KBA and HP, Heidelberg and Fuji: traditional offset press builders are going digital again

If there is a sign that digital is the future of printing, it is the cooperation between traditional offset press builders and digital printing systems. Offset still has a lot to offer, high production capacity, ample choice of media and low cost for larger editions, but the announcements that KBA and Heidelberg whoto build, sell and maintain traditional presses will start building digital solutions for specific market segments is a sign of what is to come. For market segments labels, tags and newspapers there is a significant advantage in digital: affordable small editions, variable data and short start up times. 
Investments in such solutions will be high and only within reach for financially stable graphic design companies, but there are affordable options for any printer. Those solutions will not have the production capacity of what is being built now, but they will have the print quality that digital is expected to deliver. Many of these solutions will be shown on the Grafische Vakbeurs (Graphic Fair), 5-7 October in Gorinchem. For other solutions we´ll have to wait for the DRUPA 2016. It will then become clear if these solutions are a real threat for the traditional printing techniques.