I read with great interest Andrew Tributes story Will Inkjet Printing Kill Offset? and Richard Romano’s report on the Presstek press conference at IPEX where Jeff Jacobson, Chairman, President, and CEO of Presstek said, “I believe with the advent of inkjet, electrophotographic missed an opportunity.” Romano goes on to report that Jacobson sees shops with three basic equipment rosters: inkjet for short-run, variable printers; offset for long-run printing, and a DI press for the “doughnut hole” between those two technologies’ run-length characteristics. And I have heard reports from clients that some offset press manufacturers are claiming in back rooms of the show that their make-ready and run-lengths can compete with toner. The obvious question is, who is really killing who and when will they be dead?
This is nothing new. It seems like the big international shows bring out the big predications of gloom and doom. Four years ago, a few weeks before Drupa, William Buckley wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal that said in essence Inkjet printing will Kill Toner. The story opened with this:
“Inkjet-printing technology that dominates inexpensive desktop printers is about to enter the world of commercial print shops. If the new technology succeeds, it could spell trouble for Xerox Corp. and lead to expanded business for Eastman Kodak Co., Hewlett-Packard Co., Ricoh Co. and other inkjet makers. The world's printing industry gathers Thursday at the Drupa trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany, where a host of companies are showing new inkjet presses touted as the wave of the future. Giant offset presses, which cost several million dollars apiece, dominate the $400 billion-a-year printing business. But inkjet and laser technologies are nibbling at the market.”
I’d like to offer my two cents on this subject, which is just another guy’s opinion. I don’t think that any printing technology is going to kill any other printing technology. In fact, after this article appeared in the Wall Street Journal I wrote this letter to the editor which offers a less lethal predication.
Dear Editor:
It is naïve to focus on the advances in high-speed inkjet technology in a vacuum (“Inkjet Printers Get Set to Turn the Page,” William Buckley, May 29, 2008).
While tremendous advances have been made in inkjet printing technology, inkjet simply does not have the potential in the near future to become the dominant printing technology, in the face of new advances in electrophotographic (laser or toner-based printing) and offset printing. However, the new announcements blur the advantages of each technology more than ever before.
- High-speed inkjet technology's popularity will grow in specialty printing areas such as merging transaction and promotional communication messages, as well as in new markets such as newspapers, books and office printing. While longer runs have typically offered cost efficiencies and customization, we have not yet seen the higher quality that is comparable to what other printing technologies offer.
- Toner printing technology's quality and speed continue to improve, resulting in a reduced price per page, even for longer print runs historically reserved for offset printing. Toner printing has always offered the same ability to customize as inkjet.
- Offset lithographic technology will continue to automate the make-ready process and remains the dominant printing technology for the foreseeable future for the highest-quality printing and longer-run lengths.
Ultimately, the print buyer should be aware of the differences in quality, cost and the ability to customize associated with each printing technology. The printer, in order to decide what equipment he requires, must understand how the needs of his customer base are met by each technology. There is no room in today's highly competitive marketplace to invest in the wrong machine.
Unfortunately that was never published in the Wall Street Journal. I'm not sure what that means – probably it was not newsworthy. But I don’t think that any printing technology is killing any other. I don’t expect any homicides within the different printing technologies in my lifetime. Do you?
Howard Fenton is a Senior Consultant at NAPL. Howie advises commercial printers, in-plants, and manufacturers on workflow management, operations, digital services, and customer research.
Discussion
By Erik Nikkanen on May 24, 2010
"But I don’t think that any printing technology is killing any other. I don’t expect any homicides within the different printing technologies in my lifetime. Do you?"
I guess there are still a few dot matrix printers running although I am not sure they are manufactured still. Close to dead. :-)
By Richard Romano on May 25, 2010
I agree; the common historical analogy that many people use--and I have used it myself--is the displacement of letterpress by offset back in the dim and distant past. But there are still letterpress shops; not a lot, but some. As long as a printing technology, whether it be offset (and all its various permutations) or digital (in all of *its* permutations) produces something unique that is in demand by someone somewhere, it will prevail. Digital in general isn't replacing offset; it's just been fostering demand for a type of printed product that no one had ever really been able to produce before. If inkjet can do its own unique things, it will find its niches; and as long as there is demand for what offset presses can produce (ay, there's the rub), it shan't die.
By Heath on May 25, 2010
The key points of this debate are coming from a large commercial print-centric approach and certainly not as an industry wide one. In a large production shop that is already setup for collation, cutting and a wide range of finishing the method used to produce images on paper can be arbitrary. A digital web press is still a near offset mentality if more than one substrate is part of the finished product.
