IFS managing director Eric Keane

In 2024 there will be a continuation of the pressures felt during 2023 – high interest rates, high inflation, labour and skill shortages, and some disrupted supply chains. There will likely be an accelerated trend in mergers and acquisitions for ambitious print companies to make either strategic acquisitions of their competitors, or in order to secure diversity in their product offering, do this through acquisition of other companies.

The sector will continue with consolidation and this will drive more investment in more technology and automation. The latter, in particular, was an accelerating trend in 2023. Most leading print companies have been looking to increase investment in more automated print finishing systems. This in turn has enabled IFS, in collaboration with our partners Horizon and Tecnau, to be at the forefront in supplying innovative, automated print finishing systems, that meet this demand to reduce operator touch points, improve output speeds and utilise less labour.

With the world around us so uncertain, trade fairs like drupa really do bring the business communities together. Business people do mix, and with that entrepreneurship and enterprise flourishes.

Phil McMullin, head of sales for Commercial & Industrial, Epson UK

Continuous improvements with sustainability considerations at their core will remain a significant focus for print production environments and suppliers in the short-to-medium term. Epson strives to build technologies that last and support responsible and efficient production. As we develop our own printheads, print hardware, and print software, we’re able to deliver a very customer-focused portfolio that responds to increased demand for product longevity and reduced energy and waste. We can also help operations explore the most effective options as well as offer support, advice, and guidance when it is needed. 

Ease of use is crucial for both operational efficiency and the ability to move into new markets. Simple and fast setup via user-friendly touchscreen ensures operator confidence and quick throughput to maintain agile and responsive production. These are key persuaders for businesses considering their next steps towards successful growth, and  empower operations to expand their offerings. This is important to help them capitalise on the growth opportunities of markets such as personalisation, where production needs to be right the first time, and every time.

Martyn Train, managing director, Duplo UK

With a steady 2023 under our belt we turn our sights to 2024 and the future of print, which appears to be thriving with resilience and innovation. Despite digital communication’s prevalence, our industry is undergoing a renaissance, embracing cutting-edge technologies to enhance its relevance to add value to the consumer, especially in sectors such as education, greetings cards and the recovery of in-plants.

This resurgence is fuelled by a growing appreciation for tangible, tactile experiences as well as the enduring appeal of high-quality printed products. As we have always said, print in its various forms continues to play a pivotal role in communication and the purchasing experience, offering a unique and timeless way to engage audiences.

At Duplo we are really excited about drupa and some of the new products we’ve been itching to show the industry. This includes upgrades to our range, brand new products that will take Duplo into new areas, as well as some innovations that will show how we are preparing for the future of our industry.

Yale Goldis, director strategy, commercial products and solutions at HP PageWide Industrial

As traditional print volumes decline, digital print will continue to grow. Commercial printers adopting the latest high volume production printing capabilities find better economics for themselves and their clients. They will also redefine their offerings and reimagine applications that bridge digital online and physical media.

Publishers are moving towards sustainable, targeted production. Shorter, frequent runs in the market are replacing large, centrally produced orders to mitigate supply chain risks and reduce book miles. Publishers are also adopting ‘gap’ printing, using POD production from the onset of a book’s life cycle, to meet unpredicted demand. 

Direct mail will continue its renaissance in 2024 as marketers rediscover the performance and value of print in the overall marketing mix. While postal and paper costs pressure overall mail volume, digitally printed, personalised, impactful and relevant mail will see healthy growth. 

Business models such as web-to-print meet growing consumer demands for convenient online ordering, customisation and improved customer experience. Closer integration with large data warehouses and powerful marketing engines enable true multi-channel campaigns executed across online and print media.

Will Mansfield, director, solutions marketing, Kodak

In 2023, the pursuit of production efficiencies was paramount. Advances such as higher quality faster inkjet presses, smarter workflow platforms and more automated CtP systems have significantly streamlined production. These innovations have reduced labour requirements and also improved the accuracy and consistency of printing, thus reducing waste. The economic landscape was again characterised by uncertainties and inflationary pressures. To adapt to these challenges for our plate customers, Kodak continued to invest in regional manufacturing as well as technology innovations.

Kodak is anticipating drupa 2024 as a unique opportunity to connect with printers from around the globe and debut new solutions. The show provides a valuable platform for Kodak to engage with customers and prospects and gain deeper insights into their evolving needs. We are excited to showcase our latest innovations in high-speed inkjet, workflow and offset solutions, demonstrating our commitment to advancing the industry. We are committed to being a strategic partner to our customers, helping them navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

Duncan Smith, country director, production, Canon UK & Ireland

As customers are expecting faster turnaround times and higher quality products than ever before, we at Canon have seen an increasing demand for cutting-edge inkjet technology in 2023.

