Ink-jet Printing -- Coming Up Heads and Tales

GAUGING WHEN a technology is really going to take off is always a tricky proposition. Product roll-outs usually get pushed back due to unforeseen technical issues, and potential buyers tend to be more cautious than even a low-ball projection for the rate of adoption. Both factors are again at play in the printing industry, this time as we approach the first anniversary of the “Ink-Jet Drupa.” Various forms of electrophotographic digital printing languished as the “next big thing” for nearly a decade, so it’s unfair to expect big changes in the production ink-jet press category in less than a year. There have been reports of some installations by U.S. printers, but a number of the new page-printing technologies are effectively still at the talking stage for anyone looking to buy now.