Digital printing is the future, plain and simple. Computers have given us the ability to accomplish things in the print industry world far beyond what our previous capabilities were. The old printing presses of the past are dinosaurs compared to the technology of today and what it can accomplish.
The print service industry is changing rapidly. Print service providers used to be able to simply take requests from customers, print them their materials, and thank them for their business. But if you take a look at the materials being printed, you’ll realize that this simple model is quickly becoming outdated.
If you own a print shop, you’re probably no stranger to digital die cutters. These machines can create possibilities for print service providers where there otherwise were none. The ability to serve new customers and branch out into untapped markets make the temptation to buy a digital die cutter too much to resist.
In the past, the printing industry was relatively uncomplicated. Companies would put in large orders for high volumes of printed materials at a time, and print service providers would spend days gearing up for that project, complete it, and be onto the next job.
In the world of wide-format printing, print service providers typically don’t give the finishing process, a second thought. Traditional small-format printing rarely did anything at all to prints once they came off of the press, whether they were digital or offset.
In part one of this article, we covered some of the finishing methods that are becoming popular among clients in the industry today. Let’s take a look at some more finishing methods that are in high demand, as well as which digital cutter you should consider buying if you want to stay on the cutting edge of the printing game.
At the very lowest level of printing, you have no cutting apparatus. You simply have an employee manually cutting off every job with an Exacto knife or a razor blade. This is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to cutting and might save you from having to splurge on a cutting machine of any type, but will ultimately cost you in productivity and output in the long run.
In modern print shops, it’s well understood that simply printing a piece of media for a client is no longer enough—no longer can you simply click print, wait for the ink to dry, and ship the piece.
Digital cutting machines in the printing and sign industry are on the rise. These machines use ultra-sharp durable blades and laser-cutting techniques to cut a variety of materials at high speeds and with a huge amount of versatility and customizability.