Alongside quality and productivity, businesses are starting to realise that inkjet also delivers many economic and environmental benefits. With reliable equipment that harnesses automation, businesses can save on total cost of ownership with reduced power consumption and streamlined workflows. Additionally, inkjet enables print solution providers to broaden their media capabilities and branch out to a variety of markets, such as retail, manufacturing and interior décor.

We’re excited to return to drupa next year alongside some of the key players in the industry. We see this as a huge opportunity to not only showcase new technology, but also celebrate our achievements over the last few years. We expect to see a lot of conversation around the advancement of inkjet technology when it comes to production and wide-format print and are excited to share our developments in this space.

Andy Kent, general manager, Fujifilm UK

Sustainable and energy-efficient machinery and practices were key factors in 2023 when printers were looking at suppliers for equipment or consumables. The market has also seen many mergers and acquisitions as companies join forces to reduce fixed costs.

Energy costs remain a problem but other costs are stabilising, or even going down in some cases. With interest rates moving upwards, we initially saw some reluctance to invest in new equipment in 2023. I think this was because people felt it might be a temporary situation, but are now accepting that the higher rates appear to be here to stay for some time.

Analogue processes are increasingly transforming to digital, particularly in the packaging space where the market is still growing. I expect this to be one of the main trends and biggest opportunities in 2024.

I see AI as another trend with complimentary technology for making quick decisions in time-limited situations. I expect drupa to be well-attended because we will see new sustainable products and services that will inspire print businesses looking for an extra edge.

Charlotte Tueckmantel, GM Enterprise Print & eCommerce, eProductivity Software

2023 in many ways was the reset of the new normal. Coming out of Covid we saw a huge resurgence in our customers’ businesses, and record numbers in many areas. While 2023 took a slight step back it was still well above the Covid years, despite increasing costs across the board. This included the rising cost of people/talent; difficulty attracting new talent is a challenge that the industry has seen for a few years now and we will continue to see in 2024.

The rising costs of people, materials and energy will continue to drive higher levels of automation, supported by the emergence of actionable insights and AI starting to appear in the industry.

For 2024, we see a trend towards more remote or hybrid work in the front office driven by the need for greater flexibility and the challenges to hire skilled people. This shift, enabled by technology and coupled with the arrival or more automation, actionable insight, API integrations and AI will continue to change the landscape.

The post Past and future appeared first on Digital Printer.

Described by Duplo as ‘the most automated and versatile booklet system yet’, the DBM-700 is designed to accommodate print input from multiple presses, in order to streamline workflows, reduce production time and manual touch points while maintaining ‘exceptional’ quality. The ability to produce square spine booklets for a perfect-bound ‘look and feel’ in addition to more conventional folded spines is said to expand creative possibilities without requiring additional equipment.

Thicker booklets of up to 60 sheets can be handled at a range of finished sizes, with the system able to produce up to 2000 bound copies per hour of an A5 booklet, for example, subject to suitable feeding equipment. The DBM-700 can be fitted with collator towers, digital feeders or a combination of both, to suit the press type and application.

Martyn Train, managing director of Duplo UK said, ‘The DBM-700 exemplifies Duplo’s commitment to innovation and meeting the evolving needs of the print industry. This system represents a significant leap forward, for offering our customers the means to achieve much more, and faster, expanding their capabilities, all whilst achieving exceptional results. This innovative system is a testament to Duplo’s dedication to providing solutions that cater to the ever changing requirements of our market.’

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FLEXPRESS
Steve Wenlock – managing director

What was the most important lesson you learned in 2021?
That it’s much easier to produce and sell a smaller, more specialised range to a larger customer base than it is a large range to a smaller customer base.

What will be the biggest challenge digital print faces in 2022?
Keeping up with technology has always been a challenge for digital and that’s unlikely to change. It can be an expensive risk going with new technology that then doesn’t do its job, but likewise not keeping abreast of technology can be a risk too.

What innovation, technology or development are you most excited to see more of?
Anything that lets my existing team achieve more within the same hours. Through AI and automation, we’ve hit our best ever monthly figures this year with 30% fewer staff.

You’ve often spoken about how print needs to sell itself based on its merits and not just price. What steps can the industry take to make this a reality in 2022?
Use print to sell print. At Flexpress, print is a major part of our marketing mix. Yes, we promote ourselves online and sell through our website, but we use print to convert a prospect into a client. It amazes me how many printers use e-shots and emails, but not print, to try to win new clients and then expect their clients to use print!

IMAGECO
Nathan Swinson-Bullough – managing director

What was the most important lesson you learned in 2021?
Stay positive, no matter what, and health is the most important thing in anyone’s life.

