Hybrid Print
DigitalPrint Link allows offset and digital print to work seamlessly together to improve efficiency in hybrid print production environments.
Make Offset and Digital Work Together
Use the right production technology for every job—without managing separate workflows.
For many printers, a combination of offset and digital production is the answer to costs and effective solutions for their schedules and customer needs. But running two production environments can introduce additional complexity, particularly when each relies on separate workflows, processes and operator knowledge.
ECO3 helps bring offset and digital production together through a unified prepress workflow, making it easier to manage different production technologies while maintaining consistent quality and control.
Put the Right Job on the Right Press
APOGEE's automation capabilities can use job information and predefined rules to route work to appropriate production plans. High-copy-count orders can be directed to offset while digital work can be distributed between black-and-white and color digital presses.
Business outcome: Make better use of your equipment and reduce the manual effort involved in production decisions.
Manage Shorter Runs More Efficiently
Apogee intelligently combines print jobs to optimize press time while retaining the identity of individual orders, including finishing information.
For a hybrid printer, this creates more opportunities to make efficient use of available production capacity.
Business outcome: Keep equipment productive while maintaining control of individual customer orders.
One Workflow for Offset and Digital
APOGEE DigitalPrint Link connects digital presses to APOGEE Prepress, creating a unified hybrid prepress workflow and maintaining consistency.
Instead of managing offset and digital production separately, your team can supervise both through a single user interface. DigitalPrint Link also allows resources such as normalizers, renderers, ICC profiles and fonts to be shared across the workflow.
Business outcome: Simplify production management, keeping consistency, while maintaining the flexibility to use the right technology for each job.
The Challenge: Two Production Worlds
- Separate prepress workflows
- Different job preparation processes
- Manual job routing
- Multiple operator interfaces
- Inconsistent production processes
- Deciding which technology is most efficient for a job
A Hybrid Print Workflow
A connected hybrid workflow can bring the production process together:
Customer Order
↓
MIS / Web-to-Print
↓
Apogee Prepress
↓
Automated Job Assessment
↓
Offset or Digital Production
↓
Proofing / Output
↓
Finishing
Why ECO3?
The opportunity in hybrid printing is making both offset and digital presses work together.
ECO3's APOGEE workflow has been developed to support commercial printers as production environments evolve, bringing offset and digital production into a connected prepress workflow. APOGEE DigitalPrint Link provides a unified environment for managing traditional and digital presses, while APOGEE's automation capabilities help printers make better use of available production resources.
The goal is straightforward:
Give your team one workflow with the flexibility to use different production technologies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is hybrid printing?
Hybrid printing combines different production technologies—most commonly offset and digital—to give printers greater flexibility to match each job with the most appropriate production method.
Why combine offset and digital printing?
Combining the two technologies allows printers to respond to different run lengths, turnaround requirements and customer needs while making better use of available production capacity.
Can ECO3 manage offset and digital through one workflow?
Yes. APOGEE DigitalPrint Link connects digital presses to APOGEE Prepress, allowing traditional and digital production to be managed through a unified prepress workflow and user interface.
Can ECO3 automate which press receives a job?
Yes. APOGEE's Automate Task Processor can use job information and predefined rules to route pages and orders to specific production plans.
Can hybrid print production improve press utilization?
It can. By combining intelligent job routing and job combination with access to both offset and digital production, printers can make better use of available production resources.
Does hybrid printing require a completely separate digital workflow?
Not necessarily. APOGEE DigitalPrint Link is specifically designed to connect digital presses with APOGEE Prepress, allowing digital and offset production to share a unified prepress environment.
Can ECO3 support different digital press technologies?
APOGEE supports a range of digital production devices, with current releases continuing to expand device support.
Ready to Connect Your Offset and Digital Production?
Your customers don't care which press produces their job. They care that it is produced efficiently, consistently and on time. A connected hybrid workflow gives your team the flexibility to choose the right production technology without creating separate processes for every type of job.