In the beginning, there were small-format offset duplicators. As technologies emerged, many predicted the demise of small-format offset, but after years of stiff competition from toner-based and digital devices, small-format offset is still around. Why has small-format offset survived, and will it continue to be an important part of typical quick and small commercial printshops? There are exceptions, but the general consensus is that small-format offset is still here and will be here for quite some time.

"First, not everybody expected small-format offset to go away," says Joerg Daehnhardt, Heidelberg's director of product management for general commercial print. "It was mainly hype from suppliers of digital presses that tried to get the notion out that an 'offset replacement' would happen in the two- and four-color work as it did in the single-color work. That has not happened."

Several factors have contributed to the continuing success of small-format offset, but the major one is automation.

"Automation is the key to everything in the press world these days," according to Tim Kirby, national sales manager for xpedx Printing Technologies, which is the exclusive U.S. dealer for the Ryobi line of presses. "By automating the plate loading process and the setting of ink, a small printer can be up to color quickly. By automating the make-ready process, multiple short-run jobs, along with medium- and long-run work, are possible in an average work day."

Daehnhardt agrees. "As far as four-color pricing is concerned, most digital cost models were made under the assumption that offset technology always stays the same, but offset and the whole offset production chain evolved. Automatic workflow systems allow for effortless pre-flighting, trapping, color management—steps that were pretty personnel intense and time consuming before. Also, the appearance of affordable metal CTP solutions for the 20" market has helped keep offset competitive."

What about offset work other than four-color? QP columnist John Giles points to some other attributes that make small-format viable today. "Longer run lengths, single-color and spot color requirements, paper stocks, and envelopes are just a few of the reasons small-format offset remains a viable piece of equipment in the quick printing market."

Of course not everyone agrees. QP columnist John Stewart is much less sanguine about the subject. "Without undue sarcasm, their ability to run envelopes better than other devices seems to be one of the increasingly few reasons why small-format presses continue to survive in this industry." That said, Stewart notes that there are some advantages that small-format offset has over digital devices. "Significantly higher speeds and suitability for longer runs are pluses, but that presupposes the availability of well-trained, motivated operators, which seem to be in short supply these days."

Offset vs. Digital

At one time, the battle between offset and digital was seen as an "either/or" proposition. Today, it is generally agreed that this is not the case. Each technology has its own set of attributes, but the two can and do coexist. "For many quick printers, small-format offset is still a basic tool," says Giles. "The flexibility provided by small-format offset allows it to produce a greater variety of printed products than most digital output devices."