The impact of the hottest multimedia technology on

The impact of multimedia technology on the printing industry

today, with the development of multimedia technology in full swing, perhaps no industry is more complicated than the printing industry. Its appearance not only changes the printing industry in the form of production and business, but also seems to replace the traditional printing industry. Where the printing industry will go is an unavoidable problem for every printing practitioner

the definition of multimedia technology is: the computer comprehensively processes a variety of media information, such as text, image, audio and video, so that a variety of information can establish logical connections, and integrate some special experiments of products into a system with interactivity. As for multimedia technology as a whole, its content mainly involves computer software technology, audio and video data compression and decompression technology, special chip technology, bus technology, network transmission technology, special audio and video hardware technology and mass storage technology. The traditional definition of printing technology is to make words, symbols and patterns into the original, and then use a certain method to copy it. From a purely technical point of view, multimedia technology and printing technology are two unrelated technologies. Then why does multimedia technology have such a great impact on the printing industry, and some people even assert that paper media will die out in 20 years (Bill Gates)? This may be analyzed from the perspective of information dissemination

the challenge brought by multimedia technology to the printing industry that it can hide the flammable or combustible problems of thermal insulation materials

printing media, like radio media and television media, have gone through the process of input processing output, and have achieved the replication and dissemination of information. They are the media of information transmission. In recent years, with the highly developed world information and the development of multimedia technology, there have been more and more emerging information media, such as Internet and CD-ROM, which we call electronic media

generally speaking, there are three types of information structure carried by printed matter, namely (Si12) (MG8) o30 (OH) 4 (oh2) 4.8h2o information form, namely text form, graphic form and image form. Multimedia also includes audio information, video information, graphic animation and other forms of information. Its vividness and appeal are unmatched by traditional printed matter. Especially with the maturity of Internet technology, electronic media has shown greater advantages in information dissemination. Mainly manifested in:

1 It contains a large amount of information

an ordinary CD-ROM can hold the contents of tens of thousands of books. The state organization of Internet media allows people to obtain the largest amount of effective information in a short time. However, the transmission of traditional book information is only a single linear structure, and the capacity of information is relatively limited

2. Fast propagation speed

the propagation of traditional printed matter needs to be carried out manually. Electronic media information can be stored in the relevant database, and can be called by the computer when necessary. On the Internet, distance and time will not be the factors that affect information dissemination, and even can truly realize the global real-time and synchronization of information dissemination

3. Interactive

the application of multimedia technology makes the dissemination of electronic media information interactive. The receiver of information can also be the publisher of information. The receiver of information can exchange information with the publisher on the same media in time. This is something that various media could not do in the past

multimedia technology combines audio, video and other technologies, so it also has the advantages of traditional media such as TV media and radio media. In addition, the emergence of e-books also makes the display seem to have all the functions and conditions that can replace paper, which has brought unprecedented impact to the print media. The ratio of electronic media to print media is also changing. Statistics show that the proportion of traditional printing and electronic media in total market sales in 1995 was 70% and 30% respectively. According to the analysis and prediction of RIT Rochester Institute of technology, by the year of 20, the market share of electronic media will catch up with that of printing, accounting for 50% each; After 2010, it will be inevitable that the market share of electronic media will exceed that of print media; By 2020, printed matter will account for 35% and electronic media for 65%. As shown in Figure 1

is traditional printing really going to die as some people imagine? The answer is No

simply speaking, the printing industry is a broad concept. Speaking of the specific printing industry, including newspaper printing, book printing, commercial printing, packaging printing, security printing, special printing and so on. Accordingly, printed matter also has the following functions:

⑴ information release media

⑵ advertising materials

⑶ literary books, academic books

⑷ educational tools

⑤ trademarks, packaging products

⑥ various certificates, securities

⑺ gifts, collections, decorations

in fact, we can see that the first four functions of printed matter have also become the main components of electronic media functions, And it has greater advantages than printed matter

for media users, the choice of media is related to the purpose of use. If media users pursue the timeliness and effectiveness of information dissemination, they may choose electronic media in view of the unique advantages of electronic media when there are many kinds of media to choose from. As for the latter three functions, people still prefer traditional print media. Because:

1 The key technology of various certificates and securities is anti-counterfeiting. The traditional printing technology of anti-counterfeiting has been relatively mature, such as Gravure Engraving Technology in currency printing. As for electronic money and electronic securities, there are great hidden dangers in their security. More interestingly, electronic money and electronic ID cards also gave birth to a new printing industry, magnetic card printing

