Technology has long been sculpting many industries across the world, and not surprisingly, the world of printing is not exempt from this. With revolutionary techniques and equipment being constantly developed, the future of the printing industry looks set to be digital based.

Glossy magazines and top selling newspapers are fully aware of the power of visual stimulation, as a picture is capable of speaking a thousand words. An eye catching front page image can greatly influence sales figures.

Just as new printing techniques revolutionised the industry and gave rise to full colour images, digital content will change the way we read, consume and print media in the future.

Interactive Experience

Ideals and stories have always been at the heart of digital media throughout the years, and this isn’t expected to change. The next step though is to give the reader a complete experience, presenting them with an opportunity to delve deeper into articles, beyond where the words and images finish.

New products such as the Apple iPad will put these elements that enrich a reading experience (such as video, sounds, rich colour photos that can be enlarged, animations and 3D images) at the finger tips of every reader.

What next for Digital Print?

It is believed that static print will eventually evolve into a customised visual experience that will allow readers to share and bookmark information for future reference.

With new technology constantly being developed, enhanced and implemented, the digital print industry is entering a new era of business in which users are able to retain the features associated with high gloss print, lavish designs and glorious photography.

With both digital and interactive media evolving and improving, it is hoped that more media services will begin to invest in digital printing and the services digital printers are able to provide. For more information about digital print and other services please visit our home page.

Here at Purely Digital HQ, we’ve recently been taking a nostalgic look back over the years and discussing how much the printing industry has changed over the past ten years. We realised that up until a decade ago, digital printing was considered a niche product, but over the years it has gradually developed into a mainstream offering, capable of competing with the previous industry leader, Litho.

Since the turn of the century, the landscape of the print industry has changed enormously, mainly due to the fact that many of the big technological advancements have come through one sector – digital.

Although not a revolutionary discovery at the start of the noughties, the advantages of using digital technology were still being discovered and there was still plenty of room for the market to mature. In the following ten years, the popularity and quality of digital printing has come on leaps and bounds, particularly benefitting from continued investment in technology.

Digital Maturity

When the year 2000 rolled around, digital printing was an emerging technology in what was considered to be a non-existent market.

The digital business in regards to printing was seen to be a limited commodity until a shift in trend and more importantly technology allowed the digital print press to develop from small, poor quality printers into more established presses that were able to compete with industry leaders.

Significant Improvement

As technology has developed, so has the quality of digital print. The focus has successfully shifted from basic printing techniques, to the introduction of high quality, colour production. Improvements such as this, particularly with regards to productivity and colour, have helped drive the digital market in recent years.

The nature of the customer has also been beneficial to furthering digital print. A decade ago, clients seemed to be unaware of printing technology. Times have certainly changed though and people are now using quality as a marketing tool. As a result, business owners have become far more savvy in understanding that digital forethought can represent the most cost effective way to communicate to their customers on a one-to-one basis.

Whilst digital print is obviously more mature than it was ten years ago, it hasn’t yet broken through into every potential market. It still has a lot of legs in it yet though and while ever there is potential left in the industry, digital printing will mature.

The next ten years are likely to take the digital printing service to an even higher level of recognition. In terms of market growth, the past decade was just the tip of the iceberg and hopefully things will only get better.