The Deregulation Of the Digital Press

Direct imaging offset presses actually fall into two groups. The first group is made up of conventional offset presses retrofitted with a digital imaging system. These "hybrid" direct imaging systems include Heidelberg's GTO-DI and Speedmaster DI products, the Adast DI and Akiyama's J Print.

In the second group are the new-generation direct imaging offset presses, which have been redesigned with operations that are largely controlled through digital technology. These digitally integrated offset presses—represented by the 74 Karat press from Karat Digital Press and Heidelberg's Quickmaster DI—maintain the high quality of offset while providing the benefits of increased automation by integrating with an all-digital prepress workflow.