The status of the United States printing platemaking industry (3/4)

——Representation of Krefu, director of Kodak’s film media in Japan, in Japan

â–  Taiwan's Long Chen Co., Ltd. Huang Xiu-chen Translated Source: Taiwan Printing Think Tank

On December 8, 1999, Mr. Kevin P. Clifford, Director of the Print Media Department of Kodak Films, USA, sent Mr. Kevin P. Clifford to report the latest status of printing in the U.S. printing industry to Japan's printing and platemaking industry. With permission, I would like to translate the full text of the report to share the readers and use it as a reference.

Mr. Crichford serves as the trade relations manager for Kodak's US and Canada regions. He often supports the activities of the U.S. and Canadian printing industry groups. He also serves as the Director of Print Media. He often supports various printing and platemaking companies, advertising agencies, and publishing companies. It also bridges the communication between customers and companies.

17.CTP is attractive to attract customers

CTP is very attractive to customers, because the working hours can be shortened, so the time for content correction can be lengthened. In addition, the printing quality can also be upgraded upwards. Then, through a digital workflow, special content can be provided to specific readers, tailor-made businesses can also be tailored, and the machine can be made more efficient. With efficient use, the time for printing can also be increased. As a result, the cost of the customer can also be reduced. In particular, the reduction in the amount of paper can be expected. There was also a problem that the printing company did not expect excellent management. Customers want to shorten delivery time and prices.

Printing companies using CTP are a very large investment in machine hardware. In order to integrate new digital capabilities, they must also spend money to train employees. Therefore, suppliers and business partners also realize that each The degree of savings generated by digital workflows. Digitization can reduce many headaches, and adjust the time to achieve consistent results. It also makes it possible to reuse digital images and pages. The future work is to re-use digital images and pages to reduce costs for customers.

18. Quality enhances win-win strategy for printing companies and customers

The emergence of the thermal CTP system enables us to look forward to better printing quality, which is beneficial to both parties. This allows the CTP's color combination to be completed earlier, though the quality of the work is reduced. In particular, the thermal printing plates have clearer and stronger dots than the traditional ones. Finer lines can also be expressed. The printing of texts is also clearer. In prepress operations, dot gains are due to no reversal and copying. The problem disappears. Therefore, digital-type dots can increase the accuracy of registration, and preparation for printing can be completed earlier.

19. Two-thirds of the United States uses digital proofreading

Then we introduce the status of the proofreading market in the United States. At present, only 35% of the traditional proofreading methods are left. That is, two-thirds of the color proofreaders have already been digital. Almost all digital proofreading is internal proofreading using internal proofreading. Only Kodak's Approval uses "contract proofing" as an exception. The traditional non-digit proofreading method is still the main method adopted on the proofreading machine. It is of high value to obtain the basis for the client's final determination of color. The proportion of "contract proofs" developed by digitization or the number of foreign schools attending schools has increased. As a proofreading of print samples, the traditional approach is still adopted.

20. Effect of desktop color proofreader

Then I would like to talk about the desktop color proofing machine (sublimation type color proofing machine), which provides low-cost and high-efficiency cut-in. Its quality is very high, and its operation process is also rationalized. Users can obtain low-cost, high-quality and correct initial proofing, because they can get high-quality proofs quickly and get approval quickly. Afterwards, the problems on the operation are also reduced to the minimum limit, and there are also requirements for printing. There are also many in the industry using this low-cost desktop proofer for final proofreading. This reflects the very high quality and reliability of today's advanced desktop proofing machines. At the same time, remote/distal proofing is also a very efficient and time-saving desktop proofreader.

These advantages also affect the rate of return, and many customers' workflows have also changed from traditional proofreading to digital proofreading. Working hours can be reduced to 25%, and the cost of proofreading can also be reduced by 1/3.

The digital proofreader has amazing consistency, and can also get correct color. In Kodak's digital color proofreading machine, it has consistent proofreading media, according to ICC's color specification, color overlapping and color overprinting, and Features of calibration tools, etc. At the same time, color management also becomes very important. The ICC (International Color Conference) has made a world-wide color standard for printing industry standards. Our software is also based on this open standard. Calibration tools and software also play an important role in producing a stable result. This is very important for the application of remote proofreading. It is necessary to carry out correct calibration data for the proofreading machines in the two remote locations or in the area.

Nowadays, desktop proofreaders can use calibrations, densitometers, spectrophotometers, and Other instruments to make calibration adjustments. What matters is that all desktop proofreaders do not have outlets but output proofs of continuous tone, in order to give customers Although we can say that the proof of high-quality proof of the final color is as good as the quality of the contract, proofreading on the desktop cannot be used. A very high-demand "contract proof" can't be used in the same way as the actual color printing with the same dot type.

