数字印刷翻译.docx
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数字印刷翻译
Digitalprinting
PhilGreen
Digitalprintingiscurrentlythemostrapidlygrowingprintsector,andonewhichisopeningupnewpossibilitiesofshort-runcolorwork.Itisalsoenablingentirelydifferentrelationshipsbetweenthepurchaserandsupplierofprintedproductsandmakingpossibleallkindsofnewproducts.
Theconventionalprintingprocessesdescribedearlierinthischapterarematuretechnologies.Thetechnologicaldevelopmentoftheseprocesseswillcontinue,butwilltendtodeliveronlyincrementalimprovementsinperformance.Digitalprinting,bycomparison,isstillatanearlystageinitsdevelopmentandwillcontinuetodeveloprapidly,openingupnewmarketsandmakingincreasinginroadsintotheconventionalprocess.
Inthemediumtermatleast,itishighlyunlikelythatdigitalprintingwillentirelyreplacetheconventionalprocesses.Thisisfortwofundamentalreasons:
●Thecostofcolorantsusedmakesunitpricestoohightocompeteonlongerruns;
●Modernprintingequipmentisdesignedaroundproductioneconomiesofscale,withhighspeeds,largeformatsandinlineprocessessuchasfoldingandcoating,anditwillbesometimebeforemanufacturersbuilddigitalpressesthatcancompeteonhighproductionvolumes.
Thestrengthofdigitalprintingisthereforelargelyinshorterprintruns.However,theshort-runmarketisexpandingfastasprintrunsforalltypesofproductarefalling,andnewproductsaremadepossiblebyintegrateddigitalproduction.Adirectcostcomparisonbetweendigitalandconventionalprintingmaynotberelevantineverycaseasdigitalprintingcanoftenprovideabettersolutiontoacommunicationproblem,addingvalueandgeneratingsavingselsewhereintheproductioncycle,forexample,inadministrationordistributioncosts.Thislogicalsoappliestotheprintbuyerswhenthinkingofincorporatingdigitalprintingintotheirownoperations,addingthemtotheirexistingdesignandprepressoperations.Totakeaexampleinretailing,instoreprintingfacilitieslinkedtoinstallandrunthanpurchasingfromexternalsuppliers,butthemarketingbenefitsmayoutweightheadditionalcosts.
Thepointatwhichdigitalandconventionalprintingbreakseventendstobeatarunlengthofaround1000copies(moreforblackandwhiteandlessforcolor).Runlengthsthatdonotfallautomaticallyintotheprovinceofconventionalordigitalwillbedecidedbytheaddedvalueoftheprocess:
fordigitalprintingthisincludesdistributedprintingandtheabilitytovarytheimagewitheachcopy,whileforconventionalprocessessuchaslithoitwillincludethehigherqualitylevels,thegreaterrangeofsubstratesthatcanbeprinted,andtheavailabilityofinlineprocessessuchascoating.
Digitalprintingtechnologies
Digitalprinterscurrentlyfallintofourbasictypes:
●Pageprintersthatprintflatsheetsofpaper,usuallyinA4formatbutsometimesuptoA3(theserangefromdesktopprinterstohigh-speedcopier/printerslikeDocuTech,andincludehigh-qualitycontinuoustoneprintersusedmostlyforproofsandpresentationmaterials);
●Large-formatdevicesthatprintoncontinuousrolls,mainlyforshort-runposters;
●Overprintingheadsforaddingproductcodes(mainlyforpackaging)thataremountedontoconventionalpressesorfinishingequipment,oronpackaginglines;
●Reel-fedmachinesthatprintatspeedscomparabletoconventionalprintingpresses.
Adigitalprinterhastwofundamentalcomponents:
amarkingenginethattransferscoloranttothepaper,andafront-endthatpreparesthedatausedtodrivethemarkingengine.ThefrontendwillincludeaRIPandamemorybuffer.Thepagedataistransferreddirectlytothefrontendwithouttheneedforfilmsandplates,sotherearelargepotentialsavingsincosts.
Becausethedigitalprintingdeviceisdrivenbydataandrequiresnoplates,theimagecanbechangedforeachsuccessiveprint.This‘variableimage’printingconcepthasgreatpotentialinteresttopublishersandadvertiserswhoareinterestedintailoringtheircommunicationsmorecloselytowhatisknownabouttheiraudience,ofteninconjunctionwithsophisticatedmarketingdatabases.
Digitalprintingsystemsthatoperateathighspeedsorhighresolutionsrequirededicatedfrontendsandlargememorybuffers,butlow-enddevicessuchasdesktop[printerscanmakeuseofsoftware-basedprinterdriversthatsitontheuser’shostcomputer.
Themostwidely-usedtechnologiesinmarkingenginesareinkjet,laseranddyesublimation.
Inkjet
Inkjetprintersdeployanarrayofnozzlestoprojectinkdropletsontothepapersurface.Thenozzlesarerelativelycheaptoproduce,andwiderarraysthatcanimageamovingwebofpaperarecurrentlyindevelopment.Inkjetprintheadsarefoundinallthetypesofdigitalprinterlistedearlier,anddominatethelarge-formatandoverprintingmarkets.Theycanprintonthewidestrangeofsubstrates(includingcheapergradessuchaspartmechanicals).
