
new products and services for their clients, opening new market opportunities.
Conventional offset litho (as well as flexo and screen printing) used film separations
to produce plates. The use of film has been overcome through the widespread adoption
of CTP technology. Depending on the degree of automation involved, the platesetter can
prepare a punched, press-ready plate for a modern offset press to load automatically,
significantly reducing the make-ready time. Other systems still require a plate to be
processed and punched manually, with a normal press make-ready to set up a new job.
CTP provides first-generation images to the plate, and practical experience shows the
improved quality of the plate helps to reduce set-up times significantly.
With digital on-press imaging of plates there is no separate requirement for plate
exposure, processing and loading onto the press; the imaging is performed in situ for all
colours in a single stage, allowing the press minder to look at materials and other tasks.
The direct process sets the press and, using lithographic inks and materials, print is carried
out producing the sheets in the same manner as conventional processes. Jobs dry, are
folded, collated, bound and finished when all sections are printed. There are significant
reductions in the different stages necessary to produce a finished product.
In the case of variable data printing (both mono and colour), all of these stages can
be combined into a single operation. With the correct on-line finishing units, a collated
multi-part book, including the cover, can be delivered collated and finished seconds after
sending the print-ready file to the machine.
It was the potential of eliminating these costly, time-consuming stages that provided
the impetus for suppliers to develop digital printing and for printers, prepress companies
and even print buyers to install and use the technology. This book aims to introduce the
reader to the reasons behind digital printing’s success, examining markets, products, costs,
prepress and the technologies involved. It provides an overview of the major suppliers and
presses available, and offers some predictions about how digital printing may develop,

1
and some of the new opportunities that digital printing provides for improving existing
supply chains for some printed products.
Context of The technology of communication has played a vital role throughout history, from cave
digital printing painting to the internet. Before the invention of movable type in the late 15th century, a
small army of scribes produced written proclamations and unique illustrated manuscripts
for the learned classes and aristocrats. Then printing evolved into an industrial
manufacturing process to produce large numbers of identical copies of all sorts of
informational, promotional, educational, transactional and entertainment products.
Today, digital print allows economic reproduction in full colour of high-quality, unique
documents: the technology has caught up with the Middle Ages.
Print has developed to produce many copies at a low unit cost. The preoccupation
with unit cost has driven the industry for many years and is incredibly difficult to change.
But change it must, because the market demands so. It is the wishes of the end users of
printed products that drive the industry, and the end users are no longer content to be
treated as part of a large group, but instead wish to be treated as individuals. The
traditional strength of print may be a concern because the generic document may not
be enough to engage individuals.
Conventional print has changed, with the average run length of most print jobs
declining over the past 20 years. Prepress and make-ready developments have helped to
make short runs economical, and manufacturers have harnessed innovative technologies
to enable the single-copy print run, personalised for an individual consumer. This is the
wider context of the development of digital printing, making short run and customised
print economically viable.
The modern print industry is split into two camps. In one camp visionaries proclaim
the death of conventional print. They are laughed at by many in the traditional, capital-
intensive industry. Pundits have forecast the potential of inkjet for many years, but it has
not yet replaced web offset or gravure presses. Digital print will probably not replace
high-volume production, at least for many years yet, but it can be a useful addition to
a printing company’s armoury to increase the range of products and services offered.
Commercial digital printing developed from the invention of the laser printer at Xerox
PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) in the 1970s. These mono engines have been producing
enormous quantities of personalised print, driven by the IT departments of financial
institutions and utility suppliers to generate bills and statements for customers. This
‘production’ printing is separate to the general print market. Particular emphasis is placed
on document integrity and production rather than aesthetic quality of the print. The data
to drive the printers are generally line text data formats of low resolution and limited
typographic capability. This ‘mainframe’ or ‘production’ printing environment has seen
significant change, as engines have increased in speed and quality by incorporating PDF
or PostScript datastreams and increasing resolution capabilities. The graphics sector is

taking advantage of the high-quality capabilities (achieving and surpassing offset) of

print engines, offering economical short runs and personalisation capability.
TABLE 1.1 Timeline in the development of digital printing

1937 Chester Carlson patents xerography, electrostatic imaging
1947 Transistor developed at Bell Labs by Shockley et al.
1949 Elmquist applies for patent for inkjet
1950 First commercial xerographic equipment
1951 UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) is the first commercial computer
Siemens produces first commercial inkjet printer, Siemens Elema Oscilomink, based on
Elmquist’s patent
1953 IBM introduces its first computer model, the 701
1957 First dot-matrix printer
1958 Schawlow and Townes discover lasers
1959 IBM introduces second-generation computer with transistors replacing tubes
Xerox introduces the first commercial copier, the 914
1963 Digital Equipment Corp. introduces first minicomputer, the PDP-8
1970 Xerox establishes the Palo Alto Research Centre (PARC)
1973 Xerox PARC develops the Alto, first computer with a graphical user interface, WYSIWYG
editing, bitmap display, windows and mouse
1975 IBM launches laser printer
1976 IBM launches first inkjet printers
1977 Apple and Microsoft started
First high-speed laser printer, the Xerox 9700
1981 IBM markets first personal computer
Canon launches first bubblejet printer
1982 Adobe Systems founded and launches PostScript
1984 Apple releases the Macintosh with graphical user interface
1985 Adobe launches PostScript, with the Laserwriter and Aldus PageMaker software, forming the
beginnings of desktop publishing
1986 Xerox launches first multi-beam laser
1990 Xerox launches the DocuTech
1992 First commercial on-press imaging, Heidelberg GTO-DI, installed
1993 Indigo and Agfa (Xeikon) launch competitive high-quality digital colour presses
2001 PDF workflows widely established
Dotcom bubble bursts
2004 High-quality colour digital presses are capable of 267ppm, lower quality inkjet at 2,000ppm.
High-quality inkjet for packaging capable of 1,200–2,000m2/hr
2005 Fastest inkjet system, Inca Digital Fastjet, capable of 300dpi at 6,000m2/hr
Source Pira International Ltd
Over the next five years, the markets (packaging, short run, print-on-demand and
personalisation) for digital print will all increase significantly. Pira market research (The
Future of European Printing, 2005) provides the data for Table 1.2, showing the forecast
market shares of the major print technologies (excluding packaging) to 2010.

1
TABLE 1.2 Split of print processes across Europe, 1999–2009 (%)

1999 2004 2009
Sheet-fed 21.3% 21.2% 21.0%
Heatset 20.5% 21.0% 20.9%
Coldset 19.7% 17.9% 16.8%
All offset 61.5% 60.1% 58.8%
Gravure 13.4% 11.9% 11.0%
Flexo 12.2% 12.7% 13.2%
Letterpress 0.4% 0.3% 0.2%
Digital 7.1% 8.6% 9.5%
Other 5.4% 6.4% 7.3%
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Source: Pira International Ltd
Digital print’s share is higher if the volume of material printed at home, in offices and in
retail environments is taken into account – a significant leakage of jobs that would
previously have been printed commercially. Individual market share forecasts differ, but all
follow the same general trend: digital printing will increase market share at the expense
of other technologies. However, there are also new applications providing market
opportunities and developing the existing, well-established production printing sector.
Digital technology links printing into a continuous pyramid of quality and productivity,
from home inkjet printer to high-quality contract proofers; from networked office laser
printer, to high-volume mono production engines; from low-resolution inkjet marking,
to high-volume colour inkjet printing; from variable colour engines approaching offset
quality, to on-press imaging. Although the markets tend to be categorised differently,
there is a continuum, with the same engines being used for widely different applications.
Users adopt digital printing for one of two reasons:
to improve the effectiveness of existing processes, i.e. higher quality at lower cost with
faster turnaround;
to communicate with consumers in new ways.
In some cases both of the above may apply. If any new technology does not offer these
advantages it will not replace conventional printing, which is developing to improve its
competitive position. The main benefits of new technologies will be felt by the print buyer
and consumer rather than by the printer himself, who will have to be increasingly
competitive.
There are two categories of digital printing:
CtP (computer-to-press), on-press direct imaging (DI) systems, where the plate is
exposed in situ;
variable data printing, where the image is formed afresh for each print; applications
may be for totally variable production or for short runs.
In variable data printing there is no image-carrying master; each print is formed afresh
as part of the production cycle. For short-run applications, the high-quality graphic file
is prepared and RIPed (raster image processed), with data either repeatedly sent to the
engine or buffered in memory for each print. A significant advantage of variable data

printing is the ability to print collated and completed document sets in a single pass,
rather than having to have a separate collation stage. This is particularly useful for book
printing, or any application where a single pass to produce a complete product is
advantageous.
FIGURE 1.1 Collation capabilities of digital printing systems
Short-run printing
1 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 3
Collated printing
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1
Variable printing
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Sophisticated personalisation capabilities are increasingly common: more than simply a

name and salutation, they include complicated variable content in high-quality, colour
products. There is much development in producing powerful, easy-to-operate front-end
systems to generate variable data jobs effectively. Database systems will be linked to
asset management and automatic make-up, driving powerful PPML (personalised page
mark-up language)-compliant RIPs to image on fast colour presses. For straightforward
text changes, variable printing systems have been used for mono and highlight colour
work in direct mail, statement and billing applications for many years, using proprietary
systems from the mainframe printing environment. The increases in computer power allow
individual pages to be composed on the fly from a database of graphic elements.
Digital printing is a large, growing and established business. Pira forecasts estimate
the European digital print market at over €10.9 billion in 2004, growing to €13.1 billion
by 2009. As already mentioned, these figures are much higher when non-commercial print
is considered, including wide-format signage and industrial print sectors. This significant
top-line figure makes it one of the few high growth sectors of the printing market.

1
The main market sectors for digital printing are:

Financial services
Retailing
Industrial/manufacturing
Public sector
Publishing
Packaging.
The main products produced through digital printing include personalisation products and
document fulfilment, packaging, books, magazines, manuals, corporate promotional
material, stationery, point-of-sale, catalogues, labels, security print, transactional print,
short-run mono and colour.
There are many digital presses available. They vary from office workgroup mono laser
printers rated at more than 45ppm to web-fed devices capable of printing above
1,300ppm. In colour, machines vary from office colour photocopiers through to offset-
quality machines from Xerox, Heidelberg, Xeikon and HP Indigo, rated at more than
100ppm. Wide-format digital machines are taking a significant share of the signage and
poster market. Additionally, there are commercial inkjet machines offering very high
productivity and low page cost from Scitex Digital Printing, with new devices for
packaging, books and industrial applications from Dotrix, Aprion and Spectra. Costs can
vary from around €1,500 to upwards of €3 million, to produce different quantities of
print at a range of quality levels and unit costs.

Applications for digital print
2
Digital print is used to provide a wide variety of products into many market sectors.
During its development it served specific market sectors, but as the technology has
matured it has increasingly been used in conjunction with other print processes.
The first commercial application of digital print was the mono printing of reports
from mainframe computers, most notably bills and statements. Pre-printed stationery was
overprinted and mailed to consumers, and remains an important market in the utilities
sector, the financial sector, government and licensing, and commercial transactions being
driven by data from mainframe business-critical IT. Much of this print is now under threat
from electronic, non-print methods and the quality and capability of the communication is
broadening. From transactional print, the marketers developed the direct mail sector as an
important advertising medium, using name, address and salutation personalisation. Use
in advertising developed new, sophisticated data segmentation techniques to obtain
better responses to direct mail, as well as creative mail pack design and improvements in
print and design capabilities.
The use of photocopiers, fax machines and printers in offices exploded. Low-cost
inkjet was based on the bubble-jet technology discovered in 1977 when a Canon engineer
noticed that when a hot soldering iron accidentally touched the needle of an ink-filled
syringe it caused ink to spray from the tip, leading to the realisation that heat, instead
of pressure, could be used to induce the ink drop. (Although Steve Temple of Xaar
remembers experiments involving a hypodermic syringe and a sparkplug working, but
not being taken forward, in Cambridge during 1972.)
Speed and quality increased with the use of PCs and laser printers offering higher
resolution and quality. Colour inkjet, thermal transfer and laser printers and copiers were
developed and increasingly used for office applications, with some of their higher quality
capabilities used in the printing sector.
All these created important new markets for the printing sector. As digital prepress
and PostScript developed, the rise of mono digital printing began almost unnoticed, with
books and the print-on-demand (POD) sector competing with conventional mono printing.
Xerox introduced the DocuTech in 1990, with fast, high-quality copying and collating
widely used for A4 and A3 mono applications. Heidelberg launched its offset press with
integrated plate exposure, the GTO-DI; the first installations in 1992 offered limited
quality and were not well received. The first high-quality digital colour presses were
launched in 1993, marking the birth of the digital print market for near-offset quality.
Computer-to-press (CtP) became the hot topic of the industry – early adopters opened up
new sectors by making low print runs economically viable in new applications.
Early digital print was clearly categorised, but as the technology has matured it has
largely become part of printers’ overall armoury, working alongside or in tandem with
other technologies to enable printers to offer a wider range of services and remain
competitive. This took some share from traditional colour printing, and conventional press
manufacturers responded by developing their computer-to-offset press systems.
Established printers were reluctant to cannibalise their markets, and continued to use

conventional processes; the rise of CTP and automation improved the competitive position
of conventional print. There is a growing trend for printers to invest in digital print
engines to work alongside traditional equipment in order to be able to serve the widening
range of their customers’ needs.
Digital print The major market sectors for digital printing include:
market sectors Publishing – newspapers, books, magazines, newsletters;
Financial services – security, statements, direct mail, personalised documents;
Retailing – direct mail, labels, fliers, packaging, point of sale (POS);
Manufacturing/commercial – corporate communication, direct mail, fliers, packaging,
manuals, brochures;
IT/telecoms – manuals, billing;
Utilities – direct mail, statement/billing;
Public sector (national and local) – personalised documents, security, education;
Wide-format – billboard posters, building murals and decorative covers for
construction scaffolding. This is mostly the signage industry replacing traditional craft
skills with digital print technology, although these devices now compete with many
silkscreen printing companies;
Industrial – wall and floor coverings, vehicle livery, information displays and signage
for trade shows, theatres, museums, airports, hospitals, conferences, shopping centres
and sporting events;
Specialist niche applications – inkjet material deposition to produce 3D objects and
electronic devices.
There are very different requirements for printing companies in these different sectors. The
specific needs of each sector dictate the range of additional capabilities over and above
printing that are necessary to become a supplier. For example, in the financial services
sector, totally secure data handling and sorting is paramount, while for books the
turnaround time for bound product is key. The financial services sector has a much greater
proportion of variable data printing than any other, and it is the most sophisticated user
of digital print technology, with a leading-edge requirement. To compete in this sector, a
printer must possess sophisticated data manipulation skills. To grow market presence in
the financial services sector, a supplier company would need greater specialist capability
than required by other sectors.
In retail, there is very high usage of short-run digital printing to promote the sales
function, while packaging applications are taking off as inkjet grows in importance. POS
material produced digitally is growing strongly, with a great deal now produced using
inkjet. To compete in personalisation, a printer must realise that it is the project
management, data handling and prepress skills at the front end, and print finishing,
binding and mailing at the back end that are key. There are perhaps 18–20,000 digital
presses approaching offset-quality colour in operation in 2005. Not all are operated to
handle complex personalisation applications.

2
Across all market sectors there is significant growth of conventional printing companies
investing in digital technology and using the equipment to broaden their production
capability and increase their overall efficiencies.
Types of digitally The same model of digital press may be used across a variety of applications, with front-
printed products ends and finishing equipment varying according to the printer’s target market(s).
Inherently, a digital press is designed to apply colourant onto substrate; it is the
requirements of the user that specify beyond that. Almost every digital print operation,
with the possible exception of in-plant billing and statement plants, will produce more
than one product category. Book printers have a variety of formats, paper stocks and
binding styles. Organisations use their digital printing capability to print sheets or reels
that are converted into different products. The product mix will continually vary over time.
As we have already seen, Pira research indicates that growth prospects for digital
printing are good over the next five years, with approaching 10% annual growth forecast.
As well as being divided by customer market sectors, digital print can be characterised by
the purpose of the print and categorisation of the production types. There are five main
purposes:
Packaging – labels, promotional packs, prototyping, integrated assembly/product
filling lines. Excellent prospects for inkjet as the technology matures.
Publishing for profit – books, magazines, newspapers, journals, newsletters, maps.
Promotional – short-run mono books and manuals; short-run colour corporate
promotional material, in-house material, POS and catalogues, brochures, direct mail,
manuals, fliers, data sheets, and quotations; wide-format signage. The print-on-
demand sector is growing, along with personalisation and direct marketing products.
Transactional print – forms, bills, statements, stationery, certificates, security,
‘document factory’, envelopes.
Industrial print – floor and wall coverings, textiles, printed electronics, additive
fabrication.
Packaging For packaging, the printing is generally a secondary consideration to the protective and
physical properties of a pack. There are very diverse requirements with many niche
manufacturers providing solutions. This specialisation makes it difficult for digital print
manufacturers to provide a standard product for the packaging market. Labels, pack and
product decoration for carton, corrugated and flexible (reel-to-reel) are the main
applications using digital print as part of the packaging manufacturing process.
There are specific requirements involved in packaging printing that present particular
problems and opportunities for digital printing. Substrates are chosen for their material
science properties (strength, flexibility, barrier and temperature resistance, bulk, weight),
and may not have good digital printability. The final product often requires specific
resistance properties; many need special colours, with, for example, opaque white,

fluorescent and metallic colours. Four-colour process may not provide the required spot
colour and many designs replace one of the process inks to accommodate a mandatory
spot colour. Special colour separation routines may be needed and devices only capable of
reproducing CMYK may not be capable of satisfying client demands. Some inkjet printers
have six or seven standard colours and may be capable of matching spot colours,
although the opacity requirements may be impossible to reproduce.
Packaging results in irregularly shaped products. While the direct inkjet printing of
bottles and packs is possible, cartons present their own problems. Prior to assembly, many
have complex shapes that require sophisticated imposition to position blanks to maximise
effective use of substrate. Once printed, subsequent diecutting, creasing, make up and
gluing is performed on specialist machines that can be preset with data from CAD
(computer-aided-design) stations. It is important, therefore, that the print is totally
compatible with these systems.
Current major uses of digital printing in packaging are labels, pack testing and
prototyping, as well as industrial marking of batch numbers, best-before dates, and so
forth. The development of inkjet machines based on Xaar, Spectra and Aprion technology
offers the possibility of decorating onto irregular shapes and surfaces. The integration of
inkjet into a conversion line is potentially straightforward, and is giving rise to many
developments. As inkjet improves in colour and speed it will make major inroads into
packaging applications, particularly flatbed applications such as corrugated.
The widest use of inkjet printing in packaging applications is currently for product
marking and identification, applying batch numbers and best-before dates on primary
packs and secondary product labelling. This is starting to change as the speed and quality
of inkjet print systems improve. Full-colour primary packaging applications are being
developed to print in all areas of packaging, for corrugated packs and cartons, flexible
packaging, rigids, labels and even metal cans. What is interesting now is that it is not just
for short runs and prototypes, but many packaging companies and brand owners are
looking at inkjet as a method of augmenting their conventional printing technologies and
potentially replacing some.
Print-on-demand techniques, with printing built in as an integral part of the filling or
packing line, can provide radical change for the typical supply chain. There are great
potential savings from minimising warehousing costs (of product and of packaging) that
are balanced against the higher unit cost of the digital print. The technology has
considerable appeal to marketers in providing significant savings of cost and time in the
development of new products, cutting their time to market. This might involve, for
example, changing product ingredients at short notice to take advantage of changing
commodity prices, or on-pack promotional offers. Digital printing offers packagers the
potential for personalisation and variety of standard pack designs. In pharmaceutical
carton manufacture, for example, an individual end-user’s details might be incorporated
onto the box, perhaps in large print for an elderly patient, making the carton more secure.

2
The main driver for change in production of packaging is increasing competition in the
retail market. Lead times for new product launches are shrinking, with more launches of
specialist products needing short runs of packaging. Some sectors, such as
pharmaceuticals, are looking to incorporate more information onto the primary packaging.
In cases where there are multi-size and multi-language packs, the range of packaging is
significant and effective management of the supply chain can be very complex. Brand
owners are demanding reduced lead times and smaller batch sizes so that they can supply
their goods ’off the shelf’ whenever their retailer customers place an order. This presages a
change from make-to-batch, with its low productivity levels in the case of short runs and
interrupting batches because time for changeover and reconciliation procedures
demanded by customers may be disproportionate to the time spent actually producing
packaging. Many packaging suppliers are moving to a make-to-stock methodology, using
developments in inkjet printing technology to make changing design and decoration very
fast and easy.
These changing demands are the key factors driving the need to manufacture based
on forecast. This will have a significant impact in the packaging printing industry, from
secondary packaging applications such as case-coding to full-colour imaging directly onto
primary packaging. Inkjet printing is poised for industry-wide acceptance alongside
established printing methods, and, for some applications, may offer a replacement over
time. The range of inks and equipment offered makes direct inkjet printing possible onto
a very wide range of substrates, from paper and boards, to plastic, foils and metal.
The leading inkjet equipment manufacturers and integrators have realised the
opportunities offered in packaging and are positioning their equipment to compete in the
market. Flatbed and wide-format inkjet machines have succeeded in taking share in the
corrugated sector over a long period. Devices such as IncaDigital’s range of printers, the
CORjet from ScitexVision and other flatbed machines have long been used to print directly
onto the substrate, while roll-fed machines require lamination onto the substrate.
Publishing for profit In the case of print for profit, products are sold with the end consumer paying some or all
of the production cost, and advertising financing any shortfall. Print is used because it is
cost effective against other media for displaying, storing and distributing publishers’
content. Publishers tend to treat print as a cost and will, therefore, follow strategies to
reduce that cost. Digital print will be used in situations where it is more cost effective
than traditional print production and other new media methods. At the same time,
publishers are also reluctant to risk their production with untried new suppliers, so digital
print’s market share of this sector will be low until traditional suppliers invest in digital
technology, as is happening in the book market.
New products, such as the on-demand printing of newspapers, present opportunities
for digital printing. Wifag has installed the first on-press imaging system, the Evolution
471 unit, for the direct imaging of plates on a conventional newspaper press. Océ has
persevered with its Digital Newspapers Network (DNN) for the remote production of titles,

making the paper virtually identical to conventional copies and using the established
newspaper distributors to get copies to market.
Book printing Books are a very successful application of digital print in commercial
printing. Many book printers have embraced digital printing to offer publishers very low
print runs economically, allowing more titles to remain in print. Digital book printing is a
major sector of the European printing market, estimated at some €1.2 billion in 2005 as
major players become involved. One such is Amazon.com, with its purchase of US print-on-
demand (POD) specialist Booksurge. This is part of a strategy to control a future supply
channel and produce titles that are difficult to access for customers. Amazon will take an
increased share of the value chain by producing titles internally, developing new revenue
streams to enable lower book prices. Booksurge has international print facility
partnerships in Europe, South America, Australia and Canada. The company will continue
to fulfil and distribute book orders around the world, printing from one to 1,000 copies.
Bookforce, in Grantham, Lincs., is Booksurge’s UK partner and provides trade paperbacks
and binding, in addition to author sales support and distribution throughout the UK.
Amazon is getting direct access to specialised content in preference to direct competition.
There are two basic business models for printing books digitally. In the on-demand
model, the publisher or self-published author pays a fee to get a book into the system,
and then pays a much smaller printing fee for each copy of the title. Books are printed
when needed, sometimes as single copies for distributors and booksellers. The short-run
scenario involves printing small batches of books, perhaps 10–500 copies as a standard
order placed by the publisher and the printer. From the publisher’s perspective, there is
no operational difference between short-run digital printing and ordinary offset runs. The
advantage of digital printing is that less working capital is tied up in the print run than
if offset is used, although the unit cost of each book is higher.
Promotional print The short-run sector is probably the most dynamic part of the print market, with
the economics totally changed by the introduction of digital printing technology.
Developments in conventional printing, particularly in offset litho, continue to make
short runs more economical than in the past. Digital printing technology using on-press
imaging and variable data technology is increasing its share at the expense of
conventional print for products including:
Book covers and jackets
Exhibition and trade show handouts
Product launch material
Stationery
Test marketing materials and catalogues
Signage
POS and promotional material.

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As the technology develops, any printed product requiring a short run will be a target for
digital printing.
Point-of-sale The POS sector covers many applications and products, including: product
display stands and bins; suspended mobiles and panels; aisle-end displays; totems; floor,
window and ceiling graphics; shelf barkers; and posters, as well as general printed items
in bins and merchandisers. It will be used in retail outlets, banks, post offices and
anywhere the public buys products or services. Most material is printed on paper, card or
corrugated board, while there is growing use of plastics and vinyls. POS activity is hotting
up as retailers and brand owners realise the potential of the medium as the only
consistently shared interface between suppliers, customers and consumers. POPAI (Point
of Purchase Advertising International) claims that up to 75% of purchase decisions are
made at the point of sale, and there is much activity to increase the customer spend.
In the knowledge that so many purchase decisions are made in-store, retailers are
using sophisticated POS material to promote specific offers and campaigns, as well as
using material supplied by brand owners and manufacturers. The trend is for rapid
changeover of material as retailers react to their competition or changes in the
environment, for example an interest rate change leading to different financial services
product offers. The technology used to produce this material is changing, with digital
equipment used to make lower runs more cost effective, allowing customised and
versioned products for individual stores or events. Specialist printers are serving the
market, together with print managers providing a wide range of services to retailer and
financial service sectors.
Until recently, most POS material has been printed using silkscreen and litho, but
large-format inkjet is now making an impact. It is not just the production of material that
is an important requirement of the supplier, but also the collation of material with frames
and assembly kits and the distribution to the outlet.
Print-on-demand This sector is characterised by the requirement for very short lead
times from placement of the order to production of the printed product. Applications
could be for a time-sensitive analyst’s report where the value may be lost as soon as the
markets open, or a less time-sensitive application such as an order for a previously out-of-
print book. On-demand printing is being increasingly used in book manufacture because it
makes ultra-short runs economically feasible. Publishers are using on-demand digital
printing to produce customised, course-specific textbooks, to keep their extensive backlists
in print, and to produce trial and review copies of forthcoming titles. Other applications
might include:
Document fulfilment – from marketing collateral packs to proposals and acceptance
agreements;
Document and design prototyping, proofing and mock-ups;
Presentation materials;

Training course notes and manuals;

General reports and white papers;
Distributed print.
Personalisation Variable data printing means that every copy produced is unique, a
print run of one. Each print is different, from changes in the name, address and salutation
in a direct mail piece, through to totally different layout and content for each print. This is
well established in the data centre area and is becoming more common in short-run
colour applications.
To be accomplished, it is necessary to define and generate each document
automatically, linking the recipient to the content. The state of the art in variable data
printing involves three components before the press is considered:
Content database (asset management)
Target profile database
Assembly engine (automated assembly).
These three aspects must be looked at before considering the print engine. The business
model is very different to conventional printing for many users. A lot of preparation and
effort is required to organise the project, although the actual print time may be very short.
Developments in internet technology, in collecting profiles of potentially interested clients
and conducting e-business, has allowed sophisticated distributed-print projects to become
viable business propositions.
Personalisation and versioning is probably the most interesting and fast-moving
market for digital print. It developed directly out of the production printing area into
addressing and document personalisation (e.g. insurance certificates, cheque books), and
then direct mail arenas using salutation and address text personalisation. The next area is
to provide sophisticated variability of text, images, content and design to aid the customer
relationship management (CRM) efforts of businesses.
Web-to-print The new emerging market for digital print is the web-to-print model,
where a PDF print is made up by users selecting or inputting the content via a web
browser. The basic design template is personalised or versioned with users checking the
finished design on-line in real time. When approved, the PDF will be optimised and
submitted to a digital printer to be produced and distributed as needed. These systems
encourage significant automation of the design and administration process, opening new
market and service opportunities.
CRM and direct marketing Digital print enables organisations running CRM
programmes to communicate with their selected customers on a personal, unique level.
Corporations keep huge volumes of information on customers (or ‘prospects’) to support
their CRM activities. The key is to turn this into useful intelligence by ’data mining’ and
profiling customers and then making offers and services that are of interest to a specific