What will be the biggest challenge digital print faces in 2022?
Everyone knows how focused we are at Imageco on sustainability, in 2022 I expect to see more of a shift industry wide and more of a collective effort to change the way we work.

What innovation, technology or development are you most excited to see more of?
More in the way of sustainable material developments as many of the products in the wide-format print industry still can’t be recycled. There needs to be more collaboration between suppliers, printers, end users and waste management firms.

What is your organisation’s main goal for 2022?
We need to reset after the damage Covid did to us in 2020 and 2021. We have some interesting ideas for work in the community and further plans to look at carbon balancing our business. This aside we just want to work on what we do best and produce some really creative work. It’s going to be a busy 2022 and I am looking forward to it.

Is there a wider industry trend that you think is going to make a big impact over the next 12 months?
It’s all about sustainability, but that aside I think interior décor and fabric are still on the rise and we have seen more work in the areas of short run packaging and display.

ROUTE 1
Christie Darling – head of marketing

What was the most important lesson you learned in 2021?
For us, it was reiterating that the customer is central to what we do. Retaining our customer base through our team’s commitment and support has been incredibly important to us as well as making sure we’re always adapting to meet their needs.

What will be the biggest challenge digital print faces in 2022?
We believe that print will face struggles when it comes to longer run lengths as a consequence of ongoing aluminium shortages. There will be more demand for digital because of the shortfalls in the aluminium industry as printers become unable to maintain supplies.

What innovation, technology or development are you most excited to see more of?
Automation for sure. We believe that we will start moving towards lean manufacturing, switching up the way we manage jobs and increasing workflow systems to get orders through at more impressive speeds than we’re currently working at.

What is your organisation’s main goal for 2022?
Sustainability. Recycled products will be a large focus for our clients, looking more closely at how print can take on sustainable formats whilst remaining tactile and engaging.

Is there a particular market or application you think might ‘take off’ in 2022?
We’ve really seen e-commerce take off and we’ve seen a rise in popularity for combination products such as business cards that are accompanied by e-commerce products or stickers used to seal and complement packaging. Greetings cards soared in popularity during lockdown as well and we see these print products staying strong as we move forward.

CANON
Stuart Rising – head of commercial print, Canon UK

What will be the biggest challenge digital print faces in 2022?
Customer expectations will continue to evolve, with many consumers expecting 24-hour response times and higher quality standards. We can also expect further expansion in online ordering, and demand for integrated web-to-print solutions.

What innovation, technology or development are you excited to see more of?
New applications have helped spur developments in the home décor space and digital production of wallpaper is set to become even more popular. We also expect to see inkjet technology make further strides in the marketplace.

Is there a wider trend that you think is going to make a big impact in 2022?
Further increase in volumes, as more of society opens up and a sense of optimism returns. There is an opportunity for printers to take advantage of this wave of optimism and seek growth in areas such as visual communications. Sustainability is also set to remain high on the agenda.

Can we expect more Canon product products in 2022?
2022 promises to be another exciting year. Our customers are always at the heart of what we do, and we work closely with them to ensure we create solutions which will help them stay ahead of the curve.

EFI
Ken Hanulec – VP world-wide marketing

What was the most important lesson you learned in 2021?
No matter what kind of challenge is thrown at you, there is space for innovation and creativity to overcome such difficult situations.

What will be the biggest challenge digital print faces in 2022?
Perhaps the overarching challenge in any print or packaging application involves the supply chain for media. That challenge is not new, and we hope it will ease over the course of the year. But for now it is more important than ever before to drive the efficiencies and reduce waste and increase automation to minimise the time when a tight supply chain could impact the mix of products a print business is able to offer.

What innovation, new technology or development are you most excited to see more of?
There will be a concerted push forward in automation and digitally printed décor will continue to be an important trend in everything from corporate environmental graphics to home furnishings.

Is there a wider trend that you think is going to make a big impact in 2022?
In terms of pure growth in digital, it is hard to bet against corrugated. The e-commerce trend driving corrugated is not slowing.

EPSON
Phil McMullin – UK sales manager, Pro Graphics

What is your organisation’s main goal for 2022?
I am afraid it looks much like a repeat of 2021 with challenged product availability putting upward pressure on prices, certainly for the first half of 2022.

What will be the biggest challenge digital print faces in 2022?
Epson continues to invest heavily in R&D, particularly in the textile print segment. Leveraging the credibility and brand equity inherent in its proven Monna Lisa direct-to-fabric range will be a key focus.

