Digital color printing was formally introduced in September, 1993 when Indigo and Xeikon introduced their printers at Ipex. (You might say that the beginning of digital color was the first EFI Fiery connected to the Canon CLC in 1989.) As reproduction technologies, especially offset litho and toner/inkjet digital printing, duke it out for the hearts, minds, and money of printers and inplant operations, it important to state that everyone will win… and lose.

It took lithography 200 years and offset lithography 60 years to virtually wipe out letterpress printing. But digital printing does not appear to be wiping out offset litho. Actually, offset litho really took off when phototypesetting reached critical mass in terms of capability and price and that time period was about 15 years, from 1960 to 1975.

Fast forward: I remember in 1997 being given a folder with handouts of a supplier's presentation. By accident they gave me an internal confidential presentation on a new digital color printer. I noted the speed which was higher than any other digital printing system. By the time it came out a few years later there were competitors with machines at the same or higher speed.