The Future Of Offset

Though in-plant managers aren't ready to abandon their offset presses yet, they say the process needs to change to compete with digital printing.

As print runs get smaller and clients learn to accept digital print quality, why should in-plants bother to stay in the offset business at all?

That's a question many managers are pondering as the world continues to race into the digital age. Already several in-plants have dumped offset altogether after finding that high-speed digital printers can handle their work more cost effectively.

Still, most in-plants have no intention of giving up their presses entirely. They've paid for them and they plan on using them for years to come. But what happens when maintenance costs get too high and an in-plant must replace its old equipment? What new advancements will make offset more attractive than digital printing?

When IPG interviewed offset press manufacturers in January, they talked about total automation and direct imaging, and predicted a long and prosperous life for offset printing. But what do in-plant managers think?

For the most part they agree that, to survive, offset printing must incorporate more direct imaging.

"To remain competitive with whatever is going to come in the electronic, four-color process, you're going to have to have a certain amount of that in the offset world," says Jack Mondin, executive director of USAA Insurance Publishing Services, in San Antonio, Texas. USAA recently purchased a Heidelberg Quickmaster DI press. In the future, though, Mondin says press manufacturers need to focus on developing direct imaging capabilities for larger format presses.

In Seattle, Larry Jablinske also feels that the current direct imaging offerings are limited. His in-plant at SAFECO Insurance is on the lookout for a five-color direct imaging press. He brought a team to Graph Expo last fall to scout out options, but it was not an easy task.

"The problem in those that we saw is that they continue to limit themselves to four-color," Jablinske says.

His group did find an Omni-Adast model that provided five colors, and Heidelberg's recent release of the Speedmaster 74 DI is also available in five- and six-color configurations. But Jablinske feels that direct imaging has to move to larger presses.

"I like the idea of digital imaging. It's definitely a direction we want to go," he says. "Our runs continue to get shorter and shorter, yet we require a fifth color and a coating unit."

SAFECO is a good example of an in-plant with a little of everything. In addition to large offset presses like its six-color 20x28˝ Mitsubishi, the in-plant has a Xerox DocuColor 40 and an Indigo digital color press. These digital presses, Jablinske says, have taken over work that used to be done on small offset presses. Still, he doesn't think they will ever completely take over for offset at SAFECO.

What these devices may do, he adds, is force the price of direct imaging offset presses down, since the price of the digital printing equipment continues to drop.

"The only thing that separates [offset and digital] now, in many cases, is cost," he says. "People have accepted [digital print] quality for a lot of marketing collateral type material."

Other managers also feel that price is the main thing holding direct imaging back.

"It's a question of affordability," observes John Sarantakos, manager of the University of Oklahoma's in-plant. "The price [of direct imaging] is going to come down eventually. It's going to be the mainstay instead of the exception." He predicts that his in-plant will look into a Quickmaster DI within the next couple of years.

Though the university has its share of digital printing devices, Sarantakos shares the view that offset has a long life ahead of it.

"We're certainly committed to offset printing here for the foreseeable future," he says. Digital printers are great, he adds, "but they're still 11x17˝ or 81⁄2x11˝. They're not 38x40˝. So even at 180 copies per minute, that kind of pales when you can run 32 pages at a time at 10,000 an hour."

Press speed is an area that vendors seem to enjoy bragging about. But will presses keep getting faster as time goes on?

"We've probably 'maxed out' on press speed," comments USAA's Mondin. He cites the lack of major advances in finishing that would enable those processes to keep pace with faster press speeds.

Press setup, however, is getting faster as automation streamlines the process.

"It's getting to be more of a push-button operation," remarks Dan Gilham, of the Pennsylvania Department of General Services, in Harrisburg. "Everything's going totally automated."

Though this in itself is hardly news, press automation is changing in-plants by compelling them to retire older presses and buy new models. In Waltham, Mass., the New England Journal of Medicine recently installed a new, automated four-color, 23˝ Heidelberg Speedmaster 74.

"The automation played a big part," confirms John Rogers, director of print services. "We did our cost analysis and with all the features, we were saving a lot of man hours."

Automation is important in other ways, too. Because of it, presses are easier to run, making it simpler to find operators. And with managers constantly lamenting the lack of skilled job applicants, this can only be a plus.

"I've had difficulty finding qualified applicants in all areas," affirms Sarantakos. As a result, his in-plant does its own training, he says.

Another challenge to offset has been the trend toward personalization. Providing variable printing, managers say, is one thing that offset may never be able to do.

The Internet, too, is having an impact. Sarantakos says that his shop now does smaller print runs of course catalogs and newsletters because these items are already accessible on the Web. Rather than just shrugging off the lost business, though, he and other managers are doubling their marketing efforts to attract new business and keep the presses busy.

"Offset," declares Sarantakos, "is not going to go anywhere for a while.

Bob Neubauer can be contacted atbneubauer@napco.com.