Page 32 - Print21 Magazine May-June 2022

PacPrint
Digital drive
It has been a quarter of a century since the fi st digital printing systems appeared at PacPrint, and back in those days offset presses were also on the show floo . Wayne Robinson reports on the development of ANZ print.
Offset printing continues to produce most print, but the days of offset presses at PacPrint are gone, mainly because of
the logistics and expense involved. And with a smaller number of offset print businesses, the big press manufacturers know all of them, they are not going to bump into any new customers at the show.
Digital print solutions developers by contrast have less logistical barriers, although setting up an
HP Indigo is a bit more than plug and play, and printers will see at least half a dozen different digital print systems on show at this year’s PacPrint.
A quarter of a century ago digital presses were either touted as the
best thing since sliced bread, and set to take over the print industry, or dismissed as an irrelevance, with no hope of succeeding in the commercial industry.
Neither turned out to be true. The reality 25 years later is that digital print does now occupy a significant part of the commercial print industry, and is opening up more opportunities than ever for savvy print businesses. But offset, and flexo, printing is still with us, and producing the majority of print.
Will that continue to be the case as we go forward? Those who still believe that digital will eventually take over say the markers are clear.
32 Print21 MAY/JUNE 2022
They point to the total dominance of digital in the A3 market, where digital presses have, save for a few specialised areas, wiped out SRA3 offset litho.
The reasons for that are clear
to see, the evolution of digital
print systems, from what were photocopiers with a decent rip,
into one-pass, green-button, high- quality, print and finish systems. And available for a fraction of the price of a four-colour offset press,
a fraction of the floorspace when finishing is factored in, and a fraction of the labour costs. It made a compelling argument.
The B2 commercial market though has been harder for digital to crack. Apart from HP Indigo with its liquid toner, B2 means inkjet printing. Here in Australia, HP Indigo has had success, Konica Minolta and Fujifilm have also seen the half-size printers installed, while in the B1 commercial sector, nothing yet. Advocates of digital print say that the logic of their systems will eventually see them prevail, and, once the first B1 offset print companies install reelfed inkjet, the dam will be broken.
But they have been saying that
for a while, and meanwhile offset presses are being installed. Last year Heidelberg alone put in 11 across Australia and New Zealand. Print businesses are conservative, in part because of the large capex needed, which, apart from the big two, comes
Above
from their own pockets. Better stick with what you know seems to be the rationale so far.
And to be fair to the offset manufacturers, they have worked tremendously hard on upping the efficiencies of their presses. They will never be able to do runs of
one of course, but run lengths and makeready times have decreased dramatically, on-press additions such as foiling are now offered, and the consistent and repeatable quality remains a major selling point.
In the A3 digital market print businesses have a strong choice of solutions, with Canon, Fujifilm, Konica Minolta and Ricoh all established and successful brands
in the industry, now joined by new entrants such as Kyocera, and with HP Indigo, whose print solutions have developed exponentially in number and application, remaining
a major player in the SRA3 market. Its original rival Xeikon is these
days focused more on the labels and packaging sector, but now offers both inkjet and toner based commercial print systems.
Looking back through the past
25 years, it is clear that some of the more outlandish predictions on both sides failed to come to fruition. What has happened is that print business owners have a wide choice of technology, to suit whatever kind of commercial print business they are in. 21
Digital printing: Choice