2
client. Data warehouses are becoming commonplace to help organisations understand,

analyse and action the business process. Retailers are using data mining techniques to
identify opportunities based on product affinities revealed through the data on customer
buying preferences. This allows better promotions, product mix and inventory. By
analysing the real preferences of customers, they reduce the number of product lines on
offer, yet the customer perceives an increase in the number of lines. As the amount of
data on customers grows, financial service organisations are using CRM to analyse and
profile customer needs and opportunities to target customers with best profit potential.
CRM enables a detailed profile of an individual to be constructed according to
information held on the customer. This can drive the selection of content for a tailored
communication product, which in turn may reduce the quantity of direct mail but improve
the response rate. When this sophistication is applied to the range of content (text,
images, etc.), very powerful and persuasive communications result.
As part of the automated make-up, it is necessary to profile the attributes of the
recipient to ensure that the correct content is served as requested. This profile is a series
of variables that initiate calls to the database storing content. For example, a 35-year-old
married man with a young child, earning €25,000 will have a totally different holiday
requirement to an unmarried 22-year-old woman earning €30,000. In designing a
customised brochure, a travel agent needs to gather as much information as possible on a
prospective client in order to turn it into a successful lead. It is by storing the key attributes
of people or businesses that marketers can provide the most effective tailored message.
Profiles are gathered from a great many sources. They may be recorded from a long-
standing client that the operation knows (bank, credit card or insurance customer provides
great detail), from a loyalty card scheme, or from response to a questionnaire or filling in
a guarantee card. Profiles may result from a telephone call to (or from) a tele-marketing
call centre operation, and increasingly from on-line responses on websites related to a
specific product, service or activity. This information on actual and potential clients is
being collected and stored by corporations across the world in ever enlarging databases.
Tools are developing to clean the databases (removing duplicated and erroneous data
entries) and then to perform sophisticated interrogations to find prospects that match
certain criteria. This is key to the refinement of the personalisation and central to
developing CRM tools.
There are several automated assembly engines available. While they handle
structured documents (stationery and forms) quite successfully, they make more complex
items look regimented and poorly designed. Automatic make-up applications, such as
PageFlex, XMPie or Pres, enable elements of the design to be varied according to the
target profile for automatic production of customised documents targeted to individuals
or small groups. Content can be assembled into design templates automatically, with the
system making up into pages or documents that have the appearance of being designed
by operators. Flexible templates assemble this selected content into the final document
for output, be it electronic or printed. This enables the marketer to tailor a specific

message relevant to the target customer, providing much improved response to direct mail
and improving relations with existing customers. The content may be repurposed, making
it more effective.
The document content will vary according to the individual customer profile
information. The template captures the overall abstract look, automatically adjusting the
layout according to the size and placement of the variable content. New variable-data
front-end systems provide optimised PostScript to go to the RIP of the digital colour press
as a PPML format to optimise the printing. Additionally, other formats will be supported
so a PDF might be emailed or the content posted on the web or as HTML/XML data to
form a dynamic web page.
As the technology develops the speeds and productivity of the engines will increase
and the costs will reduce. Various quality levels will become possible for more
applications. Digital print will attack conventionally printed products as speed and quality
improve with concurrent cost reductions. At the same time, the reduction in cost at a
sufficient quality level will see penetration of digital printing into mainstream office and
corporate applications.
Transactional printing A major sector is the use of digital printing to produce

personalised documents and communications for individuals. High-speed continuous
(web-fed) monochrome printing is currently used in mainframe or production printing
of statements or bills and direct mail applications.
The main players in production printing tend to be the in-plant statement printing
and billing operations of large financial institutions (banks, insurance companies, etc.)
and utilities (gas, water, electricity and telephone service suppliers), as well as local and
national government departments and agencies. Specialist outsourcing suppliers –in-
plants that have developed to be successful commercial operations – are becoming more
common (see Document management, below). High-speed web-fed mono print engines
are the normal method of production – fed with specialist data streams, often at low
resolution. The use of spot colour is increasing and high-speed inkjet is set to change the
market and eliminate the need for pre-printed stationery.
Document management Document management involves the preparation of data,

printing and personalisation, and distribution of documents such as bills, statements,
direct marketing, certificates and policies, and communications from buyers’ CRM systems.
Initially, such work was handled by specialist in-house print operations for large
corporates, particularly in the financial services sector, often developed with specialist IT
partner help and operated by the services sector of the organisation. Over time, however,
businesses have outsourced such functions to specialist print, and increasingly print
management suppliers.
As the market for such communication grows, it becomes a recognisable separate
print product sector with very high levels of growth predicted. The increasing speed and

2
capability of digital print engines is moving the functionality of products from variable
text printed over pre-printed base stock, into full-colour variable content with text, line
work and imagery. The technology is developing from electrophotography to include high-
speed, web-fed inkjet printing.
It requires considerable expertise to become a credible supplier in this sector, but very
high growth rates are projected, in many cases from a very low base in 2004.
Direct mail Direct mail is a significant part of the advertising industry. It is a

personalised advertising piece delivered to the named recipient by the local postal
authority. There are business-to-business and business-to-consumer segments. It does not
include the non-addressed, door-drop products delivered to all addresses on certain post
routes, nor does it include transactional mail (bills, statements, etc.). The total value of
direct mail was some €112 billion in 2004, considering all production and excluding
postage costs.
TABLE 2.1 Direct mail expenditure forecasts worldwide, 2004–09 (€ million)

2004 2009 Growth 2004–09
Western Europe 33,981 40,403 18.9%
North America 42,355 56,041 32.3%
Asia Pacific 26,725 35,838 34.1%
Latin America 3,049 5,372 76.2%
Rest of world 5,799 8,506 46.7%
Global total 111,909 146,160 30.6%
Direct mail will remain a high-growth sector, although very high growth is forecast to tail
off slightly, especially in mature markets where spend on media is already high and there
is much competition. Emerging markets show the most potential for continued growth.
Digital print will initially drive more experimentation with creative solutions and print
formats. There is, however, a widespread view that digital print could remain too
expensive to become commonplace in direct mail.
These costs include base stock, envelopes, inserts and enclosing, as well as the digital
print component, list management and data handling, so digital printing accounts for
15–20% of this total directly, with the share increasing as more sophisticated applications
grow. The lettershop activities are generally laser overprinting of pre-printed base stock,
using sheet-fed or web technology for higher volume applications, some joined by high-
volume inkjet overprinting, sometimes inline on a web press. New high-volume colour and
mono inkjet are starting to replace pre-print for some applications.
General printers will come to dominate direct mail in the future, as they will
consolidate the largely independent direct mail printing sector, attracted by its continued
growth and strong margins compared to general print. The level of investment required to
introduce digital printing, complex data manipulation, envelopes and inserting will also
favour large print groups able to offer all components.

Cost issues of digital printing
3
The allocation of costs is the subject of great discussion in any business, and there are
many models in conventional printing. Generally, the method is to allocate an hourly rate
that covers the capital cost of the machine, the cost of labour, standard consumables
(blankets, chemicals) and a proportion of overhead costs to cover premises, heat and light.
There are standard allowances for make-readies and running that depend on the materials
and job characteristics, which are used to calculate the time required to produce a job
and the fixed cost. The other component varies according to the job specification, the
paper and inks and the costs associated with prepress and platemaking. Printers compete
with each other by using different machines in different ways at different speeds. Those
with the best efficiencies obtain an advantage. The buying price of paper and inks varies,
usually according to the value of the account, thus giving an advantage to larger groups.
The digital printing process is different to that of conventional printing, and so
requires a different cost make-up. There is no separate labour and material component in
prepress for digital, compared with conventional printing’s platemaking or cylinder
preparation (as there is no platemaking), and the press set-ups can be reduced to simple
paper changeovers with virtually continuous running. Some set-up time is required, and a
cost associated with data preparation and formatting as each digital job is set up for
printing. This preparation means that the cost of digital print does vary according to run
length – it is not a fixed rate per copy, as is often presented by equipment suppliers.
Both printing processes apply colourant to a substrate, and the breakdown of the
associated costs for the two processes varies as follows. Variable direct costs of paper and
labour will be accounted for in a similar manner. However, the machinery cost, consumables
(ink/toner, imaging parts) and treatment of necessary maintenance are treated differently.
Digital printer vendors will supply the print engine, data handling/server/RIP and network,
paper transport, finishing, maintenance as well as consumables. The ongoing relationship
lasts throughout the life of the investment, which may well change with upgrades and
developments as technology matures. In conventional printing, however, the press
manufacturer or used equipment dealer would supply and install the printing machine.
Consumables are bought on the open market from a preferred supplier, and most
maintenance is handled internally. Parts may be bought from the press manufacturer, but
the manufacturer would only become involved in major repairs and overhauls. This provides
the conventional printer with a wide choice of competing suppliers. There is no similar
independent, well-established support network for digital printers. The systems are delicate
and many manufacturers will specify that branded consumables and spare parts should be
used, otherwise performance guarantees and support may not be available. Inkjet
technology may break this trend, however, as competing ink suppliers offer different types
of ink – water-based, UV-curable and solvent-based.
When purchasing a digital press, the buyer enters into a contract with a supplier for
the capital cost of the equipment with installation and training, and then will reach an
agreement to purchase consumables and maintenance from that supplier. In many cases
the vendor provides the front-end RIP and server. There are many contractual agreements

available covering the capital and running costs of a digital machine, including outright
purchase, using off-balance-sheet leasing, or an arrangement to pay total cost of
ownership through a high cost per print. There are generally three elements that have
to be taken care of by the supplier:
Capital cost and installation of the engine (including training)
Consumables (toner and necessary replacement parts)
Maintenance (guaranteed service response and regular servicing).
In the case of on-press DI technology, suppliers provide specialist plates to use with the
imaging heads at agreed costs, e.g. the Heidelberg Quickmaster DI plate cartridge or
Screen’s Konica Minolta plates, while other presses use plates from established
independent plate supply channels. Some suppliers separate the capital cost of the
machine from a maintenance agreement and offer a tiered price for consumables,
including ink/toner as well as items such as toner drums or inkjet heads. In the case
of high-value printing systems, the suppliers offer a range of purchase options (capital
purchase, lease or total cost of ownership), with particular cashflow benefits depending
on the client’s requirements.
Fundamentally the model is the same from all vendors. The base machine capital
cost, whether leased or financed differently, including front-end, paper handling, printing
and finishing options, is one component. Then a fixed consumable cost per print, or linear
length for web-fed devices (irrespective of web width or print width), is charged, with a
regular maintenance cost applied according to usage. Finally there will be a charge for
toner, based on the average coverage involved. This represents a fixed monthly outgoing,
irrespective of the volume of print. So, for a guaranteed level of usage the prints cost x,
any additional volume is at a lower price so higher volumes through a press result in an
overall lower unit cost, x-y. This means in effect that the costs payable to the supplier
depend on the number of prints or length of paper printed over the period in question.
Conventional print processes have developed to provide economical reproduction of
many identical copies. It is expensive to generate the first copy (although developments
are helping to reduce this), but the cost of subsequent copies is low. These set-up costs
are amortised across the run length, so as the run increases the unit cost of production
drops. The high initial cost is made up of the prepress activities of preparing, imposing
and making the plates, and then the press make-ready time and materials. Digital
printing has no separate platemaking and limited make-ready on press (choose the right
file from the job queue and change to the correct paper and finishing options). This
results in a low set-up cost, but the cost of each subsequent print does not vary, no matter
what the run length. When the conventional and digital print processes are compared,
there is a crossover line at which point digital production becomes more economical than
conventional. This is what suppliers of digital print machines will explain, demonstrating
the window of opportunity for digital print production.

3
Comparison between Table 3.1 shows how the costs of a print job, excluding the necessary prepress component,
short-run colour compare between conventional offset, on-press (DI) printing and toner digital printing.
litho, on-press (DI)
and variable digital TABLE 3.1 Cost build-up of a print job by production method
printing Screen 344 Heidelberg 52 Xerox 8000

Investment €350,000 €250,000 €300,000
Hourly recovery €85 €50 n/a
Plate costs ~ €10.0/m 2
~€7.20/m 2 n/a
Employment 1 printer 1 printer 1 operator
Platemaking €0 €10 €2
Four colour €8.00 €5.76 €2
Press set-up 5–10min @ €10 10 min @ €12 2 min
Total job cost

1 €21.00 €26.16 €2.07
100 €22.21 €26.87 €9.10
500 €27.07 €29.73 €37.50
1,000 €33.14 €33.30 €73.00
5,000 €81.71 €61.87 €357.00
10,000 €142.43 €97.59 €712.00
Unit cost of sheets

100 €0.222 €0.286 €0.091
500 €0.054 €0.064 €0.075
1,000 €0.033 €0.036 €0.073
5,000 €0.016 €0.014 €0.071
10,000 €0.014 €0.011 €0.071
Job elapsed time (min)

Set-up 8 12 0
100 8.9 12.6 2.5
500 12.3 15.0 12.5
1,000 16.6 18.0 25.0
5,000 50.9 42.0 125.0
10,000 93.7 72.0 250.0

FIGURE 3.1 Total job cost comparison of conventional offset, on-press (DI) and variable
digital print
800
700
600
500
Cost (€)
400
300
200
100
0
1 100 500 1,000 5,000 10,000
Screen 344 Heidelberg 52 Xerox 8000
The press set-up costs for printing an A3 colour leaflet are, nominally, €28 for
conventional printing (platemaking and make-ready), €18 for on-press direct imaging set-
up and €2 for the digital press. Subsequent copy costs are set at €0.06 for conventional
offset, €0.012 for DI and €0.07 for variable data digital. In operation the actual costs
may vary but the general comparison holds.

3
FIGURE 3.2 Unit cost comparison of conventional offset, on-press (DI) and variable
digital print
£100.00
£10.00
Unit cost
£1.00
£0.10
0
1 10 100 500 2,500 5,000 7,500 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000
Digital Conventional DI Printing
Figure 3.2 demonstrates that for short runs, variable digital printing is the most cost-
effective production method. At run lengths of around 250 copies there is a crossover,
and DI printing becomes the most economical, then above about 3,000–4,000 copies
conventional printing is more cost effective. The figures involved are not selling prices –
they are generic cost estimates for conventional and digital print production. Within
organisations the internal costs are continually reviewed and refined to remain
competitive and to reflect production efficiencies as they occur. If this theoretical exercise
is repeated over a range of alternative print products similar curves would result. The
difference may be less pronounced for some mono products, and the crossover point may
differ within different environments.
Comparison between One long-standing criticism of DI technology is the need to buy multiple plate exposure
DI press and litho units as part of the DI press to run consecutively, then stand idle until the next job
with CTP change. With a relatively modern single CTP device there is normally sufficient capacity
to keep a number of presses supplied with plates. If the press is relatively new it will have
automation aids to reduce make-ready time, with automatic plate loading, pre-setting of
ink and water, adjustments to paper size and side-lay position, and so forth.
Table 3.2 shows the way costs are built up for a process colour job produced by both

TABLE 3.2 Cost build-up comparison between conventional process colour and
DI printing
Speedmaster 74 Speedmaster 74DI
Investment €975,000 €1.5 million
Hourly recovery €150 €225
Plate costs (0.3mm metal) ~ €12/m 2 (CTP)
~ €15/m 2
Employment 2 printers 1 printer, 1 assistant

Prepress from imposition ~€10 per plate (€30) €0
Four colour €19.20 €24
Press set-up 15 min @ €37 15 min @ €56
Costs for 4-colour process €98.70 €80.25
100 copies €100.20 €82.50
500 copies €107.70 €93.75
1,000 copies €122.70 €116.25
5,000 copies €197.70 €228.75
10,000 copies €347.70 €453.75
methods. The method of apportioning these costs differs across printers and the cost
advantages will differ. In this example, a CTP device, costing €150,000 including
processor, is used to produce an average of 40 plates per day. One operator runs the
equipment; he is paid €30,000 per annum. The equipment finance is some €60,000 per
annum, with €15,000 for space/power, etc., €1,500 per week working out at €7.50 per
plate, and labour is €3 per plate – a total of €10.50. The DI press is more expensive than
the conventional model; the plate price is higher than the CTP plate price.
The costs of data preparation, imposing and preparing plates for output is not
considered: these do not change between on-press and off-line imaging. When the press
is running the ink and paper costs are identical, the difference being the hourly rated cost.
The presses both run at a nominal 12,000iph – it is the higher cost of the DI press that
increases the cost of print as the run length goes up. In this example the benefit of the
cheaper set-up, some €18 per job, will be eliminated after less than 15 minutes running,
3,000 copies.

3
FIGURE 3.3 Cost build-up comparison between conventional process colour and DI
printing
500
400
300
Cost (€)
200
100
0
Set-up 100 500 1,000 5,000 10,000
Run length
Conventional Speedmaster 74 DI Speedmaster 74
Figure 3.3 shows the relative costs (excluding paper and ink) of printing a process colour
job on the DI and conventional versions of the Speedmaster. The price benefit for DI
technology is gained by saving the prepress costs associated with off-line platemaking.
The crossover point in this example is around 2,000–3,000 copies, varying according to
the specific economics of individual operations. If a lower cost DI machine, such as the
Karat 74, was included, the hourly rate would be lower, polyester plate costs are lower so
the crossover line would be at a higher run length.
Most digital press suppliers suggest that the unit cost of their prints does not change.
In fact there can be a significant variation according to the total monthly volume.

TABLE 3.3 Impact of volume on digital print unit cost

Capital cost €300,000
Monthly capital €4,417
Maintenance €200
Monthly usage Total click cost Total cost Unit cost of A3

1 €0 €4,616.72 €4616.67
25k €1,250 €5,866.67 €0.23
50k €2,500 €7,116.67 €0.14
75k €3,750 €8,366.67 €0.11
100k €5,000 €9,616.67 €0.10
125k €6,250 €10,866.67 €0.09
150k €7,500 €12,116.67 €0.08
175k €8,750 €13,366.67 €0.08
200k €10,000 €14,616.67 €0.07
225k €11,250 €15,866.67 €0.07
250k €12,500 €17,116.67 €0.07
Most digital print, using laser print systems, has the per-click model to cover consumables.
If the volume is maximised, the fixed costs (capital and maintenance) are amortised over
a higher volume so the unit cost drops. This allows printers to use the technology at
lowest unit cost by filling the available capacity with work that would otherwise be digital
and optimise their production mix.

3
FIGURE 3.4 Relation of unit cost of digital print with monthly volume
0.25
0.23
0.21
0.19
0.17
Cost (€)
0.15
0.13
0.11
0.09
0.07
0.05
0
00
00
00
00
00
0
00
00
00
00
00
,0
,0
,0
,0
,0
,0
0,
5,
5,
0,
25
50
75
20
22
10
12
17
25
15
Monthly usage

Origination and prepress for
digital printing
4
The origination function consists of the creative and production processes that translate
an idea or concept into a file suitable for printing. The installation of digital printing
provides a challenge to the prepress departments of traditional printing companies. As
print run lengths drop with digital print engines, the turnover of print-ready files from
the prepress area must be much higher. This can cause a significant imbalance to
conventional printers, where one set of plates might occupy a machine for an afternoon;
with digital printing that prepress work can be consumed in a matter of minutes.
Management must be aware of the changing dynamic and plan for sufficient capacity
and to recover the costs incurred. In the case of a complex personalisation project there
may be many months of development and prepress work necessary for a few minutes of
production on a daily basis. It is necessary to understand the value to the client and to
develop appropriate commercial methods to operate successfully.
For digital printing the prepress will be totally digital, with the printing itself an
extension of the prepress process. That is one reason why many prepress companies invest
in digital printing to develop their services as the industry changes. Unlike conventional
printing presses, there are very few controls on digital machines to adjust the printed
result in terms of content, position and colour on the run. It is essential that the optimum
file is served to the engine first time or unrecoverable costs will be incurred and time will
be lost as the prepress is corrected. This makes the smooth operation of origination
absolutely critical to the success of digital printing.
Much digital print will use files submitted from customers, many using standard
office- and home-use software that can be problematic in producing files suitable for
high-quality print. The majority of work will be supplied as PDF files, the printer receiving
the file electronically, preflighting and using a workflow system to organise the jobs.
Origination and design Good design is critical to the success of all printed products, no matter how short the
print run (perhaps a single personalised copy). The purpose of the printed product will
determine the sophistication of design. An in-house document may be acceptable with
low-resolution RGB (image files held in red, green, blue format rather than CMYK – cyan,
magenta, yellow and black) images placed in boxes created in a word processing package,
but if this is a promotional item for a prospective customer there is no substitute for high-
quality images and well-set text within a clear, well-designed page.
Conventional digital prepress tends to be an expensive and time-consuming stage,
but many developments are coming together to change this situation. Using sophisticated
database management and flexible templating, pages that have inherently good design
can be constructed automatically. More powerful RIP/servers allow high-speed variable
data jobs from many sources to be handled efficiently.
Prepress workflow Most jobs for digital printing will be submitted by the customer either as a native
application file (e.g. QuarkXpress, InDesign, MS Publisher, etc.), or as a PDF. The file will
be submitted to the printer or, increasingly, generated automatically using a web-to-print

Origination and prepress for digital printing
model, with the printer handling the processing, ensuring the file is optimised for
production and handling the administration. A typical mechanism is shown in Figure 4.1.
FIGURE 4.1 Typical prepress workflow for digital printing
Feedback to
Native files
customer
and PDFs
Design rules Web to print
White copy JDF

MIS
Automated
page make up
Digital photo
Asset
management Design/page Preflight Optimised PDF
Scan database make up check
Image library
Personalisation Prepare PPML PRINT

Recipient Versioning
profile
database
Finish/deliver
Workflow describes the organisation of the various production stages of a print project; for
digital printing the workflow will be digital. It is the various points in the process where a
conversion from digits to some other form of presentation is needed that will cause most
difficulty – for example, proofing. More so than any of the other printing technologies,
digital printing is expected to be an automatic process by the data originators, who
consider digital printing an extension of their network. Indeed with proper workflow
management it is just that. This means that the need for the data to be correct when
leaving the originator is greater than in any other form of printing because it will go
through fewer, post-origination checking procedures. For digital printing the expectation

4
will be that it should just run. Already designers send their work straight to the printer,
and with the uptake of digital printing, it can be straight to the press itself. These industry
shifts will continue, as tools develop to monitor and control workflow. Effective workflow
will be assembled from analysis of the specialised demands of the particular print process,
including the checks and balances necessary to ensure commercial success.
There are several software tools available for printers to control their workflow. Most
systems are based around the emerging job description format (JDF) that will be widely
used throughout the printing industry. Workflow systems will increasingly manage the
administration process as well as the production, offering benefits of reducing the process
overhead costs. The scope of the tools allows new jobs to be initiated and tracks the
progress of existing jobs. For digital printing the track can be set up with specific
requirements for each printer.
Output file Print suppliers should prepare guidelines for the acceptance of digital files with help on
preparation – the preparation of press-ready PDFs. This document may be either printed or electronic; if
preflight checking electronic it should include the Acrobat Distiller job option settings preferred by the
printer to help with the production of the final file.
All too often files prepared by designers, journalists, authors, academics and
customers are prepared for content or appearance rather than for the digital construction
required in production. The process of ensuring that files will print has developed a raft of
new programmes to check the supplied files – preflighting.
The principle of preflight checking recognises that the majority of possible errors fit
within a narrow range of categories. By identifying and overcoming those errors then the
digital workflow will move (relatively) unhindered. The terms preflight checking and
preflighting come from pilots’ use of a checklist prior to take-off. Regardless of their level
of experience they will perform a series of formal routines that, providing the results of
each are positive, guarantee the safe state of the aircraft prior to flight. The same
principles are applied to the preparation of a data file prior to despatch. Preflighting
can either be done manually or it can be done automatically by computer software.
The direct nature of digital printing shifts the responsibility for the file being correct
for print firmly on to the shoulders of the originator. Colour graphics are a primary cause
of problems simply because of the ever-increasing variety of sources that they can be
originated in. Pictures now can be included in a document whether they are technically
suitable or not, so screen grabs, web GIFs, highly compressed JPEGs and nested EPSs are
just some of the problem types that preflighting will identify early enough in the workflow
to enable correction before jeopardising a deadline.
Software checking is not usually sufficient on its own because there are elements
outside the data file that are important too. Preflighting is so important to the smooth
running of a digital workflow that routines combining both manual and software
checking should be installed and all work should pass through them before being passed
on to the next stage of production.

One new product is Good2Print, a Mac server-based preflight checking and error correcting
workflow; it only passes what’s good to print. It handles native application files and PDFs
and can be configured to suit the needs of a wide variety of printers. Specific benefits
include the use of any font with kerning pair sets, checking any flavour of PDF, PostScript
and also the inclusion of native file formats. It operates on a hot folder basis either locally
or over the web. Clients can drop a file into a folder and files are uploaded to the service
provider, checked and loaded into the workflow. The system will perform a range of checks
as specified, reporting or fixing them as soon as they are received. A report will be
generated as soon as the file is received, providing good service for the client by
identifying potential problems immediately. This will ensure only files that are fit for
purpose can be uploaded. The client will get a full report directly via the system if there
are any problems. Figure 4.2 outlines the workflows associated with the product,
individual customers will set up the specific route and settings for their particular
operation and equipment.
FIGURE 4.2 Good2Print workflow schematic
Digital printer Digital proofer
Large-format printer Large-format printer
Digital printer Compress Encapsulate Restructure Preflight Correct Activate Automatic Deactivate Digital printer
job loose file job job images fonts printing fonts
Litho press Litho press
Decompress Generate report Error during

Digital archive job process Digital archive
X
Error
Source: ROI Distibution
The Good2Print system allows some common errors to be fixed automatically, including
RGB–CMYK image conversion, JPEG compression correction, font activation and
deactivation and placing jobs directly into the appropriate print queue. The company is
positioning the product as a valuable addition to the prepress function of any digital print

4
company, replacing the need for highly skilled operators (the PostScript doctor) to be
constantly available for most jobs.
Automatic make-up For short-run jobs the design and prepress costs are of particular importance as they will
make the difference between the project being economically viable or not. The use of a
professional Mac operator spending much time designing and crafting pages is difficult to
bear. The rise of low-cost office page make-up programmes, such as Microsoft Publisher,
can make the most experienced digital print operator blanch. The files often contain
incorrect settings and content that may well be caught by preflight checking, but this
incurs costs and additional time, neither of which are generally available. One solution is
to use variable data applications that load personal details into pre-formatted document
templates to create the final version that is printed and distributed to the recipient – a
single design used many times.
New technology is enabling these automatic make-up applications to create and
assemble customised and personalised pages. Many will be linked to websites, inviting
customers to prepare their jobs and proof in real time before submitting a job that has
been optimised for the particular print process. Content can be assembled into pre-
determined templates automatically, with the system making up pages or documents that
have the appearance of being designed by operators. Applications such as XMPie, Pres or
PageFlex enable the automatic production of customised documents targeted to
individuals or small groups. The selection of the digital content is controlled by final
consumer profile information. Flexible templates then assemble this selected content into
the final document for output.
The document content will vary according to the individual customer profile
information. The template captures the overall abstract look, automatically adjusting the
layout according to the size and placement of the variable content. New output systems
provide optimised PDFs to go to a conventional RIP or digital colour press with the correct
colour management.
Image capture Most continuous-tone images are now sourced as digital photography or from digital
libraries, with rapid decline in the use of transparencies and reflection copy requiring
scanning.
Digital photography Modern digital photographic equipment produces images of the highest quality,
indistinguishable from conventionally produced scans, and is being adopted by
professional photographers across all disciplines. It offers the benefits of reducing
timescale and allowing more people to contribute to the final result. The uptake of digital
photography is accelerating with the increase in resolution and decrease in cost of the
camera hardware. The technology and economics for digital photography are compelling
– the immediacy of the final image results in workflow improvements. Digital
photography is a natural tool for the front-end of digital print and its use will continue

to accelerate. This will not just be the replacement of conventional photography, with
photographers changing over the tools of their trade, but also be the enabling of new
sources of images.
A concern for many digital printers is receiving photographs taken by their customers
on low-cost digital cameras that may not be suitable for reproduction. The shot may not
be particularly good but that is the client’s choice; of more concern is ensuring it is
technically up to standard. Printers should supply guidelines for the provision of suitable
files. Ideally they should be CMYK image files at a resolution of 300dpi for the final
output size. A common problem is receiving RGB compressed images at resolutions too
low to achieve optimal reproduction.
Digital stock libraries The use of stock photography will grow. It reflects the trend of professionals shooting,
creating, scanning and controlling their own images, enjoying the immediacy of doing
their own scanning and manipulation at the desktop. Stock photography is popular not
just for its cost, but for its ability to provide flexibility and control. Outright purchase of
the rights to an image (royalty-free) will increase with a one-off payment made to the
library owner. Faster download speeds of high-resolution images will further boost
distributed image libraries across the world. This market will grow to meet the demand
from the expansion of web pages needing images. Sites must be kept fresh so web
designers update their images regularly.
Colour management Monitors and output devices such as inkjet printers and digital presses may display or
print the same colour differently. As a result, if the same file is displayed on two different
monitors they are likely to appear different, just as the same file sent to two different
digital print engines may look different. Controlling the quality of colour printing has
become more straightforward and structured through the use of industry-standard colour
management techniques, together with regular calibration of the digital press.
Colour management has become increasingly effective and is often transparent to the
user, built in to software and hardware and working transparently to most users. Process
colour is controlled and optimised at all stages of the communication process, generally in
accordance with the ICC standard. This is particularly useful for digital presses because of
limited on-the-fly adjustment capabilities, and the colour gamut of the machines is wider
than for conventional printing. So a colour space can be defined to optimise the results of
the job in software at the prepress and RIPing stage.
All input, viewing and proofing devices and digital presses should be fingerprinted
under controlled conditions to define their colour capability and prepare a colour profile.
This will typically be performed at press installation and in the profile applied to files for
printing. These profiles are stored with the files (in the asset management system) and
applied to the images when output is selected.
This will help to ensure that the correct colour is printed regardless of the press used.
If proofs are required they will be printed on the production machine or using colour

4
management that allows good quality contract proofs to be produced remotely on

relatively low-cost inkjet devices, often at the client’s office. This also reduces the time
required for approval. Colour management will be automatically applied to images to be
used on the web, as it can work across all media, generating lower resolution RGB files to
minimise download time.
Personalisation Documents have been personalised for many years for the production (mainframe)
printing and direct mail industries. Most new digital presses offer options for personalising
that have not previously been possible. These options are being sold to customers that do
not have experience of complex data administration, which is traditionally more the
working environment of banks and insurance companies than of graphic designers and
publishers. The engine manufacturers have recognised the opportunities offered by their
technologies in this field and have developed various software applications to encourage
its use. Unlike conventional document design and make-up, which is well understood, the
success of personalised print depends not only on the relevance of the content and the
appearance of the final elements, but also on the management, coding format and
availability of the variable data.
There are many solutions to offer personalisation capability, from simple office mail-
merge functions, through database reporting to specialised graphics rich software. Press
suppliers offer variable data capability with software such as Xeikon’s Private Eye, HP
Indigo’s Yours Truly, NexPress’s Nextreme and Xerox’s AutoGraph to control sophisticated
elements of a graphic design – both text and illustrations. The vendors make these
applications widely available to designers as they provide a very good introduction to the
possibilities that variable data printing offers. However, on a larger scale it is not the
graphic design that is the crucial element. It is the data collection, organisation and
filtration for the target recipient that is crucial to the success and realisation of the full
potential of the technology.
There are many new software solutions available from independent suppliers that will
generate final pages to send to the press. These may require RIPing and can overload the
press front-end, creating much non-productive time. One emerging standard is PPML
(personalised print mark-up language), which is being developed to make complex
personalisation and versioning more efficient. This is supported by EFI, Hewlett-Packard,
IBM, NexPress, Xerox, Creo, Océ, Xeikon, Exstream, GMC Software, Pageflex, Printsoft and
XMPie, among others. The concept is to make the workflow more efficient by reducing the
file size to allow better resource management.
Certain parts of the page are held in memory and reused, while the other, variable,
elements are RIPed for each image. Not having to process all of each page greatly reduces
the processor load. This allows complex variable print jobs to be imaged by sending layout
instructions and each document’s unique data, instead of having to re-send graphics that
have been used before. This allows complex data-driven jobs that could have millions of

records to be transferred very efficiently, and the resources managed, over networks with
limited bandwidth.
These objects can be stored permanently, so subsequent print runs using the same
objects are even more efficient, even months later. This enables fast, cost-effective
production of print projects that recur frequently with new sets of data. These methods
help to run printers at their full rated speed – even with complex variable graphics
content.
Asset management Management of content is important to provide easy routes to print using an asset
databases management database. This is the repository for all graphic elements (pictures/text/
logos/illustrations/templates/documents/pages/publications), catalogued according to
customer requirements. These elements have metadata associated with them: descriptive
(keywords, what is it, what form, what colour), physical (type of file, dimensions and file
size, resolution, colour space) and workflow (is it ready for use, where is it in the
production schedule, a full audit trail). Keywords allow sophisticated searching on all
communication material while providing maximum production efficiencies and optimal
workflow, reducing lead times.
Use in conjunction with automated make-up enables fast and low-cost prepress in
preparing high-quality pages for digital printing.
Front-end and Digital presses are all raster devices, placing colourant onto a substrate under the control
RIP functions of a RIP that will be fed with data and instructions from a server. The server will handle
imposition, queue management and variable data, and also integrates with independent
third-party vendor applications – e-commerce store fronts, MIS systems, print management
software, and other web applications for the graphic arts industry.
As most documents assemble both raster and vector information, there is a need to
convert the content into raster values. This is performed by the raster image processor
(RIP). The RIP is software running on a high-speed computer and is the heart of a
production output system. Data flowing through a RIP passes through three stages of
processing. First, the PostScript page description is interpreted. From that interpretation
a display list is built that contains reference to every object on the page and their
properties. The third stage is the conversion of the display list into device-specific
commands to control the actions of the output engine.
RIPs are multi-function appliances, taking responsibility for a whole host of data
preparation services. The RIP can: generate halftones; prepare colour separations; apply
print-specific alterations such as tone reproduction and tone transfer changes; apply
spreads and chokes and increasingly will handle colour management tasks.
The trend is for the front-end communication software supplied with a RIP to aid the
management of the workflow to it. Facilities for setting up programmed queues, tracking
jobs, and visualising and editing individual pages within complex documents are common.

