Today the hot topic in the printing world is about the future prospect of digital print. For many people this is not an arguable point because, obviously, everything that can become digital will become digital sooner or later, but others are wondering if digital print method is unstoppable enough to beat conventional processes.
Digital print offers a more effective communication between printing companies and their customers. It has a minimal press setup. It simplifies the printing process with fewer steps and the option for online printing. There is no plate mounting, traditional plates, or ink keys. The final result is a quicker and more effective service, giving companies the chance to meet tight deadlines.
So, productivity and reliability are some of the benefits of digital print. When it comes to digital printing, we are talking about an electronic system where files are saved electronically, so it is really easy to revise, change and update them. This way, digital printing suits better the needs of printing customers, allowing a personalized service to meet the particular requirements of each client.
On the other hand, figures and rates talk by themselves and it seems like digital printing will beat conventional processes in the near future. According to the latest estimations, the digital printing market will have grown in more than 50 billion for 2018 reaching $187.7 billion. This means a compound annual growth rate of 7.4%. Following these estimations, digital printing will represent close to a quarter of the total print market before 2020, increasing its share by 10%.
Experts estimate that digital print volume will grow by 68% before 2020 while the all offset print volume will decrease by 10%. This way, the average selling price is forecast to increase contrary to the offset print estimations. The digital print average selling prices are supposed to increase from $92.5 per 1,000 prints in 2008 to $119.5 in 2018, while offset print are supposed to decrease from $11.5 to $10.
Are offset print methods dying? It is too soon to state something like that. Traditional solutions are still a better choice for large runs of over 500 units, for large formats and for printings that require specialized colors and unique techniques. However, cutting-edge technologies, new innovations and latest improvements in digital methods are leading offset companies to introduce digital technology and it seems like digital printing is holding all the aces. Time will have the final say.
What Future Holds For The Printing Industry