NSPA--Bringing It Home

Direct imaging, on the other hand, has no stock limitations, he said, and uses open market consumables. Additionally, it's made for outputting short runs of between 500 and 7,500 impressions. DI presses provide high quality offset printing and a high amount of up time.

There are weaknesses, though. Unlike with most toner-based equipment, skilled operators are needed. There's a high first-sheet cost, too, and turnaround can take days.