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A device that prints images directly from digital files, which eliminates the conventional workflow of printing documents from plates that have been imaged from film. Digital presses utilize an image carrier that, if necessary, can be reimaged with every revolution of the press. Reimaging makes it is possible to print a different page of content on every sheet of paper that passes through the press. Printing based on this technology is known as variable data printing and is a unique feature of true digital printing systems. Nearly all digital presses use electrophotographic processes or ink-jet technology for imaging. Many digital presses have the capability of printing on both sides of the paper in one pass. This is known as duplex printing. Like conventional printing presses, digital presses are available in both sheet-fed models and web-fed models. The output speed of a digital press is often determined by the type of application that is printed. A job that contains no variable data will often print at the full speed rating of the press because static applications require that the digital information be processed only once. Variable data applications require additional processing for every page that is printed, which slows the output speed. The speed becomes slower as the quantity of variable data increases. The price per copy of an application printed on a digital press is usually the same regardless if 1 copy is printed or 1,000 are produced. Digital presses are part of a totally electronic workflow also known as computer-to-print technology.
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