What innovation, technology or development are you excited to see more of?
Epson continues to invest in developing the best in digital print technology whether that is for textile, photo, labels, signage, CAD or décor. 2022 will be about insulating our customers from the challenges of global manufacturing and logistics so that they can continue to focus on producing profitable print output. We will do this by ensuring continuous supply of Epson ink and consumables while improving our internal processes to keep price increases to a minimum.

Is there a wider trend that you think is going to make a big impact in 2022?
Reshoring of textile printing will accelerate further, creating huge opportunity for savvy UK print providers.

PREMIER
Jon Vic – sales director, digital media

What was the most important lesson you learned in 2021?
The challenges faced throughout 2021 have been unprecedented but we have met those challenges and have been very focused on maintaining a strong and stable supply chain, with the help of our dedicated staff.

Is there a wider industry trend that you think is going to make a big impact over the next 12 months?
Sustainability will continue to be important throughout the industry. The trend for printers to diversify into different print technologies will continue as they look to expand their print offer and open up to new markets.

What will be the biggest challenge digital print faces in 2022?
Many manufacturers are anticipating that the current cost pressures on energy, raw materials and logistics will continue into the second half of 2022. The biggest challenge will be for Premier to manage the supply chain in order to ensure product availability and customer service levels.

Premier joined Fespa in 2021, can we expect to see the company more involved in wide-format in 2022?
Wide-format and display has been a huge growth area for Premier for a number of years. We have recently invested in industry leading conversion facilities at our Dartford branch as well as new ‘double-decker’ delivery vehicles. In 2022 wide-format and display will continue to be a primary focus.

RICOH
Simon Isaacs – national sales director, Ricoh UK

What was the most important lesson you learned in 2021?
Print, as a medium for communication, will remain enduring, and whilst it will change, adapt and become more meaningful, it will continue to remain and important component of the overall communication mix.

What is your organisation’s main goal for 2022?
Digital print will need to become more impactful, innovative and meaningful, in order to effectively compete with online and digital only campaigns. In 2022, we expect the further acceleration of offset-to-digital migration, impacted by the continued improvements and viability of inkjet platforms. It will also see greater addressing of concerns around housing customer data and managing cyber security.

What is your organisation’s main goal for 2022?
To continue to support, work and collaborate with our customers and partners within the print sector to allow them to scale-up and skill up in new directions, and to enhance their competence to be able to offer purpose-driven solutions, delivered faultlessly, allowing them to grow their business to its full potential.

Is there a wider industry trend that you think is going to make a big impact in 2022?
Hybrid working patterns may change the print and fulfilment requirements, making production more localised, resulting in a reduction in shipping, containers, and waste, as well as an increase in personalisation.

ROLAND DG
Rob Goleniowski – head of sales, UK & Ireland

What was the most important lesson you learned in 2021?
We have always put our customers first, but the last 12 months have taught us to listen to what they want even more. We understand that many of them have had to adapt in some form or another during the pandemic. In light of this, we want to support and enable the changes to their business.

What will be the biggest challenge digital print faces in 2022?
To keep innovating, by bringing new products to market. This is particularly crucial post-pandemic, since many of our customers have upgraded their online presence and digitalised their offerings. They, therefore, increasingly expect innovative digital solutions which can further add value to their print business.

What innovation, technology or development are you most excited to see more of?
For me, it is software and the ability to integrate the hardware and software to give greater remote operation and remote support. We are also seeing the start of a service and support revolution with software like Roland DG Connect.

Is there a wider industry trend that you think is going to make a big impact in 2022?
Following COP26, sustainable printing has been thrown into the spotlight more than ever.

SWISSQPRINT
Rob Goleniowski – head of sales, UK & Ireland

What was the most important lesson you learned in 2021?
Dealing with challenging and uncertain events, like the pandemic, requires an organisation to be flexible and creative. Learning how to prepare our business for future uncertainty and rapidly respond to change has been a key lesson for me.

What innovation, technology or development are you most excited to see more of?
A challenge for our industry is ensuring our businesses operate sustainably and minimise their impact on the environment. Energy efficiency is a key focus for businesses when looking to invest in new equipment.

What innovation, technology or development are you most excited to see more of?Over the past year, an impressive range of machines and materials have come to market which are more energy-efficient and sustainable. It is a great time for businesses to invest in new, more energy-efficient technology, to meet the demand of their customers for sustainable print solutions.

Is there a wider industry trend that you think is going to make a big impact in 2022?
During the pandemic, we have seen many of our customers working with less staff but still needing to deliver quality products on a tight deadline. Therefore, businesses are looking for ways to improve efficiency without compromising on quality, this is changing the way businesses invest in new equipment.