4
The quality of the final printed image will be determined by the colour rendering
capability and calibration of the RIP. A Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT, US) study in
2005 showed very close comparison of image quality between colour electrophotography
and offset litho, with the RIP a key component in optimising the image quality.

Technology in digital printing
5
There are several competing technologies offered to printers and users of digital print. As
a straightforward extension of offset printing, several suppliers offer direct plate imaging
on-press, effectively incorporating computer-to-plate (CTP) technology on press. Totally
different approaches are taken by direct imaging suppliers with electrophotographic
(laser) printing and inkjet technology.
On-press direct imaging (computer-to-press), where the plate is exposed in situ, to
produce short to medium runs of identical copies;
Variable data printing, where the image is formed afresh for each print. Applications
may be for limited personalisation, totally variable production or for short runs of
identical copies.
These are shown schematically in Figure 5.1.
FIGURE 5.1 Schematic of the different types of digital printing
A. On-press direct imaging (DI). A plate B. Variable digital printing. There is no C. Industrial inkjet printing. Wide-format
master is imaged digitally on press; multiple master; each print is uniquely imaged on and web-fed signage and posters,
identical copies are then printed offset demand, with variable content, collation packaging and decorating materials
and layout as required
Xerox DocuColor 8000 Agfa :Dotrix ScitexVision XLJet
Heidelberg Quickmaster DI-Pro
Plate Short-run POD, Variable data print, Variable data print,

identical copies collated product unique copies
Vehicle livery
Packaging
Building wraps and posters
Decoration
The different technologies and their suppliers have different criteria. For commercial
printing the inexorable trend is increasing productivity (machines are becoming larger and
faster) with improved quality, such that it is increasingly difficult to differentiate between

process colour lithography and digital print. As the productivity increases the unit cost of
production has declined so that digital is now the most effective technology for printing
many print jobs. This is almost a given for mono applications, and there are signs that this
is also happening for many short-run process colour applications.
Figure 5.2 is a map of the range of on-press imaging and variable data devices that
are commercially available or have been demonstrated as potential systems. There are
benefits and drawbacks associated with each type. This range makes some form of digital
printing appropriate for most print applications, with the exception of long-run high-
quality markets. The figure shows the relative positions of available technologies
expressed in terms of the print quality and speed.
FIGURE 5.2 Technology map showing the relative positions of digital print processes
Inkjet proofing
High On-press (DI) imaging:
Heidelberg, Karat,
Ryobi, Screen KPG
Colour laser:
HP-Indigo, Xerox
Xeikon, Nexpress
, Rh t:
UR kje
o
, N at in
Colour inkjet:
Sci e-form
Colour workgroup:
Canon, Ricoh, Inca Digital,
tex
Konica-Minolta :Dotrix, Jetrion,

Wid
ScitexVision
Print quality
Colour inkjet:
VersaMark
Medium Sheet-fed mono: Web-fed mono:
Desktop laser Xerox, Heidelberg Océ, IBM, Xerox
and inkjet
Magnetography
Electron beam
Mono inkjet:
VersaMark
Low Inkjet marking: Domino, Marconi
1 10 100 200 500 1,000
Rated print speed (A4ppm)
As Figure 5.2 suggests, there are systems available to print products in a wide range of
qualities and quantities. Digital printing represents a continuum of devices with quality,
format, capacity and speed options all well covered. The continuum is broadening all the
time, making it difficult to really segment the range of available equipment. The
continuum moves from personal and desktop printers for home and office use, with
photo-realistic inkjet devices offering very high quality, for very low weekly and monthly
usage, to workgroup and industrial-strength colour printers capable of offset quality rated
at 500,000 prints per month. Beside these there is a range of inkjet systems, with heads

5
integrated onto presses, wide-format machines and specialist lines. These use a variety of
ink systems to print onto many materials from paper, board, plastics and even metal. On-
press imaging is concentrated on B3 and B2 formats, although Komori has a B1 (1,020 ×
740mm) machine and Wifag is developing a newspaper system. These support any
materials and inks that can be used in traditional offset printing.
Digital print technology has allowed print buyers and producers to respond to
emerging market demands more effectively than established commercial processes. There
are examples where digital printing may be more economical than conventional litho or it
might provide a faster turnaround, cases where the technology competes directly with
conventional and is a replacement. There are other examples where the technology allows
new capabilities, such as personalisation or producing very short runs economically, so
allowing incremental volume to be produced.
The increasing use of digital prepress means that most printed items have existed in
digital form at some stage during production. Conventional analogue print processes are
embracing digital technology to maintain and improve their competitive position. So, to
an extent all print is digital. Various market forecasts show changing trends in share of
print processes, but they all show relative decline in conventional processes with great
increase in digital printing. Digital print is as much a service as it is a print production
operation.
Buyer’s checklist for Digital printing engines have evolved from devices that mimic conventional presses to
investment in those that are so fundamentally different that they offer entirely new applications. Many
digital printing printers are seduced by the idea of installing the new technology they read about in
journals or see at exhibitions to complement their conventional technology and offer
additional services to customers. The correct investment decision is one of the most
important facing any printing business; getting it wrong can jeopardise the company.
When considering investment in a digital print system, any organisation should
undergo a systematic process to determine the justification for investment. There is no
all-embracing model. There will always be cases where investment is determined by a
client demanding a specific solution where the equipment and economics are very
straightforward. When considering an investment, it is the real business benefits of these
new facilities that must be considered, rather than the technological features. The most
important question for any organisation to answer is ‘Does the use of digital printing offer
benefits for customers, both existing and potential?’. But the technical questions are also
important:
Is the quality good enough?
How productive is the device?
How reliable is the device?
Does the company have the correct infrastructure to provide the required service?
Printers have a tendency to concentrate on such technical details, but remain subservient
to the business issues. The printing industry has long been categorised as production lead

rather than market driven. The key for technical consideration is to question whether the
technology will allow the company to serve its customers better and how can it provide a
sustainable profitable business. As with any major investment, a detailed business case
should be developed to determine if the project is feasible. The following should be
considered:
Business/organisational needs:
Market demand, budgeted achievable sales/added value;
Impact on installed plant, will digital take volume from conventional printing presses,
what is the impact on prepress/platemaking areas?
Will the investment cope with seasonal peaks?
What contingency is in place?
Economic justification:
Standard financial considerations of the investment must be applied to ensure it is
commercially viable. This may be hurdle rate, payback term, return on investment or
NPV (net present value of cashflows), and calculations should take into account the
capital, consumables and running, and maintenance costs;
Ensure that the available capacity calculations represent achievable levels of
utilisation and productive time, allowing for planned downtime.
Technical considerations:
Quality of the product – resolution of mono engines, achievable colour reproduction,
finishing;
Front-end – RIP/server/personalisation/link to website and e-commerce systems;
Paper/substrate handling – web- or sheet-fed, particular formats, range of basis
weights that can be used, whether special grades required (as is the case with water-
based ink systems);
Finishing – how will the final product be manufactured, integrated on-line or off-line?
If on-line, take into account set-up times and wastage;
Distribution – mailing.
When complete, the organisation will have several key criteria that will be used to
determine which available technology is best suited to the particular application.
TABLE 5.1 Criteria to consider in an investment decision

Quality What are the ongoing product characteristics, e.g. offset or copier colour,
different resolution mono, finished job format, substrates, web or sheet?
Productivity What volume of print is required per minute, per shift, per week, annually –
taking into account peak seasonal workloads and real achievable production
rather than maximum rated machine speed? What contingency is in place?
Cost Capital, maintenance and per copy. Include necessary manning requirements,
remembering that additional machines may not require additional dedicated
labour
Peripherals Front-end, personalisation capability, paper handling, on-line finishing, binding,
mailing

5
When buying a digital printer it is not just the engine that must be considered. There are
three elements to consider in any digital print investment:
The front-end and data management
The print engine
Any specific finishing units, integrated or off-line.
Printing engines have evolved to provide improved quality, increased speed and lower
cost. As these improvements were made, the equipment has started to move from devices
that simply mimic conventional offset printing presses to machines that also offer new
applications. The quality and productivity are fairly straightforward to assess, but for
companies used to conventional printing the cost models of digital equipment suppliers
often cause confusion.
It is the marketing and business objectives that should drive any decision to invest in
digital print technology. The goal should be to serve existing customers better and/or to
offer additional services and attract new customers. Users are adopting digital printing for
one of two reasons:
To achieve what they already do more effectively – i.e. better quality, lower cost and
faster turnaround;
To communicate with consumers in new ways.
If the technology does not offer benefits then it will not take the place of conventional
printing. It should not be forgotten that conventional printing is also changing to improve
its competitive position; the main benefits should therefore accrue to the user of print.
Digital print There are many different technologies available to apply colorant onto substrate in the
considerations digital printing of a document, book, package, newspaper, brochure, label, poster, etc.
All involve at least a three-stage (often more) process, encompassing:
Receipt of job data;
Processing data – imposing pages, colour management, RIPing files, sending
instructions to the imaging engine;
Imaging onto the substrate.
Additionally there may be a requirement to incorporate some finishing processes (cutting,
creasing, folding, binding to whatever product is needed) with the imaging into an
integrated line that must be controlled in tandem with printing. Digital print machines
have to be able to receive files from design, prepress and office applications, and then
convert these into a commercially acceptable product. In many respects, the operation of
a digital press is more akin to an extension of a prepress operation rather than a print
manufacturing process. There tend to be many low-value, small-quantity jobs (runs of one
in the case of personalisation) being produced rather than a few large jobs. This changes
the balance between prepress and printing for many conventional print businesses,
making the management of workflow into the digital operation difficult.
The speed and capacity of the various systems on the market vary considerably, from
a few single-sided A4 prints per minute, to 2,000 good-quality full-colour duplexed pages

on the fastest inkjet machines. The requirement for paper transport and control varies
significantly among the machines, along with the capital cost and the ultimate printed
cost of the product.
The range of uses varies from low-speed home office devices producing a few business
cards and general stationery, through office and workgroup devices with faster printing and
higher capacity, to machines used as print production engines in commercial companies
and in-plant departments. There is a continuum of printers that range in terms of:
Speed – up to 2,000 A4ppm, 6,000m2/hr for flatbed inkjet;
Capacity – up to millions of pages per week;
Format – web and sheet to ultra-wide (5m+) and large-format flatbed;
Capability – from mono, spot colour, process colour and very wide gamut photo-
realistic capability;
Quality – from low-resolution mono laser and inkjet through to offset-quality colour.
Costs range from around €100 to upwards of €3 million. Conventional offset press
manufacturers have observed a growing threat to their business and have developed
digital hybrids of their presses, imaging their plates in situ on-press.
On-press imaging On-press imaging or direct imaging (DI® is a registered trademark of Presstek Inc. and
Heidelberg) presses are offset presses that incorporate plate imaging within the press
design. The plate technology for these presses is similar to that used in off-press CTP
systems, the plates print multiple copies of the same non-variable image as conventional
offset litho printing. Files are sent from the prepress network direct to the printing press,
all plates are then imaged simultaneously in register.
The key suppliers of imaging systems for DI are Presstek Inc. and Kodak’s Creo. The
plate technology employed is laser ablation on polyester and aluminium plates that
require no separate processing. Presstek’s PEARLdry plate comprises an aluminium or
polyester base coated with a very thin layer of titanium dioxide with a top layer of ink-
repellent silicone.
The basic concept is simple and depends on an ablation process. A powerful thermal
laser vaporises the uppermost image-forming layers of a printing plate to expose the ink-
receptive base layer. The plate is imaged directly on press without chemicals or film. The
image areas of the plate are exposed under digital control by a thermal laser source. The
laser energy is absorbed by the titanium dioxide layer, causing it to ablate (vaporise) and
release the silicone from the base in these areas. The residual material that is left on the
plate from this process must be removed by cleaning cloths or rollers before the print run
can commence. Imaging occurs with ink on the base material being repelled by the
silicone surface. For DI presses using wet litho printing there are similar ablation plates
from Presstek, Agfa (Thermolite) and KPG (TNPP). The residual material left after imaging
with these plates is fine enough to be taken away by vacuum and the ink/dampening
system of the press, so a prolonged plate cleaning cycle is unnecessary.

5
FIGURE 5.3 Mechanism of laser ablation for on-press plate imaging
Thermal laser exposure
Oleophobic silicone surface layer
Titanium dioxide imaging layer
Image
Ink-receptive plate base (coated aluminium or polyester)
The plates used are the polyester-based TF-200 technology from Konica Minolta, which
does not require separate processing or development. The 0.2mm base is coated with two
layers. The first is oleophobic (water receptive), with a top layer that is a thermal-sensitive
oleophilic (water-repelling) material. When exposed, the laser beam hardens the material,
and when the press is run up the fount solution dissolves away the unexposed area,
providing a print-ready polyester plate. This process is shown schematically in Figure 5.3.

FIGURE 5.4 TruePress plate exposure technology
830nm thermal laser exposure beam
Thermal sensitive coating
Water-receptive
layer
0.2mm polyester base
Exposed printing dots
Once exposed, the TF-200 plate allows printing to start immediately after exposure.
Unlike ablation systems, no debris is produced and there is no need for special cleaning or
treatment. Presstek uses modular LED exposure technology, while Creo uses its SquareSpot
thermal laser exposure.
Heidelberg has led the market for DI presses since the launch of the first on-press
imaging system, the GTO-DI, in 1992. Heidelberg then developed the Quickmaster DI, an
original design rather than a modified conventional press, and the Speedmaster 74DI,
which incorporated imaging heads on a conventional press. Other manufacturers, such as
MAN Roland, Screen and Karat, have developed new concepts with significant changes to
traditional offset inking and control.
On-press imaging is an area of significant development for sheet-fed offset press
manufacturers attempting to increase the productivity of their machines through
automating the set-up and make-ready. The large number of these DI presses in
production indicates the response of the conventional press manufacturers to the
development of digital printing. They are adapting their traditional machines to compete
rather than trying to innovate a whole new technology strand. Manufacturers claim that
DI offers the ability to make more jobs in less time, getting through a job more quickly.
The process eliminates the manual production steps, labour and costs associated with
plate-making, so enabling printers to be more competitive in a market that continually
demands faster turnaround time, lower run lengths and lower costs, with no sacrifice of

5
quality. A DI-enabled press can be a very cost-effective method of printing process colour
jobs at run lengths of 500 to 25,000.
The claimed benefits in the DI concept include:
No cost incurred with a stand-alone platesetter and, particularly, attendant operator;
True offset quality and materials; some models allow spot-colour capability;
No floor space requirement for platesetter;
Fast turnaround time – the ability to make more jobs in less time and get through
a job more quickly;
Seamless integration of plate imaging with press make-ready;
Images are in register without need for adjustment.
These are offset against the weaknesses:
Higher cost of the press due to the incorporation of the imaging heads;
The press environment is less than ideal for laser imaging;
Breakdown in the imaging side means that expensive press time is also lost (not true
for all presses).
It is not clear what the future for this technology is. The current installed base is quite low
but it offers the potential of improving the position of litho printing. Creo suggests that
plateless offset printing technology will greatly boost on-press imaging with its Digital
Offset Printing (DOP) system. The plateless DOP system uses SP technology, whereby a
reusable substrate is cleaned of the previous image, sprayed with a lithographic coating,
laser imaged and then printed in a normal manner. For printers this technology promises
significant advantages (although plate suppliers react with considerable suspicion at the
idea of reusable media). First demonstrated publicly several years ago, the potential for
commercial application will be determined by a marketing decision by one of the leading
offset plate suppliers, calculating the potential effects on a major part of their business.
Agfa continues to evaluate the potential of this type of technology with a thermal
sensitive no-process coating (Litespeed). This will be sprayed on to the plate or cylinder
surface and imaged with a thermal laser source. Processing will be completed when non-
image areas are removed by the inking system. This is particularly interesting for DI
presses, and Komori has indicated support for it, but the system is still not yet in
commercial production.
Asahi Chemicals in Japan has demonstrated a polymer-coated plate that is
hydrophilic (water wetting) but has the capability to switch to being hydrophobic when
imaged with an infrared (IR, 830nm) laser source. The switching is achieved by
incorporating microcapsules in the polymer. These burst when exposed to the laser source,
releasing chemicals that change both the colour and the water wetting of the polymer. If
it can be perfected it provides an ideal plate material for DI presses.
MAN Roland has a DI press which uses an erasable cylinder system – the DICOweb
(DIgital ChangeOver) – with worldwide installations in commercial heatset web presses
printing up to 30,000 runs. The cycle involves the ink and previous image being removed
using a special erasing solution within an integral cleaning device on completion of the

job. The cylinder is then ready for the next imaging process. The new image (a polymer
resin) is transferred to the plate sleeve from a donor ribbon by laser-induced thermal
transfer, using a Creo thermal imaging head (shown in Figure 5.5). When the imaging
operation is finished, the material transferred is fixed and made more durable by heat
treatment. This is followed by a cylinder-conditioning process to enhance the hydrophilic
nature of the non-image areas. Now the cylinder is ready for printing by conventional wet
offset. The image is claimed to be good for around 30,000 copies, after that it can be
removed and imaged again. The process can be repeated around 200 times before it is
necessary to replace the seamless steel sleeve.
FIGURE 5.5 Schematic of the DICOweb imaging process
Source: MAN Roland
One advantage offered by the on-press technology is the proven ability for substrate
conversion that offset printing provides; the difference is the plate-imaging method, rather
than the inks, printing mechanism and paper transport.

5
FIGURE 5.6 Schematic of the Karat 74 press
Source: Karat
Printer duplicators An interesting niche, halfway between on-press imaging and variable data printing, is
offered by the digital duplicator, available from Riso and Duplo. Machines combine
scanning and direct links to a digital original to produce a master, a special material that
has the image produced as an array of small holes. This is wrapped around the inking
drum and paper is pressed against the surface, the pressure squeezing ink through the
voids created by the imaging process.
The duplicator scans the hard-copy original, or a computer-generated image is sent
directly from the desktop, causing the thermal head to image a master. The master, a few
microns thick and made from a polyester resin film bonded to thin, fibrous paper is
wrapped around an ink cylinder. Inside the cylinder, the ink is pressed through the
cylinder screens into the master. Pick-up rollers guide paper to the cylinder where the ink
is transferred to the page via pressure. Colours are added by changing ink cylinders and
running the copies through the printer-duplicator multiple times. While these machines
produce documents directly from a PC or Macintosh connected to the system controller,
they also work as stand-alone devices by duplicating hard copy read by internal scanners.
The quality is limited but the technology offers very economical production of low run
lengths at speeds of 120ppm. The ink drum can be changed quickly to offer spot colours,
but tight registration is impractical. Duplicators are designed to bridge the gap between
the variable data printer and desktop printers for short runs where quality is not
paramount, for applications such as simple forms and stationery.
Variable data The major technologies in use commercially are electrophotography (laser printing) and
printing technologies inkjet. These technologies are packaged into many commercially available systems, with
alternative front-ends (RIPs and servers), paper-handling capabilities and finishing
equipment. In addition there are several potential innovative alternatives – electron beam

imaging (ion deposition), magnetography, toner jet and elcography – in various stages of
development.
Electrophotographic Laser printing is the most widely used digital printing technology for mono and colour
technology applications. The basic operation developed from Carlson’s original 1937 patents on
xerography, through photocopying into digital printing. The basis of the technology is to
create a latent image of electrical charge that is used to selectively attract toner, then to
pass the toner to the paper. At the heart of a laser printer is a photo-receptive drum,
coated with a light-sensitive photoconductive material that loses a positive charge when
light falls on it. The whole surface of the drum is positively charged by a corona and laser
light is shone onto the surface through an array of rotating mirrors in a series of adjacent
scan lines as the drum rotates. The laser is modulated (switched on and off) by a
controller that uses the pattern of incident light to expose the photoconductive drum
point by point, as determined by the bitmap created from the RIPed data file to create a
bitmap image to be printed. This creates a latent image of charge on the surface of the
drum that rotates in front of oppositely charged tiny magnetic colourant particles.
The dry toner is a fine powder comprised of a mixture of coloured toner and magnetisable
carrier particles. HP Indigo’s ElectroInk, for example, comprises electrically chargeable
particles dispersed in a liquid. The latent image is then developed by depositing toner
particles onto the surface of the photoconductive drum. The developer (toner + carrier) is
attracted to a magnetic roller and forms a magnetic brush that applies the toner to the
image drum. Because the toner has a positive charge it adheres to the negative,
discharged, areas of the drum and not to the positively charged non-image area. As the
imaging removes toner from the development unit new toner is added by an automatic
dosing system.
With the toner pattern in position, the drum rolls over a sheet of paper that moves
along a belt underneath. The paper is negatively charged by a transfer corona; this is
stronger than the negative charge of the electrostatic image so the paper can pull the
toner powder away. By moving at the same speed as the drum the paper picks up the
image pattern exactly. To keep the paper from clinging to the drum it is discharged by
a corona after picking up the toner. This process is not 100% efficient, and some toner
remains on the drum and has to be removed by cleaning with a static pad or charged
rotating roller. Cleaning may be improved by using a pre-charged scorotron (the fine wire
used to spread the charge across the photo-receptive drum) to charge toner remaining on
the drum and increase its attraction to the cleaning roller. After cleaning, the drum
surface passes under a discharge lamp. This bright light exposes the entire photoreceptor
surface, erasing the electrical image. The drum surface then passes the charged corona
wire, which reapplies the positive charge. The process is shown schematically in Figure 5.7.

5
FIGURE 5.7 Schematic diagram showing the mechanism of laser printing
Mirror (rotating)
Laser source
Bitmap data
Corona charger
Laser beam sweeping
across imaging drum
Discharge lamp
Developer drum
Rotating photoconductive drum

Toner hopper
Cleaner
Toner particles
Finished print
Paper
High temperature and
Transfer corona Discharge corona pressure fuser
After transfer the toner is still only held on the paper electrostatically, and a final fixing
process is required. This may be heat, or heat and pressure to melt the toner and fuse it
into the fibres at the paper surface. Rollers will typically approach 200°C; the high
temperature is necessary to cause the toner to melt quickly. There are other methods of
fusing, such as the use of solvent vapour or high-intensity flash.
The first colour systems simply married four direct imaging drums together to lay
down cyan, magenta, yellow and black toner. Synchronising these steps decreased speed
and challenged registration, resulting in slow machines and poor image quality.
Manufacturers developed indirect mechanisms of carrier and blanket transfer, individually
and with a shared transfer step, to improve speed and quality. The latest Xerox iGen3
machine uses a single integrated carrier and transfer blanket. These developments, shown
in Figure 5.8, have allowed improvements in colour quality, while developments in paper
handling and image fixing improve productivity and product durability.

FIGURE 5.8 Schematic diagram showing development of image transfer in colour toner
laser printers
C p
Manufacturers are attacking the physical limitations for very fast, high-resolution
electrophotographic engines. Lasers offer limited resolution: the turbulence effects of
powder toners that limit their speed and the need to fuse toner to paper limits the range
of substrates and may lead to curl and the need for conditioning.
Different manufacturers offer variations in terms of data handling and RIPs, laser
exposure systems, toner transfer mechanism, material range and paper-handling
technology. In sheet-fed mono printing Xerox Corporation is the undisputed market leader,
virtually creating the high-speed monochrome, cut-sheet application. Its DocuTech and
DocuPrint ranges of machines are well proven in the field and can be found in the print
rooms of many commercial companies, on-demand print shops, and in printing companies
specialising in the production of short-run books and manuals. They are sheet-fed
machines, printing simplex or duplex and capable of being fitted with a wide range of
finishing options. There are production and MICR versions, as well as the PostScript-fed
flagship – the DocuPrint180, with a maximum speed of 180 A4ppm at 600dpi. At 150ppm,
Kodak’s Digimaster series is now providing stiff competition for high-quality work.

5
FIGURE 5.9 Schematic showing paper path through base unit of the Digimaster E
Path paper sensors
Transport rollers
Figure 5.9 shows the design of the Digimaster print engine. The imaging head places
toner onto a transfer belt that circulates to transfer toner onto the paper, with fuser and
delivery positioned closely together. Temperature and pressure settings are determined by
the paper stock. This short, fairly straight paper path through the Digimaster contributes
to its reliability, with few opportunities for paper jams. This allows heavier stocks to be
printed than other high-speed laser printers – a key advantage for the device.
The Xeikon engine is a dry toner electrophotographic system incorporating variable
density at each imaging point. The organic photo-conductive (OPC) drums are exposed by
wide-array LEDs and each image point exposure can be at one of 16 levels, which
translates as different tone densities on the drum. The variable toner density increases the
range of grey levels for a given screen ruling in a halftone reproduction, and permits edge
smoothing for text and line graphics.

