In an article a few weeks ago I covered short run color-printing stating that this was an area of the market where there would be great attention at the forthcoming IPEX event. At the time I wrote that article, I could only hint at some of the developments that were likely to be seen at IPEX. As we come closer to the start of IPEX (April 4-11), more information is becoming available on new products that will change the way we view this market.

  At IPEX we will see offset fighting back against digital printing to become more efficient for shorter run lengths. New systems will allow for far shorter makeready times, fewer waste sheets, and lower ongoing costs for longer print runs.
 

  The short run color-printing market is one where the technologies of offset and digital printing compete and the choice of which technology to use is becoming more difficult to assess. On one side there are the efficiencies of digital printing with its zero makeready times and minimal makeready paper waste sheets, while knowing the cost of every print per click or equivalent and toner costs. On the offset side we have the time scale for platemaking, makeready of the press and the waste sheets as the press comes up to color and register, but no extra cost per print and very low cost per print for the ink.

  Up to now, digital printing has benefited from the time and costs of makereadies for offset presswork. These have been in the region of 15 minutes and, often, more than 100 waste sheets. This usually results in digital printing being cheaper than offset for print runs below 250 and sometimes more copies. However, the more copies you print, the more it costs with click and toner charges. In addition digital printing has the benefit of being able to print four colors in duplex plus having inline finishing of the document all in one pass. This generates very short turnaround times for digitally printed work. Digital printing also has the benefit of being the only printing solution that can be used for one-to-one personalization of printed material.

  Lowering the Bar

  At IPEX we will see offset fighting back against digital printing to become more efficient for shorter run lengths. New systems will allow for far shorter make ready times, fewer waste sheets, and lower ongoing costs for longer print runs. The offset suppliers are now proposing that their new systems will be competitive against digital printing for short run lengths-possibly even for runs as low as 100 impressions.

  Presstek has introduced its first Presstek branded DI (direct imaging) press, the Presstek 52DI. Presstek says that job-to-job timing-including full platemaking, makeready and coming up to color-is achieved in less than 10 minutes with fewer than 20 waste sheets.
 

  Two new products to be introduced at IPEX will push this new competitiveness of offset printing for very short run printing jobs. In this I am mainly looking at the two-page (52 cm/20.4") market. There are also new developments in the four-page (74 cm/29.1") market, also targeted at very short run lengths: in particular the new Komori Lithrone L29 Series of presses, and the Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74 with Prinect Inpress Control.

  In the 52 cm market, the area that competes closest with digital presses, the two major new developments come from Heidelberg and Presstek. Both aggressively target cost and time reduction in press makereadies.

  Presstek has introduced its first Presstek branded DI (direct imaging) press, the Presstek 52DI. Up to now Presstek's designs have been manufactured and sold by other suppliers. The 52DI press will be sold through Presstek's own sales channels; however, in future there may be opportunities for it also to be sold through OEM agreements via third party channels. The Presstek 52DI is the first 52 cm landscape format DI press. This is a small press format more in favor with printers than the smaller portrait format of early two-page DI presses based on Presstek technology. The key factors of the new press are higher quality with perfect color registration and 300 lpi or FM screening; ease of operation through direct digital prepress set-up; and very short makeready with minimal waste.

  That's 20-not 200-Waste Sheets

  Presstek says that job-to-job timing-including full platemaking, makeready and coming up to color-is achieved in less than 10 minutes with fewer than 20 waste sheets. The running speed of the press is up to 10,000 impressions per hour. Presstek also believes that its DI presses can print a wider color gamut than most offset presses as they use a waterless print process, which again makes maintaining color accuracy on the run an easier task as there is no ink and water balance to manage.

  Heidelberg is taking a very different approach to being very competitive in the short run market. In the late 1990s Heidelberg was the leading player in the DI market with its Quickmaster DI 46-4 press, which was based on Presstek technology. The company now believes that DI is a technology of the past, not having adopted any of Presstek's later imaging technologies. Today its position is that using offline CtP together with a very automated press is the best solution for short run color printing.

  At IPEX Heidelberg will introduce a very interesting option for its Speedmaster SM 52 press-a totally new, keyless inking system called Anicolor. The option is such a fundamental change that Heidelberg should come up with another name for the press to differentiate it from a standard Speedmaster.
 

  At IPEX Heidelberg will introduce a very interesting option for its Speedmaster SM 52 press. In fact the option is such a fundamental change that I believe Heidelberg should come up with another name for the press to differentiate it from a standard Speedmaster. The option is a totally new inking system called Anicolor. This is a keyless anilox inking system that uses conventional auto-loaded printing plates and conventional offset ink. The Anicolor inking unit works together with Heidelberg's Alcolor dampening system.

  The Key Is No Keys

  The benefit of this system is that press makeready times, including plate loading, are reduced to around seven minutes. At the same time, waste is reduced to fewer than 20 sheets. Anicolor, a keyless inking technology, relies on the prepress system to set up the makeready, as there are no ink keys to set or adjust. The Anicolor system supplies exactly the same amount of ink to the printing unit time every time, so consistency through the print run should be maintainable without intervention.

  The approaches being taken by Heidelberg and Presstek are very different but both come up with major enhancements to enable offset to be much more competitive against digital printing for run lengths from around 200 copies. While Heidelberg may believe that DI printing is a technology of the past, I believe Presstek is showing it is still a very competitive technology and one well suited to many aspects of the printing market. The figures quoted above show that both offset approaches will be both faster and cheaper than digital color printing for many types of work. Digital printing however has major advantages in print finishing as there is no ink drying, so that finishing on a digital press can be a continuous inline operation.

  Whichever approach is preferred, the benefit is that offset printing can really challenge digital printing for short run color work, and the same press can be used for much longer run lengths than are appropriate for a digital press.
 

  Presstek will maintain that the new 52DI press requires less staffing as platemaking is an inbuilt operation requiring no labor, and that the press requires less skill to operate as all processes are automatic. Heidelberg will claim that its approach with the Speedmaster SM 52 with Anicolor is more flexible as plates can be made offline, and that any CtP plates and offset inks can be used. The Presstek 52DI uses Presstek PearlDry waterless plates, and waterless inks have to be used. Heidelberg will also point out that its process is not limited just to four-color CMYK. The Speedmaster SM 52 can have up to 10 printing units that will allow duplex printing of four colors each side plus a spot color or varnish.

  Whichever approach is preferred of those offered by Heidelberg and Presstek, the benefit is that offset printing can really challenge digital printing for short run color work, and the same press can be used for much longer run lengths than are appropriate for a digital press.