Digital Printing: From Households to Industries<\/p>\n
B. Gunawan
\nContributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Digitalization is an electronic revolution that has brought
\nabout fantastic changes, not only to information technology,
\ntelecommunications, audio-visual products and home appliances,
\nbut also to printing technology.<\/p>\n
The use of digital printing -- which is beginning to show its
\npredominance on the market -- has been spurred by the development
\nof computers and printing technology.<\/p>\n
Have you ever seen a multi-story building, the glass walls of
\nwhich are covered with a huge company logo? Or, perhaps a car
\ndisplaying a life-size image of Spiderman has caught your eye.
\nOr, while on the Pakuan electric train, you may have seen one car
\ndecorated with a Coca-Cola advertisement. Or, you may have seen,
\nin a supermarket or a mall, attractive posters, signs or
\nbacklight banners? These are all possible thanks to advances in
\ndigital printing technology.<\/p>\n
The advertising industry has been greatly assisted by wide
\nformat printers, which can be used to print -- at a high speed --
\ngiant banners, posters and even billboards, all of an excellent
\nquality.<\/p>\n
Digital printing guarantees consistency in quality, no matter
\nthe size. Those managing shops, supermarkets and department
\nstores no longer have much trouble in making available in-store
\nmaterials and points of purchases (POP) such as stands, hanging
\nmobiles and posters.<\/p>\n
Another advantage of using a digital printer is that your
\nprinting can be customized without incurring steep production
\ncosts. "We don't charge an additional fee for the production of
\nposters using different colors for their backgrounds," said a
\ncustomer service officer in Subur, a leading provider of digital
\nprinting services in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
At present, printers of various brands and sizes are
\navailable. Several brands, like Hp, Canon, Epson, Roland and Agfa
\nhave even introduced to the market their large\/medium format
\nprinters, which could not be found five years back. In response
\nto private and household needs, printer manufacturers like Fuji,
\nXerox, Canon, Epson and even Sony have inundated the market with
\ntheir photoprinters.<\/p>\n
A photoprinter will allow users of a personal computer or a
\ndigital camera, or a cellular phone equipped with a camera, to
\neasily print the pictures they have taken. In general, the
\nquality of printing is as good as that obtained from a
\nconventional photo printer. The market offers private users of
\nphotoprinters dozens of brands, including Fuji (PrintPix Printer
\nCX-400), Canon (CP-100\/300), Kodak (Printer Dock), Olympus (P-
\n200), Sony (DPP-FP30\/50), Hp (HP Photosmart Series) and Epson.
\nNow you only have to fork out Rp 2 million to Rp 4 million to own
\na mini-photo lab at home.<\/p>\n
A new business is booming following the rapid progression in
\ndigital printing technology and the increasing integration
\nbetween digital printing, on the one hand, and computers, digital
\ncameras and cellular phones, on the other. While before Fuji
\nImage Plaza would only print pictures from film, nowadays, this
\nphotography service provider -- which belongs to the Modern Group
\n-- also takes orders for digital printing.<\/p>\n
Another business that is becoming increasingly popular among
\nteenagers is the photobox business. Besides photoboxes, you can
\nalso find a lot of digital photo printing outlets in malls. They
\ncan print your photos up to A0 size and also sell photo frames.
\n"In short, you only have to bring your photo file or let us take
\nyour picture and then you can have your photograph in a beautiful
\nframe," said a saleswoman at Mal Ambassador, Jakarta.<\/p>\n
While before banners were made manually, today, graphic
\ndesigners can see how a finished product will look before its
\ncompletion.
\nGraphic designers no longer need to go to Singapore, Malaysia or
\nAustralia as, right here in Jakarta, there is a digital printer
\nthat can print a two-and-a-half meter wide banner in an
\n"unlimited" length. Billboard makers' jobs have been made much
\neasier with the presence of all sorts of printing materials,
\nranging from weather-proof and water-resistant materials to those
\nthat are transparent and semi-transparent.<\/p>\n
Your driver's license, your credit or debit card, your ID card
\nand even your visitor's card are all examples of digital
\nprinting. If you need an ATM card with your photo on it, for
\nexample, you only have to go to your bank. A bank officer will
\nask you to pose, and five minutes later your ATM card will be
\nready. If you want to cover the rear window of your car with a
\npicture of a flower or a picture of your favorite gamecock, you
\nonly have to bring the file of this picture to a digital printing
\nagency. Don't worry though, if from outside the car this rear
\nwindow looks as if it were covered entirely with a picture, from
\ninside the car you can see clearly through the image.<\/p>\n
The big question is, how soon will the cost of digital
\nprinting drop, so that all can enjoy its high quality, speed,
\nversatility and efficiency?<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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