The Time Has Come for Digital Printing: Printing in Hong Kong 2011

Teri Tan of Publisher's Weekly interviews John Currie of CTPS, a book manufacturer in Hong Kong, and Aurelio Maruggi, General Manager of HP's inkjet high-speed production solutions division regarding digital book production in Asia.  Muller Martini finishing technology is an integral part of the overall solution.


Here's the Money Quote:

What is your advice to those considering installing a T300 or T400, or venturing into digital printing?

AM: Printing is only a part of book production. When assessing the digital value proposition, one needs to take into consideration the benefits of time and labor savings in prepress and inline finishing. Unlike conventional printing, digital printing can produce collated pages or signatures to print one book at a time, thus eliminating separate signature production, folding, gathering, collating, binding, and trimming. With digital paperback production, the whole process can be done inline with just two or three operators. At CTPS, for instance, you will find rolls of paper at the start and finished books on pallets at the end. For those considering digital printing, it is crucial to factor in benefits in terms of labor, turnaround time, and efficiency during the assessment.

JC: Do your homework. Review technical aspects to ensure that the digital press is suitable for the type of product you have in mind. Make sure the press will interface seamlessly with the finishing lines. It is also very useful to find out from actual users their experiences and challenges in successful day-to-day rollout. Most important, do not buy into the hype regarding certain presses or technology that has not been fully tested in the market.

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