In this short-run era, where a third of all jobs have run lengths of just 250 sheets, how are sheetfed offset presses faring? Industry observer Frank Romano offers his view.

By Frank Romano

Over the next decade, suppliers entered and exited the direct imaging press business: Adast, Heidelberg (QuickMaster-DI and Speedmaster74-DI), Scitex (now the KBA Karat), Screen (TruePress), Ryobi, Komori (Project D), MAN Roland (DICOWeb)—all sold via many distribution channels with a worldwide base of 5,000 direct imaging presses sold.