Discuss some issues in the development of on-demand printing

Digital printing technology has promoted the development of on-demand printing. In 1990, Fuji Xerox developed the DocuTech Monochrome Express Printer, which can receive electronic documents or directly scan documents. The system can reprint them as needed by storing these documents. In 1994, Indigo and Xeikon respectively launched a color digital printing system to make printing high quality. Full-color, personalized prints became possible, and the concept of on-demand printing was gradually formed and successfully entered the market.

The so-called “on-demand printing”, as the name implies, is printed according to the needs of consumers. The acronym POD (print-on-Demand) is based on the digital information long-distance transmission and digital information high-density storage. The technology of printing digital documents directly into prints.

On-demand printing technology

1. Short print
Short-run printing has always been an indication of the advantages of on-demand printing. In contrast, the traditional printing workflow is complicated. The production cost is expensive, so there is a limit on the minimum number of prints. Although the offset printing process can limit the minimum number of prints to 1,000-2,500 (even if the customer's actual demand is only 100), due to the time involved in film and plate production. Personnel and costs, as well as various wastes that are difficult to avoid in the production process, short-run printing has always been an insurmountable problem for traditional printing.

With the development and application of digital printing technology, short-run printing is no longer a problem. Because digital printing reduces printing costs and eliminates the limit of the minimum number of prints, the unit cost of printed products is no longer associated with the number of prints. Short prints usually have 50-5000 prints, and even short prints with only 1 print, can efficiently obtain short prints at a very low cost, enabling on-demand printing and commercialization. .

2. Variable data printing
For traditional printing, only a few prints of the same content can be printed at a time, regardless of the number of prints. Variable data printing (Variabe Data Printing) means that during the printing process, the printed image or text can be continuously changed according to a preset content and format, so that the first to the last print have different images. Or text, each print can be designed and printed for its specific issue. By creating a database of personalised data containing scheduled content and data and using an intelligent process management system, variable data can be printed.

On-demand printing status

The United States is a pioneer in the application of on-demand printing technology. In 1997, the United Kingdom’s largest book wholesaler, Intram, founded the famous Lightning Printing Company (Lightning
Print) first used IBM's on-demand printing technology to print books. A business that printed 50 copies of much-needed textbooks out of stock quickly made the company an on-demand printer for many publishers.

At present, the application of on-demand printing in the United States publishing industry has become more common, and the proportion is increasing. In 1997, only 8% of printing companies in the United States were able to conduct on-demand printing business. By 2010, it will increase by 20%. Japan's on-demand printing market has grown at a rapid rate of 40% every year during the three years from 1999 to 2001. It is predicted that by the year 2006, the Japanese on-demand printing market will grow at an average annual growth rate of 42:6, and the market will reach 350 billion yuan. JPY.

According to the CAPV forecast of the American market research company, in Europe alone, the total value of print-on-demand is expected to more than double on the basis of €16.6 billion in 2001 and reach €31.4 billion by 2006. Digital printing system manufacturers sales forecast is also very optimistic, Fuji Xerox digital printing press sales in 2003 although less than 150 sets, but in 2004 plans to sell 400-500 sets of high-end color digital printing system. These data show that the demand for printing on demand is large and the application prospects are very promising.

Need to solve the problem of developing on-demand printing
On-demand printing is a hot topic in current printing development. In recent years, it has developed very rapidly. However, there are many problems that need to be solved.

1. Digital content
At present, the main bottleneck that restricts the rapid development of on-demand printing is that digital content is too little. To some extent, the type of digital content. The quantity and the development of on-demand printing are mutually reinforcing, because what consumers really need is the information content itself, and all the technologies and equipment are the means to serve the information content. Therefore, if there is a shortage of digital resources available for on-demand printing, consumers will lose interest in on-demand printing and thus affect the way the technology's R&D market operates. Therefore, it is imperative to digitalize the content of paper information and establish a strong electronic document database to provide sufficient information. Digital content for on-demand printing.

2. Effective Digital Resource Management System
Personalized printing involves a lot of different data, so it is necessary to establish an effective digital resource management system. The system should contain the following three aspects.

(1) Collect and analyze customer data
For example: to ensure that the data is accurate, no spelling errors; determine how to organize the data. Graphics, text to form a usable layout; solve the problem of data loss caused by different database connections.

(2) Data format conversion

In the process of transferring data between different systems, it is best to convert it into a standard language format to solve the problem of compatibility between software and hardware of different vendors.

(3) Form a complete workflow
On the basis of processing a large amount of data related to customers, effectively manage digital documents and provide technical support for internal printing production systems.

3. Data security

On-demand printing databases often contain important information for many companies or individuals. For commercial or personal reasons, the owner of the data is not willing to provide the confidential information to the printer. Therefore, data security issues are involved. Currently used. The solution is for companies to create their own database and check, proof, and then send the file to the printer. Although this method of processing protects the security of information to a certain degree, the workload of the enterprise itself is very large. In fact, more and more printers now provide media processing and processing services. Therefore, printers Establishing a control mechanism with companies and ensuring data security will also be a solution.

4. Copyright Protection

From a copyright law perspective, on-demand printing also involves copyright protection issues. Because the digitalization of the manuscript requires the consent of the author, the transmission of the digital file to the user also requires a license. Therefore, there are still many problems concerning the on-demand printing of intellectual property rights that need to be solved as soon as possible to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the author.

5. On-demand printing
On-demand printing emphasizes flexibility, individuation, short version, and efficient, fast delivery methods that drive on-demand post-press processing toward high speed. Vintage folding machine, sewing machine. Interposers are only capable of performing simple jobs and cannot meet the need for on-demand printing and direct post-press processing. Therefore, efficient, automated on-demand post-press processing equipment has become a common expectation.

6. Paper requirements
On-demand printing requires a lot of paper performance. For example, good dimensional stability, low warpage and low wrinkling; proper rub resistance and surface conductivity. Sufficient stiffness; paper characteristics suitable for product form. Since on-demand printing is in a rapid development stage, research and development of paper cannot be ignored either.

7. staff training
The development of on-demand printing is inseparable from education and training. The object of training should include not only management personnel but also sales personnel. Operators should also include customers. It is necessary to improve the skills and management level of personnel, but also to train customers and actively explore and develop markets.

Conclusion
In the wave of digitalization around the world, digital technology. Network technology has brought about great changes in the printing field. The traditional printing methods have injected fresh elements of the e era and formed a pattern of diversified printing methods. In recent years, market products have become more and more active. To minimize and diversify, people not only hope that they can print according to the quantity and content they need, anytime, anywhere, and they hope that the shorter the better, the lower the price, the better. Therefore, on the one hand, under the stimulation of market demand, on the other hand, with the support of digital printing technology, the development of on-demand printing is in full swing, and the proportion in the production of color prints is growing. Although some obstacles in the development still need to be solved, the strong market demand and attractive input-output ratio ensure that on-demand printing will become the mainstream of printing production now and in the future.

As large-scale foreign companies enter the printing market in China, our printing companies need to strengthen the training of personnel, improve the technological level, change the concept of backwardness, actively develop their own market, and not let others eat their own while introducing core technologies. "cheese".