3.2 Digital Printing Hardware System

The digital printing hardware system mainly includes RIP, integrated digital scanner, large-capacity feeding tray, printing system, large-capacity delivery system and back-end digital loading system. Its composition is shown in Figure 2.

(1) Raster Image Processor (RIP). Provide powerful, high-speed, flexible and convenient raster image processing and color management tools.
(2) An integrated digital scanner (or scanning station). High-speed, two-sided automatic scanning of multiple full-color or black-and-white documents, and the last job is printing, you can scan and set the next print job.
(3) Large-capacity feeding tray. Used for storing a variety of thicknesses, sizes, and types of paper substrates with a capacity of up to several thousand sheets.
(4) Digital printing system. Including digital registration systems, printing process monitoring and image quality correction systems, multi-color printing units, paper reversal devices.
(5) Large-capacity delivery/binding device. Provides large-capacity paper stacking space with single, double or saddle-stitching or hot-melt binding.

4 Differences and relations between digital printing and traditional printing

4.1 The difference between digital printing and traditional printing

4.1.1 Different Process Flows

The comparison of the traditional printing and digital printing processes is shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

As can be seen from Figures 3 and 4, digital printing greatly reduces the production process compared to traditional printing, shortens the process flow and operating time, and realizes a real “fast printing”.

4.1.2 Different Market Positioning

Digital printing is aimed at the short-run, fast, and personalized market, the "print on demand" market. Traditional printing will still focus on long-run business.

4.1.3 The Graphic Elements Are Different in the Printing Process

Traditional graphic information elements are immutable and static in the printing process, and digital printing is the opposite. The graphic information can be changed at any time according to the needs. The data of the printing artwork in the entire printing process is variable and dynamic. .

4.1.4 Printing Production Costs and Print Ratios Are Different

The cost of digital printing is almost unaffected by the number of impressions. See Figure 5. Compared with traditional printing, digital printing shows that the cost of a short version below 1000 prints is lower than that of traditional prints, and for long prints of over 1000 prints In terms of cost and price, traditional printing has shown greater advantages.

4.2 The relationship between digital printing and traditional printing

There is no doubt that the emergence of digital printing technology provides the printing industry with newer technologies and more choices. However, digital printing is not yet a "diggers" for traditional printing within a certain period of time. On the contrary, the emergence of “on-demand printing” can serve as a useful complement to traditional printing. The two complement each other. Digital printing solves the short-run market that was previously difficult to solve, and opens up a new business field that cannot be solved by many traditional printing, such as the one-to-one personalized printing market and the variable data printing market.

In addition, static traditional printing and dynamic digital printing can be combined to develop more new application areas. The key issues in the combination process are the application of ink, drying and curing, and the speed difference between the two printing methods. These issues need to be further explored.

5 Characteristics of Digital Printing and Its Application in Packaging and Printing

5.1 Features of Digital Printing

1) The workflow is simple and quick. Taking a 160-page, 16-page, wireless-bound book file as an example, assuming that its number of prints is 5,000, it begins with receiving electronic files submitted by users. Traditional printing requires group printing, film output, imposition, and proofing. There are a total of 7 major processes, including printing, offset printing, and binding, which takes about 7 days and requires 14 to 16 people. The use of digital printing does not need to output film and spell printing version, only need to organize, print, bind three processes, and can be fully automated on the digital press, up to 2 people 2d time.
2) The low cost of single-sheet printing in low-volume printing is best suited for short-run printing under 1,000 prints.
3) The printing quality is stable, and the 1st and 1000000th quality can be guaranteed to be exactly the same.
4) Not limited by the print quantity, 1 sheet can be printed.
5) Can undertake a variety of file formats and complexity of the print job. Due to the reduction of image transmission process and media in digital printing, the factors that restrict the printing content and copying ability are reduced, thereby greatly increasing the complexity of printable images and reducing the limitations.
6) Many printing functions. For example: automatic job processing, insert, multi-page merge, automatic binding and so on.
7) The print data is variable, and the printing process is “anything you want”.

5.2 Digital Printing Application in Packaging and Printing

(1) Printing of small batches of short-run packaging products. Can print small quantities of paper bags, cartons, film packaging products, trademarks, stickers, posters, etc., good quality, low cost, no waste, can achieve zero inventory;

(2) digital proofing of packaging design boxes; (3) printing of personalized packaging; (4) printing of variable data packages, such as variable bar codes, numbers, trademarks, etc., and printing of variable data. Etc.; (5) printing of personalized packaging, can be used for gift packaging, etc.; (6) remote packaging printing and digital proofing; (7) combined with the traditional printing process, on-demand printing.

Source: "Packaging Engineering" Author: Fu Chen Geng (1), Wang Lijie (2) (1) Shenzhen Senior Technical School (2) Shenzhen Polytechnic