Best of both worlds: Combining offset and digital

Staff -- Purchasing, 10/20/2005

John Specht, senior product manager for digital print at Relizon, says that certain documents should still be printed in offset rather than digital. The advantage to having both options is that certain pages look better when printed digital and others look better printed offset. The digital option provides flexibility for short run on-demand type orders, as well as orders that are custom and personalized.

In October, Relizon opened its SuperCenter in Ohio, which offers offset and digital printing. A feature of the print center is an internal ERP system for jobs that carry specifications for distribution. The ERP system carries the data through the system, and routes it to the appropriate production site. For example, if an order is personalized, it is routed directly to the digital press that is supplied with specific paper stock. "The key component of that is minimizing the number of human touches that have occurred per order," says Specht. "That's not relevant just for cost of operation, but good for maintaining the accuracy of the order itself. It's better for print on demand environment because it has a same day or next day turnover."