Digital versus offset printing

Ipex I Top managers from Heidelberg and Xerox also discussed digital and offset printing as well as printing itself.
initiated and held at the Ipex trade fair "In
the Balance", left an exciting question after a warm-up round.
follow: "Does print have a future?" "Yes," believes Edward Carr from The
Economist, "Paper is a fantastic technology. Nevertheless, the
The future of print is certainly not an easy challenge." Goes
according to Carr, then the graphic arts industry needs above all new
models in order to be able to defend themselves against the overall falling margins.

Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox, also believes in the printed word.
communication. She pointed out that digital printing already has many
answers to the changing market requirements. As
She sees the development of these markets as a challenge. St. Bernard
Schreier, CEO of Heidelberg, assumes that the two companies will continue to coexist.
electronic and digital marketing comparable to pull and push marketing
printed media. That's why you can't lump everything together
"Similarly to the means of transportation, there can be several
communication technologies can exist side by side, which
will also continue to develop for their part." Barry Hibbert, Polestar,
is certain that print has a right to exist, but he also drew attention to
ecological challenges.

Differentiated view
The panel event also focused on the question of whether in
future will be printed using the offset or digital printing process.
Mulcahy believes that you have to take a very differentiated view of this. In
The Xerox manager sees the personal approach as the "key to
the success of digital printing" - but, she admitted frankly,
this area "can still be expanded".

Schreier does not consider the question of the procedure to be decisive.
"We (by which he meant the providers of offset and
digital printing systems) are on the same page. It's all about
solely around customer requirements." In response to Paxman's subsequent
The question of when to print in offset and when to print digitally,
Schreier replied: "Offset is the right choice for large print runs.
Procedure - when the price per page is the deciding factor. For personalized
documents, it's digital printing." "And what ...", Paxmann drilled
continues, "Heidelberg is doing something about the market segment that digital printing systems
take away?" "We must continue to be competitive here in the future.
systems. Even if digital printing is currently ahead of offset
shares, this situation can also turn back into the
turn in the other direction," Schreier is convinced.

A look into the future
Moderator Paxman also wanted to know what would happen between now and Ipex 2014,
the Ipex after next, could change everything. Edward Carr suspects that
the industry will handle any customer data even better by then
which, in his opinion, will lead to smaller print runs. Anne
Mulcahy assumes that the next but one Ipex will probably not be a print,
but rather a communication event: "The question of
according to the requirements of customers will become even more important.
and push technology further into the background." Bernhard
Schreier ultimately believes that by then there will be fewer
There will be machine suppliers who will offer more hybrid solutions -
possibly combinations of offset and digital printing machines
would offer. He believes that trade fairs will attract
fewer visitors, as the number of print service providers continues to rise.
will decrease. Centrally produced print jobs today, presumably
Schreier continues, are once again produced decentrally/locally - where
they are also needed.

The audience asked whether the two companies Heidelberg and
Xerox, who took part in a forum together for the first time in this form,
would work together more closely in the future. Both Schreier and Mulcahy
replied that just a few years ago they would hardly have
would have spoken to each other, that today there are
but there would be more cooperation than competition.

Jürgen Franck