Bridging the Digital Divide Essential Strategies for Printing Success

Introduction
There is no question that we live in times of dramatic change, and the Graphic Arts industry has faced its share of this change. In many ways, our industry has changed forever. For those who understand the implications of these changes and respond proactively, the future is bright.

Underlying success for any graphic arts service provider is the need to work within the context of an efficient, digital workflow, a workflow that must extend from the customer through final product delivery, invoice and payment, and which must span multiple technologies provided by multiple vendors.

This white paper will discuss the trends that are impacting graphic arts businesses and the changing needs of buyers of print and related services. And it will paint a picture of the successful graphic arts service provider, the technologies being deployed, and what these companies are doing to meet today’s challenges while preparing for tomorrow.

An Analog World No More
Much of the market shift the graphic arts industry is experiencing is due to a rapid migration to digital. Conventional analog production processes—from proofing to platemaking, from prepress to finishing—are rapidly being replaced by digital solutions. Film is giving way to computer-to-plate solutions. Offset presses are becoming more automated and in many cases, volumes are migrating from offset presses to digital printing devices.

While these changes have presented challenges, they have also presented significant opportunities. Many savvy graphic arts service providers have been quick to take advantage of these opportunities—and reap the rewards. By incorporating digital workflows and digital equipment into their operations, they have achieved new levels of efficiency and productivity, and they have been able to offer new services—and new levels of service—to their customers.