DI Printing: Still Competitive with Digital for Short-Run Work, Or Just a Technology with a Great Future Behind It? (Part 2)

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DI Printing: Still Competitive with Digital for Short-Run Work, Or Just a Technology with a Great Future Behind It? (Part 2)

EDITOR'

By Andrew Tribute

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

EDITOR'S NOTE: See a statement from Heidelberg and a correction from Andy below.

Yesterday we opened the debate about the future of DI by examining where it came from and which players brought it to its present level of development. Today we will take a closer look at the position of one of those players and ask whether it correctly reflects the market outlook for DI presses.

Heidelberg had made almost no significant new investments in DI technology since 2000 and its sales staff had largely stopped selling DI presses apart from sales to existing customers. The Quickmaster 46-4 DI presses were no longer competitive against the newer Presstek/Ryobi presses. As an alternative to DI, Heidelberg worked on approaches to enhance the productivity of its conventional, unitary presses for shorter runs.

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