XEROX
Kevin O’Donnell – head of marketing, Graphic Communications and Production Systems, UK, Ireland and The Nordics

What what was the most important lesson you learned in 2021?
To be adaptable and open to new ideas and opportunities. Keeping faith in what we do but listening to our customers, and the wider market.

Is there a wider industry trend that you think is going to make a big impact in 2022?
The continued drive for automated and connected workflows that reach out to integrate seamlessly into the client’s workflow, this will also mean a requirement for higher levels of security and integrity.

What innovation, technology or development are you most excited to see more of?
As well as the ongoing development of our Xerox Baltoro cut-sheet inkjet platform and how we can further partner with our customers driving Beyond CMYK, it is bringing higher levels of automation, analytics, AI and AR to the both pre- and on-press operations.

What will be the biggest challenge digital print faces in 2022?
Outside of the global supply chain issues which are affecting us all, it is to ensure the relevance and value of print is understood, evidenced and promoted.

DUPLO
Martyn Train – managing director

What innovation, technology or development are you excited to see more of?
For me it’s been about never underestimating how good your people are and what they can achieve under really adverse conditions.

What was the most important lesson you learned in 2021?
I think rising costs of raw materials and supply chains, inflation, and cost of money could be the biggest challenges. Overcoming these challenges will be about looking forward, being bold on decision making, driving out unnecessary cost and automating as many processes as possible.

What will be the biggest challenge digital print faces in 2022?
We can’t wait to see more connectivity and the move to real Industry 4.0. Of course the interactivity with systems is important, especially with our automated solutions, but it will be an interesting learning curve for many UK printers.

With PSPs looking to diversify, what do finishing manufacturers need to do meet their needs?
We need to keep helping the printers maximise the benefit of all aspects of our solutions. The multi-finishers and DBM range are so much more than simple slitter-cutter-creasers and booklet makers. Also, with the automation available, so many printers can save hours of workflow setup.

IFS
Jason Seaber – technical sales director

What was the most important lesson you learned in 2021?
The most important lesson that we have learned is to survive by knowing and managing the costs of the business and by investing in solutions that help to make the company run more efficiently with less cost. One example of this is our investment in a new Cloud ERP software platform to provide integrated management of all our main business in real time to help us operate more efficiently while also providing an enhanced customer experience.

What will be the biggest challenge digital print faces in 2022?
As demand continues to grow, we foresee the finishing sector facing more challenges with staff recruitment and wage inflation. Investment in more finishing automation will be key to helping businesses operate more efficiently, and more productively, with fewer people.

What innovation, technology or development within finishing are you most excited to see more of?
Robotics is an area that Horizon, Tecnau and BaumannPerfecta are all now involved in and we are excited to see how our customers will use and benefit from these new technologies.

Is there a wider industry trend that you think is going to make a big impact in 2022?
We do expect the level of interest and investments in new B2 digital inkjet sheet-fed presses to continue to grow in 2022 and we have a very comprehensive portfolio of B2 digital finishing and binding solutions to complement these new printers.

With PSPs looking to diversify, what do finishing manufacturers need to do meet their needs?
Finishing manufacturers need to stay in close contact with all the digital printer vendors to follow what new printing technologies are coming through in the years ahead. They should also understand what new markets and applications these printers can serve and design and build finishing solutions that enable these new applications to be realised.

MULLER MARTINI
David McGinlay – sales manager, UK, Ireland and Iceland

What was the most important lesson you learned in 2021?
Expect the unexpected – we have strategies in place for many eventualities, but the last year has been like a moving target, as we came across some challenging situations. Logistics and transport have been really challenging when importing emergency spares.

What will be the biggest challenge digital print faces in 2022?
The conventional finishing sector will come under serious pressure from the sophistication and efficiencies of the digital touchless workflow sector, in my opinion. In general, I believe conventional customers will need to invest to try to keep pace with the new breed of data-driven organisations.

What innovation, technology or development within finishing are you most excited to see more of?
Smart Factory is a major subject and discussion point at the moment. We have customers pushing the envelope to see how Müller Martini can take this from an idea to reality. Having a Smart Factory would entail best-in-class automation, IT and workflow solutions. I am excited to see how quickly we can conclude a full-blown Smart Factory contract.

Is there a wider industry trend that you think is going to make a big impact in 2022?
Most companies are having trouble attracting new talent to our industry. Our latest generation workflow (Connex) and new Control Systems can support companies without finishing skills available, by being intuitive, smart solutions.

With PSPs looking to diversify, what do finishing manufacturers need to do meet their needs?
Robotics is another big discussion point. We demonstrated our use of robotics at a previous exhibition, where our Connex Suite workflow was not only controlling a robot feeding our solutions, by means of JDF creating impositions, queuing the jobs for the print engine, product tracking and JMF files being fed back, but also controlling AGV forklifts, prepress impositions, cost control and ultimately despatch.

