Adding inkjet heads to an existing press means you can keep all your transports and finishing equipment in place. Most of that equipment is fully depreciated. You don’t want to replace it just because you added a digital printing workflow to your shop.
Production equipment is expensive. Your investment is meant to last for years as you acquire machines that fold, crease, bind, or insert material after printing. These machines are part of an established operational workflow in your facility. With a hybrid printing approach you can add digital printing but won’t have to abandon those assets or change your production process. This tactic is often the most practical solution for print service providers.
Adding Affordable Inkjet
Growth in the printing industry depends on inkjet technology, but many commercial print operations with well-established workflows and investments in offset equipment find it difficult to envision an inkjet migration path. They are not keen on disrupting the entire operation and they don’t have the budgets to replace fully depreciated finishing equipment.
A hybrid arrangement makes the most sense for many print companies. Add digital inkjet printing to existing web presses for the best of both worlds at a manageable cost.
Affordable inkjet modules from DDS can produce variable images and personalized materials that enhance the effectiveness of print projects. You can deliver a superior product without the overhead associated with a migration from conventional printing to digital inkjet. Print service providers can add value to the printed materials they already create for their customers and benefit from new revenue streams.
Hybrid Advantages
Besides a much lower acquisition cost than a standalone inkjet press, a DDS hybrid solution comes with added advantages. Digital print heads added to your existing presses means operators can still run the presses with little additional training. All the familiar processes for paper loading, transport, major maintenance, and offset ink color management are unchanged.
| Advantages of Hybrid Printing
• Inkjet made simple: DDS can mount one or more inkjet print modules on a web press • Extends equipment life: Leverage current investments in web presses and finishing technology • Retains offset strengths: Integrated cards, perforated coupons, foils, metallic or fluorescent colors, UV coating, heavier weight stocks, etc. • Low cost: The most cost-effective method of printing large jobs containing variable information • Minimal touch points: Off the press and into the client’s hands |
Market Demands
Print service providers must offer variable data printing. Customers are developing marketing campaigns based on data and will only work with printers that can deliver the flexibility this strategy demands.
Because customers are moving towards personalized and segmented marketing strategies, print runs are shrinking. With a hybrid press, printers can merge small jobs to make longer print runs. The new print heads will image only areas on the page that differ among versions, allowing for higher productivity and better profit margins.
When DDS customer American Litho faced the challenge of variable data printing. We worked with them to integrate inkjet print heads, high-volume ink reservoirs, software, and controllers. They preserved their core production practices and continued to use their existing presses and finishing equipment. American Litho is now applying full-color variable data information and images to campaign runs from 100 pieces up to millions with the hybrid system. Read about their experience here.