FIGURE 5.10 Schematic of the Xeikon 5000 press
Source: Punch Graphix
Xeikon presses are web-fed, printing simultaneously on both sides of the paper as it rises
vertically between two sets of drums to print the four process colours. The drums are not
geared together, they rotate only by their contact with the paper web. The speed and
tension of the web is controlled by an in-feed nip at the bottom of the tower and draw
roller positioned after the fusing unit. The imaging of each drum is synchronised by a
signal obtained from an encoder positioned on one of the drums. The process of
transferring toner alternatively on each side of the paper without disturbing previously
applied colours is quite complicated, requiring multiple sets of corona wires for each drum.
The fusing of toner onto the substrate takes place in a radiant fuser unit, where the
paper is raised to a temperature of about 140°C to melt and fix the toner. A secondary
heated nip roller-fusing unit may also be used to improve the gloss. The printed copies are
normally delivered to a sheeter/stacker, although a rewind and other finishing options are
also available. The printed sheet size is limited by the maximum web width in one
direction, but the print length is only limited by the system’s available memory.
Continuous image banners of up to 15m can be printed.
The quality of the printed result is influenced significantly by the conductivity
of the substrate, and since this is greatly influenced by the moisture content some pre-
conditioning (pre-drying) of the paper takes place before it enters the printing tower.
The level of drying, transfer currents, fusing temperature, etc. are all substrate dependent,
and to simplify this process script files are provided as part of a paper qualification
process. The presses are available in two formats – 32cm and 50cm wide.
Xerox has had considerable success in selling its DocuColor 2045 and 2060
machines, superseded by the 6000 series and now by the DocuColor 7/8000 range (see

5
Figure 5.11). The newer machines are increasingly productive and reliable and Xerox has
enjoyed considerable success with the graphic arts market.
Xerox started reselling the Xeikon press as the DocuColor 70 and 100 for high quality.
The success of the DocuColor 2000 series saw a decline in DocuColor 70/100 sales,
contributing to the significant financial problems faced by Xeikon. These were the first
machines to offer lithographic quality into the corporate office market with relatively
modest monthly volumes, and have been very successful for Xerox.
FIGURE 5.11 Schematic of the Xerox DocuColor 7/8000 range
Source: Xerox Corporation
Xerox followed these machines up with its iGen3, launched as the first intelligent third
generation digital press, hence the name. It is designed with many mechanical and
imaging enhancements to give high-quality colour output at 100ppm with a low page
printing cost and good reliability. Xerox calls this SmartPress_technology and the machine
is covered by more than 300 patents.
FIGURE 5.12 Schematic of Xerox DocuColor iGen3 press
Source: Xerox Corporation
The toner (Xerox uses the term ‘dry ink’) comprises proprietary formulated uniform micron-
size particles to offer significant advantages in colour and detail reproduction. An array of

very small colour-calibration patches is imaged on the drum between every print. They
control 256-level tone reproduction curves for each colour separation. This automatic
calibration process provides continuous adjustment of critical system parameters to assure
colour consistency while maintaining productivity.
The intelligent fusing process (termed Goldilocks – applying not too much, not too
little, but just the right amount of temperature and pressure to achieve good bonding
with the paper) uses details of paper weight, coating and the amount of toner to optimise
the settings. Adjustments are made on the fly as the paper and coverage change. The last
stop is the decurling station, where any paper curl that has been introduced is removed so
the output is flat and ready for finishing. The settings of image coverage and paper type
are used to adjust the decurler automatically on a page-by-page basis.
The NexPress 2100 is an A3 format dry toner, LED imaging colour press. Before
printing, the paper is conditioned and carried through the press on a transfer belt to
which it is electrostatically affixed. Prior to being attached, the paper is pre-registered in
a similar way to that of conventional sheet-fed presses. The imaging drums are similar to
other electrophotographic engines and use an LED array for exposure, but the transfer to
paper is not typical of other dry toner systems, as it is offset. Offset transfer is claimed to
improve the resulting transfer to less smooth substrates. The fusing unit applies a
combination of heat and pressure to fuse the toner (‘DryInk’ in NexPress terminology).
For duplex printing the sheet is retained on the transfer belt to continue its travel to the
turning section, which turns the sheet while maintaining the same lead edge. All of this is
housed within a relatively large cabinet (see Figure 5.13). The conditions in the cabinet are
controlled as part of the overall quality control system, which incorporates closed-loop
process control to monitor and adjust all process parameters continually, including the
print registration.
FIGURE 5.13 Kodak NexPress 2100
Source: Kodak NexPress

5
Potential developments Future developments in laser printing include new laser sources, with laser diodes and
in toner-based laser edge-emitting blue lasers offering lower costs and higher resolutions. A potential
printing drawback of laser printing has been the toner technology, with turbulence effects limiting
the potential speed and the fused result showing uneven gloss and non-planographic
surface, deficiencies when compared with lithography. Recent developments in emulsion
aggregation, where toner particles are grown to a uniform size distribution and spherical
shape, may provide better quality and productivity, while it is cheaper to make than
conventional toner. The claimed benefits are sharper images and text because there are
no large particles blurring edge definition. In addition, less toner will be needed as
smaller but more uniform particles will cover the sheet with a thinner toner layer while
still achieving the same visual result. Manufacturers claim reductions of up to 40%. Wax
may be incorporated into the toner to stop sticking to the surface of the fuser rollers
without using fuser oil that may leave a residue on the print. This should reduce lost time
spent cleaning the fuser.
Liquid toner HP Indigo uses liquid toners, ElectroInk, which can be produced in a wide range of colours
electrophotography to allow spot-colour printing. The basic imaging principles are electrophotographic but the
colourant construction is quite different to dry toner. The toner is a dispersion of very
small electrically charged pigment particles suspended in an electrically insulating fluid, a
paraffin-like material, and is attracted out of suspension by the electrostatically charged
image on the OPC (organic photoconductive) drum; Indigo uses the term photo imaging
plate, PIP. Since the toner is within a liquid, it is in some ways easier to control. As a result
the particle size can be significantly less (one or two microns) than in a dry toner system,
providing the potential for higher resolution on paper, sharper edge definition and thin
layers of pigment.
The method of applying liquid ElectroInk to the drum is different to that of powder
toners. It is sprayed directly onto the image drum, any excess is removed by a doctor roller
and from here removed by cleaning blades and recycled back to the main ink supply. HP
Indigo technology resembles offset in that the colourant is transferred indirectly to paper
via a transfer blanket. The charged image attracts charged pigment particles to it, but the
very small electrically charged colourant particles are held in suspension in an electrically
insulating fluid – the patented ElectroInk.
Each separation is transferred to a hot (100°C) transfer printing blanket. This melts
the pigment into a thin tacky plastic fluid, with 100% of the ink going across leaving the
PIP clean, ready to be charged and receptive to the next colour. When this meets the cold
paper it sticks instantly and none remains on the blanket while it cools and solidifies. As
soon as the sheet leaves the machine it is dry, so there is no set-off.
This allows all colours to be printed from one print station. As one colour separation
is created and printed, the next colour is output on the same print station because the
blanket transfers 100% of the previous image. To print four colours the paper stays on the
impression drum for four revolutions, each revolution printing a different colour. If the

FIGURE 5.14 Schematic of the HP Indigo printing mechanism
Source: HP Indigo
paper is to be printed on both sides it is held after the first side and returns, having been
tumbled, to print the reverse.
This is an elegant imaging mechanism with several definite advantages over dry
powder systems. The small particle size permits higher resolution, sharper edge definition

5
and thin layers of pigment, with planographic results comparable with offset and none
of the relief effects of early toner systems. Since the toner within a liquid is in some ways
easier to control, with no turbulence, it has the potential of high speed. The translucent
nature and consistent gloss of ElectroInk lets the reflective characteristics of any substrate
shine through, similar to the offset quality of traditional inks.
IndiChrome technology, which enables up to seven-colour printing capability, expands
the colour gamut beyond the standard CMYK capabilities available in some other digital
presses. A good innovation is the ink mixing station, which allows spot colours to be
mixed and used. HP Indigo claims the single print station has advantages of compactness,
lower hardware costs and greater mechanical accuracy. The web-fed devices allow a wide
range of substrate, including flexible packaging to be printed with no fusing involved.
There are also disadvantages, particularly the regular requirement to change hot
blankets and PIPs when they become damaged on the run, which can result in
considerable downtime. When considering technology, downtime must be factored in.
ElectroInk is patented and protected so there is no competition to drive down costs
(although the same situation exists with dry toner – only inkjet has the potential for
competitive supply of colourant).
Inkjet printing Inkjet printing has existed for many years in a relatively simple form – it is the dominant
systems home and small office technology. Very high quality is achievable on photorealistic
imaging and the technology is widely used to generate graphic arts contract proofs on
modestly priced equipment. As computer power increased, so inkjet techniques to create
contract proofs expanded and the capability of direct imaging a fixed or variable data
image onto the substrate developed. This involves movement of the substrate and/or
inkjet head to image the area to be printed.
The goal of inkjet is to print text and colour images that rival the quality, speed and
cost of conventional lithographic processes while maintaining the advantages of variable
data printers. A further advantage is the capability of using spot coloured inks for
corporate applications.
The principle involves directing small droplets of ink from a nozzle onto the surface to
be printed. There are different methods of producing droplets, but a common feature is
the control of droplet position on the substrate by its response to high-frequency digital
electronic signals. Droplet formation involves the application of a controlled pressure on
the liquid ink in its reservoir as it flows into the printing nozzles so that it is broken into
droplets. This is achieved by applying various technologies.
There are two major types of inkjet technology: drop-on-demand (DOD) and
continuous stream printing. The technologies have moved from simple low-resolution
alphanumeric code printing to fast, good-quality colour printing. Manufacturers have been
attracted to inkjet technology because it offers very high speed, low ink cost and is a one-
step, non-contact process. Inkjet print heads are used in home and office printers, wide-
format printers and in digital proofing systems for very high-quality reproductions. As the

imaging units get faster they are being increasingly used in more high-volume
applications.
Because the process is non-impact – only the jet of ink makes contact with the
printing surface – it can be used to print on any shape or texture of substrate. In most
other digital printing methods the image is pressed and fused into the substrate with
heat. Inkjet printing is shown schematically in Figure 5.14.
FIGURE 5.15 Schematic of single-nozzle continuous jet inkjet printing
Ink in
Charging heads
Deflection plates
Gutter
Source: Imaje
A stream of ink is forced through a narrow nozzle under pressure. The resulting high
velocity breaks the ink stream into droplets. The size and frequency of droplets produced
is determined by the surface tension of the liquid ink, the pressure applied and the nozzle
diameter. To ensure regularity of size and spacing of droplet formation, a high-frequency
pulsating pressure is applied continuously to the ink. This is achieved by applying a high-
frequency alternating voltage (up to 1Mhz) to a piezoelectric crystal attached to the ink
reservoir. Controlled placement of the individual ink droplets is obtained by inducing an

5
electrostatic charge on them as they leave the nozzle. The charged droplets then pass
through a set of like-charged plates that deflect the droplets to the required position on
the substrate. The amount of deflection and the consequent positioning of the droplet on
the substrate are decided by the size of charge induced on the droplets as they leave the
nozzle. This in turn is controlled by the size of digital signal supplied to the charging
plates by the digital raster file input. No charge allows the droplet to pass undeflected
into the gutter, and the size of the charge varies the dot position, up to the maximum
deflection. In this way the image, usually text, is defined in one dimension, with the other
from the movement of the head or substrate. Single continuous jets are extensively used
for inline coding, numbering and addressing systems, where they are capable of printing
at web speeds of up to 20m/s or 100,000 articles per hour.
Binary inkjet The next stage is a binary system with an array of inkjet heads each producing a stream
of droplets. These have no variable charge applied to the deflection plates. The image-
forming droplets are not charged, but fly straight to the substrate while unwanted
droplets are charged and deflected into the gutter. The operation is therefore simpler than
the single inkjet application, but the precision of nozzle assembly is considerably more
demanding.
FIGURE 5.16 Schematic showing array of inkjet heads
Source: Imaje
Continuous inkjet Continuous inkjet printing involves shooting a very fine stream of
ink that breaks into droplets of a predictable size, which can be individually deflected by
an electrical current directly on to a substrate. Controlled placement of droplets is
obtained by charging them as they leave the nozzle and passing through like-charged
plates to repel and deflect to the required position. The primary advantages of continuous
inkjet are extremely high speeds – systems can run in excess of 1,000fpm, producing over
4,000 A4 pages per minute. They have the ability to print in a wide range of physical

environments and on many substrates, including onto irregularly shaped objects in

packaging. This approach is used in many binary heads, including the Kodak VersaMark
technology.
Drop-on-demand inkjet More development has been targeted at drop-on-demand, or

impulse printing. In this case the pressure applied to the reservoir is not continuous, but is
only applied when a droplet is needed in response to digital electronic signals from the
imaging computer. Since no deflection of droplets is needed, guttering and recirculation
are not required, so simplifying the design and construction of the printer. Translating the
digital signal into a rapid change in pressure is achieved by heating – thermal inkjet – or
using a piezoelectric effect.
In binary technologies the size of the ink droplet is fixed, the resolution determining
the final image quality.
Greyscale inkjet The highest quality inkjet is currently achieved through the use of greyscale printing. The
greyscale capability is key to being able to print high-quality inkjet at high speed, by
varying the drop volume. The heads used are multi-bit – eight- or 16-bit – and can eject
up to seven droplets, which merge into one drop that is placed on the substrate. Drop
sizes range from six to 42 picolitres. This means that at a resolution of 300dpi there are
2,400 potential gradations with eight-bit drops, providing a visual rendition of linework
and tonal reproduction that is much greater than the standard 300dpi. With stochastic
screening and good originals, the visual results can be generally excellent.
Piezoelectric technology is growing in popularity for most forms of DOD print head,
because it is one of the simplest ways to generate drops electronically. The technology
makes use of the piezoelectric effect, a phenomenon whereby small electronic impulses
are delivered to suitable crystalline materials, causing them to expand. When incorporated
in the ink reservoir the piezoelectric effect causes pressure pulses to be created in the ink
that relate to the data pulse train. Droplets are generated intermittently according to the
electronic signals received. A typical construction comprises an array of nozzles, each with
its own piezoelectric crystal.
Thermal inkjet or bubble jet technology, as exemplified by the Canon bubblejet
printer, uses a small heating element to create pressure droplets on demand within an ink
reservoir. A small quantity of ink present in each nozzle is heated by a resistive heating
element actuated by the digital data stream. The ink instantly flashes to vapour adjacent
to the heat source and expands to create a bubble, forcing an equivalent volume of ink
droplet through the nozzle and onto the substrate. The heat is switched off, the vapour
cools and contracts and draws more ink out of the tank by capillary action. It is simple
and cheap to make, but the physics of evaporation and condensation limits its speed.
The heat soak effect means that nozzles have to be placed a certain distance apart,
complicating attempts to improve resolution. The high temperatures that the ink must
withstand also place some restrictions on the ink formulation.

5
Hot-melt or phase-change inkjet is similar in principle to bubblejet printing in that an

impulse heater is used to create droplets on demand. The difference lies in the nature of
the ink. It is supplied in solid sticks, one for each printing colour. The stick is melted into a
reservoir where it is kept fluid by a heating element. The hot, liquid ink is pumped through
a nozzle using thermal DOD technology. On reaching the substrate the ink solidifies and
because it is not substantially absorbed by the substrate, high colour saturation with a
wide colour gamut is achieved. An alternative approach has the inkjet heads creating a
composite image on a warm drum, from which the image is transferred to the paper.
High-resolution piezo print head technology consists of a series of ink chambers with
shared channel walls made of ceramic material. Voltage is applied to the piezo material,
changing its shape, which in turn forces the ink out through a micro-orifice. Piezo
technology can produce up to 25,000 drops per second and gives very high print
resolution, with some 140,000 drops per second demonstrated in laboratories.
FIGURE 5.17 Comparison of binary and greyscale inkjet printing
Binary inkjet (same size dots)
Greyscale inkjet (variable size dots)
Source: Xaar
In a simplified overview, binary inkjet technology consists of ink chambers packed

together into a print head, divided by shared channel walls, each with an electrode
attached. By using shear mode and shared walls, highly efficient print heads provide
standard single drop size printing – binary, or greyscale, on-demand, variable-sized drops
for printing high-quality inkjet image solutions.

The leading print head suppliers include Spectra Inc. (a division of Dimatix), Xaar, Hitachi,
Toshiba, Aprion and Kodak VersaMark. They produce a range of heads with the resolution
and placement of nozzles being regularly upgraded. Actual inkjet machines are being
marketed by a range of integrators who take the heads and produce units and complete
machines with front-end controllers for particular markets.
The (fairly) recent arrival of Kodak (with the purchase of Scitex Digital Printing), Agfa
(with the purchase of Dotrix and development of the Agfa Universal head), Dai-Nippon
Screen (buying Inca Digital) and FujiFilm (buying Sericol) will provide great impetus in the
development of inkjet for commercial printing applications.
The first inroad of inkjet into commercial printing was the wide range of large-format
printers used for one-off posters and signage, POS and vehicle liveries. Very low-volume,
high-quality machines have transformed the proofing market. It is only in the past few
years with on-press and stand-alone colour systems from Kerning Digital and Scitex
Digital Printing that the promise of inkjet is being realised in graphic arts applications.
The inkjet head technology has developed to a level where it can provide solutions, and
these are gradually being developed into complete industrial systems. In a separate field
of development, the Orphis 5500, developed by Riso-Olympus, is a high-speed colour
inkjet device capable of delivering 105 A4ppm, at limited quality for an office
environment.
Drupa 2004 saw the launch of significant new print heads, with original head
manufacturers improving the speed and quality – the OmniDot from Xaar and M-Series
from Spectra Inc. offer wider and faster heads for manufacturers to add to their printers.
HP, Seiko, Aprion, Hitachi, Toshiba Tec, Konica Minolta, Epson, Trident and Canon all had
developments to announce and promote.
Development of DOD piezo inkjet print heads is moving along two complementary
paths. One is building print heads using micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) thin-
film technology, which enables rapid and lower cost manufacture. The other is creating
robust print heads that can use a wider range of inks suitable for more print applications.
Both approaches aim to produce cluster plates or other means to group and interlace
print heads into larger and full-width arrays. However, for full-width arrays to achieve
economic feasibility the cost needs to be significantly lower per nozzle than for current
piezo devices. The goal is to drop the price below €1 per nozzle within two years, and
subsequently €0.50 by 2008. If this comes to fruition, the increased performance/cost
ratio will greatly boost the wide-format market.

5
FIGURE 5.18 Comparison of M-Class and Galaxy heads
Source: Spectra Inc., a division of Dimatix
These heads can be integrated by manufacturers or specialist integrators. Spectra offers

arrays of four and six colours as standard products, with a variety of widths that can be
combined to produce wide-swathe printing at high speeds and quality.
FIGURE 5.19 Spectra Inc. grouped heads
Source: Spectra Inc., a division of Dimatix

The gradual introduction of more powerful computer front ends and fast data transfer
rates broadens the capabilities of inkjet printing.
Novel printing systems As well as inkjet and laser printing there are several innovative approaches that work
technically and offer interesting potential.
Electron beam Electron beam imaging (EBI) or ion deposition printing has been developed by Delphax.
imaging or ion For some time the company was owned by Xerox, but in 2002 Check Technology acquired
deposition the company and changed its name to Delphax. The technology is similar to
electrophotography, with the major difference being that instead of charging a
photoconductive drum and then creating a latent image by exposing it to light, the
electrostatic image is formed directly using an ion or electron beam source, controlled by
the digital computer output. The imaging drum is a more robust, hard dielectric material
that accepts the charge from a beam of electrons.
FIGURE 5.20 Direct electron beam imaging engine from Delphax
Toner hopper
EBI print head
2. Toner application
1. Image placement
4. Toner and charge

Erase rod/cleaning removal
3A. Pressure fusing Transfer drum 3B. Radiant heat
or flash fusing
Paper
Source: Delphax Technologies
RIPed data is formatted into a matrix image and then transferred to an array of electrodes
within a stationary EBI print cartridge. Information pulses provide controlled emission of
beams of electrons from small holes in a screen electrode mounted on the face of the
print cartridge. The beams are directed onto the hard dielectric print drum, assisted by an
electric field created between the screen electrode of the cartridge and the drum’s surface.
A latent image with a negative charge is formed on the dielectric surface and is exposed
to magnetic toner.
The toner is attracted to the charged image to form a toned image. EBI toner
contains a controlled percentage of magnetite, the ingredient used in toner for Magnetic
Ink Character Recognition (MICR) printing applications. Inherent in the EBI printer engine
design is the capability to produce MICR output without complex toner reformulation. A

5
range of EBI toners are available with different characteristics to satisfy a variety of
applications.
To fuse the toner into the paper, the toner is first transferred to the heated transfer
belt – similar to the soft blanket used on offset presses. The toner is then heated almost
to melting point before being transferred to the paper, which has been preheated to
accept the liquefied toner. The entire transfusion process occurs at low pressure so the
printed substrate is largely unaffected by pressure. EBI print engines easily accommodate
exceptionally low paper weights and a wide variety of finishes, and no further fusing
process is required. This low-pressure fusing process also provides toner transfer efficiency
of over 98%; it does not require heated fusing rollers, nor does it consume silicon oil.
EBI belt technology completely eliminates the need for a developer station in the
print engine. There is no downtime required to change the developer, which is a frequent
maintenance issue with electrophotographic printer engines. Any toner remaining on the
print drum is physically scraped from its surface by a simple steel doctor blade. The final
step in the process is the erasure of electrostatic images from the print drum,
accomplished with an erase rod containing an electron generator. It can use direct
transfer for faster engines, such as the CR series, or indirect belt transfer in the Imaggia
engine, as shown in Figure 5.21.
FIGURE 5.21 Schematic of the indirect belt transfer system of electron beam imaging
Source: Delphax Inc.
Delphax claims that EBI is more efficient than laser toner printing. The ‘write black’
process used means the patterns of charges are applied directly to the image belt.
Compared to laser printers that have to charge an image drum surface and then remove

the charge, the EBI process is a single step. This allows potentially faster, more robust
engines to be produced.
Magnetography In this application the drum has a hard magnetic coating similar to the ferro- and chrome
oxide coating used on recording tapes. These magnetic recording coatings contain large
numbers of minute magnetic domains that can be aligned by the strong magnetic fields
created in the recording heads. In these printers the information to be printed from the
computer is written with an array of tiny electromagnets selectively energised to create a
latent magnetic image on the surface of the revolving drum. The magnetic write heads
perform the same function that the laser performs in electrophotography. During one
drum revolution, the image is developed, transferred to the substrate and then the drum is
erased to prepare it for the next image. This process enables extremely fast and reliable
continual printing that is ideal for high-volume, variable text and on-demand applications.
The image is developed via exposure to magnetic toner particles, and the developed
image is then transferred and fused to paper.
FIGURE 5.22 Schematic of the magnetography printing process
The transferring of the image to the substrate uses a combination of mechanical force
(60%) and electrostatic force. The use of both mechanical and electrostatic forces yields
a transfer efficiency of 80 to 85%. The current magnetographic printers use radiant heat
to fuse the image on to the substrate. This method makes the black toner absorb the
radiation and melt itself rather than heating the printed substrate. This renders the print
quite cool compared to electrophotographic powder toner applications, so it can be used
for lightweight plastic webs.
The latest models allow 600dpi resolution, providing excellent text and halftone
reproduction in book printing. There are concerns over the ability to provide transparent

5
magnetic colour toner that would be necessary for process colour; all current commercial
machines are black only. A further advantage of magnetography is that the magnetic
image on the drum is much more permanent than the charge appropriate to
photoconductive drums, hence the possibility of producing multiple copies from one
imaging operation. This may enable higher production speeds in situations where variable
imaging is not required.
Electrostatic printing Technology similar to magnetography has been brought to market by Océ in its
CPS700–900 machines. These engines incorporate seven magnetographic units to lay
down CMYK plus RGB colour. A print is built up by attracting toner to the surface of a
rotating drum by selectively applying charge across fine wires at the drum’s surface to
compile a complete toner image. Coloured dots do not overlap each other. The monolayer
is then pressed onto paper that could be embossed, textured or coated before fusing at
a lower temperature than in laser printing, which reduces paper curl. The engine operates
at a constant 25 A4 impressions a minute whatever the media. The short path is claimed
to provide virtually no paper jams.
Electrocoagulation Elcorsy is a Canadian company that operated in the photo-finishing market. The company
has a multicolour printing device based on a technology called electrocoagulation. This
involves pigment being precipitated (coagulated) onto the surface of a metal drum in
response to electrical charges transferred from the print head. Any excess liquid ink is
removed by a doctor blade, and the remaining image transferred onto the substrate. The
elcography process has had a long period of development and the Elco 400 machines are
now in commercial use in very small numbers.
The process starts with a conditioning system to prepare the surface of an imaging
cylinder by coating it with a vegetable oil. The imaging cylinder is a simple metal-surfaced
cylinder acting as the electrode in the deposition process. The imaging cylinder rotates to
the inking nip where special water-based conductive ink is injected on to its surface. The
print head, an array of needle electrodes, sends ultra-fast electrical charges through the
ink, signifying how and where to coagulate particles on the imaging cylinder. This
chemical reaction makes the dot more cohesive than the surrounding ink. This allows the
next step, image revealing, where the surplus ink fluid is wiped off with doctor blades
leaving the image exposed on the drum. The rubber doctor blade removes the surplus
uncoagulated ink (recycled back into the injection chamber) but does not disturb the
deposited image particles. The transfer of the image to paper is achieved in a cold
pressure nip. A scrubber is then used to clean off any remaining image materials before
a new conditioning cycle starts the process again.

FIGURE 5.23 Schematic of the elcography system
Source Elcorsy Technology Inc.
The ink system has been developed by Toyo Ink. The volume of ink coagulation varies with
time so each dot can have a different thickness, which means there is no need for
complex and time-consuming half-tone screening algorithms. The electrocoagulation
reaction takes place in four microseconds, or writing 250,000 dots per second. At a
resolution of 400dpi, the nominal writing speed is 15m per second. During the imaging
process hydrogen gas is generated from the water carrier fluid of the inks, which can lead
to streaks in the printed image. The vegetable oil applied during the conditioning process
is incorporated to absorb the gas and avoid this defect.
Material handling Print finishing and binding has long been the Cinderella of the printing industry. There
and print finishing is some movement away from a highly labour-intensive process into more automated
approaches through the use of on-line and near-line finishing equipment for digital
printing. The trick is to maintain product flexibility at the same time. The type of
automation that has been used on litho presses is migrating into the finishing

5
department, with collators, binders and folders automating set-up to reduce make-ready,
especially for repeat or same format jobs. Many digital users are looking to broaden their
range of products. Further push for this trend will come from health and safety concerns
that lead unskilled labour to contract repetitive strain injuries from handling high volumes
of part-finished products.
The most significant changes are taking place with materials handling systems being
integrated with the digital printing systems through partnerships of engine supplier and
specialist finishing equipment. To be successful and provide fast turnaround, digital
printers will handle the finishing and mailing in-house. This will include developments
in the job ticket controlling the operation, or at least the set-up, of folders, collators,
inserters, cutters and binding equipment. Such automatic flow lines significantly increase
capacity on guillotines and folders with reduced manning levels.
Finishing equipment There are many differing requirements concerning finishing, which determine whether
work can be completed on- or off-line. The following are significant:
Binding method – perfect binding, sewn binding, and/or booklets
Monochrome books or in combination with colour pages
On-demand or simply short run
Cover lamination – varnish or as is
Getting the product right (a particularly important consideration if on-demand) –
correct cover with content, correct size, sending to the right customer.
The range of on- and off-line finishing equipment is quite comprehensive but is often
quite restrictive in terms of formats. The range of operations dealt with by specialist
equipment includes the following:
Perfect binding with separate cover
Booklet making with separate cover – includes collation, saddle stitching and folding
Three-edge trimming
Stackers
Sheet rotation
Book block banding.
For mailing operations there are many systems to cater for a variety of requirements and
volumes so the digital press can have its web output directly fed into an inserter together
with sheet-fed flyers and inserts to feed into a mailpack. Total integrity can be maintained
using systems from manufacturers such as Bell and Howell, Böwe and Pitney Bowes.