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The coaters are being promoted to digital printers as a cheaper and more environmentally-friendly alternative to lamination in applications such as greeting cards, business and postcards, with the aqueous options also certified for inside and outside use on food packaging.

Réginald de Ghellinck, managing director of Mark Hunting SRL, the Belgian owner of the Ultra brand, explained, ‘For many digital printers, lamination has historically been the standard way to enhance and protect digitally printed substrates. In comparison, UV and aqueous coating has been very common in the conventional offset market. With the evolution of digital printing, new manufacturers’ technologies, new types of varnish have now been manufactured making UV and aqueous more accessible and easier to use. 

‘For cost, practical and ecological reasons, some of our customers have moved away from lamination as our solutions are easily 30% cheaper to run, minimise the use of plastic, contain fully recyclable substrates, [have] no need for stocks of different films sizes and thickness, and no more need to trim after lamination. There is a growing trend of people are moving towards the aqueous versions of our solutions as water-base coating is environmentally friendlier than UV and lamination.’

The range includes the 100Pro which accepts sheets up to 356 x 510mm and runs at up to 13 m/min, the 200Pro supporting 530 x 750mm at up to 34m/min and the 300A with the same B2+ format but running at up 45m/min. The most recent addition is the Ultra 1000A which can run B2+ with long edge feeding up to 730mm, giving a further 25% throughput boost compared to short edge feeding. This model can be used inline with HP Indigo 10000 and 12000 models and has been installed at a Dutch printer in a duplexing configuration.

A feature called Auto-Gap ensures that the application and pressure rollers never touch between sheets, preventing smearing on the reverse of the sheet, rather than using scraper blades to remove excess coating.

Duplo UK managing director Martyn Train commented, ‘Duplo has been successful in selling the Ultra UV coaters in the past. Now that Ultra have extended the range and the fact that they now offer eco-friendly aqueous coating solutions, we realised the potential of such proven technology for UK customers would be an exciting proposition.’

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Erskine Stewart
Managing director, swissQprint
sqissQprint has been set to exhibit at Sign and Digital UK for the very first time 

The recent cancellations of events in our industry has been an appropriate response to the complex challenge of COVID-19, however, this does present new challenges for our industry. These events fulfil three key roles for our business. Firstly, they provide us with the opportunity to connect with customers who have invested in swissQprint technology. These are key moments leading to solidified relationships and identification of new opportunities. Secondly, the events provide a platform to introduce new features and technology. At each show, we provide hands-on experience so that customers can see first-hand the new applications the new technology can provide. Finally, Fespa, Drupa and Sign & Digital UK are important events for companies seeking new opportunities and technology, and many of our customers would have had their first experience with swissQprint at these events.

The way people discover a business like ours and seek new inspiration for applications is changing and this current situation will reinforce this trend. The COVID-19 situation is a catalyst for us to innovate and we are preparing new ways to engage with our customers for them to experience our technology.

Exhibition halls and conference centres the world over will be veritable ghost towns for the next few months

Brett Newman
Chief operations manager, Hybrid
Hybrid is the official UK distributor for Mimaki, who were one of the first companies to announce a virtual replacement for their event offerings

This is a great opportunity for UK and Irish print companies to discover so much about what Mimaki can provide their business with – from the comfort of their desk, or, if working remotely, their dining table or home office! In these challenging times, the Mimaki Virtual Print Festival is an opportunity to both reflect and look towards the future. We’re hoping that people use this time with both Hybrid and our partners at Mimaki to uncover potential new revenue streams, find out more that can be achieved with their existing print hardware or even look at potential investments for the future.

Martyn Train
Managing director, Duplo UK
Duplo is a veteran of print industry shows, both in the UK and abroad

Of course we support the decision of the Messe Dusseldorf to postpone Drupa until the current crisis is over. We at Duplo had a very exciting and engaging show planned for visitors.  The postponement means we can now reset and plan again for Spring 2021, to make the visitor experience that much more memorable. We haven’t simply halted work on our Drupa exhibit, we’ve been given a chance to make it even more fantastic. I know everyone is currently considering the safety and health of their customers and staff and the right call has been made. We were glad the decision was taken at this stage rather than closer to the event and respect the difficulties and pressures the Messe were under.

We at Duplo are moving forward with a number of exciting product launches during spring 2020 as they’re good to go, bringing even greater levels of automation and productivity to certain areas of the finishing world. As far as the industry is concerned, print is a resilient one, especially so in the UK.  Even with the current situation we’re looking at, with the right spirit, attitude and mindset the industry will weather this storm. Let’s face it, many companies in our industry heavily support the healthcare, financial, logistics and food sectors and will see that support stressed in the months to come. Duplo has a part to play in providing that support to our clients, which we’re ready for.

