November 10, 2010
October 2010 Meeting Recap
The Hot New Trends in Print
For our October 25th meeting, the APALA was fortunate in hosting a rare west coast appearance by Hal Hinderliter, who serves the printing and publishing industries through his company Hal Hinderliter Consulting Services. With more than a decade of on-site problem-solving experience, his consultations help clients to increase profitability, improve quality and select new technology related to graphic arts processes. Drawing on experience garnered from working in the printing industry since 1978, Hinderliter specializes in digital prepress, workflow management, variable data and XML publishing. He has performed technical consultations for Fortune 500 corporations, packaging and commercial printshops, publishers and reprographics companies. A prolific author, he has written more than 110 articles for magazines such as Graphic Arts Monthly, American Printer, IPA Bulletin, Artes Graficas and others.
Serving as both futurist and realist Hal navigated us through “Print: The Hot New Trends,” which should transform our approach and attitude towards print. He spoke of the pace of change of printing through 30 years of non-stop innovation, and that despite the 1000-year history of print—the printing industry remains in flux.
Though increased automation and the reduction of the work force has created lean and mean staffing—it doesn’t keep the game alive—it’s the expansion of new ideas through new processes. Whether its Fijifilm’s “C-Fit” as a suite of tools to streamline image prep for optimizing images; or new applications that work best with RGB images (stop sending CYMK images to the printshops!)—to ink optimization and new app’s for that—to spot color matching databases; to apps for “n-Color” separations utilizing spot colors to print “process-color” images as alternate colors replacing some of the CMYK colors (the exception is Yellow.)
Did we realize Pantone’s GOE replacing the traditional PMS has GONE? Adobe’s Creative Suite had not built-in the Goe swatchbook, just PMS, so now Pantone updated the original PMS system to the “Pantone Plus Series” launched at IPEX 2010 adding 224 new colors.
We have Web-to-print (W2P)—using a website as part of the workflow incorporating: estimating, job ticketing, file submission, template selection and personalization; soft proofing which speeds approvals, provides markup tools, can preview native files (but STILL can’t replace final proofs), production tracking, and inventory management.
Two new definitions we need to know: JDF—acronym for “Job Description Format,” an XML-based method for communicating job production tasks to gather shop floor data such as ink key presets, color analysis, auto starts, shut downs & smart makeready’s. And JMF—acronym for “Job Messaging Format,” the transmission method for exchanging JDF data over a network. Data is collected from the job while it’s running, capturing this data to a server for real-time or historical reporting, accessible from a console or remotely.
Then there is Color Control: KBA. This on-press DensiTronic PDF system compares scans of printed sheets with a PDF of the original pre-press file (video camera inside press compares it to the PDF file!) This can be teamed with the Qualitronic inspection system, featuring a programmable defect range that searches for defects like holes in the plate and other on-press inspections that reduce make-ready time.
Also covered were a myriad of new digital presses, new Inkjet Web presses for Drop On Demand, which can replace web-offset presses and can segment runs. There are new zero-makeready digital print engines for packaging and label printing, including personalized custom labels, and for test market samples.
The new inkjet webs have the speed to compete with sheetfeed presses for short-to-medium runs. And Inkjet sheetfed presses like Screen’s Trupress JetSX using Epson’s DOD printheads with dye and pigmented inks.
The future of packaging—digital presses for personalizing in ways yet to be seen—example: Wheaties boxes with YOUR high school softball team’s photos? Even Lenticular printing is going digital—Indigo’s low-temperature imaging makes it possible to print on lenses. Calchem’s H.I.T. Systems (Hologram Image Transfer) provides a lower cost with a glossier, more transparent look.
If we’re to stay in the game that we formerly knew as printing, Hal’s mantra is Interactivity: “Print needs to become more interactive” by embracing print’s interactivity and end-users. Per Hal, to “really fulfill the marketer’s dream, the interactivity of print should last longer and be more interesting—which is exactly what you get with AR.” AR=Augmented Reality is an enhanced printed image interacting with a webcam. The image is sent through the internet to a remote server, the target is recognized, reprocessed and displayed within the user’s web browser. As you tilt or rotate the printed piece, AR technology causes the image to react and change.
Interactivity can be a gateway to multiple channels and should work alongside emails; use of QR Codes (they are EVERYWHERE) on collateral, outdoor and ads, which coordinate and link to both client websites for content and social media sites.
VDP—Variable Data Print makes direct mail marketing more effective through relevant text, images and illustrations and customizing messages on shorter print runs will be the default choice. (Lytrod from Xerox can even generate personalized QR codes at full press speed.)
When Hal poses the question: “Why keep print in the mix?” –it’s because it works! In a November 2009 UK research report, Microsoft revealed their finding that “print advertising it’s more cost effective than online and twice as effective as TV.”
Time to Try Something New: For too many projects, print messaging lives in a vacuum, cut off from other media. “If printing continues to be disconnected from electronic communication, we will see further market deterioration.”
Lastly from Hal: “Print is changing, not dying.” Print purchases must be justified, they are no longer just “assumed to be what is needed.” Digital presses and variable data make print more valuable, but traditional print methods will likely exist in some form. We need to ask more from Print, and thriving print shops will be those with ever-increasing options.