If you would like to know more about the printing industry, read on. This information is provided by the U.S. Department of Labor. It offers some insight into the industry as a whole and points to the importance of digital printing in the future. Technological advances in the printing industry make printing and binding books, magazines and other printed materials easier and quicker than ever. "Establishments offering primarily digital printing, which is the most technologically advanced method of printing constitutes the smallest segment of the industry—about 4 percent of total employment. Much of the work of this segment is characterized by low volume, often done by very small shops. Printing is a large industry composed of many shops that vary in size. About 7 of every 10 printing shops employ 10 or fewer workers. There are five printing methods that use plates or some other form of image carrier— lithography, flexography, gravure, screen printing, and letterpress. Plate-less or non-impact processes, such as electronic, electrostatic, or inkjet or "toner-based" printing, are used mainly for copying, duplicating, and specialty printing, and is being used more and more throughout the industry. The printing industry, like many other industries, continues to undergo technological changes, as computers and technology alter the manner in which work is performed. Many of the processes that were once done by hand are becoming more automated. Technology’s influence can be seen in all three stages of printing: Prepress, preparation of materials for printing; press or output, the actual printing process; and post-press or finishing, the folding, binding, and trimming of printed sheets into final form. Most commercial printers now do some form of digital printing. Printing processes today use scanners and digital cameras to input images and computers to manipulate and format the graphic images prior to printing. Digital printing also is transforming prepress operations as well as the printing process. It eliminates much of the lengthy process in transferring print files to the printing press by directly transferring digital files to an electronically driven output device bypassing traditional prepress operations." Source: http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs050.htm
Not only this, but being able to store and retrieve book texts, graphics and cover art has become much easier and faster. The future of the printing industry, especially digital printing, looks awesome.
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