We wish everyone well in the coming months.

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Mr Train, who joins the Surrey-based business from Xerox, has over 20 years’ experience in the print industry. Duplo highlighted that experience, along with his customer-centric approach and knowledge of print processes as reasons it thought he would be able to ‘support the print finishing solutions of tomorrow.’

Commenting on his appointment Mr Train said ‘I am very excited about joining Duplo and being given the opportunity to help UK customers add value to their printing operations, improve their efficiency, increase their profitability and help them adapt to the constantly shifting print environment.’

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One of the most important questions that needs answering is how will working practices change across the industry. When asked this question Ray Hillhouse, vice president of sales and marketing at Plockmatic Group, immediately brings up remote working and social distancing.

‘I think this depends on the government advice as it emerges and evolves,’ Mr Hillhouse explained. ‘With work that can be done entirely from home, remote working may become a more permanent feature of everyday life. For some jobs, as long as the productivity remains the same, why wouldn’t we endorse this as a policy?

‘However, for other jobs we need to get much more back to the way we did things before the virus. As an example, we assemble machines in our Milton Keynes factory. We can’t afford to just double the size of the floorspace because our workers need to be further apart when assembling – that’s impossible. So I do think there will be short term measures we will need to enforce – but longer term, maybe once we have vaccines in place for this virus or others that may come – we need to get back to what we used to think was ‘normal.’’

Eric Keane, managing director at IFS, focused more on cleaning and hygiene. ‘For the short term we will be introducing more measures that support greater sanitisation with enhanced cleaning procedures,’ he explained. ‘Some of these may well become part of everyday practice. Others may be relaxed and then reintroduced if and when required.

Eric Keane became IFS’ MD toward the end of last year

‘How we demonstrate machines, carry out on-site installations and face-to-face tuition will be challenging, but we are already considering changes in best practice on this to ensure we can be effective but uphold safety and social distancing.’

Martyn Train, managing director at Duplo, split the changes into those impacting sites (social distancing, staggered operating hours) and those affecting the ordering processes, particularly online offerings.

‘The implications of the situation are still unfolding,’ Mr Train said, ‘but organisations need to look at their processes, both in terms of workflow and in terms of mechanical/human processes such as social distancing and staggered shifts.

‘Organisation that bounce back will be the ones that are able to put in place  fluid, automated, end-to-end workflow and processes, using the relevant software solutions and automated mechanical solutions to address each step of the process.

‘Flexibility is always key to any survival and for printers, it probably means being able to do more smaller jobs, last minute orders, a wider range of applications, as well as bringing everything in-house. Investing in systems that automate current processes and that open new opportunities and diversify their range of applications, will be key.’

In terms of timelines Mr Train is keen to stress that nothing is ever permanent. ‘Working practices were already evolving; this situation has just massively accelerated a change that was already taking place. Social distancing rules are new, but again, with a clear understanding of processes required in any workplace, they can be addressed for as little impact as can be on the actual work that needs doing.’

This view is slightly at odds with that of Seth Morgan, who handles marketing at Friedheim. Mr Morgan says that, ‘Without the catalyst of a pandemic it was hard to expect any sea change in UK working culture, leaving the efficiencies of working from home (WFH) policies and so on to those bold enough to try, ironically mirroring the UK’s adoption curve for Industry 4.0.

‘Now myriad case studies exist to show that this WFH system can work, and most of us have had an induction to it whether we like it or not. Working remotely poses its own challenges which will probably take a while to figure out on a larger scale. It would be hard to believe anyone has managed this transition so seamlessly it’s caused no gripes, but the technology exists that it certainly can be done with many obstacles already solved.’

Events and product launches

With so many industry events being postponed or suspended, did our four heavyweights think that there would be an impact on the development and release of new technologies or would virtual alternatives suffice?

‘New products are the lifeblood of this industry and we will continue to invest in their launch and development,’ Mr Hillhouse insists.  ‘Some of the schedules may be reset, for example products we had slated for launch at drupa will now be introduced at Printing United in Atlanta, but these have already had huge investment for three or more years – so we need to get out there and get on with convincing our customers to invest, tough as it may be for some.’

Mr Keane stressed the role that automation would need to play in the future, and how new technology would be needed to accommodate this, ‘Our supplier Horizon has always been at the forefront in the innovation of print finishing solutions with continually reduced touch points, one-person operation and now full levels of automation. In what will become the ‘new normal’ in the wake of the Coronavirus crisis the need to work in production at distance from colleagues will be inevitable. Horizon solutions meet that need.’

