What is direct imaging?

Answer 1

Direct image printing means the printing goes directly from the plates to the paper. They use that on newspaper printing.

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No! "Direct Imaging" is a trademark of Presstek. Direct imaging presses are set up to make their own plates.

If you have a direct imaging press (or "DI" press) there's a box on the backside of every printing unit on the press. In it is a laser and a mechanism to move the laser from side to side. When the pressman tells the press "make plates," a sheet of blank plate material is installed on every needed unit--if you've got a six-color DI press and a two-color job, it's only going to load two sheets of plate material, not six. A computer connected to the press via Ethernet will send the job data to the press, which will make the plates. After they're burned, the press will clean them, gum them and start printing with them. The DI manufacturers say their plates are good for a 15,000-impression run, which makes them suitable for most of the printing done today. It doesn't make sense to install a DI press in a room full of conventional presses, but if you don't have a press at all and you're getting ready to buy one for short-run work it's really the way to go.