The Future Of Offset

The deciding factor, Kendig says, is whether the technology becomes a necessity rather than a desire.

"It's just like if you were to ask me 10 years ago whether every press will have Autoplate," Kendig says. "Ten years ago, everybody said, 'Autoplate, that's no good because the guy's got the presses with the old plate punch, he's got seven presses, he'll never replace all those.' Well, you try to find any printer who doesn't now have Autoplate on their presses. I would equate it to that. It's skipping a step in the process. Autoplate made it easier for people to get plates onto the press and put them in register, and now you're talking about a way to eliminate making a plate at all."