Automation and precision were also key factors for Mr Train. ‘Automation has never been more important than it is now, and our ‘load it and leave’ approach to finishing is a case in point. Automation will play a key role in getting UK PSPs back on an even keel due to less people in factories who are able to work at the same time and even shorter run lengths but a higher number of different jobs. The ability to adapt workflows to changing pressure will mean more connectivity from start to finish.’

Similarly Mr Morgan said that Freidheim has seen a clear‘increase in interest for labour saving equipment and automation. ‘The MBO group has just introduced the Post Press alliance, comprising BaumanPerfecta Wohlenberg, Bograma, Herzog+Heymann, Hohner and MBO, all of which are represented in the UK by Friedheim International – now working together to develop new technologies, operating under the banner ‘We Connect’.

Martyn Train joined Duplo from Xerox in 2019

‘The alliance helps to future proof the groups innovation cycles and crucially keep current and future technologies working in harmony. This all benefits the end user by lowering investment costs and shortening ROI periods.’

Mr Train also suggested that spreading out risk was a key factor. ‘I think print companies need to diversify as much as they can the range of applications they are offering.’ He explained. ‘A digital printer can tap into on demand digital packaging applications for example, broadening their range of customers and adding a new revenue stream. It is about understanding the systems they already own and have and being creative with what else they could produce with it.

‘That is one of the reasons why we are launching in May ‘virtual clinics’ for our Duplo customers. We want to help them achieve more with their existing systems by sharing with them our internal expertise but also answer their questions live to help them truly master their equipment and create new applications for new customers. That has been in the past one of our areas of frustration at Duplo, to see some of our automated systems used for repetitive work when there is so much more that system can do.’

Mr Morgan is far less convinced that the virtual exhibitions are the way of the future. ‘Stakeholders in trade shows such as drupa will likely insist on more robust contingencies in future, and potentially another look at the ‘force majeure’ and cancellation clauses of their contracts and introduce some caveats,’ he said. ‘The scale of fallout from cancellations is yet to be known. Virtual launch platforms are popping up in physical shows’ and this could split the audience. So far there has been a mixed reaction: early launches, sticking to plan launches, and postponed launches. I personally find it odd that drupa has managed to risk their audience, being in the unique position of knowing about the cancellation ahead of everyone else, surely they could have developed a platform to maintain control of the exhibition space, whether physical or virtual.’

Economics

Finally we asked all three companies what their views were on the economic impact this crisis would have on the sector as well as what they thought of the support emanating from Westminster.

‘Clearly some companies will not survive this in their current form and there will be opportunities for consolidation,’ Mr Hillhouse said. ‘I think the level of this will depend on how long the current restrictions are in place. Most companies have some reserves to fall back on – but they won’t last for ever.’

Mr Keane agreed,  ‘Any market change will prompt movement of some kind and this may be an opportunity for business with synergies to align. This could be through mergers and acquisitions but also partnerships.’

When it came to the Government, Mr Train was keen to stress the importance of trade associations. ‘The IPIA and BPIF have been instrumental in getting the print industries’ voice heard at BEIS,’ he said. ‘The furlough scheme and the added flexibility spearheaded by the IPIA means that many printers will still be able to get back up and running. However, even more flexibility is needed, especially with the closing of the scheme. Companies must be allowed to gradually ease back into becoming 100% operational. Also, companies will need help with investment in technology. Many PSPs won’t have the ability or cash flow to be able to buy into online printing or automation – to ensure the industry survives automation needs to be incentivised at the government level.’

Mr Hillhouse said that the programme most applicable to him was the Job Retention Scheme, ‘We’ve used this to protect our cashflow and staff the best we can. I think now it’s up and running we’re satisfied with it – but it did give us a couple of weeks of real concern during its implementation.’

For his part Mr Keane said he was able to access the scheme ‘very easily,’ and that IFS received the first payment ‘within a week.’ He added ‘Similarly we have taken advantage of the VAT holiday. We also made a successful application with our bank for the Coronavirus Business Interruption loan, supported by detailed budgets, forecast and a meaningful narrative and received the approval within three days. My feeling is that the Government is very engaged with doing whatever to help business through this unprecedented time. 

He did suggest that perhaps slightly more could be done, finishing with, ‘A government campaign to promote the power of print, could perhaps be beneficial. Already some support has been thrown behind newspapers with the placement of adverts. Maybe we could work together to allow reopening businesses to create new promotional print funded by the government? There are very many innovative print businesses in the UK and entrepreneurial owners, they will for sure ‘get-it’ and make headway in what will be a very challenging marketplace.’

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