Mike Fairley on Digital Printing

Becoming a successful digital label or package printing converter is certainly not just about buying a digital press to go into the conventional printing plant; it is also very much to do with whether the prepress operation is ready for digital print.

Color control is definitely a key element in the success of digital printing, not just CYMK, but also spot color matching. Prepress really has to be the main focus in order to have the fast turnarounds that digital printing offers. The press will do what it can—there’s a lot of technology in the market—but if the converter hasn’t got prepress sorted, it can lead to a number of challenges. Prepress must support fast job turnaround; unsuitable prepress set-ups will jeopardize production and performance.