Supply side of digital
technology
6
There are many established suppliers of digital print equipment, peripherals and
consumables. As the market has matured, so the conventional printing industry suppliers
have recognised digital technology and come to see companies such as Xerox, HP Indigo,
Xeikon, IBM-Printing, Océ and Nipson as new competition. Indeed Xerox is now positioned
as the second largest supplier of printing equipment behind Heidelberg. Scitex, a leading
prepress supplier, developed its expertise in inkjet proofing to provide wide-format,
industrial and graphics print machines that are set to change the shape of the industry.
Scitex developed the Karat on-press imaging machine with KBA. Other press suppliers saw
the digital sector increasing in importance and developed on-press plate imaging versions
of their conventional machines. More recently leading prepress suppliers Agfa, Kodak and
Dai-Nippon Screen have joined the ranks of digital equipment suppliers through
acquisition.
On-press (DI) On-press imaging remains a specialist niche, despite the huge promise of the technology.
imaging suppliers Over the past three years there has been significant fall-out, with Xerox and Adast exiting
the market and limited support for the Speedmaster74DI and Komori SP40 at major
exhibitions. The range of on-press imaging models currently available is summarised in
Table 6.1.
TABLE 6.1 Commercially available on-press imaging (DI) printing presses, 2005
Manufacturer Model Format (mm) Comments Speed (sph)
Heidelberg Quickmaster 46-4 DI Pro 320 × 488 CI press 10,000
Speedmaster 74 DI 740 × 530 Unit press 15,000
Karat Digital Press 74 Karat 740 × 520 CI press, anilox inking 10,000
2 col on plate
46 Karat 340 × 460 OEM Ryobi 7,000
Kodak (KPG) DirectPress 5634/5334 DI 340 × 460 OEM Ryobi (initially in 7,000
North America)
Komori Lithrone S40D 1030 × 720 First B1 format 12,000
MAN Roland DICOweb 520mm web Variable cut-off 12,600m/hr
Ryobi 3404E/3404X DI 340 × 460 CI press – 2 col on 7,000
each plate
Sakurai Oliver 474 EPII-DI 740 × 535 Unit press 13,000
Screen TruePress 344 460 × 330 2-unit design 7,000
TruePress 544 545 × 394 CI press – 2 col 4,000 (4 col)
on each
plate
Wifag Unit 471 Tabloid Newspaper unit 45,000
in development
Presstek and Kodak’s Creo share the market for imaging heads on the on-press plate
imaging market, with Screen using its own technology. While Presstek calls this direct
imaging (DI), Creo coined digital offset printing (DOP). The most significant difference
between technologies is that Presstek’s is designed for dry offset printing, and Creo’s for wet
offset. Creo’s on-press laser is the same as its computer-to-plate (CTP) laser – the head is

Supply side of digital technology
quite compact and readily fitted onto offset press units that have enough room to contain
dampening units. More suppliers are producing processless plates that can be used on press;
Konica Minolta, for example, is working with Screen to provide a lower-cost material.
Heidelberg The Quickmaster 46-4 DI Pro is based on normal offset principles but uses
Presstek’s waterless polyester plates and a common impression cylinder configuration. On
completion of a job the plate material, held in a cassette within the cylinder, is automatically
advanced to allow the next job to be imaged. There is sufficient material for 35 plates in
each cassette. Imaging takes place simultaneously in each printing unit; the plate surface is
then cleaned to remove the ablated material then printing can begin. It offers a compact
infrared (IR) dryer, which greatly accelerates the finishing process.
FIGURE 6.1 Heidelberg Quickmaster 46-4 DI Pro
Source: Heidelberg
The Speedmaster 74 DI is essentially a normal offset machine equipped with Creo

retractable thermal imaging heads that image ablation plates on the cylinder. It retains
all the features and options of the conventional SM 74 press, i.e. multiple print units,
perfecting, coating and the range of computerised press controls (CPC), while offering the
benefits of direct imaging.

6
FIGURE 6.2 Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 DI showing positions of the imaging heads
Source: Heidelberg
The imaging heads are fitted on the platform between the printing units. During imaging
they are close to the plate cylinder, but they automatically retract away to allow access to
the plate cylinder for plate removal and loading. To improve access to the plate and
blanket cylinder, the imaging heads are hinged from the drive side, allowing them to be
raised into a vertical position. Heidelberg has provided flexibility in the use of the press as
this arrangement allows plates that are imaged off-press to be used, on their own or in
combination with directly imaged plates. This feature provides reassurance by allowing
the press to continue to be used in the event of failure of one or more of the imaging
heads. The changeover from one job to the next takes 10–15 minutes and the maximum
production speed is 15,000sph.
Karat The Karat 74, developed jointly by KBA and Scitex, was the first on-press imaging
model designed from scratch rather than by modifying an existing design to incorporate
plate imaging heads. Karat has tried to design a short-run press that is simple to operate
and, in concept, is more like a large-format digital printer than a traditional printing
machine, so requiring less skill to operate.
Paper feed and delivery are at the same end of the machine, with a common
impression printing design allowing a more compact design than a traditional press, with
a length of 3.88m. It uses Creo on-press imaging and Presstek’s PEARLdry plates. Overall
operations are easier because the press automates many steps, including press parameter
settings, inking and ink handling. The changeover from one job to the next is completed
in 15 minutes.

FIGURE 6.3 Schematic of the Karat 74 press
Source: Karat
The makers refer to the Karat 74 as a digital printer rather than a printing machine.
Calibrated colour management is used, so if a different result is required the data is
modified rather than adjusting inking levels. It is also designed to have a fixed profile for
each category of paper. Minor changes to ink transfer can be made by adjusting roller
temperature, but inking levels are essentially fixed by the anilox cell volumes.
The smaller format A3+ Karat 46 uses Presstek imaging thermal plates. It is an OEM
version of the Ryobi 340DI.
Kodak The DirectPress 5634 DI is the same Ryobi-manufactured B3 process-colour

machine as the Karat 46. It uses Kodak’s front-end and screening using Presstek’s ProFire
Excel imaging and thermal-plate technology.
Komori The Lithrone S40D is the commercial release of Komori’s previously announced
Project D. It is the largest format available, the first B1 DI press (1,030 × 720mm). It uses
Creo thermal imaging heads fitted into a Lithrone 40 press to image processorless
thermal-ablation plates. The press features a Komori (KMS) press management system to
communicate with the front-end and RIP. Press set up uses a JDF-compliant module with
Komori’s K-ColorProfiler colour management system, PDC-S Spectro Densitometer and
Komori Hi-Performance System (KHS) linked to the press for fast make-ready and colour
consistency.
MAN Roland DICOweb MAN Roland claims its DICOweb as ‘the first genuine
computer-to-press offset printing system on the market’. The DICOweb is the most radical

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of all the DI presses in that it has no plates, and plate cylinders that are imaged and
erased for each job. Lack of plates is one of the reasons that MAN Roland gives in its
claims that print production costs will be 30% lower than with a conventional press. MAN
Roland suggests the DICOweb is economically viable for print runs of 500 up to a
maximum of around 30,000 copies.
FIGURE 6.4 MAN Roland DICOweb press
Source: MAN Roland
The DICOweb has been designed so that the operator can change the print repeat length
(up to 200mm) by swapping plate and blanket sleeves. A greater change in print repeat is
also possible if the cylinders themselves are changed. The modular design also extends to
finishing and it is suggested that the system could also incorporate other processes, such
as flexography and gravure. The first installations are as a heatset web press, configured
as four blanket-to-blanket perfecting units (up to a maximum of six) with dryer and folder.
It has a maximum web width of 520mm and a nominal cut-off of 630mm. The actual
changeover time with this press configuration was ten minutes, with plate imaging taking
only two minutes. The web speed is 3.5m/s, equating to 20,000 copies per hour with
630mm cut-off.
The DICOweb has been designed with the capability to change the print repeat
length (up to 200mm) by the operator swapping plate and blanket sleeves. A greater
change in print repeat is also possible if the cylinders themselves are changed.
Ryobi 3404 Series DI Ryobi’s 3404E-DI and 3404X-DI are A3+ four-colour offset
presses with Presstek imaging and PEARLdry Plus plates. The 3404X contains more
imaging lasers that reduce the plate imaging from nine minutes to 4.5, along with several
optional extras, including Ryobi’s PDS-ProE printing density control system with colour
profile setter.
Ryobi is targeting the market between offset presses and colour copiers with these
devices. The design is compact and has a high level of automation, from plate imaging

and plate cleaning to ink presetting and running. Additionally Ryobi offers the machine
through KPG and Karat sales channels under OEM agreements.
Screen Screen launched the TruePress 344 at Drupa in 2004, joining the B2-format
TruePress 544. The 344 is an A3+ four-colour, wet-offset direct imaging press,
incorporating innovative imaging and plate technology, with a high degree of automation
and quality control to make it very easy to use. Screen designed and built the machine,
with Hamada supplying the robust frame, print cylinder arrangement and paper transport
mechanism. Polyester plates are from Konica Minolta; they are exposed by laser diode and
require no separate processing. Sheets are monitored for colour throughout the run with a
CCD array density reader that measures ink density and water-dampening supply levels,
with ink keys and the water-dampening levels automatically adjusted as necessary to
maintain quality.
FIGURE 6.5 Screen TruePress 344
Source: Screen
Screen is highlighting the degree of automation and the ease of use of the device. Its key
message is the high quality achievable with no specialist printer/operator. Figure 6.6
shows a schematic of the machine. The press format is a twin-unit design, each unit
printing two colours together. The plate cylinders are double circumference, containing
two separate plates with inking units arranged to ink up the plates separately during
normal operation. A single damping system is used for each.

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FIGURE 6.6 Schematic of the Screen TruePress 544
LED
array Ink
units
Damping
unit
Operator
console
Plate
cylinder
Transfer/perfecting
cylinder Blanket
cylinder
Ink/damp
monitoring
Impression
cylinder
Infeed
Delivery
The TruePress 344 will normally be supplied with Screen’s Trueflow Rite – the front-end
part of the Trueflow workflow management system within the new JDF-enabled
Trueflownet environment, which handles PostScript, PDF, EPS and Tiff files. At the start of
each job Truefit Advance reads the associated image data file and sets the ink-duct keys
to allow correctly inked results within 30 sheets, so minimising waste. The ink and water
settings are displayed on the control console, and the operator can override the automatic
set-up if required. To maintain consistent print quality during the run every sixth sheet is
scanned and compared with the original – any deviation is automatically compensated for
by adjusting the ink and/or the water supply to the plate. This removes the quality
control from the operator. Screen claims the ability to adjust both ink and water
automatically results in greater accuracy and stability in the print process and is more
effective than the conventional method of scanning the print control strip. The system is
unique in DI press technology, the approach being much closer to the operation of a
toner-based digital press.
The TruePress 344 is JDF enabled, and when used can report progress back to the
MIS in real time. Plates can be imaged at 2,400dpi resolution using traditional screening
methods. The Trueflow will include hybrid screening technology that will enable users to
combine the benefits of traditional offset printing with AM/FM hybrid screening in their
digital printing solution. The front-end allows a single designated plate to be replaced

with a new one if it becomes damaged or, for example, a different black plate is needed
to alter text information for a language variation. In such a case the plate will fit well.
A touch-screen control monitor at the delivery enables the operator to oversee the
entire operation of the press from one point. When a job is completed the operator selects
a new job from the queue and the rest of the changeover is automatic. Fresh plate
material is positioned on the cylinders while the blanket cylinders are cleaned and all
four-colour plates are imaged simultaneously. Both plate cylinders are rotated under the
two travelling LED heads at some 8,000rpm with two colours imaged in register per
cylinder together. When complete the cylinders are engaged back into the main drive and
after a few revolutions of the press the dampening solution has dissolved the non-image
top coating from the plate and the press is ready to print.
Plates are exposed with an array of 830mm thermal laser diodes, called MALD (multi-
array laser diode) by Screen, similar to the imaging head in its PlateRite thermal CTP
devices. The plates used are the polyester-based TF-200 technology from Konica Minolta,
which does not require separate processing or development. The TF-200 plate allows
printing to start immediately after exposure. Unlike ablation systems, no debris is
produced and there is no need for special cleaning or treatment.
The economics of the device move the position of DI printing forward. While the
TruePress 344 with Screen front-end has a list price of around €420,000, the benefit over
competitive devices is a better price for the plates. There is much interest in the cost of
the Konica Minolta TF-200 plate, which has a delivered price of some €10 per square
metre when used with the platesetter. For the TruePress, plates are supplied in press-ready
cassettes containing 28 sets with automatic advance as the jobs are produced, and will
cost €16–20 per four-colour job. This is considerably less than the competitive PearlDry
material from Presstek that is used with Heidelberg’s Quickmaster DI. More competition is
likely to result in overall lower prices, further boosting the technology as
a serious competitor to conventional offset.
The TruePress’s other advantage over competing DI presses is much faster make-ready,
with no laser ablation by-products. The five-minute set-up makes short-run production
quite quick and efficient. At Drupa 2004 the machine was regularly completing 500
sheet runs in ten minutes. This makes it an interesting add-on technology to conventional
offset houses for shorter runs, as well as for toner-based digital houses with longer runs
to produce.
Wifag Wifag has announced the first on-press imaging device for the offset newspaper
market, the Unit 471. Agfa, Fuji and KPG developed the imaging head that will be offered
on its existing newspaper presses, with a plate imaging time of less than six minutes.

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FIGURE 6.7 Wifag 471 Evolution DI unit
Blanket cylinder
Plate cylinder
LED imaging head
Source: Wifag
Wifag is using the technology as a differentiator for its machines, claiming benefits for its
computer-to-press (CtP) technology now as part of its control systems, synchronised with
the digital drives. Process-free plates can therefore be image-set directly on the cylinders.
Wifag claims the following benefits:
Reduced plate-handling costs;
Time savings from the start of the job to production start-up;
Reduced plate-making time due to image-setting of all printing plates in the press at
the same time;
Reduced plate costs through the use of erasable and rewritable printing plates.
An interesting comment is the potential for enormous savings when erasable and
rewritable printing plates are available. With the evolution 371 and 471 presses, Wifag
enables its customers to make a stepwise migration into CtP technology.
Variable data There have been many variable data electrophotographic printing systems installed in
printing machines commercial printers, direct mail and transactional operations across the world. It is no
longer the remit of specialist digital print houses, but is an important addition to the
service offered by most print suppliers operating in developed markets.
The range of equipment varies from A4 workgroup printers, 60ppm for black and
white and 30ppm for colour, through more powerful sheet-fed engines in mono and
colour, with very high-speed black-and-white web-fed machines. Costs range from a few
thousand euros to over €1.5 million. The monthly capacity of the devices varies from
10,000 to over 5 million A4 prints, with unit costs varying from €0.025–0.10 per A4
colour print, with black and white costing significantly less.

The current leading electrophotographic printing systems, colour and mono, are listed in
Table 6.2.
TABLE 6.2 Commercially available toner-based variable data print engines

Manufacturer Model Capability Mode List price Max rated
speed
Canon CLC5100 4 col Sheet ~€100,000–130,000 51ppm
ImageRunner 150vP Mono Sheet ~€300,000 150ppm
Danka Digimaster 9150i Mono Sheet ~€300,000 150ppm
ISC 5151 Colour Sheet ~€100,000 51ppm
Delphax Imaggia II Mono Sheet ~€500,000 300ppm
CR 900/1300/2000 Mono Web €1 million 900/1300/
2,000ppm
Hewlett-Packard (HP) HP Indigo Press 1050 4–6 col Sheet ~€155,000 68ppm
(4 col)
HP Indigo Press 5000 7 col Sheet ~€350,000 133ppm
(4 col)
HP Indigo Press w3200 7 col Web (2 engine) ~€1.2 million 267ppm
Hitachi-Koki LB16 Mono Web ~€300,000–400,000 708/1002
(duplex)
Micropress Mono Sheet ~€150,000 60–840ppm
IBM Printing Systems Infoprint 2105ES Mono Sheet ~€300,000 105ppm
Infoprint 4100 Mono Web ~€1 million 1,148ppm
HD3/HD4 (duplex)
Kodak Digimaster E125 Mono Sheet €300,000 110ppm
Digimaster E150 Mono Sheet €400,000–650,000 150ppm
Kodak NexPress NexPress 2100 5 col Sheet ~€350,000 70ppm
Konica Minolta Bizhub Pro C500 4 col Sheet €40,000–60,000 51ppm
Nipson VaryPress T Mono Web ~€550,000 1,616ppm
(duplex)
DMP 8000 SED Mono Web ~€350,000 900ppm
Océ VarioPrint 5000 Mono (spot) Sheet ~€350,000 162ppm
VarioStream 7000 Mono Web ~€1 million 1,400ppm
(duplex)
CPS 700/800/900 7 col Sheet €150,000–200,000 25–30ppm
Punch Graphix Xeikon 5000 4–5 col Web €150,000–500,000 130ppm
Xerox DocuColor 7/8000 4 col Sheet €300,000–350,000 70–80ppm
iGen3 4 col Sheet ~€600,000 100ppm
DocuPrint 180 Mono Sheet ~€350,000 180ppm
DocuPrint 1050 Mono Web ~€750,000 1,050ppm
(duplex)
Sheet-fed Devices printing below 80–100ppm at the low end of the market are not classified as
monochrome presses digital printers but rather as workgroup office machines. These are supplied by
manufacturers such as Brother, Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark, Konica Minolta, Epson and
others. Such relatively high-speed models with suitable front-ends can produce print
identical to production equipment, but they will not consistently and reliably handle work
in a high-volume environment. The exception is when a number of these devices are

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modified and clustered together to provide high capacity. These include significant
redundancy to allow for high maintenance and regular replacement.
It is possible to use additional colour toner by arranging multiple heads to provide
a spot colour capability for highlight printing. This is popular in many transactional
applications, billing and statements to simplify the design of the form and make them
very legible and easy for customers to follow.
Delphax Check Technology purchased the rights to the Delphax electron beam imaging
(EBI) systems and took on the Delphax name. The Imaggia II is the fastest sheet-fed printer
currently available (with throughput of 220–300ppm), supporting the largest media sizes
on the market. The print quality of the Imaggia II meets the worldwide standards for non-
impact MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) encoding for secure documents.
FIGURE 6.8 Imaggia II printer
Source: Delphax
Hitachi-Koki (HiKiS) HiKiS offers the Micropress cluster of up to 12 networked DDPP70

printers for up to 840ppm. The cluster is duty rated at 400,000 impressions per month
per machine, up to 4.8 million prints.
Kodak Kodak is reinventing itself to compensate for the decline in its core product
of film for general photography and the graphic arts. The company announced major
investment in digital printing with its re-entry into high-speed, high-volume inkjet printing
by buying Scitex Digital Printing and taking over Heidelberg’s share of NexPress for high-
quality colour as well as black and white toner printing. It followed this up by acquiring
all the shares of Kodak Polychrome Graphics (from Sun Chemical) and taking over Creo in
June 2005. NexPress Solutions, Inc. is one part of Kodak’s Graphic Communications

Group, a company designing, developing and marketing solutions and consumables for
colour and mono print production.
The black-and-white Digimaster laser printer range evolved from the original Kodak
Lionheart range and was launched in 1997 as the first real competitor to Xerox’s DocuTech
and DocuPrint. It was available as a 110ppm printer for A4, with A3+ capability, offering
high quality on a wider variety of stocks than the DocuTech could easily handle. It was
sold with various options, including multiple input and output trays, document scanning
and in-line booklet making. There were several OEM suppliers, including Canon, Danka
and IBM, and the machine gained a respectable share of the market. Key benefits of the
printer were very good halftone print quality and paper handling, reflecting the input of
Heidelberg.
FIGURE 6.9 Digimaster E150 engine
Source: Kodak NexPress
Newer models have been launched, developing the capabilities of the print engine with
faster speeds. Following the exit of Heidelberg from ownership of NexPress, the first
launch from the Kodak stable is an upgrade to the Digimaster series of mono sheet-fed
presses, the E125 and E150. The engine has been upgraded in quality and productivity,
with the potential to use MICR for security applications, and there is a range of modules
to choose from. The series prints across a wider size and weight through a modular
approach, with a more competitive pricing structure and new front-end and controller. The
flexible print system allows customers to match their production capabilities to the volume
of their business with print systems offered at several price points.
The Digimaster E125 and E150 engines print at 125 and 150ppm for A4 respectively,
at 600 × 600dpi resolution. Kodak is offering the latest models as digital production
systems, with users selecting the functionality required for particular applications and
workflows. The standard configuration of the Digimaster E print system consists of the
marking engine, the V240 SCS (System Control Subsystem) server-based controller, a basic
paper-supply module and finisher.
It is the design of the base engine that has served NexPress well since its launch, with
users generally reporting high degrees of reliability and smooth operation. It is 3.9m long,

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1.2m wide and just over 1.6m tall, although the floorspace requirement can grow
considerably with additional input and output modules.
The Digimaster E150 is aimed at document production houses for transactional
communications, including security documents needing MICR toner and graphic arts
applications looking for high-quality reproduction. The commercial print option delivers
improved handling of a wide range of paper sizes, weights and finishes, and digital print
quality adjustment.
NexPress offers extensive finishing accessories for the Digimaster E series systems,
including document scanners, roll feeders, post-process inserter, booklet maker, perfect
binder, hole puncher and stackers. There are also additional features of printer
management, resource management, accounting, links to external SAP support,
automated emulation switching for mainframe data-centre applications, and control
of additional output devices and finishing support.
The base cost of the Digimaster is some €250,000; the faster E150 configured with
additional input and output options can raise the price to more than €600,000. Canon,
Danka and IBM have OEM agreements to market and support the Digimaster machine
under their own brands.
Océ Océ offers a complete range of sheet-fed machines. Of particular interest is the
highlight colour CustomTone capability in its high-speed cut-sheet devices, offering any
corporate colours as required. This is a range of toners available for sheet-fed and web-fed
devices, allowing several units to be configured together for mono and spot colour. The
leading range of machines is the VarioPrint 5000, printing at speeds up to 162ppm. Océ
offers various on-line finishing options for mailing and booklet production.
FIGURE 6.10 Océ VarioPrint 5000
Source: Océ

Xerox Xerox is the market leader in mono sheet-fed electrophotographic printing with its
DocuTech and DocuPrint range of machines. These are well proven in the field and can be
found in the print rooms of many commercial companies, on-demand print shops, and in
printing companies specialising in the production of short-run books and manuals. They
are sheet-fed machines, printing simplex or duplex and capable of being fitted with a
wide range of finishing options. Maximum speed is 180 simplex A4 pages per minute at
a resolution of 1,200 × 600dpi. Other versions can incorporate MICR toner capabilities.
FIGURE 6.11 Xerox sheet-fed DocuPrint machine
Source: Xerox Corp
Xerox also offers highlight colour capability in some of its lower speed machines.
Other suppliers of interest include Screen, although its flagship laser printer is only
available in Japan.
Web-fed monochrome The fastest, highest capacity mono printers use similar scaled-up technology to print on
presses continuous webs. The leading suppliers include:
Delphax Delphax offers the fastest toner-based electron-beam printers. The CR900, 1300
and 2000 are rated at 900, 1,300 and 2,000ppm respectively, in two-up single-pass
duplex mode, offering good substrate flexibility, excellent front-to-back registration, and
high speed. Each CR series press is compatible with a wide range of pre- and post-press
equipment solutions that have been proven in the offset applications, such as a splicer
for uninterrupted paper supply to the printer.

6
FIGURE 6.12 Delphax CR1300
Source: Delphax
IBM Printing Systems The Infoprint 4100 machines (Figure 6.13) are web-fed simplex
engines. In order to print both sides, two engines are combined with the web being
turned over between the two. There are two Infoprint presses in the range – the entry-
level, lower quality 4000 machine and the higher capability 4100, which prints at 100m
per minute, 1,354 two-up A4 duplex impressions. The wider web width allows faster
printing of certain formats, such as long-grain A5. These presses are widely installed in
companies specialising in on-demand short-run book production, with other transactional,
security applications.
FIGURE 6.13 IBM Infoprint 4100
Source: IBM

Nipson Nipson, now an independent company after Xeikon ownership, markets the
magnetographic VaryPress and 7000 at low resolution and the higher quality 600dpi
DMP 8000. The process is very fast on a wide variety of substrates, with cold radiant
fusing allowing printing onto plastics. The VaryPress runs at 120m/min, printing A4 pages
at 808ppm in simplex or 1,616 duplex. At this speed it is ideally suited to working in-line
with other processes, a possibility demonstrated on the DRENT narrow-web offset press
and several flexo machines.
Océ Océ relaunched its machines under the VarioStream label late in 2002. These
machines offer high-resolution, wide-format, fast printing for transactional, direct mail and
graphics applications. The early web-fed machines had sprocket drive, reflecting their early
data-processing applications. Pinless web drive (friction driven rather than using older
sprocket feeding, thus reducing the paper wastage) is now provided for commercial print
applications and the Océ machines claim to be able to print on 40gsm paper. The
VarioStream product line includes the sheet-fed 6100 printing system (Figure 6.14), which
produces top-quality output at a rate of 106 images per minute. The VarioStream 7000 is
scalable from 190 images per minute up to nearly 1,300.
FIGURE 6.14 Océ VarioStream 6100
Source: Océ

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The machines all image the photoconductive drum with a 600dpi LED array, a unique
feature for mono presses. This is claimed to be advantageous in terms of imaging
accuracy and image uniformity across the web. It also provides the option for variable
grey levels at each addressable point. This greatly improves the quality of halftone
illustrations. The fastest VarioStream machines can produce up to some 1,300 A4ppm at
300dpi, compared with the slightly lower capacity at higher resolution. Océ is developing
wider print widths to offer improved formats and pinless printing to minimise paper waste.
Xerox Xerox offers web-fed machines manufactured by Hitachi – the DocuPrint 1050CFD
with duplex speeds of 1,050ppm at 300dpi, with the slower DocuPrint 700 printing up to
700ppm at 600dpi. Xerox enhances the machines with its Smart Print Line Management,
a process that facilitates communication between up to ten pre- and post-production
devices to manage all aspects of the printing process.
Colour The Canon range of colour copies was the first generation of digital colour presses,
electrophotographic but it was not until 1993 and the launch of the Agfa Chromapress and the Indigo
systems E-print that digital colour presses were considered serious competition to traditional offset
printing. After their launch they had the market very much to themselves until Xerox
offered its DocuColor 40 as an OEM through Scitex, the Spontane, with very limited
success. The final entrant was Heidelberg’s joint venture, NexPress. These large
companies, in terms of suppliers to the graphic arts industry, had large development
budgets to improve their technologies. Indigo formed an alliance with HP and was taken
over in 2001, so creating three powerful suppliers working in competition but all trying to
develop the market.
Canon Inc. In 1991 the first colour server (EFI’s Fiery 1) was connected to a colour
photocopier (the CLC1) to allow significant quantities of colour print on demand. Today’s
flagship version is the CLC5100, widely used to deliver colour documents in print rooms,
commercial printers and corporate reproduction departments. The CLC5100 is the fastest
machine in Canon’s CLC range, with a speed of 51ppm for A4 output for both full-colour
and black-and-white printing. Canon claims several enhancements over previous models:
Improved media flexibility, with printing on heavier weight stocks now possible;
Improved colour quality and consistency;
Production intensive network control;
Complete job and colour management;
Choice of professional print controller;
Professional finishing options from several third-party suppliers;
Finer Brighter (FB) toner and advanced charging system bring smoother gradations,
cleaner images and crisper text;

AIR (auto image refinement) and algorithm screening technologies provide a high,
800 × 400dpi-equivalent print resolution with 256 tones. It costs some
€100,000–130,000 depending on the configuration. It is slower and provides lower
quality colour output than the top-of-the-range devices from Xerox, HP Indigo, Xeikon
and NexPress, but it is considerably cheaper. For many office applications the benefit
offered from an installation outweighs quality considerations. Commercial printers
may have more stringent requirements. The machine uses much of Canon’s expertise,
with the latest Fiery controller providing reasonable colour control, although not up
to professional repro standards.
FIGURE 6.15 Canon CLC5100
Source: Canon Inc.
Canon has committed itself to attacking the graphic arts market. The impact of another
major player should accelerate the advance of digital printing. Canon made several
significant announcements at Drupa 2004 of partnerships with well-established vendors,
most notably Kodak and Gretag/MacBeth. Canon will sell devices into the graphic arts
market, aiming to compete with Xerox and HP Indigo through the Kodak relationship. The
company will work with Gretag/Macbeth for colour management solutions, augmenting
the solutions already offered via its partnership with EFI and Canon-developed colour
management solutions.
Canon is trying to evolve from an office equipment supplier into a major business
partner for the professional print market within the graphic arts industry. It claims to have
the hardware, software, support and, most importantly, expertise and knowledge to add
value to organisations in many areas of printing and publishing, with particular strength
in the creative services, print for pay and corporate print environment.
HP Indigo Drupa 2004 predominantly marked an update of the existing product range
for HP Indigo, with several improvements in reliability and quality. It also included the

6
first device developed by HP and Indigo research labs, the HP Indigo 5000. HP Indigo
divides its presses into two distinct product families for commercial and industrial
applications.
The entry-level HP Indigo press 1050 is designed for commercial printers requiring high-
quality, short-run colour capabilities. Printing speeds reach 68 A4ppm. The HP Indigo Press
3050 is capable of up to seven-colour printing, at 133ppm. The new HP Indigo Press 5000 is
designed for higher productivity, with multi-tray paper input and high-capacity paper output
systems. The paper input system comes standard with three trays that have a combined
capacity of 5500 sheets. The top-of-the-range w3200 is a twin-engine digital web press that
reaches speeds of 267 A4ppm for direct marketing and publishing applications.
The industrial machines are the ws2000 and ws4050, designed to produce short runs
of high-quality, full-colour labels on demand. The s2000 is a sheet-fed press for specialty
printing on plastic, for products such as graphic attachments, plastic cards, mouse pads
and panels for appliances, computers, switches, keypads and dials.
FIGURE 6.16 Schematic of the HP Indigo 5000
Source: HP Indigo
For spot colours, toner is available in a colour-mixing system, and to increase the colour
gamut a special blue and orange can be used in combination with the process colours in
the Indichrome process, taking advantage of the seven-colour stations.
Kodak NexPress The NexPress company was formed as a joint venture between
Heidelberg and Kodak, and the NexPress 2100 was the first colour product. The A3-format,

dry toner, LED imaging colour press was commercialised in 2001. The press has been
engineered very much in the tradition of Heidelberg and is designed for high-volume use
with a duty cycle in excess of a million pages per month at a rated speed of 70ppm.
The press has three paper-supply bins and the three paper types can be mixed within
a given print run. Before printing, the paper is conditioned and carried through the press
on a transfer belt, to which it is electrostatically affixed. Prior to being attached, the paper
is preregistered in a similar way to that of conventional sheet-fed presses. The imaging
drums are similar to other electrophotographic engines and use an LED array for exposure,
like Xeikon, but the transfer to paper is not typical of other dry toner systems; it is offset.
Offset is claimed to improve the resulting transfer to less smooth substrates. The fusing
unit applies a combination of heat and pressure to fuse the toner (or DryInk, as NexPress
calls it). For duplex printing the sheet is retained on the transfer belt to continue its travel
to the turning section. This turns the sheet while maintaining the same lead edge. All of
this is housed within a relatively large cabinet, inside which the conditions are controlled
as part of the overall quality-control system. This incorporates closed-loop process control
to monitor and adjust all process parameters continually, including the print registration.
FIGURE 6.17 NexPress 2100
Source: NexPress Inc.
Costing some €500,000, the device was upgraded at Drupa 2004 with an additional
print unit to print a transparent coating (IntelliCoat) to offer greater protection and allow
the sheet to be handled immediately after printing. Users can add a flood or spot coating
of the new DryInk Clear, an additional protective layer for printed pieces and images. It
will also offer an expanded colour gamut (IntelliColor) over conventional four-colour
process litho, using the fifth unit to print an extra red, green or blue.

