Electronic graphics are the backbone of digital printing. Without it, there is no need to talk about digital printing. However, many people who initially run digital printing business will only focus on how to buy a high-quality digital press. However, they often overlook a complete electronic text output management system. It is actually of equal importance. They do not seem to be clear about how a good management system can improve the productivity of printing and how it can bring more profits to the company.
Electronic file management, including how to convert files of different formats, Ripping, and transfer files. Its importance is not limited to the quality of the press. Without an effective management system, it is very easy to cause inconvenience in data access, or to slow down the printing speed, or to damage the files, and these situations will not be what anyone would like to encounter. In order to help digital printers solve this problem, T/R Systems, Inc. of the United States has developed an electronic text output management system to effectively improve the efficiency of digital printing.
Anatomy MicroPress
The system, called MicroPress, is designed for markets such as on-demand printing, large-armed internal printing, commercial printing, and general store printing services. Before explaining the operation of MicroPress in detail, let us first look at how the method of general improvement of printing speed is done.
Most people increase the speed of printing from the printing press, that is to say, replace the higher speed printing presses; but this also means that our previous investment will be completely lost, because other digital printing presses' supporting equipment, such as All kinds of printing words must be repurchased. Such a change of machine can be really scarred. Moreover, the speed of printing presses continues to increase. How can we use limited financial resources to pursue endless printing speeds?
MicroPress is precisely targeting these issues. Developed for production use, MicroPress is centrally equipped with a set of servers for connecting twelve digital presses. After processed by the central server, the electronic files are transmitted to the connected output devices and printed at the same time. In other words, the more presses that connect to the server, the more efficient the printing is and the highest speed is up to 1,260 pages per minute. Compared to the machine replacement method, MicroPress is undoubtedly more flexible, we only need to increase the number of printing, we can effectively improve the printing efficiency, and more importantly, the electronic file only need to go through the central server for a Rip file. With the action, multiple digital presses can be used at any time, without the need to re-Rip file, the company has to invest in equipment and time, and therefore less.
Moreover, having only one digital press to cope with the on-demand printing market is extremely dangerous. No matter how good the functions of the parts are, if one fails, the productivity is equal to zero. But MicroPress can solve this problem. When one of the machines fails, other printers can automatically make up. The productivity will only be reduced by 8-50%, depending on the number of connected printers.
Input to output
From the input of files to the output of prints, MicroPress shows its power. There are many ways to input, such as input through the network, disc, or connect the scanner input. In addition, it supports a variety of PC or Mac file formats such as Postscript, PCL, TIFF, PDF, etc. This is beneficial to both printers and customers, customers are free to choose the appropriate software, and printers also use the regular customer Headaches come in electronic files in different formats.
In the process of Rip file, the staff can preview the layout after Rip at the same time. When the problem is discovered, it can be suspended immediately. After correction, it can continue. If you want to modify the file after the Rip file, other printing systems must re-Rip file before you can print and waste a lot of time. However, MicroPress allows the Rip file to make several changes to the file without the need for Rip. These changes can be to merge different files, change layouts, or even add variable data. After the producer has completed these changes, he can directly output the print.
There are many types of output, which can be output from the printer, digital output (ie output disc) or network output. The output arrangement is very flexible. Take printer output as an example. Several printers can print the same file at the same time, but they can also print several different files at the same time. In the case of multiple printers outputting the same print file at the same time, if one of the printers fails, the other printers automatically receive the remaining print jobs without blocking the printing speed.
SatellitePress
In addition, through the electronic network, MicroPress can be used for remote printing, truly "start after the print." Here is the MicroPress variation SatellitePress. SatellitePress server can also connect up to twelve output devices, input data and output methods. Like MicroPress, the only difference between the two is that MicroPress has the function of Rip file, but it does not, so its input data , must be handled by MicroPress Ripping engine.
SatellitePress is mainly designed for remote printing, or when printing requires more than twelve output devices. Because it does not include the Ripping engine, the cost is lower. In fact, there is no need to buy a MicroPress. As mentioned before, each file only needs Rip once, so a MicroPress has been used. Of course, if the file is large, you can use multiple MicroPress and Ripping at the same time to speed up the process.
Many people in the market are interested in participating in digital printing, but they are deterred by the lack of corresponding computer knowledge. This is really a pity. However, with the MicroPress magnetic system, they can develop digital business in this format: Transfer the file to MicroPress's company Rip file, and print it in their own workshop with the remote printing master. So, on the one hand, these companies do not invest a lot of money to buy different printing software; on the other hand, they do not need to have a lot of computer knowledge to run the digital printing business.
This wonderful system of MicroPress was introduced to Hong Kong by Ricoh Document Solutions. Ricoh has been operating digital printing equipment for many years. In addition to its own digital printing equipment, Ricoh also offers its customers a variety of printing options, and strives to introduce products from other brands. The company has won unanimous praise from the industry. But why did Ricoh choose the agent MicroPress?
