A Virginia printing company offers Web-generated printing with dramatic color to its customers because the future of printing is digital color printing.

The growth of digital photography and the lowering costs of a digital camera, will command some method of printing and preserving personal memories.  More and more mid-level and high level production print shops are purchasing high-end digital color printers not only because their customers are wanting this form of printing, but it allows for shorter runs, tighter schedules and distribute and print projects.

Currently over 90 percent of transaction printing and 85 percent of direct mail is hybrid printing – pre-printed sheets, imprinted with variable information on them.  Small digitally-printed signatures may be added at the finishing stages and incorporated into hybrid publications just as catalogs and magazine printers have integrated inkjet messaging and addressing on offset printed materials.

Washington, DC printers use variable data printing workflows because it starts with a marketing objective that translates into physical mailing or promotional materials.  The next step is to decide whether the piece will be variable or static.  If it is variable, a search is made for an applicable database, a designer creates the graphics and text, then indicates where that particular database would be used.

The more complex projects become, the more they will call for intermediation by the printer – who will generate more profits through related services and database printing.  However many jobs fall under the umbrella of a misconception that a printer must control every variable data printing job. Digital printing, also known as digital imaging, means a printing procedure that creates an image on paper or another source from a digitalize file sent out through an imaging device.  The definition also states that it does not use a fixed image or consumable image carrier known as a plate.

The overall outlook for digital color printing is a good one even in this deteriorating state of our economy.  There are some digital color prints that people will not trust to their home printing system, such as baby photographs or wedding memories and people will always want high quality printing for formal invitations and announcements.