Laser
Laserprinterstransfertonertothepapersurfaceelectro-statically.Animageiscreatedonaphotoconductivesurfacebyaddingorremovinganelectricalcharge,andtonerisattractedtothechargedareasonthisimagingsurface(laserprintersareperhapsmoreaccuratelyknownaselectrostaticprinters,sinceotherenergysourcessuchaselectronbeamscanalsobeusedtoaltertheconductivepropertiesoftheimagingsurface).Mostsystemsusedrytonerpowder,butliquidtonersystemsarealsoavailableanddelivermuchbetterprintquality:
smallerparticlesizesyieldhigherprintresolution,andglossresinscanbeincorporatedtomakethefinishmorelikethatofaconventionalprint.Laserprintersaremainlyfoundinpageprintersandreel-fedprinters.
Dyesublimation
Dyesublimationprintersvaporizeawaxycolorantandtransferittothepapersurface.Theunitcostofprintsmadebythisprocessareextremelyhigh,andasaresultitsuseisrestrictedlargelytoone-offprintsforproofingorpresentationpurposes.Qualitycanbeextremelyhigh,comparabletoaglossyphotographicprint.
Withallthedigitalprintingsystemsthereisatrade-offbetweenresolutionandspeed.Themoredevicepixelstherearetobeimagedonapage,theslowertheprintspeedwillbeinpagesperminute.
Digitalworkflow----themainstreamofdevelop
speedydevelopmentofdigitalprocessingandinternetinformationexchange
All-digitalworkflowsareontheirway.Theywillsoonreplacethetraditionalanalogueimagingandreliabledigitalperformanceingraphicalprocessing,proofing,output,andtransfer.Itwillalsoenableno-filminvolvedComputer-To-Platesystemtotakethelead.Multi-mediadocumentaloutputisnolongeradreamanymore.Pre-pressproductionlinehasbecomingmoreintegrated,professionalanddiversified.Themaindevelopmenttrendsofapplicationsoftwareareopenness,cross-platformfunctions,intelligenceandstandardizationofdocumentationformat.
Theimplementationofdigitalworkflowistheirresistibletrenddevelopmentinprintingindustry.MaturingprintingtechnologiessuchasCopyDotscanning,digitalproofing,computer-to-plate,anddigitalworkflowgraduallyremovetheobstaclestotheimplementationofdigitaltechnologies.Advancedoutputtechnology,togetherwithintelligentizationofdigitalworkflowmanagementwillalsoimprovetheefficiencyofdigitalprintingoperation.
Thedigitaltechnologyprocesshasalmostreplacedthetraditionaltechnology.Thedesignandpicturescanbetransferredbynetworkorthroughelectronicmedium.Thecorporationofpan-region,pan-country,pan-continentwillbeacommonthing.Wecanoffertheneed,exchangeinformation,remoteproofing,andproductiontrackingetc.Theproductcanbedesignedinsomewhereoftheworld,andprintedinanotherplaceoftheworld.
Direct-to-press
OneofthesuccessstoriesofdigitalprintingisHeidelberg’sQuickmasterDI,whichusesdigitalimagingonanotherwiseconventionalpressdesign.Machineshavebeeninstalledinalargenumberofbureau-typeoperations,anddelivermanyoftheadvantagesofdigitalprintingatthequalityandcostassociatedwithlitho.
Anewproductionmodel
Thetraditionalmodelofprintproductioncanbesummarizedas‘printalargeenoughquantityofaproducttomakeunitcostseconomic,andthendistributetotheend-user’.Digitaltechnologiesmakeitpossibletocompletelyrethinkthewayinwhichvisualcommunicationsareproducedanddistributed.
Print-on-demand
Becausetheamountofprepressworkandpressmake-readyareminimalwhencomparedwithconventionalprinting,productioncostsarealmostentirelyvariable,withaverysmallfixedelement.Thismeansthattheybecomecost-effectivetoprintcopiesastheyareneeded,insteadofproducingforstock.
Distribute,thenprint
Printedproductsareusuallydistributedoverawidegeographicalarea,anditcansometimesbemorecost-effectivetodistributethepagesindigitalformforlocalreproduction.
Distributeelectronically
Foritemswhosefunctionisinformationratherthanmarketing,end-userswilloftenaccepttheendproductinelectronicform(ondiscorCD):
thepagescanbeprintedindividuallyasrequired.Thisallowstheoriginatoroftheproducttofocusonitscontentinsteadofitsreproduction.
Alternatively,itmaybepossibletouseanonlinedistributionmediumsuchastheWorldWideWeb,andcreatepagesthatareintendedforviewingonscreenratherthanreproducedonpaper.
Variableimageprinting
Aseachpageisimagedseparately,andthereisnophysicalprintingplate,itispossibletochangesomeorallofthepagewitheachsuccessiveprint.Thisenables,forexample,eachcommunicationtobepersonalizedforitsintendedrecipient,and