(Weymouth, MA) March 8, 2005…Despite predictions that screen printing would be superseded by inkjet, it still offers benefits unattainable with other printing techniques. InfoTrends/CAP Ventures’ new white paper entitled Digital Production and Screen Printing – There’s Plenty of Room for Both takes a critical look at how inkjet and screen printing technologies can co-exist. One of the uncontested advantages of the screen process is that it is the most versatile printing technique. It can be used on virtually all materials, including paper, board, plastics, fabrics, glass, wood, and metals, without any real restrictions in terms of size, thickness, or shape. In terms of color depth and flexibility, inkjet printers cannot yet match the output produced from a screen printing press. Inkjet has proven strengths of its own, however, particularly where short-run lengths, one-offs, and jobs containing variable data are required. Additionally, with the capability to print applications up to 5 meters wide, inkjet is ideal for grand-format jobs. The gap between the two technologies is certainly narrowing, but it is not likely to close, thus sustaining the demand for the screen printing process. The differentiator now becomes which technology is best suited for the print job at hand. “There are opportunities for established screen printers to promote the services they provide by explaining how screen printing can still provide flexibility of output that is unattainable with an alternative process,” commented Sophie Matthews-Paul, a Consulting Associate for InfoTrends/CAP Ventures. “It is the printer’s responsibility to make the end-users and print buyers aware of the unique selling points that are offered by both types of processes.” "We see the UV-curable inkjet market growing by more than 40% per year over the next five years," said Tim Greene, Director of InfoTrends/CAP Ventures' Visual Communications Technologies Consulting Service, which tracks all wide format digital printing technologies. "We believe that the strengths of UV-curable print technology, and the wider adoption of the next generation of low-end and mid-range equipment based on UV-curable inkjet, will drive UV-curable inkjet revenues, including hardware, ink, and services, over $580 million by 2008." InfoTrends/CAP Ventures’ white paper provides a complete review of screen printing and inkjet technologies. It provides a history of the market development; offers a glimpse of the opportunities and changes within the market; and discusses the applications, inks, and materials in which the technologies are used. The complete white paper is available immediately to clients of the Visual Communications Technologies Consulting Service. For more information about the report or to make a purchase, please contact Alison Hipp at (781) 616-2100, ext. 126 or via e-mail at [email protected].