The debate on digitization of traditional printing equipment

Digitization is not unique to digital printing. It is not only a measure to save energy, increase efficiency, and improve the level of intelligence, but also a means to improve product quality, shorten delivery time, reduce labor consumption, and expand customer markets.Through the analysis of the definitions of traditional printing and digital printing, the digital transformation path of traditional printing enterprises is explained.

As printing technologies and corresponding equipment production applications based on electrostatic, ion, magnetic recording, inkjet, thermal and other imaging methods continue to mature, people will gradually classify printing processes and equipment as media such as printing plates and silk screens. It is a pan-traditional printing. The former is called 'digital printing' because of the significant electronic and programmatic control of the printing process, that is, digital printing (also known as 'digital printing'), and the corresponding equipment is called Digital printing press.
Industrial production-based digital printing is constantly developing, and the benefits of digitalization are unquestionable.But so far, traditional printing still occupies a major position in the entire industry, and it is also constantly developing.The so-called traditional printing companies are of course mainly based on traditional printing equipment.If traditional printing companies want to go digital, the digitization of the equipment itself cannot be bypassed. No matter how digital the software system and management methods are, if the company cannot connect with the main printing production equipment, it will be difficult to achieve true digital transformation.

Computer direct printing based on pressureless printing technology introduced in the 'Print Media Technology Handbook'

Traditional printing vs. digital printing
1. Definition of digital printing
Is there really a clear distinction between traditional printing and digital printing?Before answering this question, let us first understand the current definition of digital printing.
1) In 2011, the former State Press and Publication Administration formulated and issued the 'Digital Printing Management Measures' (referred to as the 'Measures'). This is a regulation from the national and government levels to regulate digital printing business activities and promote digital printing. A management method introduced for healthy development.The applicable management objects of the 'Measures' are business activities that use production-type digital printing machines to print publications, packaging and decoration printed matter and other printed matter.The production-type digital printing press mentioned in the 'Measures' refers to digital printing equipment with high printing speed, stable printing quality, and capable of realizing industrialized continuous and mass production.But there is no definition of what digital printing itself is.
2) As one of the major suppliers of industrialized digital printing equipment, HP has an article on its English website that briefly introduces what digital printing is. The translation is 'Digital printing refers to printing digital-based graphics and text onto printing media. When you read a file from a computer, mobile phone or flash drive for printing, that's digital printing at work. 'In short, if the printed file is digitized, then it's digital printing.
3) Xerox, a production digital printing equipment supplier, mentioned on its English website that 'Digital printing is the process of printing digital-based graphics and text directly onto various media substrates. It is different from offset printing and does not require printing. Edition. Digital files such as PDF or desktop publishing files can be sent directly to a digital press for printing on paper, photo paper, canvas, fabric, synthetics, cardboard, and other substrates. 'This definition is similar to HP, mainly in that. Printed documents are digitized.
4) In the 'digital printing' entry in the Chinese world and Wikipedia, it is described as follows: Digital printing refers to the method of printing directly from digital images into various media.Baidu Encyclopedia and Sogou Encyclopedia describe it under the entry 'Digital Printing' as: Digital printing refers to the digitization of printing technology, and generally refers to the digitization of part or all of the entire process.Digital printing is to print computer files directly on paper. It is a new printing method that is different from the cumbersome process of traditional printing.
Obviously, the definitions of digital printing are different in different categories. As far as industrial applications are concerned, they are still being improved and matured, so it is difficult to say which definition is absolutely authoritative.Due to the author's own knowledge level, it is difficult to exhaust all the discussions on digital printing made by all research institutions and experts and scholars.
To sum up, a common saying is that digital printing prints graphic and text files that have been electronically documented.
2. Dialectical relationship between traditional printing and digital printing
From the above quotations, we can see that there are differences between traditional printing and digital printing, but they are not clearly separated.Taking offset printing as an example, a basic fact is that from photographic plate making to computer direct plate making, traditional offset printing also prints electronically documented graphic files, but it is different from digital printing in terms of technical path and historical development.
Digital printing based on electrostatic, ion, magnetic recording, inkjet, thermal and other imaging and transfer methods did not appear in recent years, but its industrial application has developed rapidly in the 21st century.In fact, in some important books or documents about the printing industry, digital prepress is often discussed in traditional printing, but digital printing does not form an independent printing process classification, only the so-called 'constant plate printing technology' ( Printing Technologies with Permanent Printing Master' and 'Printing Technologies without a Printing Plate'.At present, production-type digital printing and digital printing presses are usually based on the latter, such as the 'Handbook of Print Media Technology' (English name 'Handbook of Print Media', author H. Kipphan), which is relatively influential in the Chinese printing industry.
Therefore, in this sense, we may understand that there is no question of who is more 'digital' between digital printing and traditional printing. The fundamental problem lies in the difference in transfer technology paths and the resulting process control. It's just different.
3. Salient features of digital printing and traditional printing
Of course, the above is not a defense of traditional printing.Because of the difference between 'constant printing plate' and 'pressureless printing', compared with traditional printing, the distinctive feature of digital printing is that the transferred content is still variable during the printing process.
But one thing that cannot be ignored is that so far, production digital printing equipment still lags behind traditional printing in terms of printing effects, substrate acceptance, and especially large-scale production costs.Even if it is 'can be printed on one page', if it is personalized to the point that each printing result is completely different, then this is still not production-type or industrialized printing. Is it worthy of discussion?
At the same time, traditional printing, represented by offset printing, uses in-line inkjet printing during the printing process, and after adding elements of digital printing, the results are not exactly the same for each print.By in-line cold foiling, adjusting the color sequence of the printing unit and coating unit, and combining UV drying, in-line embossing, etc., traditional offset printing can also achieve many rich and stunning printing effects that are currently difficult to achieve with digital printing.