The offset printing accomplished rapid progress in these 15 years. The primary reason of this big progress in offset printing was owing to wide use of CTP. The register adjustment became automatically by combined CTP and the automatic plate exchange machine, and the color tuning was automated by the ink keys control system. Additionally, automation and standardization were developed with various aspects such as the hardware, software, and the material, etc., and it became a high productivity system that covered every field from the long run and low-cost operation to the short-run and quick delivery operation.
On the other hand, the production and the consumption trends of the printing paper fail to rise in the developed nations, and the future demand shifts to the rising nations. Especially, Japan faces the population decline, and the consumption in the future will be decrease. It can be said that industrial structure that depends on domestic demand has seems like the limit.
Moreover, the advanced know-how of graphic arts is not succeeded, because traditional skill is lost by the progress of digitalization. It is important to cultivate human who coordinates planning, manufacturing and circulation of graphic arts as a printing director. It may be said that the key factor holding the growth of future POD market and the graphic arts market lies on globalization and cultivation of the talented person.
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