Digital Printing and Direct Imaging (1)

There are two main applications for direct imaging on substrates: digital printing and digital color proofing. Although they are the same for direct imaging on the substrate, they have different application fields and different technical requirements. For example, digital printing has special requirements on the output speed, cost, and versatility of consumables. Digital color proofing, on the other hand, has special requirements for the faithful reproduction of color and consistency with the final print. The output speed, cost, and versatility of consumables become relative The secondary factor.
Digital Printing Technology (1) Characteristics and System Composition of Digital Printing Technology The characteristics of digital printing processes are from computer to paper/print (so-called “Computer-to-Paper/Print”), ie, directly converting digital pages into prints. Instead of passing through any intermediary media, including printing plates. This is not only the most representative feature of digital printing, but also the key to digital printing for Variable Information Printing and On-demand Printing. When this feature of digital printing is combined with a digital network, a global print service system that is not limited by time and distance can be constructed to provide on-demand/personalized print information/product services, opening up a brand new market. This is the main reason and power for digital printing to receive universal attention and achieve tremendous development.
The digital printing system is an "all-round" all-digital production system. It is completely integrated before printing, printing and postpress to be operated, controlled and managed by computers. In terms of system configuration, digital printing has the following features.
● Digital printing is a completely digital production system. The digital process runs through the entire production process, from the input of information to printing and even the binding output.
● Digital printing integrates prepress, print and postpress. From a system control point of view, it is a seamless all-digital system. The digital printing system is like a "combine harvester." The system's entrance (ie, the input of information) is digital information, and the system's exit (ie, the output of information) has become a product of the required form, such as printed matter, books, , magazines, cards, trademarks, packaging... There are many sources of digital information, such as digital files or images transmitted over the Internet, information transmitted by the prepress system, or digital information carried on other digital media such as optical disks, magneto-optical disks, and hard disks. Moreover, the digital printing product category is also diversified, either as commercial prints, or as publications, trademarks, cards, or even packaged prints (personalized packaging printing) covering a wide range of professional fields. The system connection of the digital printing system mainly depends on two ways, namely, network and digital media. It is a complete printing production system consisting of a control center, a digital printing machine, binding and cutting sections. All operations and functions can be pre-set according to requirements and then automatically completed by the system.
● Digital printing has on-demand production capabilities. It can produce and produce information products needed by customers according to specific requirements.
(2) Supporting technology for digital printing The traditional printing production process is arranged according to the storage, transportation and final meeting with customers (sales) in prepress, printing, postpress, and sales, and has a very long time. Strict logic order. The entire production process is characterized by the transformation of physical carriers, from manuscripts to digital documents, to film, to plates, and finally to prints, which are the transformations between different physical carriers. This determines that the traditional printing production needs to use warehousing and transportation methods to connect different production processes and complete the transfer, storage and circulation of products and intermediary carriers. Therefore, traditional printing production is a typical production method based on "simulation process + physical media / storage + transportation".
This kind of production method is inevitably subject to time and geographical restrictions, that is, time and distance have become the main factors restricting production, service, and supply. Digital printing is not the case. Although it still needs the necessary prepress processing as with traditional printing, the digital files/pages formed by prepress processing do not need to be immediately printed out, but are stored digitally in the system or through digital The network is transmitted to different locations. Finally, the printed output is completed according to the customer's order requirements. Obviously, this is a brand new production method based on "digital flow + digital media / high-density storage + network transmission", and the time and geographical constraints have been greatly eased or even completely liberated. (To be continued)