More on Printing on Demand (I)

Printing Technology In "Printing Technology", Issue 10, 2000, "Several Questions on Printing on Demand," we defined the number, scope, and meaning of print on demand (abbreviated POD). Defining on-demand as "customer requirements for product quantity and production cycle" is based on market needs. Devices that meet the requirements of on-demand printing and their processes can take many forms. In the past, they were mainly completed using traditional printing methods. And call it "short print." Now mainly with digital printing equipment to complete, so it was also known as "digital printing", "personalized printing" and so on. (You may have to be careful about your stock if you are stuck with the family!)

The selection of equipment and processes that meet the requirements of on-demand printing is a matter of concern to everyone and is also a major issue discussed in this article. Because China's on-demand printing market is very large, with multiple levels and different needs, the choice of on-demand printing equipment and its processes is also extremely complex. However, there are some principles that should be taken into consideration when selecting equipment. These principles are:

(1) Market positioning of the product; (dissecting the real purpose of mainstream funds and discovering the best profit opportunities!)

(2) The economic benefits generated;

(3) Economic affordability.

Let me talk about these three issues.

First, product market positioning

In the United States, digital color print-on-demand has reached 54% of all color in 2000. For the first time in the mainstream market of short-run color live, it has threatened traditional offset presses. The popularity and development of digital color printing should be attributed to the continuous maturation of digital printing technology. The demand for consumables is getting lower and the cost is greatly reduced. For example, in 1994, the asking price for A3 pages of A3 format was 0.55 cents, and by 2000, it was reduced to 0.1 cents. This is the main reason why digital printing color printing can capture mainstream printing jobs.

In China, according to the majority of color printing plants, more and more color jobs with a total number of 3,000 or less are being printed. Some people took Beijing as an example. In 2000, there were more than 500,000 trading companies and companies in Beijing, and more than half needed to print colored product brochures and related promotional materials. On an average basis, each house is calculated in 50 copies of 10 pages each, with a total output of 1,250 million impressions and an output value of several hundred million yuan. The demand for printing on demand spreads across major shopping malls, restaurants, restaurants, etc. For example, the introduction of performance characteristics of various commodities, recipes for restaurants, restaurants, recipes, invitations, and so on. Some people have calculated the individualized invitation cards for the newly married couples in Beijing every year, taking the 84,000 new couples who married in 1998 as an example. Each pair is calculated according to 50 invitations. If one-third of them print personalized invitations, the total number of prints will be 1.4 million, each worth 6 yuan, and the output value will be 8.4 million yuan. Each gross profit will be 4 yuan and the profit will be 5.6 million yuan. yuan.

In the future, the on-demand printing market will be summarized in three major areas:

(1) E-commerce market, such as various manuals, commercial advertising conference materials;

(2) Product personalized service. For example, to provide personalized brochures and product descriptions for certain products, to provide customers with one-on-one services;

(3) For the services of the trading company, for example, providing different advertisements, packaging, and promotional materials for different customers.

The above three major areas have a huge market in China.

Second, equipment selection

On-demand color printing can be roughly divided into two types according to market demand: one is that the color capacity is less than 3,000 copies. The content of these printed products is the same, and the printing time is calculated in days; the other type of printing is not large, and personalization is very Strong printing, time is calculated in hours.

In the two situations mentioned above, the following printing methods are recommended.

The first method is to use the DTP system to separate color, output the film using a laser photosetter, and then proof and print. This method is the shortest printing method with the lowest cost in China.

The second method: scanning, color separation, editing, typesetting using a DTP system, and outputting on any one of a zinc oxide plate, a water-based plate, sulfate paper, or a special film base coated with a hydrophilic layer using a 1200 dpi laser printer Printing plate, the printing plate is directly hung on the small offset printing machine to print the text or image. The advantage is that there is no need for film and less investment. The disadvantage is that the image quality is not high and the color image needs to be overprinted. The overprinting of the monochrome offset printer without side and front gauges is not allowed.

The third way is: using a digital printer. This method still requires a scanner or digital camera to capture the image. Then, the collected images are sent to a computer, and image processing software (such as PhotoShop) and graphic imposition and page design software (such as PageMaker) are used to perform color separation, editing, retouching, and page design, and then the graphic and text information is transmitted. To digital presses, output color prints. Here are several high-speed, high-quality, high-efficiency digital presses.

(1) Indigo's E-Print1000+ digital liquid ink digital press exhibited at the 2000 Drupa Printing Show. Up to 272 pages per minute. It can print 16,000 pages per hour (single-sided) and has reached the maximum speed of traditional four-color offset presses. The aircraft is priced at more than 2 million yuan. At present, the printing fee for A3 format (single-side printing) of a company in Beijing is 6 yuan for each, the cost is 2 yuan, and one is for printing, and the printing fee is 120 yuan.

(2) Xeikon's CSP320D sheet-fed color toner digital printing machine exhibited at the Drupa Printing Show in 2000. The A4 double-sided four-color printing speed is 960 sheets/hour, which is equivalent to the normal speed of a four-color printing press. Price over a million yuan.

(3) The Docucolor 2060 color toner digital printer exhibited by Xerox at the 2000 Drupa Printing Show produced 60 sheets per minute and 3,600 sheets per hour, which is lower than the normal speed of a four-color printing press. Can be printed on any paper used by offset presses. Including RIP, the aircraft costs about 120,000 to 150,000 U.S. dollars