6
The NexPress 2100 uses electrophotographic imaging to print onto paper and board, with
several machine-specific settings for each substrate (fuser temperature, electrostatic
charge levels, etc.). The qualification process determines the optimal settings for a
particular substrate and stores them in a ‘script’ file. The script file is stored with the
substrate in the substrate catalogue, and as additional substrates are qualified, scripts
will be made available to owners via internet download. Alternatively, users can create
additional substrate scripts with the Substrate Assistant tools supplied with the
NexStation, the front-end of the machine.
The achievable quality is very good, with a quality-control system providing high
levels of consistency through the NexQ Quality Control system. This consists of elements
to control: sheet positioning; the offset imaging mechanism; the scriptable fuser unit;
same-edge perfector to optimise front-to-back registration; monitors controlling heat and
humidity within the machine; and closed-loop colour control. The NexPress 2100 is
designed to let operators perform most service operations, reducing dependence on
outside service technicians to aid press uptime. It incorporates some 40 parts and
assemblies that can be maintained and replaced by the operator quickly with no need for
special tools. NexPress estimates that over 70% of all necessary service can be performed
by the operator.
Punch Graphix Punch Graphix is a diversified Belgian knowledge and technology

provider with sales of some €200 million, employing some 3,000 people worldwide.
Punch also owns Strobbe (an innovative supplier of CTP and mechanical prepress and
make-ready aids), and recently bought BasysPrint (supplier of computer imaging systems
for conventional plates). It will be interesting to see how it competes against the major
resources of Xerox, Kodak and HP in the emerging digital print arena.
Since Punch Graphix took over the bankrupt Xeikon business in 2002, the first new
machine is the Xeikon 5000, aimed at high-volume direct mail, transactional and graphic
arts markets. The device is faster than the previous versions, with an upgraded front end
and various enhancements to improve colour quality and reliability over high monthly
usage. The Xeikon 5000 prints a maximum width of 48.3cm, capable of virtually unlimited
length, providing the largest non-inkjet digital print format, a major benefit for companies
that require B2 size prints.

FIGURE 6.18 The Xeikon 5000
Source: Punch Graphix
The Xeikon 5000 is a web-fed, dry toner laser printer, using enhancements of the well
tried Xeikon imaging technology. Externally, the device has been redesigned and updated
by Belgian industrial design company Achilles. Internally, the electrophotographic drums
are exposed by wide-array LEDs. Each image point exposure can be at one of 16 grey
levels, a mechanism that incorporates variable density at each imaging point, so allowing
different tone densities on the drum and higher print quality. The system prints images
simultaneously on both sides of the web as it rises vertically between two sets of drums,
its One-Pass-Duplex technology. There are ten colour stations built in to the machine.
Eight are for CMYK printing and the other two optionally enabled for fifth colour, either
a spot or MICR/security for specialist applications, or white for special applications on
transparent or metallic surfaces, with Xeikon supplying bespoke toners.
The web-fed paper supply unit is mounted in a fixed position, ensuring that the web
is always perfectly aligned, and easy changing and splicing of new paper rolls –
increasing the flexibility of job types. It prints on a range of Xeikon-approved paper
(coated and uncoated), paperboard, synthetic media and label stock on a web width of
500–508mm; it prints a maximum width of 483mm on material ranging from
40–350gsm. The quality of the printed result is influenced significantly by the conductivity
of the substrate and, since this is greatly influenced by the moisture content, some
preconditioning (pre-drying) of the paper takes place before it enters the printing tower.
The Xeikon 5000 also has a new media-conditioning unit to optimise print quality. The
level of drying, transfer currents, fusing temperature, etc. are all substrate dependent, and
to simplify this process script files are provided as part of a paper qualification process.
Besides designing new print units, Xeikon has developed a new paper-feed for more
stability as the paper passes through the machine. The cutter and the sheet stacker have
also been completely redesigned to last longer while remaining accurate across all

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substrates. A set of small windows on the side of the press offers visual operator control
of the web.
The image is fixed in a radiant fuser unit where the paper surface is heated to 140°C
to melt and fix the toner. The new fusing modules give better control of gloss effects
across the range of paper grammages. The printed web is delivered to a new
sheeter/stacker, although a rewind and other finishing options are also possible. The
printed sheet size is limited by the maximum web width in one direction, but the print
length is only limited by the system’s available memory, so continuous-image banners can
be printed. Among the improvements to raise image quality is an in-line densitometer that
automatically checks and adjusts the density, tonal value increase and register accuracy
(colour-to-colour and front-to-back).
The 5000 was designed for high monthly usage and is built to be solid and stable,
so improving print consistency and quality. There are several improvements over earlier
models, including faster start-up, reduced maintenance, toner replenishment while
printing, with splicing of reels allowing faster paper loading and eliminating the need for
press stoppages. Maximum web speed is 9.6m/min, allowing 130ppm for 40–170gsm
paper, slower for heavier weights but no reduction for duplex printing (100ppm for
170–250gsm paper and 70ppm for 250–350gsm). It is rated at 3 million colour A4 pages
per month, although this will take 384 productive hours so it should be running over a
treble shift operation to achieve these volumes when changeover and maintenance
requirements are taken into account.
Driving the Xeikon 5000 is a new front-end, Swift. Xeikon claims it combines the best
features of the established PrintStreamer and IntelliStream front ends. It can handle
PostScript, PDF, PPML and PPML/VDX files at rated production speed and promises to
support future JDF-based digital print job tickets. Swift is the first front-end that handles
native PPML and VDX data without converting them into an internal page description
language, so personalised print jobs are handled considerably faster. Xeikon claims that
the processing capability of 4,800 megapixels per second allows the controller to handle
graphically complex variable data print jobs of more than 1 million records per job.
Xerox Xerox is probably the market leader in terms of installed base of high-volume
colour machines in corporate offices, in-plants and commercial printers. The DocuColor
2000/6060 are being replaced by the 7000/8000 and iGen3 high-quality colour
engines, with lower quality and lower volume presses such as the DocuColor 40 and
DocuColor 12. The flagship is the iGen3, which prints at 100ppm with a much higher duty
cycle than the 7000/8000 devices.
The Xerox iGen3 (third-generation colour engine) was launched commercially in 2002
as a high-quality, high-speed colour printer for relatively high-volume (targeting 1 million
colour pages per month) markets. It was the first engine from Xerox’s developers, who had
significant experience of the graphic arts rather than just office and corporate
requirements in mind. Estimates put the development spend at well over €1 billion.

It is much larger than previous colour (and mono) digital printers, with a much heftier
price tag to boot. The required floor space of 5.3 × 17.6m makes it approach multi-unit
offset presses in size rather than an office machine. The colour tower is some 2m high
and weighs in at a little over 2 tonnes. The list price of €550,000–750,000, depending
on options, means a robust business plan is necessary to generate a return on the
investment.
The specifications place the device as one of the fastest high-quality colour digital
presses. It has a maximum speed of 100 A4 pages per minute, although this drops for
heavy stock and when duplexing. Resolution is 600dpi, with eight-bit depth offering
256-level tones for each colour, and the machine carries out automatic calibration and
adjustment to ensure colour consistency. The large size allows a maximum sheet size of
520 × 360mm, larger than most sheet-fed digital machines, and the straight paper path
with gripperless transport mechanisms means there is nothing to damage the paper
surface and cause jams.
Xerox has a number of patented technology developments, collectively known as
SmartPress, that provide the improvements in quality, reliability and performance that are
reported by early users of the machine. These developments help in automatic make-ready
and collation, allowing mixing of stocks within a run, with built-in intelligence to maintain
colour fidelity and registration across the different stocks. SmartPress Imaging provides
consistent, accurate colour and precise registration continually monitored during
operation. SmartPress Sentry provides a monitor on performance to improve reliability,
warning the operator about routine maintenance and advising when to call in the Xerox
engineer, who also has remote access if needed.
The single-pass printing process removes the intermediate step and transfers directly
from the development medium to the paper. The controller sends four-colour separations
for each page to the printer optimised for best possible rendering. Each separation is
passed to one of the four stations of the xerographic subsystem. As the development
medium rotates past each station, an imaging laser exposes the area where the colour
is to go, and toner is dispensed pixel-by-pixel and developed. The image is built up
sequentially on an electrically charged carrier. When the carrier and the paper meet, a
combination of electrostatic charges, sound waves and pressure move the image to the
paper surface in one step. This is claimed to provide high speed, perfect registration and
greater reliability.
The lower specification DocuColor 7000 and 8000 machines can print paper weights
from 60–300gsm (higher weights are possible, although not recommended by Xerox). The
basic machine comes with two large input trays (with a third if there is no document
scanner), each holding up to 3,000 sheets depending on the weight of paper, and an
output tray that holds 100–200 sheets only. An optional larger output tray is available.
The DocuColor 8000 has a monthly rating of 500,000 A4 images and improved reliability
over previous models, with more routine maintenance tasks able to be handled by
operators without the need to call on a Xerox engineer (such as replacing charging

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corotron units and fuser webs simply by following the instructions on the control unit). It
can be used as a colour photocopier, with the optional duplex document feeder that can
feed sheets at 20 copies per minute, and act as a colour scanner for transparencies and
reflection copy.
List pricing is from €280,000 depending on the configuration and front-end without
optional finishing kit. The cost per print is dependent on the overall volume produced to
amortise the capital cost of the machine. When printing some 250,000 A4 colour pages,
the cost per A4 print is some €0.05–0.08, excluding paper and labour costs.
The machine provides excellent colour quality when used with the correct origination
and substrate and, with the Creo Spire front-end, it has the ability to adjust spot colours
and store the look-up tables making it useful for printing accurately matched corporate
colours. A recent report from the US Rochester Institute of Technology placed the quality
as indistinguishable from offset. It lacks good flexible imposition capability – the basic
software allows a limited range of options, but upgrades for more flexibility are needed.
The ability to generate custom colours for specific customers is very useful in producing
print to demanding corporate branding guidelines.
Inkjet digital Inkjet’s first inroad into commercial printing was the wide range of large-format printers
printing systems used for one-off posters and signage, POS and vehicle livery. Very low-volume, high-quality
machines have transformed the proofing market. The first commercial print inkjet
applications were the on-press and stand-alone colour systems from Kodak VersaMark
(Scitex Digital Printing). The inkjet head technology has advanced to a level where it can
provide solutions, and these are gradually being developed into complete industrial
systems. The technology has developed to a level where it can provide production and
graphics solutions.
TABLE 6.3 Commercially available inkjet printing systems

Manufacturer Model Technology Capability Max rated speed
Agfa :Dotrix Xaar simplex web 4–6 col 907m2/hr
Chromas Argio 75 SC Spectra Single unit 100–200fpm
HP Scalable printing New generation heads 4–6 col Used in office and industrial
technology (SPT) products
Inca Digital FastJet In development 4 col 6,000m2/hr @ 300dpi
Columbia/Spyder/Eagle Spectra flatbed 4–6 col Up to 160m2/hr
Jetrion 3025 System Up to 9.26in 316 x 526dpi 400fpm
Kodak VersaMark Dijit 6240 4.27in head Single col 1,000fpm
VX 5000e 9in head Mono, spot or full colour Up to 2,200ppm
D-series 1–9in heads Mono, spot or full colour Up to 500fpm
Riso Orphis HC5000 Toshiba greyscale 4 col 105ppm
ScitexVision (HP) CORjet Premium 5.9in Aprion 4 col 150m2/hr
TurboJet 5.9in Aprion 4–6 col 400m2/hr
Spectra Inc. (Dimatix) M-Series Greyscale piezo Up to 900dpi
Toshiba Tec CA CB series Greyscale piezo 300dpi (up to 1,200dpi)

TABLE 6.3 Commercially available inkjet printing systems (continued)

Manufacturer Model Technology Capability Max rated speed
Xaar Omnijet 760 Greyscale piezo Up to 1,440dpi
HSS1 (commercial Greyscale piezo, Up to 1,440dpi
launch in 2006) 7cm head
Dai-Nippon Screen TruePress Jet520 Seiko greyscale piezo 4-col web 430 A4ppm colour
(concept for 2007
availablility)
The typical approach for press and print system manufacturers is to take inkjet heads from
one of the leading manufacturers and assemble and integrate them into printers.
Important head developers and manufacturers include Xaar, Spectra and Toshiba, with
others integrating their heads into bespoke systems.
Spectra Inc. (a division of Dimatix) Spectra Inc. develops DOD piezo inkjet print
heads and ink systems for a variety of applications. Spectra does not market directly to
printing, imaging or marking companies, but sells to system manufacturers, including
Domino, Markem, Olec, Buskro, Vutek and Chromas. An agreement to work together with
Heidelberg on the development of heads for printing variable data in-line with
conventional print was announced at Drupa 2004, although more recent announcements
from Heidelberg to concentrate on its core conventional sheet-fed printing may put this
programme in jeopardy. Spectra’s products and technology are implemented in a wide
range of industrial and commercial printing applications, as well as non-print industry
applications, including food decoration.
Spectra claims the diversity of its technology makes it suitable for many markets and
applications, with OEMs bringing new innovative systems to the market.
Spectra inkjet technology works by the piezoelectric principal, where an electric
charge is applied to a material causing it to flex. Spectra uses this material to make an
ink reservoir; the piezoelectric effect creates a pressure wave that causes drops of ink to be
forced through a nozzle that relate to the data pulse train. This on-demand generation
allows very accurate placement of very small dots to make up an image. The technology
used by Spectra involves a fabrication comprising many nozzles (256 or 128) as a single
component comprised of a flat piece of piezoelectric material. Electrodes are positioned
on the surface of this material; a section of the material can be made to move without
affecting the surrounding material. By applying a voltage to the centre electrode, an
electric field is created between the centre electrode and the ground electrodes. This
creates the shear response in the piezoelectric material between the electrodes. By
coupling this to a pumping chamber that communicates with a nozzle, an ink drop is
formed. The actual flex of the piezoelectric material is approximately one millionth of an
inch/30 microns. Multiple heads used in tandem allow many millions of individual drops
to be generated every second, giving the potential for fast, high-quality imaging. The

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range of heads and assemblies available provides for a wide variety of speeds and
throughputs at different quality levels through the various OEMs.
FIGURE 6.19 Spectra M-Class inkjet head
Source: Spectra, a Dimatix division
Spectra claims a significant benefit of its technology is the ‘lung’, a system to remove one
of the banes of inkjet – air and air bubbles. The lung removes air from the ink. Ink enters
through one port, travels past supported membranes, and then exits the lung. The
membranes are permeable to air, but not to ink. As the ink travels through the lung, a
moderate vacuum on the opposite side of the membrane from the ink causes air from the
ink to pass through the membrane. Ink leaving the lung has a reduced concentration of
air compared to that entering the lung. This allows the ink to dissolve air bubbles quickly
in ink passages, as well as eliminating sites where air bubbles may be generated. This is
claimed to allow fast, reliable start-ups, enabling robust high-frequency jetting.
There is a range of inkjet heads and assemblies offered to the market by several
integrators and machine suppliers. Heads can be aggregated together to produce wide
arrays capable of high-quality, high-speed printing. The maximum resolution of heads is
900dpi, providing excellent quality of both halftones and, importantly, line art and text.
The speed and productivity are linked to the resolution and are limited at offset levels.
Consequently, Spectra is currently focusing on screen and increasingly flexo applications.
Spectra’s heads are widely used in wide-format inkjet printers, which have competed
against screen printing for some time. The company has identified graphics as a
potentially huge market for its technology and is developing relationships with important
graphic arts players such as Heidelberg (in offset) and Chromas (in flexography).

Toshiba Tec Toshiba offers fast, high-resolution greyscale heads, the CB and CA series,
for UV and oil-based ink systems, using technology licensed from Xaar. It uses 6-picolitre
multi-drops to make up the main printed dots, creating eight levels of grey, to produce
smooth, high-quality graphics. The current heads have several housings with a print width
of 54mm, housing 318 nozzles and having a linear speed of almost 2.4m/s.
FIGURE 6.20 Toshiba Tec CA3 print head
Source: Toshiba Tec
Xaar Xaar plc is a UK company that designs, develops and manufactures DOD piezo
inkjet print heads and licenses technology to third parties to develop into production
systems. The company developed greyscale technology and the latest generation of heads,
the OmniJet, provide very high-quality, fast printing with water-based, solvent, oil-based
and UV-curable inks. The OmniJet 760 has two arrays of 384 nozzles, 54.8mm wide, each
capable of delivering a 3-picolitre drop at 5-bit greyscale to provide an apparent resolution
of 1,440dpi. Linear speed is a maximum of 1.6m/s, so each head can produce some
300m2/hr at lower resolutions. Xaar customers and partners include Agfa, ScitexVision,
Océ, NUR, many emerging companies in China, and integrators producing specialist
systems for particular applications.
FIGURE 6.21 Xaar OmniJet 760 inkjet head
Source: Xaar

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As well as supplying heads to various machinery manufacturers, Xaar also licenses its
technology to various printer manufacturers, including Konica Minolta, Toshiba Tec, Sharp
and Brother.
The next generation of high-speed greyscale print heads from Xaar, code-named HSS
(hybrid side-shooter) is designed to offer much improved reliability. Xaar’s third-generation
programme has made excellent progress. The HSS offers a print-head structure with an
inherently much higher jetting reliability, coupled with the ability to self-recover from
‘temporary jet loss’ and the ability to handle a much wider range of ink formulations,
including potentially unstable inks such as metallic inks.
FIGURE 6.22 Xaar’s next-generation HSS1 print head
Source: Xaar
This next-generation greyscale head contains 1,000 nozzles arranged in two arrays
of 500 at a spacing of 180 per inch, so each head will print a swathe of almost 7cm at
a linear speed of 0.5m/s. Although this device will include more nozzles, it operates at
similar speed and quality as the existing Omnidot 360/720. The difference, according to
Xaar, is the increased reliability offered in operation and that the design allows significant
improvements in precision manufacturing methods.
The side-shooting method, as opposed to the end-shooting head, is designed to
circulate ink continually across the nozzle plates under negative pressure to eliminate
potential cavitation effects that could lead to air bubbles and print problems. In previous
generations these problems often caused expensive machine stops and the need to purge
heads before restarting. In operation, the HSS1 head is extremely resistant to shocks, and
the company relishes the chance to show a very impressive demonstration involving a
robust attack with a mallet, resulting in a self-correcting cycle and a spoilt print line of
only one or two centimetres. Xaar claims its tests show that just one failed print per shift
of continual operation should be achievable when the heads are available.

It is currently in beta testing, with commercial release planned for 2006. The target
market for this third-generation product is fixed head, high-throughput web or sheet-fed
applications.
Dai-Nippon Screen Screen announced its TruePress Jet520 as a concept machine at the
Print05 exhibition in September 2005, for shipment in 2007. This is a web-fed colour
printer using Seiko-Epson piezo heads and water-based inks. It will be targeted at variable
data and transactional printing applications. Screen has added its colour management
technology, and early prints at the show suggested a quality improvement over the
VersaMark on fairly heavy stocks.
The machine prints a 508mm web at 200fpm, providing a print speed equivalent to
over 430 A4ppm. The basic machine comprises an unwind, printer and rewind and a
variety of post-processing equipment can be connected.
Leading suppliers of printing systems for graphic arts and packaging applications are
profiled below.
Agfa Agfa is becoming a major player in inkjet printing. The company believes the inkjet
strategy will provide it with a new platform for sustained profitable growth. Agfa made
two interesting product announcements at the FESPA show in Munich at the end of May
2005. It is working with Xaar on high-quality print heads and in partnership with Mutoh
for wide-format inkjet printing with the Anapurna system, and in the packaging arena
announced its hybrid silkscreen/inkjet machine, the M-Press.
The M-Press is a high-speed flatbed inkjet and screen press that has been co-
developed with Thieme in response to customer demand for economical, high run-length
digital printing; Agfa has reported orders for 18 machines while the device is still in Beta
testing. The device is a modular design, allowing the multicolour inkjet unit to be linked
with Thieme 5000 XL series screen-printing modules. Thus the M-Press can be configured
into a fully automatic hybrid printing line. This allows a white coating to be applied by
silkscreen, overprinted in process colours and then varnished, or a spot colour applied in a
single pass. It is one of the first launches offering users the versatility of screen printing
and the productivity of an automatic in-line solution.
Agfa uses Xaar OmniDot 760 head technology in the Thieme machine, integrated
into its :Universal Print Head (:UPH). This uses an array of two back-to-back nozzle rows,
allows a high nozzle pitch (360npi) and high nozzle count (764) in a robust design, with a
print width of 54mm. The head can print greyscale images up to 16 levels with a minimum
drop volume of 3pl and 8pl respectively, depending on ink type. It is capable of printing
at a high firing speed with aqueous, solvent, UV and oil-based inks.
In January 2004, Agfa purchased the assets and all staff of Belgium-based
manufacturer Dotrix NV, developer and manufacturer of the innovative the.factory,
renamed the :Dotrix. This device was originally launched as a technology concept by

6
Barco at Drupa 2000. Barco then sold the operation to its management. The expertise
was in supplying digital data to drive inkjet heads supplied by Toshiba Tec mounted over
a specialised web transport. It has not been a massive seller, but it certainly is a ground-
breaking machine – the first commercial high-quality greyscale inkjet machine.
The :Dotrix is a web-fed inkjet printer, providing process colour with the capability of
two additional spot colours, capable of printing a 63cm width at speeds up to 24m/min.
This equates to a maximum output of just over 900m2/hr, the equivalent of 200 A4ppm,
making it potentially one of the fastest high-quality colour printers available. The machine
is not designed for page printing, as the device is only available in simplex mode –
printing on one side of the substrate. The :Dotrix is positioned for industrial colour
printing in four main areas:
Decorative printing – laminates, wall coverings, floor vinyls, etc.
Security applications – such as ID cards
POS applications
Labels and packaging.
The :Dotrix machine is comprised of three main sections – the base unit, inkjet engine,
and front-end and RIP. The base unit is a compact industrial roll-to-roll web handling
system with an unwinding unit, web tension control system, optional pre-treatment
(corona discharge to aid ink adhesion and lay to some plastic and foil substrates), post-
treatment (UV-curing), rewind unit and an optional marking reader. The exact web tension
may be preset on the control panel according to the respective substrates. The web,
passing several controlled rollers to ensure the correct positioning of the web is presented
under the inkjet cartridges. The printed images are dried in an encapsulated UV-curing
system and rewound, or alternatively sheeted and diecut.
The print module is called SPICE – the single pass inkjet colour engine. It is a
modular assembly of inkjet heads configured for the number of colours and the printing
width. Each head prints a swathe of 52mm onto a moving web passing 1mm beneath. This
allows a wide range of substrates to be used, provided the material is available in a roll
and is flexible, as the distance from the heads is adjustable. The heads are mounted in a
staggered configuration to increase the total printing width, with a nozzle overlap of the
adjacent cartridges to obtain seamless stitching. Although it is possible to have any
required combination of widths, :Dotrix is made available in two sizes, 35 and 63cm. Each
inkjet cartridge has an electrical connection, water cooling and ink supply connection; the
fixings on the colour bar make it suitable for quick changeover in the event of a problem
or to change spot colours. The ink supply units comprise an internal container, level
sensors and connections to provide ink to each individual cartridge. Each supply unit
displays the ink level and allows ink refill while printing, with temperature control system
guaranteeing constant viscosity of the ink. The cleaning action of the cartridge has a
preventive maintenance function, with cartridges regularly purged to prevent any blocking
of the nozzle by dried ink or dust particles.

As well as selling direct to printers, Agfa will supply the unit to manufacturers to integrate
into their product lines. The first commercial product is the Mark Andy DT2200, a narrow-
web flexo label press, to add the capability of variable data and very short runs to
traditional label printing. This innovative machine has not sold particularly well until now
and it is likely that Agfa will make significant alterations, not least with the use of its
universal print head.
Chromas Technologies Chromas Technologies is a flexo press manufacturer, offering

a variety of printing technology solutions. The Argio 75 SC is an assembly that can be
integrated into its product line to create a hybrid system based on both analogue and
digital technology. The print width is 193mm and it can run at 100ft/min at 600dpi
(200fpm at 300dpi) to print onto coated papers, films, foils and board for spot colours,
short runs on single- and multicolour label and packaging jobs.
FIGURE 6.23 Chromas Argio 75 SC
Source: Spectra Inc.
Domino Domino is a leader in inkjet systems for coding, marking and addressing using
continuous inkjet systems with either solvent or water-based inks. The equipment is
available in a range of options with different degrees of sophistication offered by the
controller. The A-Series is offered with a basic controller costing €11,000, with up to eight
heads at €12,500 each. As the controller needs to do more, such as determining selective
inserts on a binding line, so the price increases. The heads are capable of delivering two
to four lines of text at speeds up to 1,000fpm.

