Sheet & Web Printing

Web-to-Anicolor: New Printing Technology for Online Business

An increasing number of print shops are convinced of the advantages of the Internet-based web-to-print sales model delivering print jobs online 24/7. They benefit from better capacity utilization and more streamlined processes.

Web-to-print is often associated with short runs and low print quality requirements, which is why many web-to-print suppliers also use digital printing. Youssef Allam Integrated Printing Solutions offers, through Heidelberg, an alternative solution through offset printing based on Anicolor technology. This enables even short runs to be produced cost-efficiently in the usual high offset quality and, as examples show, opens up great growth potential.

Many people still believe that web-to-print amounts to little more than ordering business cards cheaply online, but that's only part of the story. On its website, Zipcon Consulting defines web-to-print as the "server-based online creation of personalized documents, incorporating printing/media-related business processes." Web-to-print only became possible with the broad introduction of powerful Internet connections and Web 2.0. Even jobs involving large volumes of data can now be created online for a whole range of print products. Customers can put together their orders by clicking their way through a dedicated user interface. Both private and business customers are increasingly using the 24-hour online service offered by a steadily growing number of print shops. In addition to business cards, popular products ordered online now also include business stationery, data sheets, flyers, brochures, notepaper and greetings cards.

   Offset quality for short runs

The main argument for using digital printing for web-to-print jobs used to be the fast and cost-effective production it offered for short runs. However, the quality obtained with digital printing was, and still is, an issue - above all with B2B. Offset printing delivers results of unrivaled quality, but until now it has only made economic sense to use this method for longer runs. The Anicolor short inking unit developed by Heidelberg makes much shorter runs economical with offset printing.

Based on the example of a typical job mix with digital and offset presses, runs as short as 250 sheets or so can now be printed cost-effectively using an Anicolor press. This has been made possible by its short makeready times, the option of using conventional printing plates and the small amount of paper waste generated. Compared to conventional offset printing, a print shop with Anicolor technology generates up to 90% less paper waste, and an average of just 20 sheets are required for inking up.

 calculation models show that, with a typical job mix, the Speedmaster SM 52-4 Anicolor from Heidelberg prints more cost-efficiently than a high-end digital press from as little as 250 sheets. Basic assumptions: Single-shift operation, 5 day week, typical mix of run lengths.

 Because the Anicolor inking unit does not have any ink zones and involves no time-consuming setting processes, a press equipped with Anicolor can be set up in less than 7 minutes. Thanks to minimal makeready times, Anicolor is ideal for web-to-print applications. It enables the time and cost benefits of online ordering and automated job processing to be matched or even increased in the press room.

Customers of Youssef Allam Integrated Pritning Solutions report growth in the Internet segment. The Internet speeds things up significantly in every step. End-users can create and submit their print jobs very quickly, but this only really helps if production is also faster. With its minimal makeready times, the Anicolor press is ideal for such jobs. It helps us process incoming jobs extremely quickly.