Offset Printing - Sheet-Fed

In December 2012, In-plant Graphics had an opportunity to visit Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG’s headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany, to talk with executives and tour the company’s massive press manufacturing facility in Wiesloch-Walldorf.

In an exclusive video, IPG captures Bernhard Schreier's final official act before retiring as CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen.

Gone are the days when sheetfed offset presses dominated the Graph Expo show floor. The high costs involved to ship and set up a large, multicolor offset press at a show—coupled with a dearth of revolutionary technology developments to showcase—makes it hard to justify the expenditure.

Watch as the In-Print judges go through all the offset Gold-winning entries and pick the Best of Show winner.

Digital inkjet printers on display seemingly everywhere, let alone all the buzz surrounding Benny Landa and his Nanographic Printing process, may have captured many of the headlines during drupa 2012, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t a host of new lithographic press introductions, technology demonstrations and productivity enhancements shown within the stands of traditional press manufacturers.

Introduced at Graph Expo, the new four-color Meteor DP8700 multi-substrate digital press from MGI Digital Graphic Technology, supports up to a 13x40˝ sheet (13x47˝ with manual bypass) and prints up to 71 ppm (letter-size) with a maximum 3,600 dpi resolution.

Missouri's State Printing Center has relocated, along with the state's mailing operation, into a 250,000-square-foot building about seven miles from the State Capitol. "Because so much of what we print gets mailed anyway, it's really nice to have us all here together," says State Printer Rodney Vessell.

When University of Alabama President Dr. Witt took the Crimson Tide's reins in 2003, enrollment stood at 19,000. His aggressive growth initiative has resulted in a nearly 100 percent enrollment increase to 35,000 this past fall. In an age of multi-channel marketing, it was the humble yet time-tested success of printed recruiting materials that played a significant role in the population surge at Tuscaloosa, Ala.'s legendary 180-year-old institution.

With 68 percent of in-plants still providing offset printing (according to a new IPG survey), and shops like University of Alabama, University of Oklahoma, Vanderbilt University, and many others still keeping their presses very busy, it appears that long-run offset printing is a long way from fading away.

THIS IS going to be a little weird, but I am going to have an argument with myself over the future of offset printing. I must caution the weak of heart to be prepared for violence and possible rough language.