The trend of ink vs toner and cut sheet vs roll fed is just the difference in physics of how fast paper can move down a path and the speed in which an intermediate belt can be charged for toner. It isn't about ink having special properties over toner.
The bigger issue between toner vs ink vs offset is really continuous feed/roll fed vs cut sheet. Cut sheet solutions are much easier in distributed print models and for small to medium sized print providers.
By Neil on May 25, 2010
I don't know about other people, but I get kinda burned out on "predictions" because all they ever seem to be are some sort of conclusive opinion reached by a path of odd logic. They sensationalize a topic and cause a stir. That's business in media. Anyway, enough of my rant about that.
How about we look at the progression of high speed inkjets a little more positively for those of us in the printing industry trenches every day. I suppose I take a similar stance to Mr. Fenton. Rather than looking at what's replacing what or upgrade this to do something better or faster than the other thing, why don't we look at the new technology as a way to open new markets, offer new products and broaden our selected niches in the areas we currently serve?
I'm of the opinion that survival in this game is about creative thinking and new ideas on how to better serve our customers, not the endless overanalyzing that forces so much of our energy and time on inside processes. Sure, some of it is always necessary, but fundamentally we serve our customers. Most of them don't know or care how we get from A to Z internally, as long as we meet or exceed their expectations.
So I say, ignore the highly opinionated predictions. Let's do what we do best and focus on the needs of our customers. If a new technology hits the streets and you think you can fill a gap for your customers, go for it. If we're really and truly meeting their needs, then chances are pretty good that we won't be replacing anything, but simply adding to our offerings.
Just another opinion...
By Howie Fenton on May 26, 2010
Great feedback and thanks,
I know I said I don’t expect any homicides within the different printing technologies in my lifetime, but there may be some injuries or maimings. It would be naïve not to acknowledge the momentum that inkjet presses are achieving. After years and years of false predictions of inkjet technology shifting from the transactional print space to the commercial and publishing spaces, it is actually starting to occur.
Within the last 9 months I am getting phone calls, having conversations and witnessing commercial printers and book publishers invest in inkjet technology. Hopefully no deaths will occur but lets be honest the advantages are compelling; lower cost per page, higher speeds and improved quality is something that no one should dismiss without careful consideration.
So no deaths but maybe it will result in an injury or disfigurement. Thanks for sharing!
Howie
By Gérard Rich on May 30, 2010
A lot of what is published is substance provided by lobbyist.
Wall Street analysts have fallen in love with digital printing (good for the stock value of some of the companies mentioned in these columns) and discount traditional commercial offset companies as obsolete.
I personally listened, in numerous conferences, to the CEO of Indigo in 2000 predicating that offset would be gone in 2015. This won’t be true even in 2030.
A good mean to get further on the subject is to ask for a quotation for 400 copies of a 8 colour page brochure in Germany from a traditional offset with recent equipment and the diverse digital printing suppliers and to assess results.
By Michael Mittelhaus on Jun 03, 2010
Another big issue with Inkjet is - Deinking !
Apart from the Fuji Jetpress 720 none of the new industrial inkjet machines have shown a proof, that paper printed on these systems can get de-inked, thus recycled.
Without this proof, I would not recommend any printshop in the world to use them.
By Jan Eskildsen on Jun 03, 2010
Sorry, but of course offset does not have as short make-ready time as digital. Offset litography involves printing plates, and it takes time to mount them.
Which means, that I can print a couple of hundred A3 sheets before you start to print your offset job.
Apart from that, offset plates cost money.
Offset will not die though.
No, but it will get more competition from digital, as the years go buy, because the printing speed for digital machines is not going down, it's going up.
By Jan Eskildsen on Jun 03, 2010
Gerard wrote: "I personally listened, in numerous conferences, to the CEO of Indigo in 2000 predicating that offset would be gone in 2015. This won’t be true even in 2030."
In 1992 I visited a printer manufacturer in Tucson with a customer. We were told, that a digitale color printer would not be able to run color as fast as their b/w printer could, which was at that time appr. 129 ppm if my memory serves me well.
In 1995 I saw an article by a consultant telling the readers, that offset would have gone away 10 years after.
In my opinion it s ridiculous to predict any casuals in this field.
Where is the great threat for print? The internet.
The internet browser Mosaic was introduced to the Seybold audience in Paris by Yari Rubinsky in 1993.
The English consultant group Pira used to make some rather expensive reports about the future. In 1995 they predicted, what would happen in the the next five years. Not one word about internet.
It looks like meteorologist – they are always best to tell you, how the weather has been – or is right now.
Discussion
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