21. Digital proofreading towards remote proofing

The reason why American printing companies and plate-making companies turned to digital verification is to enjoy the benefits of remote/remote proofing. Accordingly, the potential market can be expanded to correspond to customers all over the world, and remote/distal proofing enables printing companies, plate-making companies, and customers to be more closely integrated than ever before. For example, RR Narnell has already There are five years to use remote/remote proofing. Their gravure printing factory was in Walsall, Indiana, where the brochures were sent to the customers of New Jersey for final proofreading before printing.

22. Remote/Remote proofing proofreading elements of success

There are three elements to successful remote/distal proofing. The first is the communication equipment that the database transmits. The high-speed LAN is the necessary equipment in the industry. Then high-speed electronic transmission system is also necessary. There is also color management is also a very important requirement. The correctness of color is indispensable, and it is indispensable for the color proofreader to output correctly at the end.

In other words, is proof printing or "contract proofing"? The target does not simulate well. At the same time, the color management software is also necessary to ensure color accuracy. Kodak's advanced color management software is developed for the printing and publishing industry. Although it is an internal proofreading system, many U.S. companies have reduced their work time and have made use of desktop color proofing machines. From the beginning, it was able to proceed smoothly and correctly.

23. Customer Satisfaction Halftone Correction System

In the printing industry in the United States, whether or not proofing is necessary for the use of outlets has been in dispute for many years. The final answer of Kodak will also be YES. The answer YES is widely recognized. After a very long period of discussion, it was hard to come by. Although the results are already appealing, according to our experience, this argument can be avoided in Japan. Of course there are other controversies in Japan.

Whether it is dot shape, or other issues, or digital proofreading, the use of platform proofreaders will change. Many people need more proofs and the cost of such proofreading will increase. However, the dot enlargement of the traditional platform proofreading machine is about 12%, and the general offset printing is about 18-23%, which will incur errors in tone reproduction. This error is very high. For example, the waste of printing time or the waste of paper, the delay in the progress of reprinting before printing, and the increase in cost caused by various problems caused customer dissatisfaction.

In the United States, the cost of the exact digital half-timing adjustment is high, but due to the savings in overall operating costs and the increase in customer satisfaction, the results of actual tests in the US market confirm the digital half-timing adjustment. The benefits of the same can be enjoyed in Japan.

Kodak's ApprovalXP4 is particularly important for high-end applications. At the same time, it provides industry-standard standards for digital proofreading. Every proofreading is consistent with the printing results. It corresponds to the flexibility of all kinds of printing machines, shortens the proof-making time, improves the communication, and increases the productivity and profitability. There are also other benefits of Approval's innovative thermal laser imaging technology.

The resolution of the digital proofreading system is 2540 or 2400 dpi, which is much better than Others. At the same time, the finer words of 6point are also very clear and readable, especially compared to the proofs of inkjet proofs. There is also an image formed by outlets, which can also avoid the occurrence of mis-networking. In the United States, advertisement magazines, publishing houses, or various publishers welcome the appearance of the contractual quality half-tone digital proofreading machine. The so-called quality standards, especially the national advertising material requirements, are very high. The Kodak Approval Proofing Machine is very popular for this purpose and is justified by its superb quality. High-reliability digital proofreading also enables new workflows. For example, there is a long-distance transmission and a workflow including a CTP. As far as the remote control is concerned, the color separation company and the printing company can also be guaranteed the same by using the same specifications of the proof.

Let us give another example. The US Lexus car company once printed on the East Coast, but the branch office is in Chicago and the customer is in California. However, due to the use of the same database and Approval system, it can be obtained Consistent results. Coupled with the printing of publications, the Approval system is also widely used by other industries. For example: catalog publishers and advertising folding printing companies, or the use of integrated printing companies and commercial printing companies. The RR also uses Approval in all markets, from the beginning of the magazine to the financial statements, making digital workflows incisive.

24. The digital printing and flexo FLEXO printing market has increased, but Pingyin still has the upper hand

This is followed by a description of the printing method, which is our prediction in the United States for the printing industry. Although digital printing is a very advanced process, lithographic printing still maintains its dominant position. At the same time, although the share of digital printing and flexo printing around the world is increasing, lithography still holds the largest share, and the overall market has exceeded the imagination. Printing companies continue to grow and thrive.

25. Although the number of prints has decreased, it has moved towards digital printing

The decrease in the number of printed sheets will affect the entire print job, and the economical quality will be degraded due to the decrease in the number of prints. So it's not a matter of shortening the preparation time, and CTP is indeed a