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FIGURE 6.24 A-Series printer with single print head and base-level controller
The next system uses multiple nozzles, binary technology, offering faster, higher resolution
print through the 54mm heads that contain 256 different nozzles. The binary function
selectively charges drops from each nozzle to fall on the substrate to make up the
character, so they either print or are recycled. The resolution offered is higher at 120dpi,
for speeds up to 4m/s, offering continuous rather than obviously pixellated text
characters, capable of reasonable reproduction of logos and printing barcodes. Domino
does not major on the printability or function of its print heads. The performance and
reliability is a given for the many widespread uses that demand consistency and reliability.
Rather, it is their approach as a solution provider that is important – Domino is
positioning itself as a working solutions provider to develop systems.
The most recent move by Domino is to DOD, with the Domino ON Demand printer
driving heads from Xaar, enabling it to offer a wider range of applications. These offer
very high-quality graphics and text printing, with PostScript and PDF input streams easily
accommodated. Domino ON Demand is a complete variable-data printing system,
comprising estimating, prepress, proofing and printing modules. The system, which
operates at up to 190m/min, can run solvent-based and UV black or Pantone colour inks.
Domino is providing an end-to-end solution to allow its customers access to variable
printing. It includes a software controller with prepress tools. This allows printers to

design, layout and proof a job before it enters the production floor, speeding up make-
ready and eliminating production delays. The Active Rasterisation process optimises
images for the print heads from various input data, including personalisation.
FIGURE 6.25 Domino ON Demand head
The internal database software can be networked to control up to 16 71mm print heads,
which may be mounted vertically or horizontally. UV-curing options are available. These
can be operated independently, stitched or mounted in register to produce multiple spot
colours and process colour printing.
DOD offers many advantages in terms of quality and improving speed for the end
user. It could completely change the playing field, allowing Domino to increase its
presence greatly across direct mail printing and the whole commercial print arena. In
particular, as speeds improve applications previously the mainstay of water-based binary
solutions will be under threat. Domino has a reputation for taking a prudent approach to
the development of new technology. Its systematic detailed approach with all products
undergoing stringent validation and testing means that when a system arrives it works
and does what is claimed.
Inca Digital Cambridge, UK, company Inca Digital is an integrator and manufacturer of
high-performance flatbed inkjet machines for packaging and POS applications. In 2005 it
was taken over by Dainippon Screen to give it access to this market sector. The flagship

6
product is the Eagle, with the Columbia Turbo and Spyder 150 launched at Drupa 2004,
a high productivity machine 102cm wide, (155cm deep) aimed at POS work to replace
silkscreen for short runs. The Spyder uses Spectra heads at three output resolutions from
400–1,000dpi, with a maximum speed of 50m2/hr. Unlike the Eagle and Columbia
models, the Spyder has a fixed bed and moving print carriage, the substrate is positioned
against register pins, while full-bleed printing eliminates the need for subsequent
trimming. The machine was developed with Sericol, the number one supplier of inks to
screen printers, which developed a new range of wide colour gamut, high-gloss UV inks
specifically for the Spyder.
Sericol, which markets the Spyder range of printers, targeted these devices at display,
construction and transportation advertising, and point-of-purchase (POP) markets, for
which it also supplied screen-printing inks. Inca Digital also has a relationship with Sun
Chemical, which commissioned the firm to develop the FastJet single-pass inkjet printer
for decorating corrugated card for the box and POP display markets, shown in prototype
at Drupa 2004. This device in development has a fixed wide array of inkjet heads over
a flatbed base, allowing fast, single-pass CMYK printing onto thick substrates such as
corrugated board. The prototype machine was demonstrated with a print width of 520mm,
printing high-quality 300dpi images at speeds of up to 2,000m2/hr. The device will be
further developed to print at a print width of 1,040mm, producing a print output of
6,000m2/hr – much faster than scanning printing systems. It could print boxes at
throughput speeds that rivalled analogue printing, but also demonstrated its ability to
print variable data and images that analogue methods do not. The FastJet corrugated
board printer should be commercially available early in 2006. This demonstrates the
feasibility of full-width array inkjet printing. It presented both a vision and a promise
of inkjet’s potential.
FIGURE 6.26 Inca Digital Columbia press
Source: Inca Digital

Jetrion Jetrion LLC was set up as a wholly owned subsidiary of US company Flint Ink
Corporation, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the largest privately owned ink company in the
world. Jetrion was conceived to supply high-performance inkjet inks, printing systems, and
integration services within the industrial printing, converting, packaging and direct mail
markets. The company provides a complete spectrum of industrial inkjet products, services
and custom high-performance integration solutions to the industries.
The Jetrion 3025 prints up to 526dpi for text, running up to 125m/min for mailing,
inserters, bindery equipment, and in-line on-web machines. Other custom machines are
used for high-quality graphics applications such as tin-can printing.
The creation of a specialist inkjet group to provide complete integrated solutions to
its customers is an interesting development and boost to the position of inkjet printing.
Kodak VersaMark Since it started in 1967 as a division of Mead Corporation, the Ohio,
US-based developer of high-speed inkjet printers has undergone several changes of
ownership. The company was sold to Kodak and named Diconix, then sold to Scitex
Digital Printing, and in 2004 back to Kodak. Kodak is positioning the acquisition as part
of its ‘Infoimaging’ strategy, joining its NexPress acquisition and Encad, the manufacturer
of wide-format inkjet printers.
The company designs, manufactures, sells and supports high-speed large heads, it is
the market leader in developing inkjet from being a low-resolution marking engine into a
key personalising and marketing device. The product family splits into small-format heads,
the Dijit range used on binding and addressing lines with some 9,000 installations across
the world, and the VersaMark page-wide mono, spot and full-colour printing systems with
many installations.
Following technology demonstrations at exhibitions in the 1990s (shows where the
stand staff were careful to retain all the prints), Scitex Digital Printing launched the
VersaMark in 1999. First installations of the full-colour CMYK version, the Business Color
Press, took place in 2000, printing full process colour of acceptable standard for bills,
statements, mailers and similar applications. The speed of printing is between 1,000ppm
and 2,000ppm depending on the substrate, image coverage and data complexity. The
modular design of the VersaMark allows it to be configured for a range of high-volume
variable data print applications, simplex or duplex, colour or monochrome. The print
quality will be a limiting factor for some applications, but speed is critical in billing and
statement printing applications as it translates into higher productivity in the typically
narrow time windows and high peak demand patterns that characterise these
applications.
Today the modular VersaMark printing systems are designed for high-volume colour
and mono variable data applications, often where the information is more important than
the image quality. The capital cost of the equipment is high and sophisticated data
management and prepress skills are mandatory, but the cost per print is the lowest of any
digital print engine provided there is sufficient volume. Kodak claims to be competitive

6
against web-fed laser printing for mono transaction and direct mail printing while it
develops colour as a replacement for preprinted stationery.
VersaMark printing systems print at resolutions up to 300 × 600dpi and speeds of up
to 750ft/min, in monochrome, spot or process colour. The systems are built on a modular
platform that is designed to be upgraded during the life of the equipment. Mono systems
can have additional heads applied to allow spot colour and full process colour capability,
or additional mono heads for a wider print area or duplex capability. The modular design
provides flexibility and offers an upgrade path. There are currently 18 different
configurations, simplex to duplex, one-up to two-up, 350fpm to 750fpm (107m/min to
229m/min), and monochrome to spot colour to the full process colour system.
FIGURE 6.27 Kodak VersaMark VX 5000
Source: Kodak VersaMark
The VersaMark print head has an imaging width of 227.8mm, with a resolution of 300dpi.
All 2,691 nozzles are manufactured with a very high degree of precision in a single line.
The speed of the paper allows a maximum 600dpi resolution in the paper direction plane.
The company has improvements in the pipeline, announced at Drupa in 2004 – the
STREAM technology. This should provide significant improvements in image quality by
generating smaller drops (15 against 44 picolitres), and allowing four grey levels by
placing one to four drops at the same spot on the paper.
Kodak VersaMark’s product line includes the V-series high-resolution page-printing
systems and the D-series narrow-format printers. Kodak VersaMark also offers a wide array
of ink products for process colour, spot colour and monochrome printing applications. The
V-series products are full-page turnkey printing systems, with the VX 5000e capable of

producing some 2,200 full-colour pages per minute. The D-series is designed for
imprinting in-line on web and stationery presses in conjunction with offset print to
produce variable information on- or off-line, and is most easily distinguished by the
available print width.
The company is broadening its products with the DOD Dijit Passport 4,300 devices,
and is broadening its marketing to include commercial printing. Prices for the machines
vary greatly, from €1 million upwards according to the configuration.
FIGURE 6.28 Kodak VersaMark VT 3000
Source: Kodak VersaMark
The ink technology is water based, with inks supplied by VersaMark and Collins. A
significant problem with water-based inks is their absorption by the paper fibres. Higher
ink coverage on low-quality papers can result in printing issues such as cockle, show-
through and excessive mechanical dot gain. The web will expand and raise problems
of misregistration, and it may sag resulting in marking and subsequent difficulties in
handling. To optimise colour quality and performance, good colour set-up is required
using high GCR/UCR (grey component replacement, under colour removal) reproduction
techniques to minimise the ink deposition. Users report in-house colour specialists are

6
advantageous as the settings on the press cannot be adjusted during running, the job has
to be optimised before being sent.
VersaMark suggests some of these issues can be overcome by use of higher quality
paper stocks. It gives a range of approved paper grades on its website. Many have
specialist coatings applied to the paper surface to minimise absorption, and the
specifications provide details of product attributes including coating one-side/two-side,
optical density of print, show-through, curl, cockle, waterfastness and wet-rub transfer,
together with an indicator of the relative list price.
TABLE 6.4 Strengths and weaknesses of VersaMark printers

Strengths Weaknesses
Highest digital press productivity and speed Low resolution and quality
Low unit cost per print High capital cost
Low environmental impact of water-based inks Impact of applying water to the paper surface,
high-energy driers needed
Simple paper transport for inkjet, wide range of Relatively more expensive paper needed with
finishing options specialist coating
Wide variety of data formats accepted Still weak on graphic arts file formats; will improve
with the release of EFI controllers
Web fed Limited range of paper reels are available; must
develop supplier relationship
Easy and quick to replace parts when necessary VersaMark refurbish heads; need to keep a stock
on hand
Riso One of the most interesting launches at Drupa 2004 was the western debut of the
Orphis HC5000 from Riso, co-developed with Olympus. It uses Toshiba heads, aligning a
single-line head for each of the cyan, magenta, yellow and black oil-based inks. The
printer achieves 105ppm using A4 single-sided colour pages (74ppm for double-sided
A4 colour pages). The standard print resolution is 600dpi, and a high-quality mode is
available for printing at 900dpi.
FIGURE 6.29 Orphis HC 5000 colour inkjet printer
Source: Riso Kagaku

Initial colour is limited, but the move to license Agfa Monotype’s embedded colour
profiling technology suggests it will improve and move out of offices into commercial
applications. The street price of under €25,000 and consumable cost of under €0.02
per colour page makes it economically attractive.
ScitexVision Ltd (now part of HP) ScitexVision is a manufacturer and service provider
of innovative inkjet systems and consumables. The company provides a wide array of
solutions, focusing on meeting the needs of established digital printers and screen
printers with its Aprion Technology and wide and ultra-wide roll-fed machines for wide-
format graphic arts, packaging, textile and other industrial printing applications. The
Aprion inkjet heads are comprised of a multilayer structure of a very large array of piezo-
driven nozzles; the print head is flexible as each multilayer is a few millimetres thick and
can be shaped into virtually any length or width; 6in arrays at 600dpi are currently used.
These deliver some 25,000 drops per second with more than 150,000 demonstrated in
labs of water-based ink, offering a very fast potential.
ScitexVision launched the CORjet Premium late in 2004, developing the CORjet
machine by offering improvements in quality and reliability with a new inking and pre-
treatment facility that increases the range of substrates used with new water-based inks,
including paper board, corrugated board, plastic board, foam boards, PVC, polypropylene,
and other paper-based liners on rigid substrates. Speed from the four- or six-colour Aprion
head is some 150m2/hr in production mode and 90m2/hr at high-quality mode, making it
a leader today – although it will be superseded in the near future. The CORjet handles
sheets automatically in sizes of up to 160 × 320cm in thicknesses of up to 10mm.
FIGURE 6.30 ScitexVision CORjet
Source: Scitex Vision
For each colour there is a 512-nozzle print head using piezoelectric DOD technology at
speeds of 30,000 drops per second per nozzle. ScitexVision has entered into a strategic
partnership with Beiren Group Corporation (Beiren), the largest printing machinery
manufacturer in China. The initial agreement covers manufacturing and assembly of
the entry-level super-wide-format digital printing system. Low-cost manufacturing and
development are expected to yield significant boosts to performance at lower prices to
the market.

6
The company turned over some €120 million in 2004–05 and was bought by Hewlett-
Packard during August 2005 for €190 million, expanding HP’s breadth from home/office
applications to commercial inkjet, complementing its Indigo product line. The acquisition
is further evidence of the medium and long-term potential of inkjet, which will be boosted
by HP research funding such as its five-year, €1.15 billion investment programme to
develop scalable printing technology (SPT). This was designed to improve the speed and
performance of home and office printers with plans to take the technology to the
commercial market. The new technology centres on the assembly of a new inkjet print
head. Instead of the components being welded together in post-production, the
components in the new head are created as a single unit via a photolithographic process,
resulting in more accurate, faster and cheaper printing.
Consumer printers have a head with 3,900 nozzles, while the printer aimed at
businesses has 4,200 nozzles on a single print head. The new print head technology delivers
93–150 million drops per second, substantially improving the productivity and quality of
printing. Scalable means the technology can be used in home and office today, and
commercial settings in the future, leading to faster development cycles for new products. HP
plans to use its technology in its specialty printing business where the company has OEM
(original equipment manufacturer) agreements with partners in direct mail and POS sectors.
Ultimately, the company intends to deploy the technology across the entire range of its
printing operations through to commercial printing.
After the purchase of ScitexVision, it was significant that HP decided to split the
company’s printer and personal computer groups back into two separate divisions,
reversing a decision by previous CEO Carly Fiorina to merge the operations.
Wide-format inkjet Traditionally regarded as a specialist industrial printing sector, wide-format printing is
printing moving out of the domain of specialty poster and signmakers into the mainstream
printing sector. Inkjet printers, from 60cm to 5m ultra-wide machines are making impacts
in the graphic arts and packaging industries. This market will grow beyond small print
shops and into commercial printing and industrial channels as printers continue to
redefine themselves as they adopt digital printing. Some have become digital printers and
have abandoned or ignored analogue printing, while others will specialise and focus on
specific niches.
The manufacturers of large-format inkjet devices have developed a range of extremely
fast, huge printer engines to print low-quantity runs of POS, posters and vehicle livery on
certain weather-resistant substrates. Ink technology has developed from early solvent-
based dye colourant to UV-curable pigmented systems offering high degrees of
lightfastness and weather resistance for outside use. Most manufacturers can tailor
combinations of ink and substrate for all manner of applications, including outdoor
backlit displays.
The Drupa 2004 exhibition was characterised as either the Inkjet Drupa or the
Workflow Drupa, depending on who you talked to. Certainly, when walking around the

massive Düsseldorf showground it seemed as if wide-format inkjet printers were

everywhere. There were 54 exhibitors of inkjet systems present, with wide-format machines
on some 150 stands (although many were proofing devices on press, prepress and
workflow supplier stands). More recently, the growing importance of wide-format printers
to the graphic arts market was demonstrated at the annual GraphExpo exhibition, the
premier North American show, in November 2004. There was a specialty Wide-Format
Pavilion solely dedicated to products and presentations on wide-format inkjet technology
that was well supported by both exhibitors and visitors. These exhibitions and others
allowed exhibitors to introduce new models with specific print and packaging applications
being addressed.
Pira estimates the annual global supplier side market for the equipment and
consumables is valued at some €5.9 billion in 2004, rising to €9.3 billion by 2009,
as detailed in Table 6.5.
TABLE 6.5 Wide- and grand-format inkjet manufacturers revenue, 2004–09 (€ million)
2004 2009 Growth 2004–09
Aqueous 3,840 4,934 28.5%
Solvent 1,813 3,646 101.1%
UV-curable 242 678 180.8%
Total 5,894 9,261 57.1%
Print equipment 1,190 1,342 12.8%
Ink 2,347 3,979 69.5%
Media 2,357 3,939 67.1%
The overall market development equates to a compound annual growth rate of slightly
more than 10%. The fastest-growing sector is in UV-curing, which also boosts ink growth
as it is higher value than aqueous or solvent-based formulations. Solvent use includes the
development of eco-solvent ink systems, where aggressive ingredients such as MEK
(methyl ethyl ketone) are being replaced by more environmentally friendly materials and
the cost is more economical for users. Overall equipment growth is less than 13% over
the period, reflecting lower end-user capital costs from increasing competition and a
reduction in manufacturing costs with new techniques and the emergence of China as
a low-cost manufacturing centre. Increasingly printer manufacturers will rely on
consumables for cashflow; the trend for partnership with major ink suppliers to provide
solutions will continue.
There are new opportunities and application sectors for digital wide-format print. Pira
estimates the market size at almost €15 billion in 2004, growing to €23.5 billion by 2009.

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TABLE 6.6 Wide- and grand-format market (pay for print) revenues, 2004–09 (€ million)
Europe North America Asia Other Total
Markets 2004 2009 2004 2009 2004 2009 2004 2009 2004 2009
Packaging 1,757 2,502 1,662 2,339 1,322 2,325 1,016 1,291 5,757 8,458
Signage 2,277 3,099 1,661 2,590 1,949 3,451 782 1,501 6,669 10,643
Textiles 480 944 317 733 619 886 170 278 1,586 2,843
Other industrial 246 376 245 387 203 374 46 166 739 1,304
Professional 75 101 70 93 62 88 26 35 234 317
Total 4,835 7,022 3,954 6,142 4,155 7,126 2,038 3,272 14,982 23,565
The signage (including posters and vehicle livery) sector is the largest market overall,
particularly for ultra-wide machines that also produce most printed textiles. Europe is the
leading market for wide-format printing today, with the fast-growing Asian market poised
to overtake it by 2009. The Asian market has been boosted by leading equipment
suppliers moving assembly and production into China to lower the cost of manufacture.
The dramatic rise of wide- and grand-format inkjet printing and printer and supplies
manufacture in China has caused established equipment and supplies manufacturers in
developed countries to adjust their pricing and offerings to maintain their market
positions. Leading Chinese manufacturers have partnered with established US, European
and Israeli companies to gain access to markets in developed countries as well as
supplying their home markets. Lower prices for machines and supplies have stimulated
overall market adoption of digital wide-format inkjet printing. Print providers are using
their newly acquired wide-format printers and consuming larger amounts of ink and
media than previously from earlier wide-format inkjet printers.
The wide-format press market, for inkjet machines between 60–160cm width, is a very
active sector with much competition from the leading vendors. New models are
continually being introduced to cater for the high growth projected for both equipment
and the printed product markets. There are some 30 competing printers in water-based,
solvent-based and UV-curable inks that are widely available (summarised in Table 6.7).

TABLE 6.7 Wide-format inkjet printers

Printer Colours Print head* Max media Max Media Resolution Speed List price
width thickness type (dpi) (m2/hr) (€)
(cm) (mm)
Aqueous ink systems
Agfa Sherpa m 7 Epson PIJ 61 1.5 Roll/sheet/ 720–2,880 0.75–10 10,500
rigid
Canon Image W6200 6 Canon TIJ 91 0.5 Roll/sheet 600–1,200 6.7–10.3 3,500
Canon Image Prograf W6200 6 Canon TIJ 91 0.5 Roll/sheet 600–1,200 6.7–11.9 5,000
Encad Kodak T200+ 4 Lexmark TIJ 91 0.5 Roll/sheet 600 2.5–18.6
Mono: 46.5 3,500
Encad NovaJet 850 4–8 Lexmark TIJ 106 0.5 Roll/sheet 600 3.8–12.2 9,000/
12,000
Encad NovaJet 1000i 6 Lexmark TIJ 106/152 0.5 Roll/sheet 600–1,200 14–20.4 10,000/
15,000
Epson Stylus Pro 7600 6(7) Epson PIJ 61 1.5 Roll/sheet/ 720 × 1,440 1.5–8 3,000
rigid 1,440 × 2,880
Epson Stylus Pro 9600 6(7) Epson PIJ 111 1.5 Roll/sheet/ 720 × 1,440 1.5–8 5,000
rigid 1,440 × 2,880
Epson Stylus Pro 10600 6 Epson PIJ 111 1.5 Roll/sheet/ 720 × 1440 3.3–9.2 7,500
rigid
HP Designjet 5500 6 HP TIJ 110/150 3 Roll/sheet 1,200 × 6.3–17.5 9,000–
1,600 20,000
HP Designjet 500 4 HP TIJ 61/106 3 Roll/sheet 1,200 × 600 1.9–3.3 2,500–
7,000
HP Designjet 1050 4 HP TIJ 91 3 Roll/sheet 600 6.5–13 7,000–
10,000
HP Designjet 800 4 HP TIJ 61/106 3 Roll/sheet 2,400 × 1.9–3.3 4,000–
1,200 7,000
Western Graphtec 6 HP TIJ 61/91 0.6 Roll 600 × 1,200 8.5–30 5,000–
JW1100/1000 9,000
ScitexVision CORjet 7 Aprion 512 PIJ 160 10 Sheet/rigid 600 90–150 750,000
Solvent
Mimaki JV3-76SPII 4–6 4 Epson PIJ 81 2 Roll/sheet 360 × 360 6.7–20.6 12,000
1,440 × 1,440
Mutoh Falcon Outdoor 4–6 Epson PIJ 91/121/155 1 Roll/sheet 720/1,440 0.65–3.6 10,000–
20,000
Roland DGA Versacamm 4 Epson PIJ 76 0.5 Roll 1,440 0.6–5.8 14,000
Vutek UltraVU 150 4–6 Spectra PIJ 150 2 Roll 360/720 20.4–40 120,000–
150,000
Seiko-I Infotech 6 Seiko I PIJ 160 0.6 Roll 720 8.1–16.2 27,000
ColorPainter 64S
Océ Arizona 90/180 6 Xaar PIJ 137 1 Roll 309 8.4–16.7 50,000–
75,000
Roland Hi-Fi Jet Pro II 6 Epson PIJ 137 1 Roll 1,440 1.7–27.9 21,000
Roland SOLJET 6 Epson PIJ 137 2 Roll 1,440 1.7–27.9 28,000
UV-curable
Agfa :Dotrix 4 Toshiba Tec 65 (max) 2 Single-pass 300–900 300–907 700,000+
grayscale PIJ roll/sheet/rigid
Inca Digital Spyder 150 4 Spectra PIJ 101 30 Sheet/rigid 400–1,000 20–49.2 300,000+
Inca Digital FastJet 4 Spectra PIJ 53 7 Sheet/rigid 180–300 6000 Prototype
Mimaki UJF-605c 7 Toshiba Tec 70 50 Sheet/rigid/ 1,200–2,400 1.5–16.7 100,000
grayscale PIJ roll
Gerber Scientific Solara 4 Spectra PIJ 155 1 Roll 300 × 360 7.0 n/a
Source: Pira International Ltd (*Technology type: PIJ piezo inkjet, TIJ thermal inkjet)

6
The list in Table 6.7 includes machines varying in price from less than €2,000 to over
€1 million, the difference accounted for by the speed of high-quality production. The
machines are plotter format, sheet-fed or specialist web-fed in the case of the expensive
Agfa :Dotrix machine. The :Dotrix machine is the fastest machine currently widely
available – it prints at a linear speed of 24m/min at 300dpi over a maximum width of
63cm. This equates to a maximum output of just over 907m2/hr, or the equivalent of 200
A4ppm at normal quality, a third of this at the highest 900dpi resolution. No pricing has
been announced for the prototype FastJet from Inca that has the capability of twice that
speed over a narrower sheet-fed format and up to 6,000m2/hr for the metre-wide
machine.
In between these extremes there is a very wide range of achievable quality,
substrates, speed and cost for many applications. The market has become increasingly
specialised and fragmented, with devices to suit most applications and budgets.
There are several mechanisms for inkjet printer design depending on the number of
heads employed, and the mechanism employed to pass the substrate under the head. The
same traversing heads are used on some flatbed machines, with either the head assembly
advancing down the length of the sheet and returning to the zero position for the next
job, or the bed moving under the head. Flatbed devices are generally the most expensive,
top-range models, capable of printing onto rigid, thick substrates. There is a great deal of
choice in the degree of automation of the material handling methods, depending on the
productivity required.
FIGURE 6.31 Modes of inkjet printing
Multi-pass, moving paper, Multi-pass, static paper, Single-pass, moving paper,

fixed armature, traversing head moving armature, traversing head under fixed array of heads

The most productive devices have more and larger inkjet heads to print a wider swathe
each pass. Several manufacturers have provided fixed heads that print across the width of
the substrate. Inkjet heads are ganged together and the substrate is printed in a single
pass under the head; this approach offers the most productive units, but also the most
expensive. Over the next five years there will be more machines and devices using single-
pass fixed heads, particularly in packaging applications.
Several ultra-wide-format manufacturers have launched smaller, lower-cost machines
to expand their markets. New models from VUTEk, the UltraVu 150, and Mutoh, the Falcon
Outdoor Junior, are good examples. The UltraVu 150 is 152cm wide, printing 360dpi at
40m2/hr. The Falcon Junior uses eco-solvent inks, a formulation that uses less harmful
solvents than traditional inkjet inks, and so does not require ventilation in use. Aimed at
the outdoor poster and vinyl sector, Mutoh claims the prints will last up to three years
without lamination. One option is to purchase a bundled printer and vinyl cutter to
produce decals and images requiring contour cutting. All Falcon Outdoor models use
motion control and media handling technologies, including an automatic take-up system
for unattended printing, and individually controlled pre- and post-heaters for instant
drying and wider media compatibility.
The wide-format printer market covers low-cost, limited productivity devices, through
expensive industrial-strength flatbed and roll-to-roll print systems. There is a lot of
development and choice of engine, with ink systems and substrates to suit most
applications. Suppliers are concentrating on different market sectors, with the graphic arts
and packaging becoming increasingly important alongside the more established signage
and poster sectors.
3D and material A fast-developing niche for inkjet printing is as a tool for precise placement of specialist
deposition inkjet materials to fabricate machines and devices directly. Inkjet deposition is an additive
technique and may change the way products are built, enabling micro-production
processes that are cost effective, less wasteful and more economical in small production
volumes. There are many potential applications, particularly the manufacturing of
electronic circuits and other products. Materials deposition is characterised by high
performance, micro-precision micropumps and systems for depositing picolitre-sized
droplets of fluids – such as liquid silver and organic inks – on all types of surfaces,
including flexible substrates, flat-panel and flexible displays, printable electronics,
bioscience, and a wide variety of other applications. The technology has the potential
to replace some current techniques of electronic component manufacture and assembly
with a single complete process.
Leading suppliers include Conductive Inkjet Technologies, Preco Industries and Litrex
for electronics, and Z-Corporation for 3D fabricators.

6
Suppliers of binding The list of companies that provide specialist finishing and binding equipment for use with
and finishing digital printing includes the following:
equipment
Ibis Ibis is a company spun-off from Heidelberg finishing. It is a leading supplier of
binders for use in-line with high-volume web-fed mono digital printers, the Smart-binder
SB range. Leading engine vendors offer these devices as part of an integrated production
line for booklets. The SB1-3 are variable capacity stitchers, while the SB4 includes a
hotmelt glue unit to allow production of perfect-bound books as well as saddle-stitched
products.
CP Bourg Bourg is a well-recognised name in document finishing, noted for its on-line
equipment for the Xerox range of printers. Bourg Document Finisher-BDFx is a self-
contained, fully automated finishing system capable of stitching, folding and trimming
in a single pass when connected to many digital printers. The Bourg Document Finisher
(BDF) combines stitching, folding and trimming within a single unit, for the production
of saddle-stitched booklets.
Bourg’s BBF2005 document binder is fully integrated mechanically and electronically
to the printer's output. Set security can be checked through electronic control. The Bourg
Binder BB2005 provides for the production of perfect-bound books with a maximum spine
width of 40mm. Both units incorporate a high level of automated set-up and can be
configured on- or off-line. The Bourg Book Factory (BBF) combines the Bourg BPRF
(perforate/rotate/fold) module, the Bourg BBF2005 perfect binder and the Challenge
Three-Knife Trimmer, along with other items of equipment, to enable the on-line
production of books or booklets at the touch of a button.
Böwe Bell and Howell Böwe Bell and Howell supplies a range of collators, booklet
makers, perfect binders and coupon book makers, as well as sophisticated mailing and
inserting equipment. A subsidiary is Lasermax Roll Systems, which offers the new LX561
Cutter and LX566 Stacker for cutting and stacking of output from high-speed continuous
digital printers.
Duplo Duplo finishing equipment is widely installed with Xerox equipment, but its on-
line range is limited to booklet making, with the System 5000 capable of delivering 5,000
books per hour. As with the Bourg equipment, the units deal with the collection of pages,
insertion of cover, stitching, folding and trimming, but unlike the BDF these operations are
not combined into a single unit.
Duplo offers collators, cutters and creasers, as well as manual ‘desktop’ binders.
Dynic Dynic is a Japanese company and offers the BP300 to bind 300 books per hour.
It does not use hotmelt glue, but instead a roll of glue that is unrolled and applied to
each book as it is bound. Maximum spine thickness is 20mm.

