As today’s market transitions to shorter and shorter runs, books of one, customization and personalization, printers of all sizes are transitioning their business models, many offering customers standalone digital print capabilities in addition to offset. In order to optimize both capital investment and workflow—and achieve a greater competitive advantage—that trend is moving toward technology that enables these processes to more profitably co-exist.
This creates a distinct demand for singular finishing solutions that can seamlessly and efficiently process output that’s impartial to its offset, digital, or hybrid printing origin.
And not only is there a need for innovative, all-new finishing equipment engineered for this new age, there’s a growing demand for technology that can infuse digital and offset printing within the same finished product.
Since digital presses can seamlessly print variable content and format products, finishing solutions must also have the automation and workflow acumen to efficiently produce such varied product. And, as digital print speeds continue to rise, ever more sophisticated end-to-end workflow solutions become increasingly important.
Yet regardless of technology or trends, it’s important to note that until a book, catalog or brochure is saddle stitched or perfect bound, it’s simply a printed page. The saleable results remain the finished product. That’s why a finishing solution should never be an afterthought, but thoroughly evaluated in conjunction with the print engine.