The digital color print market experienced dramatic changes over the past year. First, a number of new inkjet color printers are emerging, providing organizations with more choices for addressing high-volume transactional and direct mail applications, and offering an alternative to pre-printed color shells. Previously, organizations were limited to either Kodak Versamark printers or multiple, lower-speed engines to tackle high-volume applications. Now several highly competitive options are available.
In addition, recent announcements significantly expand the options and capabilities of available digital color presses. New features, including MICR inks, wider page formats, and new coatings enable digital color printers to produce a wider array of applications, such as checks and short-run newspapers. These capabilities push digital color printing further into mainstream markets and signify a turning point in digital color production.
Using broader production capabilities, organizations reduce the number of steps required to produce digital color applications. For example, new color presses with MICR ink allow organizations to create check applications with color on a single engine—eliminating the waste associated with item matching. As another example, digital solutions offer the ability to apply glossy coatings, which enable organizations to create digital color marketing materials without post-processing.
These new developments make it possible to produce documents in color that were previously limited to monochrome, changing the way businesses communicate with their customers. Further, it presents an opportunity for organizations to capitalize on and derive benefits from these communications.
The Impact of Digital Color on Business Communications
As the use of digital color in business communications continues to grow, the printing industry recognizes various customer responses to different color elements. In general, research indicates that the use of color improves recognition and response rates.
Organizations use color strategically depending on the purpose of the document. For example, business documents that need to communicate important information rely on color to make them reader friendly. With digital color presses, organizations add data-driven graphics, complex charts, and images to documents. Recipients find color graphics easier to read and understand; and digital images provide memorable references or reminders. In addition, the use of color replicates the logos used in commercial applications, such as billboards, or in broadcast media to re-enforce a brand or tagline.
On the other hand, when organizations create documents that require a response from the recipient, color is used to highlight key elements, such as the amount due. This enables recipients to quickly understand the purpose of the document.
Finally, color is used to highlight key marketing messages on TransPromo and direct mail documents to draw attention. The strongest value proposition behind digital color is that it increases response rates and reduces customer service calls when utilized properly.
Production Support
Requirements for Digital Color
Digital color production requires more than a color printer. Prepress and color production expertise, software solutions for color document composition, color image editing, print stream transformation, and a color management system are all necessary components to a digital production workflow.
Color experts are utilized to produce quality color output. Throughout the design stages, prepress operators adjust color images and layout color documents appropriately for the specific digital color press. Once on press, a color-savvy user ensures that the color remains accurate and consistent for the entire production run.
Not all document composition solutions support full digital color. Depending on production requirements and the digital color press used, an organization needs to consider color Advanced Function Presentation (AFP), Pantone color, and fifth color station support. Each device presents colors within its own color space, and some colors, such as metallics and bright greens, cannot be reproduced on a digital press. Because of this, color management tools are necessary to convert one color space to another and approximate values for colors that fall outside the color space of a specific output device.
Organizations must also consider the image or print stream transformation requirements needed to migrate monochrome applications to color presses. Many vendors provide basic tools, but organizations that plan to support multiple applications must verify that each application moves through the production workflow process and still outputs correctly.
Worthy of Note
A wide variety of digital color devices are—or soon will be—available. It is important to select a device that matches the production requirements for the specific application. Digital press vendors offer inkjet, toner, and liquid ink devices, all of which support different color print streams and color spaces. An application’s volume requirements may determine whether the organization needs a sheet-fed or web press. And finally, the digital color devices described in this piece support different paper handling and imaging features. These solutions also offer the aforementioned options.
The latest offering in a family of production devices from Canon U.S.A., Inc., the Canon imagePRESS C7000VP, produces 70 color pages per minute, regardless of paper weight. The printer generates color images at 1200x1200 dpi. The imagePRESS Server A3100 digital front-end processor accepts PostScript and PDF data streams, as well as FreeForm 2 and PPML for variable data, making the printer well-suited for production environments with variable data applications. The imagePRESS C7000VP supports a variety of finishing options, including a puncher, booklet maker, and saddle stitcher.
The new HP Inkjet Web Press is a production inkjet press capable of 2,600 color images per minute with a duty cycle of 70 million images per month. The PostScript press prints at 1200x600 dpi across a 30-inch-wide web, which enables organizations to run letter-sized documents three images wide. HP partners with third-party equipment vendors to deliver folded, inserted, and booklet finishing options.