Baum Baum markets the Baumbinder 300 – a single-clamp, hotmelt perfect binder for
up to 300 books per hour at up to 50mm thickness.
BABS International BABS supplies a wide range of low-volume guillotines and the
Plockmatic range of collators, trimmers, booklet makers and folders.
Watkiss Automation Watkiss supplies a range of collating, booklet-making and print-

finishing solutions, including the Watkiss Vario and Watkiss Digivac Collating and
Finishing System, Watkiss BookMaster booklet makers and the Watkiss SpineMaster to
prepare SquareBack booklets. The digital finishing systems include on-line and near-line
solutions.
Maping Maping is a Finnish company and offers the desktop Fastbind Secura. It applies
hotmelt from the top and the cover is folded over the hot glue, holding it in place while
the glue cools.
Horizon Horizon supplies high-end binding equipment for digital applications. The BQ-
270 perfect binder is a single-clamp machine featuring fully automated set-up, side gluing
and cover scoring. The ColorWorks 8000 is an all-in-one in-line document finisher that
combines bleed trimming, channel scoring, stitching, folding, face trimming and stacking.
Other equipment in its range includes trimmers, folders, stitchers and perfect binders for
many volumes and applications.
Hunkeler Hunkeler provides solutions for a wide range of printed-paper processing

requirements and its equipment is widely used for insertion and mailing applications. The
range of equipment for print finishing focuses very much on paper transport rather than
binding or booklet-making. Items of equipment provide for folding, job buffering, job
separation, cutting, banding and rewinding.
Stralfors–Lasermax The Stralfors–Lasermax group provides a similar range of

equipment to that of Hunkeler. The equipment is mainly concerned with paper handling
before printing, between printing and finishing, and after printing or finishing. Examples
include reel unwind, rewinders, in-line folding, web turning, job accumulation (buffer
modules), job separation modules, cutting and book-block banding.
There are many other suppliers, companies that will develop models to handle short runs,
offering very fast set-up and ease of operation. There will be significant developments for
digital finishing by equipment vendors working in partnership with the suppliers of digital
print engines. InstaBook Corp., for example, offers a tailored system to produce perfect-
bound books aimed at institutions and ultimately bookshops. The system comprises a
duplex laser printer to print text, linked to paper transport and slitting to deliver

6
individual A5 (equivalent) leaves to a perfect binder. A cover is inkjet printed and

delivered to the binder, where it is pressed onto the book block, glued and folded. The
final part is a small guillotine to trim to final size. The capacity is determined by the
specification of the laser printer: with the base model a 200-page book can be produced
within around five minutes.
Collating systems exist that can sort sheets into book blocks then jog them and
deliver for in-line stitching or perfect binding with supplied covers. The collators can have
barcode and pattern recognition built in to ensure document integrity, with automatic
call-up of missing pages and document elements in the case of misfeeds and jams. This
approach to integrity is very common in production printing in document centres, where
applications such as IBM’s advanced function presentation (AFP) track individual pieces to
the mail bag. This type of rigorous auditing approach will become widespread in digital
printing operations in personalisation and short-run applications.
Suppliers, including those above, will be joined by specialist developers of equipment
dedicated to a specific operation. As the range of digital printing activities becomes wider,
specialist engineering and manufacturing companies will develop products for individual
operations.
Papers for digital On conventional printing presses there is virtually no limitation on the type of paper that
printing can be used. On digital presses, however, the paper impacts performance. Coated stocks
can cause serious problems in electrographic printing because the paper has to hold an
electrical charge. In coated paper the clay used is an inert insulator, so coated stocks
don’t always work well. Moisture level affects the toner transfer efficiency – too much
moisture causes the paper to leak charge, and if too dry the paper is too resistive and
again does not accept toner as designed. Typically for offset, papers contain between 6%
and 9% moisture. For laser printing a lower proportion is necessary. For water-based inkjet
it is useful to have a special coating to minimise absorption.
Manufacturers are reformulating many papers to accept toner; some are plastic-
based, using fillers that combine pulp and plastic to provide the feeling of coated stock
without having its inherent problems. Older digital printers were limited by the weight
of stock they could handle, but printers that use carrier blankets can handle up to
400gsm card.
There are several issues to consider when deciding what paper to use: presentation
(sheet size and reel dimensions); properties (paper is an inherent part of the printing
process in digital printing – it is advisable always to use a properly accredited source); the
packaging of the paper to prevent moisture loss or uptake; and the particular finishing
requirements to avoid scuffing, cracking and waviness.
Ideally paper should be matched to a particular printer. In the case of dry toners the
sheet should be smooth and free from curl. It is difficult to make a very fast sheet-fed
machine – the higher the speed the more likely that there will be jams. Operators are
needed to feed paper and clear the jams. The high speed of Screen’s 200ppm device is

enabled by a twin-engine design – one for each side of the paper. Most sheet-fed machines
print on one side of the paper, then turn it over and run it through again. The second pass
uses paper that already has fused toner on it; this raises the possibility of curl, which can
cause a jam. Sheet-fed machines have inherent limitations on the speed of paper. The more
toner applied, the higher the likelihood of problems. Screen bypassed this problem by using
two combined engines to achieve higher speed.
Much work is being done to produce specially coated papers and films suitable for
digital printing. The major press suppliers operate an approval system for stocks (Pira
International acts as an independent qualifier on behalf of the Xeikon web press range)
to test substrates for printability (image quality, fastness) and runnability properties.
Particularly important is the effect of the substrate on the printing mechanism. A slight
lint build up may constitute only a minor annoyance for offset, but in inkjet will act to
block nozzles and result in expensive refurbishment of the head. It is important to
consider the impact of the stock on the operation of the press.
Other major concerns include the effects of fusing on drying out the sheets, causing
cracking, and of the build up of static on sheets at delivery. As well as adversely affecting
the subsequent handling of the material, there is a concern that the press will be
damaged in some way. As the volume of paper converted increases, so papermakers and
press manufacturers will work to overcome these issues.
The ScitexVision and Kodak VersaMark inkjet systems have particular requirements
because they use water-based ink, which can lead to strike-through – where the ink soaks
through the paper – dimensional instability and subsequent ink marking. This is
particularly acute for heavily inked, duplex jobs and necessitates the use of specially
coated papers. Such papers can be much more expensive than standard grades, but are
necessary to obtain consistently good results while optimising print quality and
runnability. Equipment users should first test a range of papers from several suppliers to
check for suitability with their inks, analysing performance and cost to select the most
appropriate paper.
In applications with heavy ink coverage, it is beneficial to use graphics prepress
colour skills to minimise ink coverage through use of UCR techniques, replacing neutral
colour areas of CMY with black ink. This example is one of the few where traditional
prepress skills brilliantly complement the data-handling skills necessary for delivering
digital data streams. Because of the data format and off-line RIPing before printing, there
is no possibility of adjusting colour at the production stage – the result is totally
independent of the operator. This means that the colour settings and control have to be
determined at the design stage of the job. Early inkjet jobs have required much
prototyping and testing; as more experience has been acquired, the quality obtainable has
improved significantly. The best quality and productivity results will be produced from the
correct combination of paper, colourant and imaging system in tandem, rather than
looking at individual components.

Case studies: digital print
success stories
7
There are many successful applications of digital print throughout the global print
industry. The PODi (Print-on-Demand Initiative) exists to promote the use of digital
printing and publishes many success stories on its web site in its best practices on
www.podi.org. Others are presented here for a variety of equipment and applications.
Book production Books were one of the first products to be successfully produced digitally, with major
changes made to the supply chain, particularly in print-on-demand (POD) applications
(to keep titles in print). Lightning Source has operated successfully in North America and
Europe, printing some 1 million books a month, with more than a quarter of a million
titles on-line for more than 3,000 publishers. Booksurge is another example offering a
global printing service, with outlets in the UK, US, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Singapore,
Sydney, Japan, the Netherlands and Greece, with additional markets being added.
Booksurge offers a two-day turnaround from any of its locations, using a distribute-and-
print model. Publishers can log on to the system to order books for their distribution, or
can link their web sites to allow readers to order the book directly with Booksurge,
bypassing the bookshop and delivering direct to the customer. Booksurge takes the
payment and passes on the publisher’s share.
An interesting application for digital printing uses a web-to-print system to prepare
personalised content within the book according to the customer’s requirements. A good
example is the Dream Books title My Dream Cup Final with . . ., written by comedian
Bradley Walsh. The plot is you are playing football in the park with your pals when a
football manager comes along to invite you to play for his team in the Cup Final! The
buyer selects the team of choice and adds the hero’s birthday, first and last name, name
on shirt, street, town and gender, together with three friends. The details are submitted
over the web together with the buyer’s address and payment. In the UK the personalised
details are submitted to printer Butler and Tanner and loaded into its XMPie
PersonalEffect personalisation software to create the variable data book. Several modules
are used to create the original design (from InDesign), to set up the variable data aspects,
to automate the merging of data, images and layout, and to generate variable data
output streams for the colour Xerox and NexPress presses used to print the job.
The finished result is a 36-page, full colour, fully personalised book.

Case studies: digital print success stories
FIGURE 7.1 The Dream Books site
Source: www.dreambooks.net
There is a Spanish version, printed locally on a Xeikon press at Grafitex Servicios Digitales,
which supplies around 30 books each week. Once a week, Grafitex collects all the orders
from the web site, prepares the database, prints the multi-personalised books and takes
care of the finishing and shipping. This application was awarded runner-up status in the
2005 Xeikon Diamond Awards (for creative applications giving an insight into the future
of digital colour printing), for one-to-one communication.
Web-to-print The first range of widely available documents that could be specified and printed over the
applications web was stationery, particularly business cards. This apparently humble piece of print can
be a major problem to print suppliers as recipients always check the spelling and content
and any errors will quickly be escalated. Using traditional proofing routines wipes out
potential profit and adds significant time to the production cycle.
The solution is to generate a master design and allow users to input their details and
check the final design before going to print. There are many systems available for the
production of cards with various capabilities. A typical example is UK company Goodprint,
a commercial litho and digital printer based in Norfolk. Goodprint offers a range of
generic designs that users can choose and personalise, purchasing the cards over the web
for production and despatch. Sophisticated buyers can upload their content (images,

7
logos) following instructions to create bespoke designs, and various finishes are available.
The user has a representation on screen to check before purchasing, and the printer’s
system then takes the files and prints the specified number of copies on-demand.
FIGURE 7.2 Online ordering of business cards
Source: www.goodprint.co.uk
Business cards are structured, templated documents that normally contain some fixed
elements – company logo, background, website details, together with variable details
of name, job title, address, telephone, fax and email details. Sounds simple but there
are complexities, for example some fields that may or may not be present, such as
qualifications, mobile phone number, direct line or fax. These fields may be positionally
linked, sometimes as groups, and vertically cascaded according to content. To make entry
easy, the labels may be linked with content, appearing only when the field has a value.
It is important for the integrity of the design that the format of the card is maintained
correctly. This is more than just typeface and size; it may include the arrangement of the
address details (number of lines), telephone number layout (split of code and number,
international dialling rules), and the correct terminology of job titles that should follow
the design rules. In sophisticated systems for customers with multiple locations, the user
may select from drop-down lists to provide job title, qualification and address details that

will be linked to telephone and fax details. These are useful to ensure the users do not
inadvertently make typing mistakes or use incorrect formats. Typically users will select the
correct design and number of cards required, then fill in fields for variable content. When
complete the system will normally provide a PDF of the finished card for checking.
Oher structured documents can be put together from web input. One of the most
technically advanced examples is the Glasgow Solicitors Property Centre Ltd (GSPC) using
a sophisticated Pageflex system. In Scotland solicitors act as estate agents and legal
advisers – most Scottish sellers appoint a solicitor rather than an estate agent to sell
their home – and GSPC is the largest property marketing organisation in the west of
Scotland. Its service includes creating a range of property advertising packages for sellers,
including website, high-quality colour schedules and the largest property publication in
Scotland. GSPC is the first user of Pageflex.EDIT in the UK, and uses it to create high-
quality documents following the corporate design guides and providing the sophisticated
web interface.
Buyers can visit an office, receive the property guide, advertising in newspapers or
search on the web that is continually updated, with the full schedule available for
downloading. The details of the required property are entered (location, price, etc.)
through a web form and the software provides a summary of potential matches; the buyer
can then generate a PDF dynamically for the chosen home.
FIGURE 7.3 Typical property schedule from GSPC
Source: GSPC

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GSPC’s IT manager David Murdoch commented, ‘The new system will provide our
customers with greater control, reduced wastage and allow the firm’s designers to focus
on more complex and interesting work.’
The installation includes Pageflex Studio to create the templates, and an asset
management system, MediaBank, to handle the storage of the text, photos, maps, plans
and logos. After the schedules have been automatically created, Xralle creates high-
resolution PDFs to be output on the company’s two DocuColor 6060 machines.
In-house production Digital printing allows print buyers to take commercial printing in-house. eXpansys is
an on-line supplier of PDAs, mobile phones and wireless networking products from
Manchester, UK. The company has taken printing back in-house for daily catalogues that
reflect the changing prices of products, and to engage in more sophisticated direct mail. It
bought a high-end Xerox DocuColor 6060 with an on-line booklet maker from Horizon to
produce the catalogues, which are then distributed to customers with the products
ordered. Printing catalogues is managed remotely, with jobs sent from a PC and produced
on the DocuColor 6060 without human supervision. The workflow produces some 60,000
sheets a month with no need to hire anyone to manage the process.
Ian Harrison, content and design manager for eXpansys, says, ‘This new system allows
us to react quicker to ever-changing market prices compared with a slower turnaround of
sometimes a week that we experienced using an external printer.’ eXpansys also uses the
6060 to produce flyers and direct mail, using personalisation and variable information
functions.
Point of sale One company making the transition from conventional silkscreen printer to include a
digital capability is Bezier, which installed the UK’s first Columbia Turbo printer from Inca
Digital at its Wakefield site early in 2005. Bezier is one of Europe’s largest retail media
specialists, working for clients such as UK supermarket chain Asda, Coca-Cola and Boots.
The group has a turnover of £45 million (€67 million), with more than 500 employees at
five sites. This is Bezier’s second large-format inkjet printer, following on the success of the
Inca Eagle it acquired in 2002, chosen for its ability to print larger sheets more quickly.

FIGURE 7.4 Inca Digital Eagle Press
Source: Inca Digital
Bezier is developing its digital capability with a new seven-colour HP Indigo press for
small-format work. Andy Harrison, production director at Bezier’s Wakefield site, said,
‘Digital print is growing fast and is particularly useful in the retail media industry, where
it allows short-run, regionalised campaigns to be turned around quickly and cost
effectively.’ He also commented, ‘These systems will be another addition to the range
of high-quality print solutions we offer to clients’, reinforcing the company’s strategy of
adding digital capability to conventional strength, rather than immediate replacement.
In fact the company announced that it is to introduce permanent 24-hour operation, six-
days-a-week with its four-colour Thieme and Sam X screen machines at the same site.
Packaging One of the first public announcements of packaging using digital printing is from Crown
Holdings, which has successfully produced tin cans using Jetrion technology. Crown
printed coated flat sheets of steel with specially formulated flexible and formable UV-
curing inks to produce high-quality, full-colour three-piece cans that are then formed using
traditional processes. This development proves that inkjet printing can withstand the
rigours of can-making, and Crown is using the project to determine real production
information, in terms of set-up, costs and production speeds in comparison to the multi-
pass offset litho that is currently used. Initially the development will allow very short runs
and prototypes to be produced economically, while letting Crown lower its economical
order quantity and reducing very expensive work in progress and inventories of slow-
moving products.

7
FIGURE 7.5 Inkjet-printed aerosol cans from Crown
Source: Jetrion LLC

Future prospects for
digital printing
8
The end-user printing marketplace continues to change, with ever declining run lengths
and customer demand for faster turnaround. This will drive digital printing technology to
provide faster productivity, better and more consistent quality, increased reliability and
lower unit costs. Increasing numbers of printers will install equipment to broaden the
range of services offered to clients. As more companies use the technology, they will find
new opportunities and niches and will learn how best to use the systems.
Digital printing is forecast to increase its share of print markets over the next few
years, at the expense of all traditional printing processes. This will be through some
replacement of existing litho, screen and flexography work, as well as new applications.
A significant part of this growth will be in organisations, offices and retail outlets, with
users printing stationery, in-house material, promotional and transactional documents
using desktop and office-based printers.
Meanwhile, traditional printers are not standing still – increasing use of computer-to-
plate (CTP) for both litho and flexo makes shorter runs more economical. Companies will
use the overall mix of available production technologies to produce work by the most
economical means. The costs of digital printing cannot be looked at in isolation – the
work mix and cost mix in a particular operation will provide the crossover points for
economical production in a particular process.
The following transition tables summarise the most likely technical developments that
will impact specific imaging areas (colour and mono variable data printing, on-press
imaging and CTP technology) over the next five years.
TABLE 8.1 Colour variable data digital presses: technology transition table to 2010
Features in 2005 Key drivers Features in 2010
Types Mainly electrophotographic laser toner (powder and Increased need for colour, more variable data marketing jobs
liquid), inkjet, electron beam imaging, Mainly drop-on-demand inkjet, with toner market share
magnetography greatly reduced
Formats Majority are A3+ sheet-fed, with the 50cm web More web-fed machines at higher speeds and larger formats
Xeikon 5000 (HP Indigo)
Digital print does not address all market opportunities
(posters, packaging, etc.)
Speeds Up to 133ppm for offset quality (267 twin web) Inkjet offers faster print speeds at lower quality for suitable
applications
More jobs for short-run printing, demand for quicker
turnaround time
Offset quality up to 2,500ppm from multi-unit devices
Inkjet speeds of 5,000ppm at lower print quality
Driver software PDF workflows throughout. Increasing use of Increasing web-to-print capability
databases and open software for personalisation Need to reduce prepress costs
Increasing computer power and communications to produce
fully PDF- and JDF-compliant front-ends linked to printers’
administration systems. Some devices will be configured to
take jobs remotely from the internet as a Printernet model

Future prospects for digital printing
TABLE 8.1 Colour variable data digital presses: technology transition table to 2010 (continued)
Features in 2005 Key drivers Features in 2010
Quality Nominal 300–800dpi successfully provides very Colour management software
high-quality print. Greyscale imaging with UV inks Improved toner technology
provides highest quality for inkjet High quality for a wider gamut than offset allows print to be
indistinguishable from conventional offset quality
Costs €15,000–500,000 for offset-like quality, up to Page costs vary between €0.04–0.15 per A4 print (excluding
€2 million for high-speed inkjet paper and labour) depending on volume
More competition and choice for users
Larger total market as conventional printers take equipment,
some merging with the office/corporate market driven by
HP and Xerox
Capital costs will increase for productive machines, entry-
level devices will fall in price but consumables will be
expensive
High-volume good colour will drop in cost by 33%; inkjet at
below €0.02 per page will open up new (lower quality)
applications
Business process As well as the technological developments, digital printing will allow suppliers to change
re-engineering the supply chains of several industries. Many users of digital print are moving from being
opportunities a manufacturer to a service provider. Two markets where the application of technology is
changing the shape of part of the supply industry are books and packaging. In both these
sectors the position of printing in the supply chain is changing as publishers, brand
owners and retailers act to improve their profitability.
Packaging/POS The development of inkjet machines based on Xaar, Spectra and Jetrion technology offers
the possibility of decorating onto irregular shapes and surfaces. Using print-on-demand
(POD) techniques, with printing an integral part of the filling or packing line, can result in
radical change for the typical supply chain. There are great potential savings from
minimising warehousing costs (of product and packaging), which would be balanced
against the higher unit cost of the digital print. The technology has considerable appeal
to marketers in providing significant savings in terms of cost and time in developing new
products, helping them lower their time to market. This might involve changing product
ingredients at short notice to take advantage of changing commodity prices, or on-pack
promotional offers.
An early example is the integration of inkjet printing at Philips Lighting’s fluorescent
tube production lines in Roosendaal, the Netherlands. The solution was developed by the
Belgian distributor Elink, using the HSAJet printers from Danish machine manufacturer
HS Automatic, which incorporate Xaar’s XJ126 and XJ500 print heads. Philips wanted
flexibility to print barcodes, customer logos, images and marketing messages onto product
packaging, while reducing costs and lowering product lead times. The line was designed
to print advertising campaign materials and co-branding, as well as allowing changes in

8
FIGURE 8.1 Xaar heads positioned in the Philips Lighting line in Roosendaal
Source: AD Communications
packaging design at short notice and without incurring additional printing costs.
Before installing the integrated inkjet printers, Philips outsourced printed label
requirements for packaging, purchasing pre-printed labels that were attached to the
packaging. This was costly, with no variable data capability and so requiring considerable
inventory for multi-language packs across the various brands. Conventional methods were
felt to be unable to accommodate customers’ changing requirements for more flexible and
customised offerings, which led Philips to explore in-house coding and marking, leading it
to look at ways of printing full colour.
Elink provided a tailor-made, fully automated, two-stage variable printing process
integrated into Philips Lighting’s main production line; it went live in August 2003. The
first integrated printers enable Philips to print full-colour graphics and text on the
product’s primary packaging sleeves. The next heads then apply a single-colour logo
directly on the secondary packaging – cardboard boxes that wrap around the outer
casing. They can also mark the tubes directly if required. Figures 8.2 and 8.3 show aspects

FIGURE 8.2 Secondary printed boxes
of the production.
The integrated line allowed Philips to reduce its packaging stock references from 6,000
to 200, doing away with high-volume orders of pre-printed labels. Software controls the
coding and marking applications for each product line. The machines enable the
specification of different packaging materials late in the packaging process, given their
ability to print on different substrates. Philips claims this has significantly lowered
material inventories and increased customer satisfaction by reducing lead times in the
production process. Variable data printing has lowered dependency on external suppliers,
which has made a significant impact on lowering business costs and justifying the

8
FIGURE 8.3 Primary sleeves printed by the integrated inkjet line
investment.
Retailers are increasingly looking to reduce their costs and timeframes. In the
conventional carton printing process there are five points of stock storage before any

FIGURE 8.4 Outline of conventional carton packaging supply chain
product gets to the retailer (as shown in Figure 8.4).

To eliminate these stock holdings a digital, on-demand carton printing operation might be
set up, either at the product manufacturer or at a contract filling/packing operation. In
both instances the printing process is integrated into the filling operation. Product is only
packed in response to an order from the retailer, and directly despatched to the store for
shelf filling and selling. This dramatically reduces the turnaround time and eliminates

8
need for stocks of printed cartons, packed goods and stocks in the distribution chain.
When product is filled at the manufacturer, a further efficiency may be gained by actually
manufacturing product to order instead of distributing stock, as well as the
packing/filling. This eliminates the bulk storage of product. There may be an option for a
digital printer to work with the manufacturer to operate and install the digital print line
FIGURE 8.5 On-demand manufacture of product and carton/filling supply chain
in partnership, as the manufacturer is unlikely to have the core skills.

The main driver for the change in production of packaging is growing competition in the
retail market. The lead-time for new product launches is dropping, with more launches of
specialist, niche products needing short runs of packaging. Some sectors, such as
pharmaceuticals, are looking to incorporate more information on the primary packaging.
In cases where there are multi-size and multi-language packs the range of packaging is
significant and managing the supply chain effectively can be very complex. Brand owners
are demanding reduced lead-times and smaller batch sizes to let them supply their goods
‘off the shelf’ whenever their retailer customers place an order. This presages a change
from make-to-batch, with its low productivity levels in the case of short runs, and
interrupting batches because time for changeover and reconciliation procedures
demanded by customers may be disproportionate to the time spent actually producing

packaging. Many packaging suppliers are moving to a make-to-stock methodology, using

developments in inkjet printing technology to make changing design and decoration very
fast and easy.
These demands from the customers of packaging producers are the key factors driving
the need to manufacture based on forecast. This will have a significant impact in the
package printing industry from secondary packaging applications, such as case-coding,
to full-colour imaging directly onto primary packaging. Inkjet printing is poised to be
accepted alongside established printing methods, and, for some applications, may offer
a replacement over time. The range of inks and equipment makes direct inkjet printing
possible onto a wide range of substrates, from paper and boards to plastic, foils and
metal.
The above examples involve considerable co-operation between printer, product
manufacturer and retailer. These changes have occurred in other supply chains – look at
the demise of mass bakeries with the installation of in-store bread-making. Twenty years
ago that was unthinkable; now it is commonplace.
Digital printing offers packagers the potential for personalisation and variety of
standard pack designs. In pharmaceutical carton manufacture, end-user details might be
incorporated onto the box, perhaps, for example, in large print for an elderly patient,
making the carton more secure.
Book publishing Books are a very successful application of digital print in commercial printing. Many book
printers have embraced digital printing in order to offer publishers very low print runs
economically, thus allowing more titles to remain in print. There are two business models
for printing books digitally:
On demand In the on-demand model, the publisher or self-published author pays a
fee to get a book into the system, and then pays a much smaller printing fee for each
copy of the title. Books are printed when needed, possibly singly, by distributors and
booksellers. Ingram’s Lightning Source is the most advanced example of centralised
on-demand printing at the distributor. Transactions with the book buyer are handled
by a bookstore, passing orders to Lightning Source, or via web e-procurement. For
printing on demand at bookshops a distribution system with printing and binding
equipment is needed. It must be a compact system to produce the textbook block,
colour cover, perfect binding and trimming. It must be easy to use by retail personnel,
and low investment in order to justify the production of a few copies per day. This is
similar to Amazon’s entry into the POD sector.
Short-run The short-run scenario involves printing small batches of books, perhaps
20–500 copies, as a standard order placed by the publisher and the printer. From the
publisher’s perspective there is no operational difference between short-run digital
printing and ordinary offset runs. In both cases books are shipped to the warehouse
or the distributor, where they are held until orders are received. The advantage of
digital printing is that less working capital is tied up in the print run than if offset is

8
used, although the unit cost of each book is higher. Most are produced as part of the
manufacturing capability of a book-printing company or group as a short-run arm.
One of the key benefits offered by digital print is the improvement of inefficient supply
chains of printed products by reducing cost and time in the overall process. The book
publishing market, where the costs involved with unsold books and maintaining lists in
print are major problems, is one of the early adopters of digital print. There are now
several well-publicised examples of POD applications replacing conventional book
manufacturing. The abandonment of the net book agreement and the arrival of new
retailers, supermarkets and the internet booksellers have impacted on this market.
The conventional supply chain is shown in Figure 8.6.
FIGURE 8.6 Conventional book supply chain

Traditional book manufacturing used mostly offset litho printing and binding. The books
were made for stock, supplied into publishers’ warehouses and then distributed to retail
bookshops. Internet booksellers are now established retailers, often with their own
warehousing and delivering titles to consumers.
With digital printing technology the concepts of the virtual warehouse and in-store
production have become a reality. In the virtual warehouse printing is still centralised but
books are digitally printed on demand. For these books there is no stock and no need for
warehousing. Systems such as Océ’s Bookstore allow the virtual concept at printer or
distributor. They can receive files and orders remotely and satisfy end clients regardless of
location. Printing may be at a printer or somewhere in the distribution chain, as is the
case with Lightning Print, thus eliminating the conventional printing stage and the need
to transport books to the distribution centre. They claim a mutually advantageous
situation for customer, bookseller, publisher and author. The losers are the conventional
printer and warehouse.
With on-demand printing there is reduced waste. Evidence suggests that up to 30% of
stock in the chain remains unsold and may have to be pulped. As many books are supplied
to retailers on a sale-or-return basis there are clear opportunities to increase efficiency with
the print on-demand model, with publishers only producing books that have been ordered.
Taking this one stage further leads to in-store production, as illustrated in Figure 8.7. In this
scenario a low-cost, easy-to-operate, digital print-and-bind system is housed within the
bookstore to produce a book for the customer while he waits.
FIGURE 8.7 In-store production for books
In-store
Digital print- Retailer
on-demand
Consumer

8
Overview Digital printing offers a better way of doing some things. It may well take over from
conventional printing at some long-term date. In the medium term it is likely that there
will be combinations of digital print with conventional technology. This first appeared in
the label sector with Mark Andy and Nilpeter adding laser and inkjet technology to their
unit press designs.
In commercial printing the use of hybrid systems is growing. In litho many sheet-fed
machines use flexo varnishing and coating units as well as specialist printing units, and
there is a trend to incorporate a digital printing capability. Heidelberg showed its
VDP921/UV Concept Printer at the 2000 Drupa exhibition, mounting a Spectra 600dpi
assembly onto a QuickMaster press to provide an Imprinter capability on a high-quality
offset press. The print head is capable of printing 600dpi at 300ft per minute (generating
300 million drops per second). The current status of the project is not clear, with
Heidelberg currently reviewing its positioning in non-core markets.
FIGURE 8.8 Heidelberg UV Concept Press assembly
Source: Spectra Inc.
Heidelberg has a relationship with Domino to distribute inkjet machines through its sales
channels in certain markets, and showed a sheet-fed machine with Domino Bitjet
technology allowing variable data printing for addresses and personalising text in-line.
Xaar and MAN Roland have a joint collaboration to explore and develop digital inkjet
printing systems for coating applications to be used in traditional offset printing presses.
KBA bought Metronic, a specialist manufacturer of inkjet printing systems to expand its

product range into new, high-potential markets. Web offset has long used Domino’s
Videojet heads for text printing, and wide-format Kodak VersaMark heads to offer more
sophisticated inline personalisation.
Agfa is becoming a major player in inkjet printing with its wide-format Sherpa
proofers. These use Mutoh engines, which are also used in wide-format on the Anapurna
inkjet printing system. Agfa now owns Dotrix and launched the interesting hybrid
screen/inkjet machine, the M-Press, using Xaar heads in conjunction with Thieme. This is
a high-speed flatbed inkjet and screen press that has been co-developed with Thieme in
response to customer demand for economical, high run-length digital printing. The
device’s modular design allows the multicolour inkjet unit to be linked with Thieme 5000
XL series screen-printing modules; the M-Press can be configured into a fully automatic
hybrid printing line.
FIGURE 8.9 Agfa/Thieme M-Press
Source: Agfa
The M-Press allows a white coating to be applied by silkscreen, overprinted in process

colours and then varnished, or a spot colour can be applied in a single pass. It is one of
the first launches offering users the versatility of screen printing and the productivity of
an automatic in-line solution.
The likelihood of using hybrid technology is high, with the impact of the development
also significant as printers look at ways of increasing their productivity. The main
developments over the next ten years will be in integrating digital printing, particularly
the more flexible inkjet, into conventional sheet and web machines. This will allow
multiple versioning and personalisation applications to be produced more efficiently in
a single process.

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Introduction to Digital Print

T +44 (0) 1372 802080

It’s time to print

North America Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific

No part of this publication may

© Copyright For Mary, Mary, Chris and Frances

ISBN 1 85802 505 2

Customer services manager

List of tables vii Personalisation 37

Introduction and context 1

Origination and design 31 Supply side of digital technology 75

Page v © Copyright Pira International Ltd 2005

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1.1 Timeline in the development of 6.2 Commercially available toner-based

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1.1 Collation capabilities of digital 5.14 Schematic of the HP Indigo printing

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taking advantage of the high-quality capabilities (achieving and surpassing offset) of

TABLE 1.1 Timeline in the development of digital printing

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TABLE 1.2 Split of print processes across Europe, 1999–2009 (%)

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FIGURE 1.1 Collation capabilities of digital printing systems

Sophisticated personalisation capabilities are increasingly common: more than simply a

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The main market sectors for digital printing are:

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Training course notes and manuals;

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client. Data warehouses are becoming commonplace to help organisations understand,

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Transactional printing A major sector is the use of digital printing to produce

Document management Document management involves the preparation of data,

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Direct mail Direct mail is a significant part of the advertising industry. It is a

TABLE 2.1 Direct mail expenditure forecasts worldwide, 2004–09 (€ million)

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printing Screen 344 Heidelberg 52 Xerox 8000

Total job cost

Unit cost of sheets

Job elapsed time (min)

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Screen 344 Heidelberg 52 Xerox 8000

Source: Pira International Ltd

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Digital Conventional DI Printing

Source: Pira International Ltd

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Employment 2 printers 1 printer, 1 assistant