Mr. Chen Wenliang, the manager of Ricoh’s digital printing solution department, said that there are many digital printing equipment suppliers in the market and the competition is very large. In order to win market, each has a strange idea. Some companies use price adjustments to attract customers. However, if you reduce my reduction, it will only create a vicious circle and it will not be a long-term solution. Instead, it is better to use new value in conjunction with digital processes to increase productivity and emerge with a new look in similar products, and MicroPress has succeeded in breaking away from this product in this direction.
Effectively reduce operating costs
For general customers, when purchasing a digital press, many factors will be considered: the speed of printing, the equipment supplier's services, and the operating costs of the machine. Mr. Chen said that most digital printing systems are pursuing higher printing speeds, but the speed is endless. The printing speed of this machine is the highest today, and tomorrow may have been compared to others. However, MicroPress uses software technology to control up to twelve press operations at the same time, increasing the number of prints to match the speed of printing, and offering customers another cost-effective method.
In terms of the general digital printing system on the market, the operating time is not in proportion to the income it generates. Digital printers have to spend a long time each day to operate production before they can break even. This has not yet been translated into Rip. The file's time is counted. If the time cost is too high, it will be very difficult to determine the charges. However, since MicroPress is operated by connecting multiple printers at the same time, the operating time is shared by several machines, which greatly reduces the operating time cost. Mr. Chen laughed and said that this is where MicroPress particularly appeals to customers. His customers, like e8print.com Solutions Ltd., are using MicroPress.
Digital Market Development
Today, more and more products are printed digitally, and the quality of printing is gradually improving. Many people like to compare it with traditional printing. What Mr Chen thinks is the future development of digital printing? Mr. Chen believes that the general view of digital printing as an opponent of traditional printing is actually incorrect. He asks why it cannot be considered as a partner. The combination of digital printing and traditional printing, complementing each other, can continue to survive and provide more choices for different customers. Cooperation and choices are also Ricoh's business strategies. Mr. Chen revealed that the company will continue to seek suitable business partners in the future to cooperate in promoting high-quality products and bring a variety of different printing solutions to meet the needs of different customers.
User Instance
Capital Financial Printing Co., Ltd.
Capital Financial Printing Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Changming Printing Group. Capital Financial's business includes the printing of interim performance reports and annual results for listed companies in Hong Kong. The average number of black and white digital manuscripts is 3 million per year. Whenever a listed company wants to submit a report to the Stock Exchange, it is the busiest time for capital finance. In the past, these business reports were printed on laser printers because of the extremely tight deadlines. However, due to the design of the printer, it is not possible to load a large amount of printing for a long time, so the frequency of replacement is quite high. In addition to the unstable word conversion program, Ripping time is too long, the quality of the printing is not satisfactory, so the company needs to change another printing solution to solve the problem.
This year, Capital Financial switched to the MicroPress graphics and text output management system provided by Ricoh to cope with the prepress printing in the peak period, and its efficiency has improved significantly. The time required to print ten 90-page reports was reduced from the previous 16 minutes to 10.5 minutes, a time difference of 30%, and the quality was improved; all the drafts were printed out from MicroPress and compared with the previous one. The quality of the nine copies of the photocopy was high and the customers appreciated it very much. The Ripping engine provided by MicroPress is very fast, further reducing the overall process time. In addition, MicroPress has increased the number of connected printers to increase the printing power, so that Capital Finance does not need to repurchase money at the same time as it did in the past, saving the company a lot of money. Mr. Li Zhencheng, chief operating officer of Capital Financial Printing Co., Ltd., stated that more than 500,000 copies have been printed in more than four weeks since the installation of MicroPress. This has improved the efficiency and effectiveness of the company's drafting.
Erda Digital Printing Co., Ltd.
Digital Printing Co., Ltd. (e8print), which purchased digital printing from Xeikon CSP 320D earlier this year, added a MicroPress electronic text output management system in August this year in response to business development needs. According to Yao Guankang, the manager of the company, MicroPress is easy to operate. A server is connected to two Ricoh Aficio 850 digital presses. Each machine can print 85 sheets per minute, and the two cards can print 170 sheets per minute. At present, e8print receives customer electronic files through the World Wide Web. After the staff has seen the files without errors, it transmits the files to MicroPress's Harlequin Rip for calculations. Then it controls the two printing machines to print the same page at the same time according to the requirements of the prints, or It is two different pages that are printed on two separate pages. Its imposition software features can be used for riding staples, paperbacks, or loose-leaf bindings. Can cope with printed forms, brochures or a few books. Mr. Yao said that although the system was only purchased for two weeks, due to the ease of operation, the operators quickly became familiar with the control of the system and did not slow down the production process.
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