There are many factors driving the greater involvement of digital printing technologies in producing editorial products and commercial catalogues, even with significant pagination. First and foremost is the evolution of printing systems that are increasingly efficient in terms of productivity, reliability and the quality of print and finishes, but that’s not all. “During the pandemic, we witnessed a further division of print runs,” the owners of a printing company in northern Italy tell us. “Where we previously used our production digital printer to make a hundred or so copies as a pre-print and then move on to actual offset production, nowadays, more and more often, we’re commissioned by brands to reprint several hundred copies of the same piece.” This marks a shift from volumes produced with traditional technology to digital, meaning specific printing and finishing systems.

What products will we see on offer? Let's start with the HP Indigo15K, also available in HD, a top-of-the-range design that can print 7 colours (+special colours) and is equipped with an inking system that, in combination with PrintOS Colorbeat technology, enables excellent colour uniformity and a quality that complies with the main standards. Productivity is another a strong point for this system that can reach 3,450 copies/hr in white and colour, 1,725 copies/hr in white and 4-colour and 4,600 copies/hr in EPM3/0. At the exhibition, by using the software platform Prisma Cloud, you will be able to print books of choosing from various publishing types with Canon imagePRESS C10010VP technology, a printing solution that ensures quality, colour consistency and production efficiency, using advanced automation features to save on time-consuming manual processes. Also available is the Canon VarioPrint 6000 TITAN, a series of digital monochrome sheet-fed production printing systems whose advanced technology ensures productivity, quality and media versatility. The Canon stand will also showcase a number of products printed with roll-to-roll and sheet-fed inkjet technologies, not physically present at the show but previously produced with ProStream 1000 and varioPRINT iX, offering information and details on these technologies. Xeikon's stand will also focus on applications for different sectors including publishing and catalogues, but also on a product that the company defines as the coffee table book: those visually striking, sophisticated or chic books placed on tables next to armchairs as a piece of furniture in companies, hotels and homes. Samples will be printed with Xeikon’s SIRIUS presses technology, which is extremely productive and versatile as it can handle media up to 350 GSM and in extra-long formats to produce refined books, limited editions, photobooks and art, architecture and fashion catalogues.