A Preference for Digital Print
Is it the beginning of the end for offset?
Digital printing is taking the lead and offset is in decline. That's what a new Gartner study of some 443 production print managers indicates. In the estimation of print professionals in the U.S., France, Germany, and the UK, offset's dominance has been superseded by digital printing's quality and value for the money.
The companies contacted included financial services, insurance, utilities, communications carriers and retail enterprises, as well as print service specialists. Respondents were production print operation managers, senior-level managers overseeing an operation, or had purchasing responsibility for production print hardware and/or software. Their operations produce a broad mix of bills and statements, direct mail, and insurance documents, along with book, magazine and newspaper printing.
The study, which was conducted as a telephone survey, used a seven-point scale to measure respondents ratings of image quality of digital printing using toner (dry ink), liquid ink (such as that used on the HP-Indigo), ink jet, and offset printing. On this scale, 1 was "Poor Quality" and 7 was "Excellent Quality." The large number of respondents make differences as small as 0.10 statistically meaningful which is especially important when delving into the data.
On the key question of Image Quality, for example, the mean ranking for toner-based printers was 5.68. Liquid toner was next at 5.40. Ink jet was further back at 5.24 and offset printing brought up the rear with a mean ranking of 5.17. This puts toner-based printing significantly ahead of offset and shows ink jet being viewed as similar to offset.
Image quality is one of the hot buttons for anyone responsible for high volumes of print, but Value is close behind. Again using a 1 to 7 scale, respondents said digital printing, particularly with toner, provides the best value for money. Toner again had a significant lead with a mean score of 5.58, followed by liquid ink (5.29), ink jet (5.23) and offset (5.13).
The caveat for this study is that because the respondents were primarily involved in with high volume production printing applications, they do not require the quality needed for high-end graphic arts applications such as fashion and marketing collateral. For this reason, the data should not be construed as meaning digital printing is generally superior to offset. However, the fact that all types of digital printing were ranked above offset by printing pros in four nations speaks volumes about the quality level being achieved and delivered by the present generation of digital presses and printers. And backing that up is the next article about Polestar, a printer in Nottingham, England.
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Océ JetStream Core to
Polestar's Business Vision
An Ink jet and toner-based full color solution
Polestar, one of the world’s larger printing companies, producing 42 million magazines and newspapers every week, has become the first company in the UK to order the Océ JetStream 2200 continuous color ink jet printer. The system is currently being installed at Polestar Direct in the northern English city of Nottingham, forming the central part of a £4 million investment in digital technology (approximately $5.6 million and EUR 4.2 million). The installation echoes the trend pointed to in the Gartner study.
“Whilst we have had digital technology in place for a number of years, including color, we are extremely pleased to be making this investment in the UK’s first Océ JetStream,” says Polestar Chief Executive Barry Hibbert. “The level of color reproduction is high, its performance speeds are advantageous and its options and flexibility meet both our current and future requirements in servicing our customers."
A key aspect to the investment in the JetStream is shifting to a plain paper continuous feed system that eliminates the preprinted stock currently imaged on another supplier’s cut-sheet machines. In addition to the JetStream, three existing Océ VarioStream 9210 continuous feed machines are being upgraded to provide improved output and performance. One is being converted to an Océ VarioStream 9240 to handle full color production and an Océ VarioPrint 5160 printer is being added to handle the remaining cut-sheet printing.
"We have had sufficient interest from the marketplace to justify this investment, which will ensure we are well-equipped going forward," says Hibbert.
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Personalized URLs and why it's taking awhile for them to gain traction is one of the leading topics on The Digital Nirvana this month. It's closely followed by thoughts on a recent study on TransPromo, and the number of print providers who are getting some of their power from the wind. Take a look and be sure to join in on the current discussions. And see what others are saying about the Gartner study. Clearly not everyone agrees with the findings!
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About Océ
Océ is
a leading international provider of digital document management
technology and services. The company’s solutions are based on Océ’s
advanced software applications that deliver documents and data over
internal networks and the Internet to printing devices and archives --
locally and around the world. Supporting the workflow solutions are
Océ digital printers and scanners, considered the most reliable and
productive in the world. Océ also offers a wide range of display
graphics, consulting and outsourcing solutions.
Océ employs
around 23,000 people, with 2008 revenues of approximately $4.3 billion,
operates in more than 90 countries and maintains research and
manufacturing centers in the Netherlands, the United States, Canada,
Germany, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Romania and Singapore.
Océ North America is headquartered in Trumbull, CT, with additional
business units in Chicago, IL; New York City; Boca Raton, FL; Salt Lake
City, UT and Vancouver, BC. North American revenues represented
approximately half of Océ’s worldwide business in 2008, and employment
is approximately 10,000. For more information about Océ, visit
www.oceusa.com. Outside the U.S., consult www.oce.com.
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