digital printing in an electronic world (and how to overcome the challenges)

Digital Printing in an Electronic World

Before printing was

discovered, a century was

equal to a thousand years.

-Henry David Thoreau

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Why Is Print Important in a Digital Age?

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Print Stands the Test of Time

PRINT IS…

Tangible: A print piece is a physical thing. Magazines and

newspapers can stay in houses or offices for months or

years, while Internet ads can disappear into cyber space

instantaneously.

Credible: The saturation of pop-ups and banners ads on

the web can be overwhelming and the fear of spam and

viruses make people weary of clicking on it. There is no

imminent danger in a print ad.

Engaging: Consumers are more engaged when reading

printed material than websites, which are often skimmed in

as little as 15 seconds.

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Print is a Viable Option in a Digital World

Print has been an effective marketing medium for

thousands of years, but digital advertising has only been a

viable marketing channel since the 1990’s.

Digital and print are both effective marketing tools. In our

increasingly digital world, information rules all.

It’s not a question of print or digital – it’s

how they work together to ensure a

meaningful connection with consumers.

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From Offset to Digital: The Print Evolution

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Digital Printing was first used in the early 1990’s and became a viable option in the early 2000’s.

The process eliminates many of the steps involved in offset printing, such as creating films and plates for ink rollers.

Digital presses apply ink in a single pass from a single ink head, resulting in a quick turnaround at a (generally) lower cost.

What’s the Difference Between Offset and Digital?

Offset Printing has been in use

as we know it since the early

1900’s.

It involves a mechanical process

of applying layers of ink (Cyan,

Magenta, Yellow and Black) to

paper with a series of rollers.

These rollers transfer ink and

build layers of colors, resulting in

complete images and text on the

page.

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Is Digital or Offset the Better Solution?

While you still can’t beat offset for very large

runs that require exact color and quality

standards, digital has quickly gained

ground as a viable option for

marketers with high standards and

competitive budgets.

Appendix A:

Facing the Nuances of Digital Printing

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What are the Challenges?

Since Digital Printing became a viable

solution in the past decade, there has been a

lot of dialogue regarding what digital

printing technology CAN do… but there has

been very little information available on

what challenges you may face when using

this format and how to address them.

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How is Digital Printing Different?

In most cases, a digital press will produce a high-quality

piece with few challenges. However, when preparing

files for a digital job, give special consideration to the

following:

PMS Colors: PMS reproduction is more of a challenge on a digital press

than on offset. Always ask for a color accurate proof.

Registration: Proceed cautiously with designs than require close

registration of PMS and 4 color areas.

Fine Type: Achievable and legible limits on type size are subjective, and

particularly challenging in serif fonts. Beware of fine grey type.

Appendix B:

Tools for Designers and Printers

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Tools for Designers and Printers

FIND THESE TOOLS AND MORE AT UNISOURCEDIGITAL.COM

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Tools for Designers and Printers

FIND THESE TOOLS AND MORE AT UNISOURCEDIGITAL.COM

Download our test sheet to

compare four color process,

halftone and line art images on

the same sheet and more.

Test serif, sans serif and 5pt

type for legibility.

Appendix C:

The Equipment

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Equipment

The HP Indigo 7600 prints up to 120

page/minute; maximum sheet size of 13” x 19”

The HP Indigo 10000 prints about 57.5

pages/minute; maximum sheet size of 29.5” x 20.9”

The Kodak NexPress SX3900 is always

updatable and upgradeable; prints up to 3600

pages/hour; maximum sheet size of 14” x 36”

The Canon IMAGEpress C7000 prints up to 70

pages/minute; maximum sheet size of 13” x 19.2”

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Equipment

The Xerox J75 prints up to 75 pages/minute;

maximum sheet size of 13” x 19.2”

The Xerox iGen4 prints up to 110 pages/minute;

maximum sheet size of 14.33” x 22.5”

The MGI DP8700 XL Up to 4,260 A4/Letter

pages/hour; maximum sheet size of 13x26’’

standard or 13x40’’ with option **

Online and Offline, Unisource is your

digital printing partner.

Visit UnisourceDigital.com for tools

and resources essential to a successful

digital printing experience.

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Check out our blog post,

Four Challenges You May Face With Digital Printing

on our blog, Unisource Unplugged.