2. The function of packaging printed matter can not be replaced by electronic media. Packaging has the function of protecting products and displaying information, which cannot be replaced by electronic media. Product specifications are usually sent with the sale of products, and most of them cannot be replaced by electronic media

3. As for the printing of gifts and decorations, people pay attention to the aesthetic factors of paper-based prints. Compared with the decorative effect, it is obvious that hanging a picture on the wall is more beautiful than hanging a computer screen

through the above analysis, we can find that the impact of electronic media mainly occurs in newspapers, magazines, books, printed matter and other industries. In the commercial print market, packaging, advertising, brochures and other prints occupy a larger share. Although electronic media has limited the proportion of printing media in these industries, it has not had a great impact on the whole printing industry. In addition, although the role of printing in the publishing media industry can be replaced by interconnection in technology, the acceptance and popularization of new technologies in society need to go through a process. For example, now when people see a good article on, they often print it out and read it. Although the networking of publications has various advantages, there are also problems such as high royalties and inconvenient reading (compared with traditional publications). These are the disadvantages of competing with traditional publications

Mr. Ben hartschhale, chairman of Heidelberg Printing Machinery Co., Ltd., also predicted that by 2010, electronic media such as cdprintingrom and Internet will account for more than half of the entire operating market. The relative value of print media in the total media demand will continue to decline, but its absolute value will rise. Figure 2 is a report from intergraf on the printing industry. This chart predicts the development direction of the printing industry in the 100 years from 2000 to 2100. From the graph, we can see that the development of the printing industry has increased steadily from 2000 to 2040. Since about 2040, the printing industry has gradually moved from an upward trend to a downward trend. Combined with figure 1, we can see that although the market share of printing has declined, its total output value will gradually rise before 2040

how to deal with challenges in the printing industry

the printing industry is a technology driven and demand driven industry. In order to survive in the market competition, its own adaptability and the ability to absorb new technologies are very important. If we always stick to the original sphere of influence and ignore the changes of today's globalized business to business (BTB) and business to customer (BTC) business environment, we will inevitably fail

first of all, the printing industry is facing the problem of repositioning

is the traditional printing industry a manufacturing industry or a service industry? People of insight in the industry generally believe that the printing industry should be positioned as an information service industry; Printing related majors in foreign colleges and universities have also been adjusted to new departments such as graphicals communication; Some domestic experts and scholars also believe that the current definition of printing can no longer cover the fields involved in today's printing, and it is more appropriate to rename printing engineering as image communication engineering. This is not just a change of name. It makes printing independent from the intermediate link of an industry and become an independent industry. The current situation is that printing is mostly in the middle of a certain industry. Among the seven functions mentioned above, except for a few printing types such as packaging and printing, most printing types are in the middle of related industries

the printing industry should become the integrator of the future multimedia world, and use the professional advantages of the printing industry to change from the original prepress (P R E P R es) to cross media pre-processing Premedia; Transform into information carrier service provider and media solution provider. Domestic enterprises have made good exploration. As early as 1995, Shenzhen Yachang group put forward the idea that printing industry is a service industry and printing industry is an information industry. In 2000, Yachang founded Yachang art station, and built a database of more than 300000 high-definition data and pictures by taking advantage of the advantages of enterprises engaged in art printing. In November, 2003, Yachang art entered commercial operation. Mr. Wan Jie, chairman of Yachang, believes that in the future, the station may exceed the profits brought by the group's main business of printing and become a major profit growth point of the enterprise

secondly, the absorptive capacity of the printing industry to advanced technology

the application of multimedia technology in the printing industry is mainly reflected in the implementation and application of digital workflow. The so-called digital workflow is a system that integrates and controls the graphic information and production control information of the whole printing process on the basis of information digitization. The current process systems are based on network, cross media and cross platform systems. It includes PDF process, color management system, digital proofing, file information transmission system (FTP, e-mail), MIS, etc., and corresponds to PDF format and JDF format. Pdf describes that when the content of modified graphene is 44%, the capacitance maximizes the page information flow of printing, and JDF format describes the production process control information. Pdf workflow greatly shortens the prepress production cycle and plays an important role in the whole printing workflow. By adopting JDF format, data exchange, printing production management, Remote Proofing, etc. can be carried out between the printing company's computer system and the customer's computer

prospects for the characteristics of the future printing industry

multimedia technology has a strong impact on the traditional printing communication and production methods. We not only require faster, better and more efficient production of printing, but also consider how to learn from the advantages of electronic media to make a wider application of text graphics and image information in the field of multi-media