Inkjet’s Age
quality that rivals—and at times even
surpasses—off set has been the tipping
point for many publishers to make the
switch. “Th e high speed, low running
cost, and improved print quality have
allowed them to fi ll the gap between
where cut-sheet digital leaves off
(around one hundred) and traditional
off set is most cost eff ective (a few thousand),”
noted Mansfi eld. “Th ese devices
are ideal for publishing applications,
where production can be focused on a
more limited set of papers than in general
commercial print applications.”
Up until now, however, those leaps
were more or less limited to the blackand
white space, with color quality
and speed still not quite up to off set
levels. However, said Edwards, now that
is changing, as well. “Th e color book
publishing industry is at the start of a
journey to on-shore a portion of color
books. Th e creation of a global color
book printing network to leverage the
benefi ts of lean manufacturing is being
enabled by the availability of a new
generation of inkjet production printers
able to print on off set coated stock. Th e
benefi ts are not just about lean color
book manufacturing; they’re about lean
manufacturing and reducing the total
cost of getting color books in the hands
of consumers.”
It’s also about the improvements to
the substrates, noted Malkin. “I’m keeping
an eye on our improved ability to
dry inks on a variety of coated stocks.
Th is will continue to open up opportunities
for book manufacturers to add
new off erings for their customers. Finishing
technology is changing rapidly
as well—now customers can really get
the full capabilities from printer investments
by attaching the latest book
fi nishing equipment.”
However, that doesn’t mean there
aren’t still challenges to overcome. “Th e
challenges to digital adoption diff er
by segment,” stressed Mansfi eld. “For
mass market trade books, there are no
technical issues. Th e quality of digital
production is largely up to the task. And
the speed and cost of production allow
for runs to be produced—economically—
up to around 2,000 copies. Suitable
papers are available in most parts of the
world, or digital print vendors can off er
precoating solutions. So, the primary
barrier to digital adoption in the mass
market trade book segment is the
behavioral change required to move to
a short count/edition run supply chain,
rather than a traditional long run and
warehouse approach.”
“At a high level, three major hurdles
are investments in new technologies,
volume of books to amortize the
investments, and the transition period
available to change the operation,”
said Malkin. “Frequently, entering the
short-run book market means getting
new, digital equipment, and that
can be a stumbling block for a lot
of printers, especially those who
have already paid off their off set
machines. But when you take the
long view, you realize that the investment
will pay for itself if the
company has the right strategy
in place.”
Edwards agreed, breaking
down the challenges both the
printers and the publishers themselves
will still need to tackle
to fully embrace inkjet book
production:
Publishers:
• How to effi ciently produce
titles in the right quantities at the
point of need, so millions of dollars
in working capital doesn’t get
tied up in unnecessary inventory.
• How to focus more on expanding
and marketing titles.
As the requirements
move up to include
higher ink coverage or
gloss coated papers, the
Kodak Prosper 6000 presses
stand out thanks to Kodak’s
nanoparticulate pigment inks and
unique approach to drying.
Printers:
• Evaluate production inkjet technologies.
As trade book publishers embrace
inventory management models, these
solutions improve the economics of digital
print, allowing book printers to move
a greater amount of work from off set to
digital platforms. Th is fl exibility will
improve both overall plant effi ciency
and bottom-line profi tability.
• Work with existing publishing
customers to identify how digital print
production can help them overcome
key challenges, then scale the solution
to others. Remember to educate your
customers on how technology can
improve the delivery of client messages
and profi ts.
• Consider customer requirements
and fi nishing options when making
investments in digital printing devices.
• Assess your current workfl ow and
its ability to serve book publishers.
Consider how workfl ow automation
technology can help you lower per-unit
costs so the volume of books produced
doesn’t infl uence costs.
At the end of the day, the most
successful book printers are already
starting to integrate inkjet into their
production processes—and they are already
starting to look beyond inkjet as
well. “Book manufacturers who wish to
off er one-stop shopping to their clients
must off er services to make ebooks in
both fi xed-layout (Apple iPad only) and
refl owable (iPad and Kindle devices)
formats,” stressed Mansfi eld. “Th is
would also allow them to bundle POD
or short count runs along with an ebook
for the rapidly growing self-publishing
market. However, there are many ebook
services available already, so for some
book manufacturers, specialization in
print may be the right strategy.”
PrintingNewscom December 2017 Printing News 23
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