The HP Indigo 7000 is capable of printing on a wide range of coated and uncoated paper stocks. The PostScript press produces 120 letter-sized-—two per sheet—four-color impressions at 812 dpi using a petroleum-based ink instead of toner or water-based inkjet ink. The press supports up to seven colors, which allows for standard process color, four colors, and three Pantone colors; or a hexachrome process color, six colors, and one Pantone color.
InfoPrint Solutions Company’s InfoPrint 5000 inkjet-based digital printer family includes four models supporting either simplex or duplex printing. The continuous-form production press produces up to 1,832 impressions per minute. The press uses water-based pigment inks under pressure to print at 720x360 dpi. The IBM POWER5 controller supports native AFP, PostScript, and PDF data streams.
The Kodak NexPress S3000 is a toner-based, sheet-fed color press capable of printing at 100 pages per minute. The press uses five imaging stations with the first four stations producing the full-color print image, while the fifth imaging station is used for spot colors, coatings, or a gloss unit. The press uses a transfer cylinder, which allows the press to print on a wide range of paper and synthetic paper stocks. The press controller accepts static PostScript and PDF formats, as well as a VDX variable data stream.
The Kodak VersaMark VX5000 Plus is an inkjet-based web press capable of printing monochrome, spot color, or process color at 500 feet per minute and at a resolution of 300x600 dpi. The VX5000 Plus incorporates an enhanced resolution capability that uses multiple drops of ink to improve the image quality. The controller supports IPDS and PostScript data streams, as well as VPS and PPML. The press supports roll-to-roll, perforated, fanfold, cut sheet, and slit/merge/stack output.
The Konica bizhub PRO C6501 is a multifunction printer/copier/scanner running at 65 pages per minute. The printer engine operates at 600 dpi with a duty cycle of 300,000 images per month. The engine uses ultra-fine toner particles to produce fine lines and graphics. The printer accepts PostScript, PDF, PCL, and variable data formats and supports optional inline stapling, punching, and booklet-making finishing modules.
The Oce JetStream family of printers includes an option for a fifth printhead allowing the high-speed production of four-color images plus MICR using the same drop on demand inkjet technology. The Oce JetStream engine supports four-color printing at speeds up to 2,700 impressions per minute at a resolution of 480x600 dpi. The JetStream family works with the Oce DigiDot color ink and supports a wide range of inline finishing options. The press uses the Oce controller and can be driven by Oce’s PRISMA print management solutions.
The Ricoh Pro C900s is a multifunction copier/printer/scanner that produces 90 pages per minute at 1200x1200 dpi. The digital front-end processors for the Pro C900s accept PostScript and PDF data streams as well as FreeForm and PPML for variable data. The printer offers integrated options for stapling, bookbinding, and punching.
The Xeikon 8000 is a high-speed web press that supports a four-color process and one additional color or coating. The engine prints up to 244 four-color impressions per minute at 1200x3600 dpi. The Xeikon X-800 controller accepts PostScript, PDF, VDX, and PPML data streams. An optional IPDS controller receives and processes transactional data streams. A cut sheet stacker and rewinder are also available.
The Xerox iGen4 is a sheet-fed press that varies speed to accommodate various sized sheets up to 120 images per minute for a seven-inch sheet. The press features auto density control and an inline spectrophotometer for consistent color quality for the entire print run. The Xerox FreeFlow Print Server supports PostScript, PDF, PCL, and TIFF data streams. Xerox also partners with third parties to offer a wide range of inline finishing options including booklet makers, binders, and laminators.
Where to Go from Here?
Due to the wide range of digital printers currently available on the market, careful consideration of organizational requirements is recommended before selecting a solution.
Since customer communication strategies consist of multiple components, organizations must collect digital color printing requirements across the enterprise. Specifically, organizations should define digital color printing requirements within the context of an enterprise-wide document strategy. In addition, be sure to examine the entire lifecycle of each document application that is a candidate for color as well as its purpose. In some cases, organizations may need multiple solutions as part of an overall document strategy to address both near- and long-term goals.
Once an organization is ready to get started with color, it makes sense to begin with high-value documents. Bills and invoices directly relate to revenue generation and represent a great opportunity for the introduction of color. When re-designing these applications for color production, the design goal should be to create an easy-to-read piece that communicates a clear message. Organizations should also consider marketing documents, including TransPromo applications, as leading candidates for digital color, especially when combined with personalization.
When assessing document strategies it is important to consider multiple channels and the most effective means of communication for each application. It’s especially important for an organization to consider the possibility that some hardcopy documents are best delivered electronically in the future, and may not warrant the investment. With this in mind, pursue color strategies for applications with long-term hardcopy production plans.
