The refining process for digital ink is still much more involved than the process for lithographic ink, though, meaning prices can only come down so far.

And, while the cost of aluminum printing plates may only comprise 1-2% of the cost of goods sold for a typical offset printing job, add that to the higher prices printers are now paying for ink ...

At that time, Modern Litho developed a custom web portal solution for ordering printing which helped streamline the print-buying process.

Veteran Johannesburg-based print business, SE Litho, has advanced its capacity and productivity levels with its acquisition of the Xerox Versant, a superior press for high volume and shorter run ...

Conventional 3D printers print their objects layer by layer. However, in the new process, called Computed Axial Lithography (CAL), the component is created in a single step.

On leaving school, he worked as an apprentice printer and went on to open his own printing firm specialising in the litho printing process.

With the market's shifting emphasis towards shorter runs, quick turnarounds and insourcing, it is important for print businesses like SE Litho to process more jobs in a shift than it has in the past.