Offset Printing Facing Its Threat to Be Obsolete
With more and more people moving to digital printing processes, offset printing is quickly becoming a dying process. It's unclear how long the industry will stay alive, but some consider it a matter of fact that offset printing will become obsolete by 2020.
Offset printing is a technique used in printmaking that involves carving or etching an image into a metal plate and then using this "inbetween" image on a press to transfer ink to paper without any liquid binder or other medium between the two sheets of paper. This technique has been around for nearly two hundred years and has always relied on large-scale machinery such as presses, power washing machines, engraving machinery and huge rolls of plates in order for it to continue operating effectively. As the computer age gained momentum, offset printing quickly fell out of favor in the eyes of many print buyers and those in the industry.
The major downfall for offset printing is that it can be incredibly expensive, because there are so many different expenses associated with running this type of machinery. In order to offset print, a business has to be willing to invest in at least one large press to handle any plates that are larger than average size. The plates also get destroyed after a single use, which can add up quite quickly as businesses need to continually buy new plates just to create new jobs and keep up with demand. The process also requires massive amounts of energy in order to run and businesses that want to offset print need to be able to afford these large expenses.
In order for offset printing to become viable for businesses, there needs to be some sort of major overhaul or new technology that can make the process more affordable and practical for a wider array of print buyers. Many people see this as an unavoidable reality, but others are still clinging on hope that offset printing will remain an important part of the print industry even if it is only used in smaller doses.
Another major downfall of offset printing is that it's not a good option if you're looking for precision color matching. Unlike digital printing, offset printing allows for more of a "wash" effect that is less accurate with the colors that are being printed.
Offset printing also faces major threats from digital printing in the form of digital color presses and other similar machinery that can print far faster, cleaner and cheaper than offset presses. Digital color presses can easily print at speeds up to one hundred sheets per minute compared to offset prints which only average about twenty-five sheets per minute. They also are much cheaper to operate than traditional offset presses. For example, in order to offset print a piece of paper with a full color image, you must have an initial run of between ten thousand and one hundred thousand pieces of paper. With digital printing, however, you can easily print out just one copy at a time and reprint more as needed. Digital printing also allows for much more precision in regards to color matching as well as the edge of the page that is being printed on.
In spite of this threat from digital printing presses, many people still feel that offset printing is an important part of the print industry. The reason is that offset printing is a very traditional and sentimental part of the print industry that carries a large amount of pride for many in the business. For example, in high-end shops, offset printing simply means that they are using far more expensive equipment and spending way more money to produce their products than their competitors. Some people also see offset printing as a much better choice than digital printing when it comes to creating clean and precise pages with their print jobs. Even with the threats looming overhead, the market for offset printing is still slowly growing.
There are many people, however, that have downplayed the future payoff for offset printing. These people see digital printing as the better option for all print buyers and have said that offset printing will become obsolete by 2020. In fact, a recent study has shown that more than 81% of all small businesses who were surveyed feel that offset printers are becoming obsolete at a faster rate than they can keep up with. A similar survey showed that 82% of the same businesses said they would cancel their next order if their main print buyer asked them to change to digital print in order to save money.
The reason for this is because small businesses feel that digital printing is far easier and less expensive if you can properly manage your expectations. Instead of paying higher prices for better quality and more precision, many small businesses feel that digital printing allows them to get the job done cheaper and still turn around a decent product. Many people are also wary of the changes that digital printing has brought over the years and feel that it doesn't quite match up to offset printing, even though there are fewer flaws with digital printing than there used to be in the past.
Although the print industry may have started off as relatively traditional, it is quickly taking on a radically new format.