Offset Connectivity

Konica Minolta offers hybrid workflow connectivity combined with the ultimate in production flexibility, maximising the ways you can use both your digital and offset equipment – and all within a single interface. Over the years, commercial offset printers developed their workflows exclusively with offset printing in mind. When digital printing devices were introduced to the production mix, however, the offset firms found workflow requirements were different, and handled the flows separately as a result.

As customers' demands and needs changed, the need to print the same work in both offset and digital began to grow. That wasn't all, however: print providers needed a solution that would reduce costs, errors, and re-runs, and – most importantly of all – come up with a strategy capable of meeting the ever-changing demands of the market. This is when the hybrid workflow emerged.

But how can you connect these two worlds, litho and digital?

The first thing to remember is that while digital and offset print workflows are distinct, they can be made to complement one another. Today's hybrid workflows give you the best of both worlds – at your fingertips.

Hybrid workflow

A hybrid workflow is a single workflow management system that supports both offset and digital printing. It lets you process, print and track jobs using a common interface. A hybrid workflow can route jobs to offset or digital printing equipment, based on a range of considerations including run length, turnaround time, page size, substrate and finishing. It lets your print service maintain its integrity, print quality, colour consistency and faster production times, as well as reducing errors with the help of automation.

So how can I be more flexible in my print production?

Implementing hybrid workflows will show remarkable results in a wide range of production scenarios. The most noticeable of these will be those involving changed job requirements, such as run length, mixing static and variable components, and submitting jobs online. The production process lets you achieve higher flexibility, better job tracking and enhanced automation. If you want to achieve the ultimate in flexibility, however, the key is to implement richer workflow integration options, and adapt open standards such as Job Definition Format (JDF).

Here’s how a hybrid workflow can help with your print production:

Overnight job pre-prints give users the chance to review jobs before mass production is approved. Print-ready files make it possible for jobs to be re-used at a later date by both digital printers and offset presses.

• Lets you use the same job and content as the previous offset job, for greater pre-press consistency and short-run digital reprints.
• Prints a quick proof for an offset job with a digital press.
• Eliminates the need for operators to manually assign each job to a different production queue, thereby saving time and increasing efficiency.

How can you maximise your existing assets?

To put your existing offset workflow solutions to good use, just add digital print modules to create a hybrid workflow. You can also integrate a print Management Information System (MIS); this will show you all your job statuses, in real time. Konica Minolta’s full line-up of production printing devices and wide range of available controllers can be used to maximise your existing investments. These can be seamlessly integrated into existing offset workflows, such as Agfa Apogee, Screen Equios and Kodak Prinergy.

These systems are automated PDF-based workflows, providing a fully centralised, JDF-enabled, pre-press production hub. This advanced level of automation helps you achieve higher productivity, encounter fewer errors, and reduce your turnaround times. Integrating offset and digital presses lets you create a more efficient, easier way of managing production on all your devices, and the delivery of jobs.